One cannot think of a better introduction to an erudite work then to start with a poem, Pakistan ka Matlab Kya (What does Pakistan mean?) by Habib Jalib. In fact, on the eve of the democratic transfer of power in Pakistan, this book can be a good gift to its policy makers who must read it, and understand the reasons for people’s grievances against the establishment. Zahra Malkani and Asim Sajjad Akhtar have given a perfect background to the book. Pakistan still maintains the age-old class-character. For a change, during the premiership of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the early 1970s, although an infatuation with socialism emerged, no concrete steps were taken to destabilise the existing patron-client relationship. In her paper, Saadia Toor has talked about people’s resistance against the land grabbing act by the military in the Okara district of Punjab between 2001 and 2003. This paper is an edited version of a chapter in her book titled The State of Islam: Culture and Cold War Politics in Pakistan, which, in my opinion, is one of the best sociological works on Pakistan. Then there is a chapter by the well-known social scientist, Ayesha Siddiqa. She has talked about the ways and means through which civilian leaders enter into political deals with the army and vice-versa. Nothing concrete about Pakistan’s history and politics can be written or mentioned without talking about the United States of America. Junaid Rana has talked about the effects and impact of this alliance. The present social turmoil in Pakistan is, to a great extent, the result of this alliance. The youth were indoctrinated into religious radicalism to fight against the Soviets in 1979 in Afghanistan. Now they have become a menace to global peace and all out to prove to be a Frankenstein’s monster for Pakistan. Madhia R Tahir has talked about the politics of populism, which is not new in Pakistan. General Ayub Khan declared Pakistan an Islamic State; General Ziaul Haq made all sorts of preposterous laws to placate the Islamic radicals; and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s democratic regime declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims. On their way to gain support no one thought about the repercussions. At present, liberal values are being smothered and the admirers and supporters of these values live in a fearful atmosphere; many have been gunned down for expressing their ‘liberal’ thoughts. In this atmosphere talking about feminism and women’s rights is a very difficult thing to do. Amina Jalal has talked about the predicament of talking about women’s issues. Religious fundamentalists have their organisations to promote their version of ‘values, duties and responsibilities’ for women. Humeira Iqtidar and Qalandar Bux Memon have talked about two different Punjabs. Iqtidar talks about the Seraiki speaking people, which form the periphery of Punjab. They demand a separate province for themselves because their political aspirations and economic development have been overlooked by the ‘other’ Punjabis. Also in Punjab it is the rich feudal lords and industrialists who are becoming more prosperous due to policies by the federal and provincial governments. Memon has written about workers’ struggle for their rights in Faisalabad. Mahvish Ahmad focuses on Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan. Since 1947, the Baloch are demanding independence. The root cause of their alienation is their assertion that their resources are being looted and used by ‘others’. To address this situation, in the 1970s the Pakistani state handed over this landmass to the army. In the name of ‘security’, the army used all sorts of tactics like rape, murder, disappearance of people. The Pakistani state had also used the decrepit formula of demographic change. This too backfired: the problems got further complicated and a number of issues compounded. One wise thing the last civilian government did was the introduction of the Aghaaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package for the region, although its efficacy to lower agitation is yet to be proved. In continuation, Hafees Jamali writes about the construction the state-of-the-art port at Gwadar in Balochistan. This has changed the face of Gwadar but the locals are facing all sort of problems because of that due to a number of reasons. Sultan-e-Rome and Iqbal Khattak have talked about the growing presence and increasing support to militancy in the Swat valley and Waziristan. The Pakistan army and American forces have been engaged in combat operations against militants in these two regions. Nothing substantial has been achieved through the ongoing operations: both the regions are being virtually run by militants and terrorists. Noshreen Ali talks about activism in Gilgit-Baltistan. This area lies on the Pakistan side of Kashmir and is inhabitated by people from the Ismaili sect. They too have their share of anger against the Pakistani state. Shafqat Hussain has talked about environmental issues in Pakistan. The author highlights conflicts between the local people and the state in Northern Pakistan on establishing control over pastoral lands. Hammad Nasar writes about the evolution and growth of art in Pakistan. The book ends with a couplet: Kya tum pura chand na dekhogay (Will you not see the full moon) by Fehmida Riaz. To conclude; this book is a collection of some of the best research papers on Pakistan in recent times. The reviewer is an assistant professor (guest) at the Delhi University, New Delhi. He can be reached at amitranjan.jnu@gmail.com