Does the rationale for military rule stand up to empirical testing? on December 13, 2017Pakistan’s interminable bouts of military rule have given birth to a cottage industry of scholars seeking to explain the phenomenon. The coup makers, of course, have provided their own rationale, often invoking necessity and national survival as the rationale. The courts have accepted this doctrine while they are in office and rejected it once they […]
The multiple facets of Pakistani identity on December 5, 2017There is still no consensus on what it means to be a Pakistani. If proof was needed of this proposition, the recent dharna drove home the point. Why is that the case? Farzana Shaikh’s ‘Making Sense of Pakistan,’ published in 2009, tackles the difficult question. Shaikh, an associate fellow in the Asia Program of Chatham […]
Brian Cloughley’s history of the Army on November 28, 2017Armed with nuclear weapons, the Pakistan army is one of the world’s most formidable armies. Its rated strength is 600,000 which is organised into nine corps formations. These are comprised of 29 divisions, including 19 infantry, two mechanised and two armoured divisions. These are equipped with thousands of tanks, artillery pieces and armoured personnel carriers. […]
Exploring European connections of New Zealand and Australia on November 25, 2017A couple of months ago, I had just emerged from the plane at Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, when I saw a big sign: “Welcome to the Middle of Middle Earth.” Inside there were two giant eagles hanging from the ceiling, and Gandalf was riding on one. Despite Gollum’s absence, I knew I was […]
Stephen Cohen’s Idea of Pakistan on November 19, 2017Cohen is America’s leading expert on South Asia. What he says in this book, which came out in 2004, is still relevant to the quandary facing Pakistan today. Stating that early on Pakistan fell into the grip of an oligarchy comprising the army, the civil service, and the feudal lords, Cohen reminds us that Aristotle […]
The false dawn of Marxism on November 15, 2017This year marks the centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution which led to the creation of the USSR, the first state to adopt the theory that would later be called Marxism. Marx had prophesised that capitalist states were going to end up in the ‘dustbin of history.’ Ironically, it was the communist and not the capitalist […]
Afghanistan — America’s longest war on November 14, 2017After tracing the 9/11 attacks to Osama bin Laden, who was believed to be living in Afghanistan, America asked the Taliban to surrender him to the US. When they refused, stating that he was a guest of the Afghans, America attacked Afghanistan with all its might. General Pervez Musharraf, who was ruling Pakistan at the […]
Angkor — the heart of Cambodia on November 9, 2017Ever since I saw the movie Tomb Raider I had wanted to visit the place where it was filmed. It was a town called Angkor, home to a civilisation that flourished between the 8th and 13th centuries. The Europeans discovered it in a thickly-wooded area in the 19th century. Finally, the day arrived. My wife […]
The joys of Kauai on October 26, 2017Kauai is the oldest island in Hawaii, the greenest and arguably the prettiest. The airport is nestled against the dark waters of Nawiliwili Bay and the green cliffs of Haupu (meaning “recollection”) range. We threw our bags into a rented car and drove toward the north coast. Our destination was the town of Princeville, named […]
Pakistan’s civil-military ties revisited on October 25, 2017After Partition, why did one sibling stay on the democratic course and the other got off track? Since independence, India has remained a democracy, albeit with an interregnum during which civil rights were suspended. But even then, the military did not seize the reins of power. Why? Aqil Shah addresses this mystery in a recent […]