politics of the times from the 1930s to the 1950s. Her easy grasp of that period is clear Understanding from the way she builds her characters: from the Mahatma and Qaid, to other protagonists Pakistan including Nehru, Bose, Suhrawardhy, Liaqat Ali Khan, Mirza and General Ayub. It includes delightful nuggets on how Sardar Patel would Arun Vishwanathan thrash out problems within the Indian Con- stituent Assembly (by going for big durbar- s a new civilian government finds its feet style walks in Delhi’s Lodi Gardens), and a Afollowing the historic transition of demo- footnote on how in 1954, the Pakistan Gov- cratic power in Pakistan, it is important to ernor-General Malik Ghulam Mohammad carry out a holistic analysis of the multiple dismissed Prime Minister Bogra, with Gen- crises plaguing Pakistan. These range from a eral Ayub Khan standing behind a curtain in troubling internal security situation with the same room! Just four years later General rampant terrorist attacks to a crisis of gover- Ayub forced Mohammed’s successor Mirza to nance to a slowing economy complicated by dismiss Prime Minister Noon, and then took an energy crisis. In recent years, given the over as President, while exiling Mirza from troubles plaguing Pakistan several scholars the country (the template for the more recent have outlined a pessimistic future for Paki- coup in Pakistan too). stan that has ranged from implosion of the If you read between Tudor’s well-crafted country, to its breaking up or ‘Lebanonisa- lines, it is easy to see many events of today tion’ to carving of an Islamic Emirate from that tie into our subcontinental past: In the within Pakistan’s territory. she researches his use of Khadi, the crusade tussle between political parties and person- against untouchability, the Dandi March and alities (the cult of the ‘high command’) that PAKISTAN: A NEW HISTORY other campaigns against colonial laws, all as continues to this day, In the pursuit of ‘coali- By Ian Talbot methods of unifying nationalistic support tions of convenience’ with extremist groups Amaryllis, New Delhi, 2013, pp: x+311, `499.00 through an ‘instrumental embrace of in order to gain power (as well as sectarian, Gandhian tactics’. Jinnah’s comparative reli- anti-Shi’a movements fuelling radicalism in What makes Ian Talbot’s book a great ance on a ‘vague religious nationalism’ while Pakistan from the 1950s), in the struggle be- read is the fact that it chronologically and in unifying only along specific lines (poor Mus- tween principles and consensus deciding the great detail analyses the historical develop- lims, landed aristocrats or zamindars, and pirs constitutions of both countries, and in the ments in Pakistan and highlights the turn- with committed followers), was one of the resolution of linguistic divides in the country ing points—beginning with the failure of the reasons for Pakistan’s unsettled polity later, (The formation of Andhra vs the current chaos first democratic experiment in 1958—which Tudor surmises. Tudor’s description of the role over Telengana and the creation of Bangladesh have led Pakistan down the path it currently of pirs is unique, recounting how they first on the other side). finds itself in. The strength and quality of helped Jinnah win elections in Punjab and Finally there are the international exten- Talbot’s scholarship comes across given the Bengal that strengthened his case for a sepa- sions of this study. Tudor speaks of a ‘fleeting fact that he engages with the spectrum of rate state, then convinced their followers in window for institutionalization’ for any coun- available scholarship on every issue whether the United Provinces, Bihar, and Punjab to try, with a cautionary tone for Pakistan in par- it is the link between madrassa education and migrate to Pakistan, and finally, the role of ticular. The fact is that around the world, de- militancy or poor governance to uneven eco- the same pirs post-Partition in destabilizing mocracy is seldom a final, solid state of being, nomic development. This coupled with elected governments. and is mostly just a work in progress. Accord- Talbot’s assessment of the strength and weak- Tudor’s approach to the subject is aca- ing to a study by the Journal of Democracy, of nesses of the reading of the issue by various demic, but her style makes this complex book 100 countries in stages of upheaval between scholars provides the reader with a well easy reading. It is possible to differ with her 1970 and 2000, only 20 became stable de- rounded understanding. conclusions that seem to damn Pakistan to an mocracies. 5 relapsed into dictatorships (in- While reading the book one does en- unstable polity forever, based on the past. It cluding Algeria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), counter Talbot’s masterly understanding of is also possible to see Tudor’s work as heavily while a staggering 75 were stuck somewhere the country and his love for Pakistan and its loaded in India’s favour, with extreme pessi- in transition. people. It is probably this affection for the mism about Pakistan’s prospects of stability, At a time when many question the rele- country which makes him more optimistic even as she glosses over many of the contra- vance of democracy around the world (Egypt, about the country’s future vis-à-vis most dictions in India’s promise of democracy— Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco), where the exit other scholars who are all ‘gloom and doom’ the persistent inequalities, and suppression of dictatorial leaders and holding of elections when it comes to the future of Pakistan. of divergent movements in Kashmir, the have brought little by way of regime stability, Talbot’s book is a comprehensive attempt North-East and areas that Naxal groups op- Tudor’s The Promise of Power is aptly titled. at understanding Pakistan in its entirety erate in. Fortunately Tudor sticks, for the most Because the dual promise of democracy: Jus- which includes details about its people, land part, to empirical facts and practical descrip- tice and Equality remain an elusive promise in and its society. The book is divided into eight tions, and it is hard to fault her on the re- India and Pakistan. All that can be counted on chapters and begins with an essay titled ‘Pa- search she bases her argument on. is the promise of power, in all its fleeting glory. kistan: Land, People and Society’. The ex- What really sets apart The Promise of Power cellent chapter is a great way to begin the is Tudor’s anecdotal style in describing the Suhasini Haidar is Foreign Affairs Editor, CNN-IBN. book as it provides the reader with an overall

The Book Review / October 2013 51 Pakistan’s historically low tax penetration of less than two percent. Talbot helps the reader In Search of a understand the current crisis in Pakistan by tackling issues such as distribution of land Constitution holdings and the links therein to skewed development; the nature of political parties and political participation to the lack of Sohan Prasad Sha strong presence of political parties at the grass- root level in large parts of Pakistan in the pre-Independence era. It is to Talbot’s credit ith the heightening of a heated na- that he masterfully highlights such intercon- Wtionalism debate, this book is a timely nected linkages thereby providing the reader contribution to the constitution making pro- with a better understanding of Pakistan. cess in Nepal. There has been no dearth of With the second chapter onwards the constitutions in Nepal with those of 1948, book follows a detailed chronological account 1951, 1959, 1962, 1990 and 2007. Nepal of Pakistan’s troubled history. This begins has been going through a fresh constitutional with an analysis of the reasons behind the crisis in recent years. The process of drafting failure of Pakistan’s first experiment with de- the new constitution which started with the mocracy that lasted from 1947 to 1958. The establishment of a popular Constituent As- following chapters study Pakistan’s swing sembly failed in 2012, and presently another back and forth from military rule to democ- constituent assembly election is being racy. It begins with the martial rule under sought. The book under review sheds inter- General Ayub to democratic rule under esting light on this process and unpacks the Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and back overall legacy of constitutionalism in Nepal feel of the country. The chapter deals with to military rule under Zia-ul-Haq to a tran- and socio-political conflicts involved in the the geopolitical situation Pakistan finds it- sition to democracy under Benazir Bhutto Constitution making processes through the self in, provides details of Pakistan’s demog- and Nawaz Sharif between 1988-99 which case study of the 1990 Constitution. raphy and the problems posed by the rapid was followed with the military coup by Gen- The author argues for a framework and growth of its population. Here Talbot also eral Parvez Musharraf. The book ends with perspective that makes a strong case for con- deals with the issue of migration both over- an analysis of President Asif Ali Zardari’s ten- stitutional ethnography in Nepal. Malagodi seas as well as internal rural-urban migra- ure which was a watershed being the first draws a parallel between ‘Factual diversity- tion. The issue of migration, overlooked by democratically elected government to com- Formal equality’ that existed in the making many, has important ramifications on the plete its full term. of the 1990 Constitution and in the post- growing Wahhabi influence in Pakistan. Most The resolve shown by Pakistan’s politi- 1990 democratic context with regard to ‘the analysis of growing Wahhabi influence in cal parties—especially the current Prime Pakistan tends to focus on Saudi Arabia’s ef- Minister Nawaz Sharif—in ensuring that the CONSTITUTIONAL NATIONALISM AND LEGAL forts to further the ideology. However, as the Zardari government lasted its full term (de- EXCLUSION: EQUALITY, IDENTITY POLITICS AND author points out (p. 29), the influence of spite several chances to topple it) displayed DEMOCRACY IN NEPAL (1990-2007) ‘migrant oil and construction workers who political foresight and statesmanship. The By Mara Malagodi returned to Pakistan, not only with increased first ever democratic transition of power Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2013, prosperity, but commitment to scriptural could be a silver lining in what is otherwise pp. 316, `895.00 Islam in opposition to popular “folk-Islam”’ a bleak outlook. There is a feeling that Paki- is often overlooked. stan has a chance to turn a bend and begin Nepali people’ vis-à-vis ‘the extremely di- Throughout the book, Talbot identifies clawing out of the crisis that currently verse nature of Nepali society’ (p. 8). Mala- the various interconnected strands to weave plagues it. It remains to be seen whether godi argues that the constitutional national- the story of Pakistan and its current situa- Pakistan’s leaders live up to the expectations ism in Nepal was overtly or covertly tion. On one hand, Pakistan has a popula- of its people. complicit with legal exclusion. This duality tion which grows at over two percent which If you are going to draw up a list of books often contradicted, as the 1990 Constitu- if left unchecked could result in a crisis in to read on Pakistan, I would unreservedly tion progressively turned out to be like ‘sword the future. On the other hand, it possesses recommend that Ian Talbot’s book Pakistan: and scales’ that vitiated the relationship be- an enormous demographic advantage with A New History be at the top of your list. The tween political power and legal justice and one of the largest youth populations in the book leaves the reader with a better under- the ensuing exclusionary patterns (p. 48). world. The problem of population growth is standing of the country and its people by Malagodi examines the 1990 Constitu- related to Pakistan’s poor achievements in seeking to uncover the historical, politico- tion through the lens of historical institu- educating its populace and in particular lit- socio-economic roots of Pakistan’s current tionalist approach. This implied probing two eracy among its women and is linked to pri- crises. core questions in relation to the Nepalese oritizing of defence expenditure over all other polity. First, ‘why was that particular choice sectors. In Pakistan only about a third of adult Arun Vishwanathan is Assistant Professor, Inter- of institutionalization of the nation made in women are literate. This figure drops to eigh- national Strategic and Security Studies Programme, Nepal’s 1990 Constitution-making process?’ teen and three percent in areas such as the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Banga- (p. 11). Second, ‘what have been the impli- Frontier and Tribal Areas. The government’s lore. He can be contacted at: cations of the particular choice of institu- focus on education also suffers as a result of [email protected] tionalization of the Nepali nation in

52 The Book Review / October2013