For researchers on Pakistan's economy, it is the key source for reference, and covers a huge and diverse array of data, literature reviews, commentary and analysis.

    UNESCO recently celebrated 3000 years of Zoroastrian culture. Today, the Parsis are a proud but often misunderstood religious minority, small in number but significant in influence--the community has produced many well-known leaders and artists, including conductor Zubin Mehta; the late rock singer Freddie Mercury, of Queen; and the international award-winning author, Rohinton Mistry. The words and images in Taraporevala's unique book chronicle, for the first time, the faces, voices, and culture of the Parsis--a community of intense contradictions.

    Drawing upon research in India and Pakistan, as well as historical sources, this book traces the origins of the state in the 19th century, the controversial "sale" by the British of the predominantly Muslim valley to a Hindu Maharaja in 1846 and the 20th century clashes between Muslim and Hindu interests now culminating in the threat of a major war.

    In 1954 the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan filed a petition in the Chief Court of Pakistan challenging the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by the Governor-General. Sirdar Sherbaz Khan Mazari discloses in the book how Pakistan's Chief Justice Muhammad Munir 'manipulated' the composition of the Bench to suit the Governor-General in upholding the dismissal of the Constituent Assembly. This decision 'devastated the political structure of Pakistan, It has since been called a momentous ruling, one from which Pakistan has never fully recovered'. Mazari describes in detail the various intrigues and conspiracies resorted to by Yahya's 'Hawk' Generals and how they colluded with Zulfikar Bhutto in 'advocating a hard line against Awami League', the party with majority in 1970 Pakistan General Elections. He goes on to describe how the emergence of Bangladesh became an obvious consequence of the goings-on in the corridors of power in Pakistan of 1971. Though primarily the memoirs of a leading Opposition figure during the Bhutto and Zia eras, the book is also, in part, a history of Pakistan written with an uncommonly frank and original perspective. The author's eventual despair can be determined from the title of this book. The early chapters deal with Sirdar Sherbaz Khan Mazari's career in politics as a young man entering the fray in opposition to the Ayub Khan government, against a background of events that shaped the history of the country. This is followed by an in-depth account of the Bhutto and Zia periods. The book not only makes for a fascinating chronicle but also provides future historians with the necessary hard facts that are the very essence of history. It should be a essential reading for Pakistan watchers.

    Legend has it that Somadeva composed the Kathasaritasagara for Queen Suryavati, wife of King Anantadeva who ruled Kashmir in the eleventh century. The stories in this book are retold from ten of the eighteen books of the original Kathasaritasagara. The most remarkable feature of the Kathasaritasagara is that unlike other texts of the time, it offers no moral conclusions, no principles to live by and is throughout a celebration of earthly life. The tale of Naravahanadatta, the prince of the vidyadharas, the sky-dwellers with magical powers, comprises the main narrative and is used as an outer frame to introduce the stories in the text. Promiscuous married women and clever courtesans, imbecile Brahmins, incompetent kings and wise ministers, wicked mendicants and holy ascetics, cursed men and men who are granted boons, evil non-human creatures and friendly magical beings, all jostle for attention in Arshia Sattar’s masterful translation of this timeless collection of tales.

    I seek the end of that which hs no end --With a restless eye, with a hopeful heart.The lover's heart dies in an eternal heaven --I it no cry of a soul in afflictionno sorrow, and no one to drive away sorrow

    Self and Sovereignty examines the relationship between Islam and nationalism and the individual, regional, class and cultural differences that have shaped the discourse and politics of Muslim identity. As well as fascinating discussion of political and religious movements, culture and art, this book includes analysis of: * press, poetry and politics in late nineteenth century India* the politics of language and identity - Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi* Muslim identity, cultural differnce and nationalism* the Punjab and the politics of Union and Disunion* the creation of PakistanCovering a period of immense upheaval and sometimes devastating violence, this work is an important and enlightening insight into the history of Muslims in South Asia.

    Yet in the inter-war years there arose a Muslim movement, the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God), which adopted military forms of organizations and dress, but which also drew its inspiration from Gandhian principles of non-violent action and was dedicated to an Indian nationalism rather than communal separatism. Virtually erased from the national historiography of post-partition Pakistan, where they now reside, the ageing veterans of the movement are still highly respected by younger Pukhtun. This is an account of rank and file members of the Khudai Khidmatgar, describing why they joined, what they did, and how they perceived the ethics and aims of the movement. It attempts to answer the questions of how notoriously violent Pukhtun were converted to an ethic of non-violence. It finds the answer rooted in the transformation of older social structures, Islamic revisionism and the redefinition of the traditional code of honour. India: OUP; Pakistan: OUP Series Editors: Wendy James & N.J. Allen

    . . . The border divides them but it is also a seam that joins the fabric of their cultures.On 15 August 1947, in what some have argued was the final, cynical act of a collapsing empire, the British left India divided. Arbitrary borders that have profoundly affected the recent history of the subcontinent were drawn upon the map of India. In the violence that accompanied Partition, it has been estimated that close to a million people were killed and more than ten million uprooted and displaced. The hatreds created by what was one of the largest mass migrations in history only exacerbated the religious tensions that originally led to Partition. Since then, India and Pakistan have fought three devastating wars, and the danger of armed conflict is constant.A sensitive and thoughtful look at the lasting effects of Partition on everyday people, Amritsar to Lahore describes a journey across the contested border between India and Pakistan in 1997, the fiftieth anniversary of Partition. Setting out from and then returning to New Delhi, Stephen Alter crossed the border into Pakistan, retraced the legendary route of the Frontier Mail toward the Khyber Pass, and made his return by bus along the Grand Trunk Road, stopping in major cities along the way.During this journey and another in 1998, Alter interviewed people from all classes and castes: Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, men and women. In candid conversation, the older generation who lived through the events of 1947 shared their memories and opinions of that pivotal moment of Partition, while youths who have inherited the fragments of that past reflected upon the meaning of national identity. In an engaging account of peoples and places, Alter documents in evocative detail his meetings with varied individuals. He recalls the Muslim taxi driver who recognizes an air of confidence with which men in Pakistan walk the streets dressed in salwar kameez; the brigadier who saved the brass insignia of the British crown from Lord Mountbatten's Rolls Royce; gold merchants, customs officers, fellow travelers, musicians, and many others.Alongside these diverse and vivid interviews, chance conversations, and oral histories, Alter provides informed commentary to raise questions about national and individual identity, the territorial imperatives of history, and the insidious mythology of borders. A third-generation American in India, where he has spent much of his life, Alter reflects intimately upon India's past and present as a special observer, both insider and outsider. His meaningful encounters with people on his journey illustrate the shared culture and heritage of South Asia, as well as the hateful suspicions and intolerance that permeate throughout the India-Pakistan frontier. Also woven into the narrative are discussions of the works of South Asian novelists, poets, and filmmakers who have struggled with the issue of identity across the borderlands.Ongoing battles in Kashmir and nuclear testing by both India and Pakistan may prove that peace in this region can be achieved only when border disputes are resolved. Offering both the perspective of hindsight and a troubling vision of the future, Amritsar to Lahore presents a compelling argument against the impenetrability of boundaries and the tragic legacy of lands divided.