Historical Dictionary of Pakistan

(Hardback, Fourth Edition)

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Pakistan is unlike most other countries in the emerging world. It is one of the two nations the other being the state of Israel founded on the basis of religion. Although it was created to provide a homeland for the Muslim community of British India, in its original form it was able to accommodate only about half of the people of Islamic faith who lived in the subcontinent. Pakistans birth in 1947 resulted in one of the largest movements of people in human history when some 14 million people left their homes, with 8 million Muslims leaving India for what is now Pakistan and 6 million Hindus and Sikhs moving in the opposite direction. This was the first large-scale incidence of ethnic cleansing the world was to witness. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Pakistan covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Pakistan.

Reviews

In 1947, Pakistan was established to provide an independent state for the Indian Muslim population when India attained independence from the British Empire. This fourth edition, following the general pattern of other titles in this series, outlines Pakistan's history and establishes its formative periods through a chronology section and an introductory essay. The dictionary section expands on earlier editionsthe last was reviewed in 2000all authored by Burki, a renowned Pakistani scholar and economist who has been involved in national affairs since 1960, lending an intimate, firsthand perspective on the forces that have forged the modern nation over the past 50 years. The work's 700 cross-referenced entries highlight Pakistan's politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture; more than 250 pages and perhaps 200 new entries were added. An appendix covering important personalities and an extensive bibliography are also included, along with a list of acronyms and abbreviations. This work is an excellent reference resource for general readers, students, and scholars who want to learn more about the broad history of Pakistan from 712 AD, when the region was incorporated into the Umayyad Caliphate, to the present day. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic audiences; general readers. * CHOICE *

Author Bio

Shahid Javed Burki joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1960, his assignments in Pakistan included chief economist of West Pakistan, and economic advisor, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan. He worked as a senior research fellow at Harvards Center for International Affairs and the Harvard Institute for International Development. He also worked at the World Bank where he was director of the China Department and vice president of Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1996-1997 he was finance minister in Pakistan. He took early retirement from the Bank in early 1999 and joined the Emerging Markets partnership, a private equity firm, where he worked as an advisor until 2005. He is now the chairman of the Institute of Public Policy, a Lahore-based think tank, as well as a Senior Visiting Fellow at the National University Singapores Institute of South Asian Studies. He concurrently holds a senior fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center of International Scholars in Washington.