Since independence
South Asian history after 1947, including 1965 and 1971.
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Open Thread: Rajiv Gandhi, 34 Years On
Open thread marking 34 years since Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, inviting reflection on his legacy, plus moderation notes asking commenters to update handles.
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The Historic Task of the Pakistani Bourgeoisie
Omar Ali argues that the Two-Nation Theory is a dangerous basis for Pakistan, and that the Pakistani bourgeoisie’s historic task is to defang it or watch the state break up.…
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Was Madhya Pradesh Designed to Dilute Muslim Concentration?
X.T.M floats the theory that Madhya Pradesh was shaped after Partition to dilute the demographic and political weight of its Muslim populations, and asks whether the same logic applies across…
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Obituary: Major Agha Humayun Amin
An obituary of Major (retd) Agha Humayun Amin, who died in Lahore aged about 64. It remembers him as Pakistan’s premier military historian, a stickler for accuracy with salty opinions,…
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Justice Sajjad Ahmed Sipra; 1936-2025
An obituary by his nephew for Justice Sajjad Sipra (1936-2025), who died in Lahore aged 88. It traces his Burma childhood, flight in 1941, post-Partition rise, student politics at Punjab…
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Rajaji: Our forgotten hero
Reposting a 2018 piece, the author argues that C. Rajagopalachari, Rajaji, is perhaps the most forgotten of India’s founding leaders, and that his free-market ideas and Swatantra Party remain relevant…
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Hardliner Who Also Liked Going To The Movies
In a self-described personal opinion piece on L. K. Advani, the author traces his background and entry into the RSS, argues he drove the Ayodhya movement that shifted power from…
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Obituary: Brigadier Malik Mohammed Aslam, 1938-2023
An obituary of Brigadier Malik Mohammed Aslam (1938-2023), the author’s father’s closest friend, recording his unrecorded part as a young artillery captain in the defence of Lahore in 1965, and…
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Book Review: Grand Delusion; the Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East
Hamid Hussain reviews Steven Simon’s Grand Delusion, which argues that American policymakers persistently believed military force alone could deliver lasting change and security in the Middle East, and traces how…
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Mr. Tilak Devasher on his book The Pashtuns- A Contested History
A BrownCast in which Tilak Devasher, author, National Security Advisory Board member and former Special Secretary, joins Maneesh, Somnath and Dr Ali to talk about his latest book, The Pashtuns:…
