The Politics of Ethnicity and Federalism in Pakistan: Local, National, and Comparative Perspectives

Description

This volume seeks to address two distinct yet interconnected issues: centre-periphery relations and ethnic identity in Pakistan. First, there has been a recurring debate about the formal structure of federalism in Pakistan, especially the proper distribution of power between the federation and the provinces. Secondly, scholars and policymakers wonder about the extent to which ethnolinguistic and religious identities should serve as the basis for provincial territorial boundaries.

Covering almost every region of Pakistan, the authors of this volume essentially seek to understand how Pakistan’s ethno-federal setup works—both formally and informally—and how it has interacted with, encouraged, or hindered ethnolinguistic mobilization in various provinces and sub-provincial units. They seek to understand Pakistan’s ethno-federal setup by addressing the following questions: How did ethno-federalism emerge and develop over time. Why are only some ethnolinguistic identities recognized? Should current provinces be subdivided? Should territories without provincial status be kept autonomous, merged with other provinces, or given separate provincial status?

Table of Contents

1. Foreword – Rachel Dwyer
2. Preface – Ali Khan and Ali Nobil Ahmad
3. Introduction: What is (Pakistani) Cinema? – Ali Nobil Ahmad
4. Part I: Cinematic Pasts
   1. Lineages of Pakistan’s ‘Urdu’ Cinema: Mode, Mood, and Genre in Zehr-e-Ishq (Poison of Love, 1958) – Iiftikhar Dadi
   2. Mirrors of Movement: Aina: Afzal Chowdhury’s Cinematography and the Interlinked Histories of Cinema in Pakistan and Bangladesh – Lotte Hoek
   3. Cross-wing Filmmaking: East Pakistani Urdu Films and their Traces in the Bangladesh Film Archive – Lotte Hoek
   4. Umar Marvi and the Representation of Sindh: Cinema and Modernity in the Margins – Julien Levesque and Camille Bui
5. Part II: Archives
   1. Pakistani Film (1948) – Sa’adat Hasan Manto
   2. Colour in Film: Why and To What End? (1947) – Muhammad Hasan Askari
   3. Building Pakistan and Filmmaking (1949) – Muhammad Hasan Askari
   4. Minimum Standards (1983) – Faiz Ahmed Faiz
   5. Independent Filmmaking in Pakistan: An Interview with Sabiha Sumar (2013)
6. Part III: Transitions
   1. Pakistani Film Poster Art – Ali Khan
   2. Kharak Kita Oi!: Masculinity, Caste, and Gender in Punjabi films – Iqbal Sevea
   3. ‘A Camera From the Time of the British’: Film Technologies and Aesthetic Exclusion in Pakistani cinema – Gwendolyn S. Kirk
   4. Working Class Zombies and Men in Burqas: Temporality, Trauma, and the Spectre of Nostalgia in Zibahkhana – Gwendolyn S. Kirk
   5. The Circulatory Dynamics of Pakistani Film: Approaches to the Circulation of Film Media Across Formats – Timothy P. A. Cooper
7. Afterword – Kamran Asdar Ali
8. Notes on Contributors
   Index

Editor Biography

Brasher has been teaching at Forman Christian College, Lahore, since February 2014.  He specializes in comparative politics, and is particularly interested in state development and identity formation in Central and South Asia. His past and present projects include a comparative study of infrastructural power in early twentieth century Afghanistan and Iran, Tajik ethnic identity in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as national attachment and political attitudes in the Christian community in Pakistan.