The writer has a PhD from Stockholm University. He is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University. He is also Honorary Senior Fellow of the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. He can be reached at billumian@gmail.com
Daily Times, Sunday, January 29, 2012
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\01\29\story_29-1-2012_pg3_6
Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed
Sir: Every Sunday I open your daily keenly to read Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed's articles. These days, at least 80 percent of the articles that appear in the newspapers deal only in the 'over-popular', nerve-wracking, never ending and daily serial of the political crises in the country. It will not be wrong to call it a TV serial, as that is where the daily episodes are initially aired giving the dramatic action unfolding, interspersed by breaking news that really breaks up the viewer. This serial vies with WWF wrestling in ethics. There is a lot of drama and intrigue but very little action. Furthermore, there is no dearth of villains in this play; no heroes, though everybody behaves like a hero and indeed some of the players should receive awards for their acting. Unfortunately, the serial appears to be a tragedy. Thus, in this milieu, for a change it is a relief to read something interesting and informative, dealing with subjects that we would have been interested in if we led peaceful lives untrammelled by the developments in the above serial. An article should enhance our knowledge, not merely give us some jaundiced opinion of someone or the other. One of Dr Ishtiaq's articles dealt with Punjabi films, another was on popular music, two on a short history of Pakistan and each one was readable, increased my knowledge and broadened my outlook. Frankly, I feel that probably the greatest article I ever read in a newspaper was Dr Ishtiaq's piece on humanism in Punjabi culture and religion ('The humanist tradition of Punjab', Daily Times, December 18, 2011), which changed my whole attitude towards Sufism and Sikhs. The writer is an author of international repute and a well-known columnist.
IMRAN KURESHI
Lahore
SASNET seminar on the 1947 Partition and Ethnic Cleansing of Punjab
Ishtiaq Ahmed, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, and Honorary Senior Fellow of the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, held an interesting and highly appreciated SASNET lecture entitled "The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First Person Accounts" about the 1947 Partition of Punjab, on Thursday 2 February 2012. The lecture was based on Ishtiaq Ahmed's recent book on the tragic events during and after Partition in the two Punjabs, published by Rupa in 2011 (read a review by Pran Nevile in The Statesman, Delhi, 8 October 2011). The book will get worldwide publication in February 2012 by Oxford University Press.
In his lecture, Prof. Ahmed shedded light on how and why the Punjab, a Muslim majority province of British India with large Hindu and Sikh minorities, was partitioned in 1947. Had India not been partitioned the Punjab would not be partitioned either. However, while the partition of India was a necessary basis for the partition of the Punjab it was not a sufficient basis.
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| Punjab Census map of 1941 showing Muslim majority districts (green), non-Muslim majority districst (pink) and princely states (yellow) |
What were the factors within Punjabi society and politics that prevented an agreement between Hindu, Muslim and Sikh leaders to keep their province united? Why did it cause the greatest forced migration in history – 10 million – and 500,000 to 800,000 violent deaths as well as at least 90,000 women being abducted by men of enemy religion? Why did more Muslims die than Hindus and Sikhs together, when the evidence shows that organized mass killings were initiated by Muslims?
Answers to such questions were attempted in the light of a theory of ethnic cleansing. Ishtiaq argues that fear of an uncertain future, biased officialdom, uncompromising politicians and availability of arms to ex-servicemen and criminal gangs created an explosive situation. Between March 1947 and mid-August 1947 violent rioting continued and the writ of the British colonial administration increasingly diminished. Once power was transferred to the provincial governments in the Indian and Pakistani Punjab, violence escalated dramatically. The end result was ethnic cleansing on both sides.
Download the full presentation.
The seminar was organised in collaboration with the Lund university Master in International Development and Management programme (LUMID), and attracted an audience of researchers and students from various departments at Lund University as well as interested private persons. It was held at Geocentrum, Sölvegatan.
Professor Catarina Kinnvall, Dept. of Political Science, Lund University, had read the book thoroughly in advance and acted as a brilliant discussant at the seminar.
See the seminar poster.
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| Seminar audience. | Ishtiaq Ahmed, Catarina Kinnvall, Lars Eklund and Anna Lindberg. |
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