‘Western media should stop lampooning Pakistan as a dangerous or failed state’

[Neo]

‘Western media should stop lampooning Pakistan as a dangerous or failed state’​

* British writer William Dalrymple says Pakistanis chose to back secular democracy in recent polls​

WASHINGTON: William Dalrymple, the India-based British writer, has refuted those who have called Pakistan “the most dangerous country in the world” and a “failed state”.

Writing in the New York Review of Books, he states, “The country I saw in February on a long road trip from Lahore in the Punjab down through rural Sindh to Karachi was not a failed state, or anything even approaching ‘the most dangerous country in the world ... almost beyond repair’ as the London Spectator recently suggested, joined in its view by The New York Times and The Washington Post among many others. On the contrary, the countryside I passed through was no less peaceful and prosperous than that on the other side of the Indian border; indeed its road networks are far more developed. It was certainly a far cry from the violent instability of post-occupation Iraq or Afghanistan.”

Democracy: According to Dalrymple, “Though turnout in the election was fairly low, partly owing to fear of suicide bombings, it is clear that Pakistanis have overwhelmingly rejected the military and Islamist options and chosen instead to back secular democracy. And if many stayed at home, no fewer than 36 million Pakistanis braved the threatened bombs to vote in an election, which by South Asian standards was remarkably free of violence, corruption, ballot-stuffing, or ‘booth capturing’.”

Predicting that the Pakistan Army will not oppose the coalition government, he writes, “These developments should now lead commentators to reassess the country that many have long written off and caricatured as a terror-breeding swamp of Islamist iniquity.”

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\03\31\story_31-3-2008_pg7_40

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Darlympl is an author who claims to be an expert of Raj history.

He writes such history in a chatty way unlike the historical textbooks that one goes through which can be very dry.

He is known to be 'fond' of all things of ancient India, the Middle East, Mughals and gives the issues of the Raj an interesting angle.

His book, The Last Mughal: The Eclipse of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857 raised much discussion and excitement in academic circles.

I have not read this book, though I aim to do it Those who I know who have read this book say it is an interesting one.

 

[Neo]

Thanks for the tip, I've just ordered the book after reading your post.

William Dalrymple, author of THE LAST MUGHAL, speaks at the ROM on March 26th ​

Launches campaign to restore 15th century Tibetan painting

View attachment 30efed78ef8ecd2c66249d0258a26347.jpg

The Friends of South Asia (FSA) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) celebrates the re-opening of the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery with its first event of the season: Who was the Last Mughal? Lecture & Book Signing with William Dalrymple. The reading takes place on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 6:30 pm in the Signy & Cléophée Eaton Theatre at the ROM, followed by a book-signing. Copies of THE LAST MUGHAL will be on sale: this is the launch of the paperback edition in Canada.

Celebrated historian and author William Dalrymple will speak about his latest book, THE LAST MUGHAL: The Eclipse of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857. This is the tragic story of the poet-Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II, who found himself swept up by the largest anti-colonial uprising in the nineteenth century, the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The result was the catastrophic end to the dynasty that built the Taj Mahal, horrific casualties, and an ascendant British Raj. Within five years, the last Mughal was dead, buried in an unmarked grave far from his beloved Delhi.

“Dalrymple presents a brilliant, evocative exploration of a doomed world and its final emperor, Bahadur Shah II ... That the rebels fatefully raised the flag of jihad and dubbed themselves ‘mujahedin’ only adds to the mutiny’s contemporary relevance “ (Sunday Times).

William Dalrymple is the author of five books of history and travel, including Delhi: City of Djinns and White Mughals. He has recently written about the Pakistani political scene for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Hindu, The Guardian, and The Toronto Star. This event launches FSA’s fundraising campaign to restore a rare and extremely fragile Tibetan Buddhist painting from the 15th century. This conservation project will allow the thangka to go on display for the first time in the Museum’s history.

View attachment c5773a977255b7e2a796fc7336917f9b.jpg

This event is generously supported by the Ancient Echoes * Modern Voices: South Asia Programs Fund.

FSA is a membership group which supports a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse and rich history of South Asian arts at the ROM through the Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery, special events and programs.

http://blogs.raincoast.com/weblog/comments/william-dalrymple-at-the-rom-march-26th/