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  1. History
  2. Non Fiction

Tinderbox: The Past And Future Of Pakistan

Nations do not commit suicide, nor die of accidents or old age. There is, however, a serious malaise within Pakistan's body politic, arising from one gene within the country's DNA. The question is not whether Pakistan will survive, but what it will survive as: a modern democracy or an illiberal theocracy. Jinnah visualized a Pakistan that had a Muslim majority, but was secular in its practices. He did not comprehend that he had created an opportunity for those committed to an alternative ideology. The most powerful of these ideologues was an extraordinary cleric with exceptional persuasive powers, Maulana Maududi. If Jinnah was the father of Pakistan, Maududi emerged as its godfather. This book explores the roots of this ideology in the history of Indian Muslims; how it has, with meticulous perseverance, crept into the life of Pakistan; and what the implications are for the future. If these implications were limited to Pakistanis, it might have been a containable problem, but their impact has had explosive consequences for the region and the world. Without understanding the why, it is virtually impossible to know what needs to be done.
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Varun Shetty Reviewed on: 27-01-2021

Indians and Pakistanis are the same people: why then have their nations moved on such different trajectories since freedom in 1947? Pakistan was the culmination of a search for what might be called 'Muslim space' that began during the decline of the Mughal Empire. Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted a secular nation with a Muslim majority, just as India was a secular nation with a Hindu majority. The father of Pakistan did not realize that there was another claimant to the nation he had delivered: Maulana Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami, the godfather of Pakistan. In Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan, M.J. Akbar embarks on a historical whodunnit to trace the journey of an idea, and the events, people, circumstances and mindset that divided India. He brings an impressive array of research, perception and analysis to solve this puzzle with a fluent, engaging narrative style, making a difficult subject deceptively accessible. There could be no better guide to the subcontinent's past, and a glimpse into its future.