Democracy, Nationalism, and Communalism: The Colonial Legacy in South Asia

by Asma Barlas

Although India and Pakistan were part of a single state until liberation from British colonial rule in 1947, the former has since emerged as the world's largest "democracy," whereas the latter has been under military control for most of its history. In this thought-provoking volume, Asma Barlas explores the complex and delicate issue of democracy in India and Pakistan. Analyzing the political trajectories of each country, Barlas provides the reader with both comparative and historical perspectives. She then sets out to establish a relationship between the specific forms of both the Indian and Pakistani states and the political histories, forms of consciousness, and modes of organization of the dominant and subaltern classes during the colonial period, drawing upon Gramscian theory. Within this context, Barlas's analysis helps to clarify why democracy in South Asia continues to be so precarious, why nationalism still takes a "communal" form, and why the two postcolonial states, inspite of differences between them, continue to be top-heavy, elitist, and authoritarian.

241 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Asma Barlas (born 1950), is a Pakistani-American writer and academic. Her specialties include comparative and international politics, Islam and Qur'anic hermeneutics, and women's studies. Barlas was one of the first women to be inducted into the foreign service in 1976. Six years later, she was dismissed on the orders of General Zia ul Haq. She worked briefly as assistant editor of the opposition newspaper The Muslim before receiving political asylum in the United States in 1983. Barlas joined the politics department of Ithaca College in 1991. She was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity for 12 years. She held Spinoza Chair in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam in 2008.