Meet Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed to discuss book & reflections on Indo Pak peace.

Unraveling TheSegment 1. Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed Book.

Segment 2. Reflections on Indo Pak Peace: by Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed and Shakil Chaudhary.

------------------------

Book: Mohammad Ali Jinnah has been both celebrated and reviled for his role in the Partition of India, and the controversies surrounding his actions have only increased since his death. Ishtiaq Ahmed places Jinnah's actions under intense scrutiny to ascertain the Quaid-i-Azam's successes and failures, and the meaning and significance of his legacy. Using a wealth of contemporary records and archival material, he traces Jinnah's journey from an Indian nationalist to a Muslim communitarian, and then from a Muslim nationalist to, finally, Pakistan's all-powerful head of state. How did the ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity become the inflexible votary of the two-nation theory? Did Jinnah envision Pakistan as a theocratic state? What was federalism? Asking these crucial questions his position on Mahatma Gandhi and against the backdrop of the turbulent struggle against British colonialism, Jinnah is a path-breaking examination of one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Presenters:

ISHTIAQ AHMED is professor emeritus of political science at Stockholm University. He is an honorary senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore, where he worked as senior research professor during 2007-10. He is currently visiting professor at Government College University, Lahore. He holds a PhD in political science from Stockholm University. He has published seven books, including The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts and Pakistan: The Garrison State Origins, Evolution, Consequences, 1947-2011. His research interests cover political Islam, ethnicity and nationalism, human, minority and group rights, Partition studies and the Punjabi contribution to cinema. He writes regularly for Naya Dour, for the Lahore-based English-language daily Daily Times and the weekly Friday Times.

....

Shakil Chaudhary is a journalist, researcher and peace activist. He is working as the chief of research for a media company. He is a former president of the Progressive Writers Association, Islamabad. He is an alumnus of Government College, Lahore. He studied international relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and media at the London School of Economics (LSE). He has worked for several English-language newspapers. He has also worked for the Asian Development Bank and the SECP as a communications professional. In addition, he has worked for a couple of diplomatic missions as a political analyst. He has also taught media at a university in Islamabad. He also produces Critical Patriot, a popular online show.