History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas

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gandhi as a philosopher
Inspirational
Very well organized, and informative
EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF GANDHI'S WRITINGS FROM VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS SERIES
No better time to get your Ahimsa and Satyagraha

The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas
Mahatma Gandhi , M.K.Gandhi , and Gandhi
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400030501
Release Date: 2002-11-12

Book Description

Mohandas K. Gandhi, called Mahatma (“great soul”), was the father of modern India, but his influence has spread well beyond the subcontinent and is as important today as it was in the first part of the twentieth century and during this nation’s own civil rights movement. Taken from Gandhi’s writings throughout his life, The Essential Gandhi introduces us to his thoughts on politics, spirituality, poverty, suffering, love, non-violence, civil disobedience, and his own life. The pieces collected here, with explanatory head notes by Gandhi biographer Louis Fischer, offer the clearest, most thorough portrait of one of the greatest spiritual leaders the world has known.
“Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. . . . We may ignore him at our own risk.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With a new Preface drawn from the writings of Eknath Easwaran

In the annals of spirituality certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind's relation to the divine.

Customer Reviews:

gandhi as a philosopher.......2007-04-12

The format of this book is a little unusual, it's basically an abridged version of Gandhi's writings, supplimented with editorial comments which set the scene for when and where his statements are coming from. If you're not entirely familiar with Gandhi's life or some of the basic aspects of Indian culture at the time, these editorial comments are very helpful. For example, just before some statements about Gandhi's use of the Gita (around page 160) the editor gives a brief summary of the what the Gita is.

Moving on from the basic format, I found this book very enlightening, and not in the way that other reviewers seem to have. I doubt very much that I'm in a position to change anyone's opinion on him, but I ask that if you buy this book, look closely at the ways in which Gandhi supports his claims. Oftentimes he makes grand statements and then leaves them in the air, unsupported. This is not in an of itself a bad thing, as sometimes the truth value of a statement is obvious to the casual observer, but then again sometimes it is not.

Gandhi was certainly a great leader, but I think it's stretching to call him a great philosopher. His ideas were not new, even if the grand-scale application of them was. He seeks truth but seems largely unconcerned with methodology, which undermines the grand statements he makes.

If you do read this book critically, it may help to keep in mind persuasive techniques, even beginner things like appealing to authority. Watch for strange analogies, as in page 168's equating atoms to people and Love to hydrogen/ionic/covalent bonds.

It probably seems a little weird to hear someone object to the methodology of someone like Gandhi, but these days we have to be aware of the methods by which the people around us seem convincing, whether we like what they're saying or not.

Inspirational.......2007-01-10

This is a wonderful book about Gandhi's whole life, his personal growth, relationships and tells how Tolstoy's "What I Believe" influenced the man that he became. A inpiring story that proves that peace is the way.

Very well organized, and informative.......2006-12-29

I really liked the way everything is laid out in this book, allowing you to read Gandhi's own words coupled with an explanation of events that was driving him.

EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF GANDHI'S WRITINGS FROM VINTAGE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS SERIES.......2006-11-14

but why not get the originals instead, avaiable here cheaply on amazon.

This book draws from a number of original sources, including "My Experiments with Truth", etc., and you may choose to skip these excerpts and get the full writings. The more in this case the better.

Yet please take a moment to view the back cover using amazon's remarkable "Search Inside" feature, to read the quote about Gandhi's inevitability written by our nation's greatest Christian preacher, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., slain for doing and preaching non-violence, including opposing profitable warmongering and warmaking that only killed and wounded his and other peoples of color. King learned much about Christianity from Gandhi, and we can do no less. Lucky if we do as well.

Again, please search the mighty amazon for all of Gandhi's orignal works and read them in their entirety,and not only these excerpts collected originally long ago. (In fact one chapter heading, not quoting Gandhi, refers to Negros, a term which fell out of use some forty years ago).

I in particular now study with gratitude his Tous les hommes sont freres, whose topics are tellingly urgent today. His Way to God is also very very helpful and consoling.

But if you need a fine introductory text, begin here if you promise not to rest here. Vintage Spiritual Classics series are a decent popular source, but not the deep river that runs nearby. It is a division of Random House here recycling and reprinting old works still in the catalogue in new wineskins.

Go to the originals! These are the leaders and voices we most sorely need today: Dr. King and Gandhi. Or just read the Reverend Father John Dear, SJ, and you'll get the idea if not the Spirit. Or better yet, get Father Dear's collection of Gandhi's writings instead, from Orbis Books' Modern Spiritual Masters series entitled, Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings.

No better time to get your Ahimsa and Satyagraha.......2006-06-27

This is a book that should- and will- profoundly affect you. On the one hand its wonderful and inspiring. But I find myself instead feeling heart-broken. Mournful. I grieve for an alternate reality where our leaders have either the education, curiosity, wisdom, or courage to embrace the lessons of great people such as Gandhi. It's not exactly esoteric stuff. Everyone knows the name Gandhi and has at least some sense of where he stands historically. Even for the non-readers, there was the movie. It was a big deal.

Gandhi's true transformation occurred when he realized that violence is demeaning not just to victims but to the perpetrators. It is an intoxicating release of sadistic impulses. Impulses that are addicting and toxic. I was reading this book and think about the state of the world, and found myself thinking the tired cliché: give peace a chance. It feels so trite, a well-worn sixties throw-back. But it also a courageous sentiment. Peace takes courage and creativity, and it isn't as quick and easy as violence in the short-term, but it is more than just a dream. Peace is a bold assertion.

What kinds of things crossed my mind when I was reading this book? When John Kerry returned from Vietnam and testified about atrocities being committed by both sides, he was vilified by the right wing, portrayed as a traitor. But it was an act of courage. He obviously wasn't saying we should stop the war because American soldiers are bad people. He was showing how violence leads to more violence, how the violence of an unjust war corrupted the souls of good young Americans who were drawn into warfare. Violence leads to violence, but most importantly the converse is also true. Non-violence is just as contagious. We see peace leading to peace on all levels, from the macro international level all the way down to individual relationships. Another example that crossed my mind is the all-to-recent transformation in the culture of inpatient psychiatry. In the past, restraining people was considered a good treatment option because it quickly stopped dangerous behavior and gave staff a sense of control and safety. But now, the attitude has changed. Restraints are no longer seen as a treatment option but instead as a treatment failure, a last ditch resort for extreme cases only. And the results? People are actually safer. Violent patient behavior eventually goes down when staff thinks creatively of non-traumatic solutions. Those are some of the things that crossed my mind as I read this book.

Something else I like about Gandhi, as reflected in his writings: Whether or not you believe he was born destined for greatness has to do with your spiritual bent, but either way, he accomplished what he accomplished as a political leader and philosopher through the hard work of personal journey and spiritual exploration. He was an anglophile when he was young, buying into the classism of the oppressors. When he became radicalized after witnessing the cruelty and the glee with which the British soldiers repressed rebellion, the pendulum at first swung all the way the other way. He became a separatist, not unlike Malcolm X prior to his spiritual transformation. In fact, Gandhi was almost a middle-aged man before coming up with the magnanimous observation that violence degrades all involved, victims and perpetrators alike. That was a surprise to me actually, that Gandhi rejected separatism at an older age than Malcolm X did.

So read Gandhi. Read, share your books, talk about what it stirs up. Dream of a better way. And find a way to act on your dreams. And read John Stuart Mill, Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Edward Said, Chomsky... Agree, disagree, but read with an open mind.
Sorry for all the chatter. Thank you for listening, bye bye.

Sources of Indian Tradition, Volume Two: Modern India and Pakistan (2nd Edition)

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One of the best collections ever
A must read
A great reference book on India
Excellent source on modern India and Pre-Independence India

Sources of Indian Tradition, Volume Two: Modern India and Pakistan (2nd Edition)

Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0231064152

Book Description

-- Wendy Doniger, University of Chcago

Since 1958 one of the most important and widely used texts on civilization in South Asia (now the nation-states of India, Pakstan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal), this classic is now extensively revised, with much new material added. Introductory essays explain the particular settings in which leading Indian thinkers have expressed their ideas about religious, social, political, and economic questions. Brief summaries precede each passage from their writings or sayings.

Chapters address the opening of India to the West; Hindu and Muslim social and religious reform movements; the emergence of both moderate and extremist nationalisms; the thought of Mahatma Gandhi; public policies for independent India; Pakistan's formation as an Islamic state, and other topics.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best collections ever .......2005-01-05

Most of the time I have large problems with huge collections of primary sources such as this too often we get a picture of society from the top down and not the bottom up. Whoever complied this collection did a very good job. There are sources from everywhere the old Mughal Empire, occupying British forces trying to take over India, Gandhi, Jinnah, Nehru, even Bose who is most often overlooked. There are even examples from the untouchables activists. Before I started the course for modern south asian history I didn't even know that there were such activists.

Overall-Stephen Hay did his homework. If you have an interest in Modern India this is the book to get.

A must read.......2003-01-23

Sources of Indian Tradition is to date the best compilation of primary sources from India's long intellectual, philosophical and religous traditions. It introduces the reader to seminal texts in the Brahmanic tradition, to ethics, metaphysics, and theories of state and society in Jainism and Buddhism, to ethics, treatises on art and culture, political theory and statecraft and philosophical and religious texts in the Hindu classical and popular tradition. It concludes with a look at the Indian Islamic tradition including the writings of Islamic rulers, ulama, sufis etc. Despite some omissions from the compilation (I would have liked a more in depth exploration of Indian epic literature, classical Sanskrit drama and poetry, the Sikh tradition and Urdu poetry), it is readable, engaging, thought provoking and will illuminate your understanding of one of the world's most fascinating civilizations.

A great reference book on India.......2000-08-12

India has one of the richest and most intricate cultures in the world. Imagine a book that compiled all the ancient sources of this culture into a single volume. This book is as close to that ideal as possible. This volume covers India from pre-historic times until the mid 18th century. It includes selections from the Vedas and the Upanishads, foundational Hindu texts; selections from important Jain texts; and selections from early Theravadan and Mahayanan Buddhist texts. It them embarks on an elaborate discussion of Hinduism, organized on the four goals of life -- *dharma*, *artha*, *kama*, and *moksha* (the section on *moksha* contains selections from the *Bhagavad Gita*, other scriptures, and the writings of mystics & saints). The last section of the anthology is a detailed treatment of the Muslims period in India, from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Overall, this is an invaluable sourcebook for anyone who wants to know more about the history of India.

Excellent source on modern India and Pre-Independence India.......1999-08-23

Having read this book cover to cover many times for several research papers, this book contains more than enough information for even the diehard fan of Indian history. Hay has compiled the best of the most significant Indian and Pakistani leaders, both Hindu and Muslim alike to make sure the reader can attain a complete picture of Gandhi and Nehru's India. This is one of my all time favorite resource and reference books on India and I recommend it to anyone interested on the subject.

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Indian politics:subtle,sophisticated & articulate analysis
Hard work
Cliched!
A Macaulayite view of India
A sensitive and nuanced appraisal

The Idea of India
Sunil Khilnani
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0374525919

Book Description

The key book on India in the postnuclear era, with a new Introduction by the author.Our appreciation of the importance of India can only increase in light of the recent revelations of its nuclear capabilities. Sunil Khilnani's exciting, timely study addresses the paradoxes and ironies of this, the world's largest democracy. Throughout his penetrating, provocative work, he illuminates this fundamental issue: Can the original idea of India survive its own successes?

Customer Reviews:

Indian politics:subtle,sophisticated & articulate analysis.......2003-09-08

I believe that this is one of the most intelligent and articulate books on Indian politics ever written. Sunil Khilnani, a professor of politics at Cambridge, brings unyielding subtlety and sophistication in a book which well matches the complexity and contradictions of Indian politics. He artfully demonstrates and corrects such simplistic and prevalent misconceptions as surrounding the nature and origins of India's early state-led industrialization or the nature of its democracy.

A somewhat longish extract will illustrate the subtleties of various concepts that the author elegantly develops in this magnificient work:

QUOTE In India, democracy has had to function in a society of peculiar complexity where many different temporal and historical plans coexist. Indian continues to be a predominantly agrarian society, whose people are not indifferent to religion, and where the individual does not have a strong political or social presence. But towering over that society today is the state. This state is far from supremely effective: it regulalry fails to protect its citizens against physical violence, it does not provide them with welfare, and it has not fulfilled its extensive ambitions to transform Indian society. Yet it is today at the very centre of the Indian political imagination. Until little over a century ago, the social order of caste had made the state largely redundant...The past fifty years have trenchantly displayed the powers of the state and of the idea of democracy to reconstitute the antique social identities of India - caste and religion - and to force them to face and enter politics.
UNQUOTE

If you have wondered why so many books have failed to effectively unravel and interpret the intricacies of political evolution of this entity called India, Khilnani's analysis will be a welcome eye opener.

Hard work.......2003-07-15

A big let down this one. Sunil Khilnani is clearly the sort of tiresome know-all NRI who writes about India with only academic knowledge: he knows nothing of the real India, and his writing comes from book-learning not observation. You get the feeling he is trying to jump on the Indian-writing-in-English bandwaggon, but is just not up to the job. And his writing is dead on the page. Don't believe the blurbs on the cover: this one is really hard work.

Cliched!.......2002-10-03

The title of the book is very inviting but, unfortunately, the author doesn't prove equal to the challenge of the subject. Mainly, he reiterates ideas of the colonialist-leftist school of Indian history.

A Macaulayite view of India.......2002-09-19

This book will not provide any insight into India, but perhaps it will do so into the mindset of the Macaulayite Indian who is completely cut off from his tradition and is trying to make sense of things about him using Western categories. It takes us nowhere understanding the idea of India.

A sensitive and nuanced appraisal.......2000-08-12

In an era that abounds with superficial books on South Asia, Khilnani's is an insightful and sensitive book, though perhaps somewhat out of sync (and this is not a criticism) with the contemporary Indian urban middle-class mood, which delights in denigrating all things perceived as "Nehruvian"; some of the other reviewers have categorized Khilnani as part of the "old school" of Indian historiographers, vaguely dismissed as "leftists"or "Nehruvians"; nothing could be further from the truth: while the book displays an empathy with Nehru's idea of India, it is far too sophisticated to accept that conception as anything more than one of a number of competing ideas, albeit one that has exercised great power over many in the country's urban elite. Hindutva is another such idea of India, and Khilnani offers a nuanced appraisal, far removed from both the fascistic infatuations of the right and the unthinking denunciations of those on the Indian left. Finally: the book is particularly useful on Indira Gandhi, and Khilnani persuasively links her "mass democratisation" of the late 1960's and 70's to the rise of both the saffron parties and the lower-caste mobilizations of the last fifteen years, though the most intellectually stimulating chapter remains the one on the architecture of the colonial city, conceptualized by Khilnani as, among others, the site where colonialism was acted out, the site, in other words, of the Indian's subjection.

The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke: Volume V: India: Madras and Bengal 1774-1785 (Writings & Speeches of Edmund Burke)

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The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke: Volume V: India: Madras and Bengal 1774-1785 (Writings & Speeches of Edmund Burke)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0198224176

Book Description

This volume of The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke continues the story of Edmund Burke, the Rockingham party in British politics, and the American crisis. By 1774 Burke was already recognized as a master of parliamentary debate and an accomplished writer. By 1780, however, his reputation was to have risen substantially. Probably the most important single reason was his Speech on Conciliation with America, which was presented to the House of Commons in March 1775, published, and circulated to a wide audience on both sides of the Atlantic. In that speech, Burke used the full force of his intellect and eloquence to set out the Rockinghams' first comprehensive plan for achieving lasting peace in the Empire. The public commendation he received helped him to gain recognition for offerings such as his second conciliation proposal in November 1775, and his Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol in 1777. It also gave him some of the confidence he needed to announce the Whig party's historic conversion to a moderate reform programme in his celebrated speeches on economical reform in 1779 and 1780. Numerous writings and speeches in this volume are transcriptions of previously unpublished manuscripts from the collections at Sheffield and Northampton. These allow the reader new insights into the workings of Burke's mind not just in relation to the major political issues, but also to a multitude of engaging subjects such as education, capital punishment, religious dissent, and the return of the Rockingham Whigs to government power,

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interesting but misses something
Cohen's Idea of Pakistan
Valuable analysis and predictions
A scholarly and insightful work
A Project Report on Pakistan

The Idea of Pakistan
Stephen P. Cohen
Manufacturer: Brookings Institution Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 081571503X

Book Description

In recent years Pakistan has emerged as a strategic player on the world stage—both as a potential rogue state armed with nuclear weapons and as an American ally in the war against terrorism. But our understanding of this country is superficial.

To probe beyond the headlines, Stephen Cohen, author of the prize-winning India: Emerging Power, offers a panoramic portrait of this complex country—from its origins as a homeland for Indian Muslims to a military-dominated state that has experienced uneven economic growth, political chaos, sectarian violence, and several nuclear crises with its much larger neighbor, India.

Pakistan's future is uncertain. Can it fulfill its promise of joining the community of nations as a moderate Islamic state, at peace with its neighbors, or could it dissolve completely into a failed state, spewing out terrorists and nuclear weapons in several directions? The Idea of Pakistan will be an essential tool for understanding this critically important country.

Customer Reviews:

interesting but misses something.......2006-12-05

This is an interesting book that helps to illuminate many of Pakistans faces. The face of militarism, the various coups and dictators that have ruled the country such as Zia and Musharref. It highlights the politicians such as Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benezir as well as Newaz Sharif and Ali Jinnah. The role of Islamism is explained as well as the role of Sharia and Islamic law in Pakistan. There is some discussion as to the inter-ethnic and tribal problems of the country.

But this book lacks something and that seems to be honesty facing the brutal reality and the true history. Pakistan and India were born in the same manner, and yet one became a fascist religious dictatorship for most of its life, stoning women who are victims of rape, with radical terrorists using it as a base to murder innocent civilians abroad and overthrow neighboring countries. With Islam as a national religion it proceeded under fundamentalism to ethnically and religiously cleansed itself of every minority and made it illegal to 'defame' the 'prophet'. Meanwhile India remained mutli-religious and democratic. Why? This book does not dare provide the answers.

There is no talk of how Pakistan was born either, how it was born in blood over the graves of over 100,000 Hindus and SIkhs murdered, and over the forced removal of millions of Sikh and Hindu refugees forced to flee Pakistan so that Pakistan would be 100% Muslim by 1949 while India would be only 75% Hindu.

So the pulling of punches and businesslike way this book is written leaves the reader wondering what else is missing.

Seth J. Frantzman

Cohen's Idea of Pakistan.......2006-04-27

One criticism of the book is that he mentions how the country was overrun with guns, drugs and afghans after the afghan war but fails to mention who supplied the guns and helped organize the drugs, probably because it was his own country. This is an important issue because afghans drugs and guns are the main reason behind the deteriorating security situation in the country today.

The author also appears to swallow the Indian view of the kashmir conflict post 1989, i would like to see evidence of this so-called "proxy war". If the source is Indian then obviously it has to be mistrusted, and i suspect his sources are Indian since this is the language used by Indian officials.

Aside from that it is not a bad book and i feel it will benefit pakistanis to read it, but if you are a foriegner and you want to understand pakistan then you need to read other material as well such as the lonely planet guide to pakistan, which focusses more on Pakistan's culture instead of its government.

Despite the criticism I gave the book three stars because in the end I enjoyed reading it and learned a few things as well.

Valuable analysis and predictions.......2006-02-18

Its written by a seasoned and established scholar on Pakistan. The book, more analytical in its approach in comparison to other recent works on Pakistan, is a policy oriented discourse which is very valuable. Its much better than Steve cohen's other book on India published a few years ago.

A scholarly and insightful work.......2005-09-18

Cohen forensically describes the Oligarchy that has run Pakistan for its own interests: the Army, the Feudals and the Bureaucracy. This book explains why Pakistan has failed to live up to the lofty ideals of its founders and how it can achive them in the future.

A Project Report on Pakistan.......2005-08-21

Cohen has the necessary qualifications and the background for this important work. His subject is critically important for the region, as also for several parts of the world. He treats the subject with neutrality and scholarly erudition, which is sometimes missing from Western works in these turbulent days.

His central theme is contained in the title of the book: The Idea of Pakistan. He describes how the idea originated, how it developed and crystallised, and the challenges that Pakistan faces today. He ends the book with a presentation on the various possible scenarios / paths that Pakistan could take.

His approach is analytical and comprehensive. The book is well-referenced and is easy to read. His writing style is neither pedantic nor casual. By the time you end the book, you will probably know a lot about Pakistan, all delivered through a systematic framework.

However, it is also difficult to retain for long what you have read in this book. This may be due to the fact that the book reads like a project report commssioned by a Corporation or a Government. Cohen does not offer you any insights, as this would perhaps be considered a professorial misdemeanor for a work such as this! Another significant issue is that he treats Pakistan as a totally modern state, and analyses it from that perspective. As a result, he ignores the cultural, economic and political legacy of Islam and Moghuls which Pakistan inherited. This gives his book a very contemporary, current-affairish feel.

In my view, his analysis of Pakistan also suffers due to this omission. The past continues to affect the present and the future. Therefore, any cultue or nation that has such an ancient past can not be undertood effectively, unless that past is also considered.

Overall, a good book.

A Rule of Property for Bengal: An Essay on the Idea of Permanent Settlement

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A Rule of Property for Bengal: An Essay on the Idea of Permanent Settlement
Ranajit Guha
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0822317710

Book Description

A Rule of Property for Bengal is a classic work on the history of colonial India. First published in 1963, and long unavailable in this country, it is an essential text in the areas of colonial and postcolonial studies. In this book, Ranajit Guha examines the British establishment of the Permanent Settlement of Bengalâthe first major administrative intervention by the British in the region and an effort to impose a western notion of private property on the Bengal countryside. Guha’s study of the intellectual origins, goals, and implementation of this policy provides an in-depth view of the dynamics of colonialism and reflects on the lasting effect of that dynamic following the formal termination of colonial rule.
By proclaiming the Permanent Settlement in 1793, the British hoped to promote a prosperous capitalist agriculture of the kind that had developed in England. The act renounced for all time the state’s right to raise the assessment already made upon landowners and thus sought to establish a system of property that was, in the British view, necessary for the creation of a stable government. Guha traces the origins of the Permanent Settlement to the anti-feudal ideas of Phillip Francis and the critique of feudalism provided by physiocratic thought, the precursor of political economy. The central question the book asks is how the Permanent Settlement, founded in anti-feudalism and grafted onto India by the most advanced capitalist power of the day became instrumental in the development of a neo-feudal organization of landed property and in the absorption and reproduction of precapitalist elements in a colonial regime.
Guha’s examination of the British attempt to mold Bengal to the contours of its own society without an understanding of the traditions and obligations upon which the Indian agrarian system was based is a truly pioneering work. The implications of A Rule of Property for Bengal remain rich for the current discussions from the postcolonialist perspective on the meaning of modernity and enlightenment.

Gandhi in His Time and Ours: The Global Legacy of His Ideas

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Gandhi in His Time and Ours: The Global Legacy of His Ideas
David Hardiman
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Gandhi | Hinduism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0231131143

Book Description

Gandhi was the creator of a radical style of politics that has proved effective in fighting insidious social divisions within India and elsewhere in the world. How did this new form of politics come about? David Hardiman shows that it was based on a larger vision of an alternative society, one that emphasized mutual respect, resistance to exploitation, nonviolence, and ecological harmony.

Politics was just one of the many directions in which Gandhi sought to activate this peculiarly personal vision, and its practice involved experiments in relation to his opponents. From representatives of the British Raj to Indian advocates of violent resistance, from right-wing religious leaders to upholders of caste privilege, Gandhi confronted entrenched groups and their even more entrenched ideologies with a deceptively simple ethic of resistance. Hardiman examines Gandhi's ways of conducting his conflicts with all these groups, as well as with his critics on the left and representatives of the Dalits. He also explores another key issue in Gandhi's life and legacy: his ideas about and attitudes toward women.

Despite inconsistencies and limitations, and failures in his personal life, Gandhi has become a beacon for posterity. The uncompromising honesty of his politics and moral activism has inspired such figures as Jayaprakash Narayan, Medha Patkar, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Petra Kelly and influenced a series of new social movements -- by environmentalists, antiwar campaigners, feminists, and human rights activists, among others -- dedicated to the principle of a more just world.

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Useful and informative.......2004-08-14

For many years David Hardiman has been a leading scholar of the Indian peasantry. Now he has written his view of Gandhi and his politics. The Gandhi he presents is ultimately a man of high moral courage. But this is not to say that Hardiman has no disagreements with him. In his opinion Gandhi presented a "dialogic" vision, emphasizing tolerance and diversity of opinions. Hardiman then discusses such subjects as Gandhi's views on nationalism, the origins of his non-violent resistance, his criticisms of modernity, his views on sex and the family, his attitude towards the untouchables and the "tribal" minorities, his campaigns against religious hatred, the fate of Gandhian politics after his death, and the influence of Gandhi on the wider world.

What can we say about such a work? There are some flaws. The use of Bakhtin to support Gandhi's "dialogic" stance is a bit fasionable. The fact that Hindi Swarj is written in a dialogue does not necessarily mean much for its open-mindedness. After all, both Plato and Galileo used dialogues, but they both clearly meant to express one particular viewpoint. Hardiman says Gandhi supported Polish resistance in the second world war, but the reference is to a secondary source. Indeed, there is no systematic discussion of the Second World War, surely the acid test for any pacifist. The discussion of Gandhi's international influence is also weak, looking as it does at Petra Kelly, Martin Luther King, and others, including, somewhat oddly, Malcolm X. Hardiman's scholarship is rather thin here, relying on Stephen Oates' biography of King to discuss the American civil rights movement, and ignoring such key scholars as Dittmer, Garrow, Sugrue and many others. The concentration on individuals may lead many to ask whether non-violent resistance is better at saving the souls of its leaders than achieving its goals. The material preconditions for successful non-violent resistance are never really explored.

At the same time, however, Hardiman provides much useful information. Who would have known that Gandhi's assasin twice tried to kill him in 1944, and both times Gandhi allowed him to go free? Many people know that in South Africa Gandhi offered his services to the British during their wars. But Hardiman also points out how appalled Gandhi was when he learned that the British were callously torturing and killing Africans in the Zulu rebellion. Hardiman also uses his past experience in subaltern studies to provide useful historical background. We learn of the Indian origins of such non-violent practices as haunting the doorsteps of debtors and threatening suicide. We also learn of how Gandhi encouraged civil disobedience among women, and also the limited effect this had on Indian gender relations. Particularly helpful is his discussion of the struggles of the untouchables and the tribal communities, and Gandhi's varying, but increasingly supportive, reaction to them. We learn of how Gandhi supported tolerance and respect for other people's faiths, and we learn of a group of Muslims who adapted Gandhian methods to resist their exploitive communal leaders. We also learn about Gandhian politics after 1948. It is not an encouraging story. Gandhians tried to encourage landowners to donate land to the village as a whole. Many landowners made this promise (requiring a minimum of a fortieth of the village land) and TIME magazine praised it as an alternative to Communism, but few kept their promises. Gandhians also split over the 1975 State of Emergency. One leader supported Indira Gandhi's use of nuclear weapons, while the other leader, J.P. Narayan, formed a broad based movement against Gandhi's government, which unfortunately helped to indulge and legitimize the Hindu right.

Hardiman's portrait of Gandhi is a complex one. It is important to remember that Gandhi was more the Mendelssohn of Hinudism, rather than the Spinoza. Hardiman points out that while Gandhi was always hostile to untouchability he thought that caste could be worked with. Hardiman also points out that he became more liberal as time went on: where once he supported marriages only within castes, by the forties he encouraged Hindu girls to marry untouchables. Hardiman notes that Gandhi could be too indulgent towards Hinduism, but also points out that the Hindu right cannot (and often does not) claim him as a spokesman. Hardiman also discusses Gandhi's patriarchal attitude, and how his family suffered for his abstemious and dogmatic beliefs. He even went so far to suggest that fathers would be right to murder their raped "dishonored" daughters. But to view Gandhi as a life-denying asectic ignores his wit, his generosity, his open-mindedness and willingness to change his views. We can see this in his changing attitudes towards caste, ecumenism, and the tribal communities. Once mass rape erupted with partition, he pleaded with fathers to forgive their daughters. And, of course, there were his fasts in order to stop mass communal violence. For this and for other noble and heroic acts, he was foully murdered by a Hindu bigot.

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The History of Doing
Radha Kumar
Manufacturer: Kali for Women,India
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

History of Ideas | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 8185107130

Indian Communism: Opposition, Collaboration and Institutionalization

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Indian Communism: Opposition, Collaboration and Institutionalization
Ross Mallick
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Though Communism has ceased to exist in Europe, it is still found in the Third World where conditions favoring revolutionary change persist. This history of the Indian Communist Movement demonstrates how, despite losing its global status, communism has survived in India, though in a different,
democratized, form. Ross Mallick traces this process of democratization, as well as the institutionalization of revolutionary Marxism in this immensely readable study. He demonstrates that through electoral success in a parliamentary democracy, the Communist Party of India (CPI) was able to
collaborate with a privileged class base which had a vested interest in supporting the party. In doing this, the CPI not only neglected the numerically substantial lower classes, but also failed to tackle the major questions of under-development and to create the necessary conditions for
revolutionary change.

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