Genre: History/Politics/Regional
Page Count: 567
In my early days of book-browsing, I came across books with random fascinations, either about their appealing titles or beautiful book covers. Since I didn’t know which books to buy and which authors to reading, my inexperienced gut-feeling was all I could rely on. Levin’s book about Pakistan was one of those books: its cover featuring a dusty overcast evening in a remote Pakistani village with two men, both in local clothing, standing on an unpaved road, looking past the disturbed tree into the grey distance; its title, then, which gathers the feeling of the book-cover: ‘a hard country’.
Yet it’s very unlikely for a reader to read every book he ever wanted to read, immediately. There are newer recommendations, more purchases, and an ever-increasing number of unread books. And so, Levin’s book found a staying place on my shelf for a long time, despite it being recommended from friends close and far, and even appearing as a multiple-choice question in the general knowledge section of tests. The latter of which really got me thinking: is it Pakistan’s prudent hospitability and liking of foreigners that this book is being asked about or is it really such an important book that students should rather know about it?
Recently, however, as I began my preparations for civil services exams, Levin’s book was on top of my TBR, especially for studying Pakistan’s history and affairs. But as I looked through the contents table of this book, I chose to skip it for Talbot’s more political and historically aligned telling of Pakistan’s post-independence history; and then for ‘Pakistan: beyond the Crisis State’ edited by Maleeha Lodhi which talks about Pakistan’s major issues as a state.
Somehow, Levin’s book didn’t appear as urgently read-worthy as my preparations demanded. Eventually though, as the exams got delayed and a couple of close friends shared their enthusiastic accounts of reading this book, especially in the wake of recent events in Pakistan (because there’s always something happening here), I finally picked up this book.
The reason I call this a ‘truly Pakistani book’ is because of Levin’s reaching understanding of how Pakistan works, not in theory but in ground realities. The adjective ‘Hard’ not only refers to how difficult living in Pakistan can be, especially from a foreigner’s perspective (those born here are used to it), but also how hard it is to understand Pakistan in its entirety. Levin’s journalistic accounts, which he has gathered going back decades, reach to the core of how lives are lived in Pakistan and how porous its structures are. How this book differs, say, from Talbot’s ‘Pakistan: A New History’ is its less-political, more-real way of presenting a country.
Levin starts his book with a closely observed and flowing account of Pakistan as a country, and her people and history, which immediately sets the tone for this book; that is, a true representation of Pakistan across its different lands, peoples, structures, and their distinct yet connected way of functioning as a country. Part Two dives into the complexities of Pakistan’s ‘Justice’, a negotiation between state law and tribal traditions; ‘Religion’, a dilemma of identity, the path to independence, and a tool for militancy; ‘The Military’, the only disciplined, combining, yet aloof institute; ‘Politics’ a tale of kinships and figurehead-run parties. Part Three explores the diverse and complicated provinces of Pakistan, the different peoples living in each province, and the religious and ethnic schisms between them. Part Four, which I skipped given my recent at-length reading about the topic, talks about Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, and the fight against them.
Dry, though, as they might appear, Levin’s journalistic, piercing, and incredibly insightful accounts will give these topics fresh and exciting lives - one free of prejudices and shallow interpretations. My top recommendation for books on Pakistan.
Ratings:
5/5 ***** December 15, 2021_