This course will thus introduce students to the major thematics, personalities and events that constitute the history of Modern South Asia —British Imperialism/Colonialism, nationalism, partition, communalism, democracy, secularism, military rule and religious nationalism/populism. In particular we will be concerned with the phenomenon of nationalism itself. How did such a world-historical and transformative event – the emergence of the nation-state – come about? What has it meant for the peoples of this region? This question takes on a particular urgency in Pakistan as the region passes through the current period of crisis and change. With a significant focus on the emergence and trajectory of Indo-Muslim nationalism and the creation of Pakistan, this course will be a conspectus of the modern history of South Asia from the immediate pre-colonial historical scene, through the colonial period, including the rise of regional socio-religious reform movements, anti-colonial nationalism and formal decolonization, to the Cold War and the contemporary period of accelerated transformation and turmoil.
