This review is intended to cover three recent publications viz., A Princely State, The Professional Medical Journal, and The Pakistan Journal of Languages and Translation Studies, the first being a historical narrative on the accession of the princely states to and their integration into Pakistan whereas the other two are academic journals dealing with medical research and linguistic and translation studies respectively.
A Princely Affair
The quasi-ironic title of the book brings into focus some revealing facts about the accession and integration of princely states into the body politic of Pakistan. The writer is an eminent scholar of history, specifically the history of South Asia. He has ventured to highlight a hitherto dormant subject with maps, images, and illustrations coupled with some pertinent documents and extensive bibliographical references, in the instant work which is purportedly the subject matter of his DPhil thesis at Oxford.
The book is divided into six chapters titled The Making; Signing the Death Warrant; Father, Son, and the Tribal State; The Raj Resurrected; A Democratic Princedom; and Subjects or Citizens.
Its preface has been penned by H.H. Mir Ali Murad Khan Talpur II, The Mir of Khairpur who observes that ‘The book helps to break various stereotypes about the princely states which for a long time were treated as an anachronism of the past — either relics of the Mughal Empire or creations of the British. However, as Dr. Bangash’s seminal work exhibits, these states were based on pre-modern concepts of state formation and were a result of decades of unrest on the margins of empires.’
Three vital questions have been assessed by the author with regard to the topic of the book: 1. Why and how did some princely states accede to Pakistan? 2. Did the government of Pakistan have a policy towards the princely states, either before or after accession? 3. What were the consequences of the actions of the government of Pakistan on issues such as national integration, regionalism, and political development? The study is also claimed to form the basis for further exploration of these issues with a view to understanding Pakistan and also assessing state formation and integration in other postcolonial countries.
Princely states of Kalat, Mekran, Las Bela, and Kharan, collectively denominated as the Baluchistan States Union, together with the states of Khairpur and Bahawalpur were finally merged in the One Unit of West Pakistan in 1954-55 whereas the Frontier states of Amb, Chitral, Dir and Swat ceased to exist and were merged with the country in 1969. The states of Hunza and Nagar were subsequently merged with the Gilgit Agency in 1973.
The writer has copiously compared the situation of princely states as obtaining in India with that in Pakistan. In his view the transition from sovereignty to accession and consequent merger of these states in the nationhood of the two States (India and Pakistan) was not mutually compatible. In case of India (with the exception of Kashmir which continues to be a disputed territory between the two countries albeit its forced and unjust annexation by India, and the state of Hyderabad Deccan together with that of Junagadh which were forcibly ‘taken over’ by that country), it was rather smooth and without much ado whereas in Pakistan the process was somewhat staggering and cumbersome.
The concluding sentence of the book portends an unseemly situation vis-à-vis the merger of the princely states in the body politic of the country as the author thinks that by the time the One Unit scheme was implemented in October 1955, ‘Pakistan had only achieved ‘notional’ sovereignty in the states, no national discourse had been developed, national identity remained contested, and the state and society remained in a constant state of flux’, which issues, as he envisages, still haunt the country.
The book is well written. It narrates the inside story appertaining to the hangover of an important politico-administrative issue vital to the resurgence and edification of the concept of the Pakistani nationhood.
A Princely Affair
Author: Yaqoob Khan Bangash
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Karachi
Pages: 452; Price: Rs.1595/-
*****
The Professional Medical Journal
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shuja Tahir is an eminent surgeon, a leading authority on medical education in the private sector, an enlightened scholar/researcher in his field, and a dedicated humanitarian with a liberal social outlook. The magazine of which he is the editor-in-chief, is purported to be a creative journal for medical graduates focused on improvement and sharing of knowledge of human sciences with emphasis on comprehending disease and upgrading patient care.
Its editorial board boasts of eminences of the stature of Prof. Mahnaz Roohi, FRCOG, Prof. Altaf Hussain Rathore, FRCS, Prof. Naeem Ahmad, FRCP, Prof. Riaz Hussain, FRCS, Prof. M. Asghar Butt, FCPS, Prof. Muhammad Saeed, PhD, Post Doc, Dr. Safdar H. Javed Sial, MS, Dr. Awais Shuja, FCPS, FRCS, and Dr. Irfan A. Mughal, PhD, MBA.
The issue in hand carries authentic research articles, adroitly illustrated and tabulated, on topics like Chronic Liver Disease (Abdul Ghani Rahimoon), Metabolic Syndrome (Syed Fasih Ahmed Hashmi), Hypertension (Mamoona Mushtaq), Obesity (Muhammad Aslam), Dyslipidemia (Ashok Kumar Lohano), Dyspepsia (Salman Khan), Psychological Disorders (M. Khurum Irshad), Child Health (Adeela Manzoor), Pediatric Surgical Patients (Sairah Sadaf), Cancer Prostate (Nighat Aslam), Fractures (Nasir Zulfiqar), Cefixima (M. Mudassar Ashraf), Knowledge and Attitude of Iranian Parturient Women towards Painless Labor (M. Ali Sahmeddini) et al.
The language of the papers is neat, concise and fairly communicative. The journal is sure to benefit not only the targeted audience but also a lay but educated reader keen to know and learn about the subjects broached in it.
The Professional Medical Journal (July 2015)
Chief Editor: Dr. Muhammad Shuja Tahir
Publisher: Independent Medical College, Faisalabad
Pages: 838-877; Price: Not mentioned
*****
Pakistan Journal of Languages and Translation Studies
The University of Gujrat is a newly-born centre of higher learning and research in the public sector; yet in a short span of time it has succeeded in establishing its credentials as a university thanks to the concerted efforts of its erstwhile VC, Prof. Dr. Nizamuddin and his able successor Prof. Dr. Zia-ul-Qayyum.
The university journal PJLTS is an apt example of the academic advancement that UOG has achieved in less than a decade. The avowed aim of the publication is to encourage research in linguistic and translation studies. The editorial board displays the names of native and foreign scholars including Dr. Riaz Ahmed Mangrio, Ghulam Ali, Dr. Luise Von Flotow (Canada), Dr. Joan LG Bart (US), Prof. Dr. Susan Bassnett (UK), Prof. Dr. So Yamane (Japan), Prof. Dr. Miriam Butt (Germany), Dr. Liu Yong Bing (China), Dr. Fahimeh Naseri (Iran), Dr. Ali Algryani (Libya), Dr. Mufleh Salem Alqahtani (KSA), Prof. Gopi Chand Narang (India), Prof. Dr. M. Qasim Bughio (Pakistan), Dr. Mazhar Hayat (Pakistan), and Ambassador Toheed Ahmed (Advisor – Pakistan).
Research topics discussed in the issue are Cultural Alternations in Misrata Libyan Arabic (Dr. Yousef Elramli), A Muslim Ally or Enemy – European Conception of Persia in Early Modern Travel Literature (Fahimeh Naseri), Negation in Non-Verbal Clauses –Modern Standard Arabic & Spoken Hijazi Arabic (M.Ali Zahrani), Prince of Parthia as American Hamlet – Consideration of Thomas Godfrey’s Play (Daria Moskvitina/Qasim Bughio), Correlation between the Written and Verbal Performance of Punjabi Speaking Leanrers in the Area of English Lexical Stress (Arshad Mehmood, Muhammad Iqbal Butt and Muhammad Uzair), Punjabi as an Endangered Language in Pakistan and Community Response (Tenzila Khan Zia, Ilyas Mahmood and Ahmad Azhar), and Translation at the Crossroads – Globalization and its Impact on National and Regional Languages of Pakistan (Nighat Shakur).
The articles are fully formatted in keeping with the intent and vision of the journal which is sure to engage the attention of the scholars interested in the subject as well as those who want to add to their knowledge of languages and translation studies.
Pakistan Journal of Languages and Translation Studies
Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Zia-ul-Qayyum,
Vice-Chancellor, University of Gujrat
Publisher: University of Gujrat, Gujrat
Pages: 136; Subscription: Rs.300/- (US$30) per annum