Author name: A. G. Noorani

A. G. NOORANI How Pakistan Got Divided by Rao Farman Ali Khan; Oxford University Press, Karachi, 298 pages; Rs. 1150. The truths about the break up of Pakistan in 1971 are still shrouded in myths. Hasan Zaheer’s book The Separation of East Pakistan was a partisan account. One of the best accounts so far is by […]

by A.G. Noorani* *The author is an eminent Indian scholar and expert on constitutional issues. Abstract History has few parallels, if any, to a document of immense consequence, such as the famous Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League. It was least understood by its supporters and opponents alike and was subjected to a close textual

A.G. Noorani* *The author is an eminent Indian scholar and expert on constitutional issues. Abstract Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah’s record symbolizes, in its tragic rise and fall, the tragedy that befell the State of Jammu & Kashmir to which he was devoted. The people’s awakening and self-assertion are due to his brave leadership in revolt just

By: A. G. Noorani* *The author is an eminent Indian scholar and expert on constitutional issues. Abstract Did plebiscite ever stand a serious chance? The answer is that it did, if at all, in November 1947. Thereafter the window of opportunity was shut. The battlefield was used by each side to force a decision by

By A. G. NOORANI*  * The author is an eminent Indian scholar and expert on constitutional issues. Abstract “The highest form of jihad is to speak the truth in the face of an unjust ruler”, Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah (PBUH) said (At Fath al Kabir; Vol.1, p. 208). (That obsolete jihad must be spurned.

By A. G. Noorani* Throughout the campaign for Pakistan, Sayyid Abbul-Ala Mawdudi opposed it, pouring scorn on the concept and coarse invective against Jinnah. Yet, this is the very man who entered it. He initially refused to swear allegiance to it, only to jump into the political arena with his divisive politics and rancourous rhetoric on

By A. G. Noorani* Article 370 of the Constitution of India is a unique provision. The Constituent Assembly of India which adopted this special provision only put the imprimatur of its formal approval on a solemn agreement, a compact. (Article 370 of the Constitution of India is a unique provision. The Constituent Assembly of India

By A. G. NOORANI[*] Abstract (Absorbed as they were, understandably, with building their newly independent States, the leaders of India, Pakistan and Burma gave little thought to their respective northern frontiers until the presence of a resurgent and newly established People’s Republic of China compelled them to think of the problem which an undefined frontier

By A. G. Noorani [1] Abstract (The Muslims of India are today a demoralised and confused people with an acute sense of having been wronged by history. They are leaderless; economically deprived; subjected to rampant discrimination by the State as well as private institutions in the spheres of endeavour that matter to a people – education, employment, housing

In the 1984 General Election, the BJP won a mere 2 seats; in late 1989 it won 85 seats. The rise was due entirely to its adoption, in June 1989, of the demand that the Babri Masjid be “handed over to the Hindus” (Christopher Jaffrelot; The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India; Viking, 1996; p. 382