IDEAS Book Talk & Book Signing with Dr. Asma Faiz | In Search of Lost Glory: Sindhi Nationalism in Pakistan
IDEAS is pleased to invite you to attend our upcoming Book Talk event with Dr. Asma Faiz, author of the book ‘In Search of Lost Glory: Sindhi Nationalism in Pakistan’, and Professor and Director of Political Science program at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). The book talk will be moderated by IDEAS Research Fellow Dr. Maryam S. Khan.
Please note the following event details:
Date: Friday, 18th April, 2025
Time: 05:00 PM
Venue: 19-A, FCC, Syed Maratib Ali Road, F.C.C., Lahore, 54660
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/tqE2uy5RWbujeF3a8
Guest Speaker
Dr. Asma Faiz is Associate Professor and Director of Political Science program at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Her research interests include nationalist movements, ethnic politics, federalism and populism. She is the author of In Search of Lost Glory: Sindhi Nationalism in Pakistan published by Hurst Publishers, London and Oxford University Press, New York (2021).
About the Book
Sindhi nationalism is one of the oldest yet least studied cases of identity politics in Pakistan. Ethnic discontent appeared in Sindh in opposition to the rule of the Bombay presidency; to the onslaught of Punjabi settlers in the wake of canal irrigation; and, most decisively, to the arrival of millions of Muhajirs (Urdu-speaking migrants) after Partition. Under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari, the Pakistan Peoples Party has upheld the Sindhi nationalist cause, even while playing the game of federalist politics. On the other side for half a century have been hardcore Sindhi nationalist groups, led by Marxists, provincial autonomists, landlord pirs and liberal intelligentsia in pursuit of ethnic outbidding.
This book narrates the story of the Bhutto dynasty, the Muhajir factor, nationalist ideologues, factional feuds amongst landed elites, and the role of violence as a maker and shaper of Sindhi nationalism. Moreover, it examines the role of the PPP as an ethnic entrepreneur through an analysis of its politics within the electoral arena and beyond. Bringing together extensive fieldwork and comparative studies of ethno-nationalism, both within and outside Pakistan, Asma Faiz uncovers the fascinating world of Sindhi nationalism.