Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan – An Essential History of Muslim-Hindu Cultures and the Taliban Context in South Asia

“Among many recent books on Pakistan, Mr. Akbar’s stands out….A fine and detailed history of Indian Muslim anger and insecurity.”

In Tinderbox, India’s leading journalist delivers a fascinating narrative history of Pakistan, chronicling the conflict between Muslim and Hindu cultures in South Asia and describing the role that their relationship has played in defining both the country and the region. Editorial director of India Today and editor of the Sunday Guardian, M. J. Akbar gives readers an unprecedented look at Pakistan past and present. Panoramic in scope but specific in detail, with rich portraits of the central figures and events that have defined the nation’s history, Ackbar’s Tinderbox tells the Pakistanian story from the Middle Ages to the present, puts the Taliban and its place within modern Islam into a meaningful context, and diagnoses where the country is headed in the 21st century.

What forces shaped a nation defined by faith, and where do they lead it now?

• A Theory of Distance: Discover how the search for a separate 'Muslim space' began not in the 1940s, but with the decline of the Mughal Empire in the 18th century, planting the seeds of insecurity and separation.
• British Rule in India: Analyze the complex role of the British Raj, from the Battle of Plassey to the final partition, and how colonial policies exacerbated the divide between Hindus and Muslims.
• Jinnah vs. Gandhi: Explore the dramatic ideological clash between the two fathers of their nations, chronicling the journey that turned an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity into the champion of a separate state.
• The Siege Within: Understand the roots of modern challenges, from the rise of the Taliban to the ongoing struggle between secularism and theocracy, as Pakistan confronts its turbulent identity.

M. J. Akbar?is the editorial director of India Today and editor of the Sunday Guardian. His many books include India: The Siege Within, Nehru: The Making of India, Riot After Riot, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, and The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity. He lives in Delhi.