Partition of History in Textbooks in Pakistan: Implications of Selective Memory and Forgetting

Ashok K. Behuria

Dr. Ashok K.Behuria is a Fellow and Coordinator of the South Asia Centre at MP-IDSA. He is a Ph.D in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He… Continue reading Partition of History in Textbooks in Pakistan: Implications of Selective Memory and Forgetting read more

Mohammad Shehzad

Mohammad Shehzad is a freelance journalist/researcher based in Islamabad. read more

This article seeks to study the post-partition and especially post-1971 experimentation with history writing in Pakistan and focuses on how the revisiting of the partition has led to a reinvention of history by the selective contraction, misinterpretation and even omission of certain periods believed to be detrimental to the process of nation building in Pakistan. The article seeks to selectively apply the Hegelian approach and make a case for a common history, which it is hoped will facilitate better relations and greater mutual understanding between the nations of the sub-continent.