PASHTUN IMAGES IN CONTEMPORARY PAKISTANI FICTION IN ENGLISH

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-22
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
South Asia ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Global Powers

Living in an area that has long been a battlefield where various world powers have often been at loggerheads, Pashtuns have frequently drawn the attention of several works of fiction. Yet literary scholars have largely ignored the importance of these works of fiction looking into the lives of Pashtuns. This paper proposes that from the times of the Cold War to those of the War on Terror, Pashtun identities have been clouded by the hegemonic discourses of the contesting global powers, leading to gaps and silences in their depiction in literature.This paper argues that the Pashtun images in contemporary Pakistani fiction in English exhibit strong influences of the dominating narratives; simultaneously, however, they seem to offer various patterns of subversion of the prevailing power narratives. Despite the fact that Pashtuns are generally regarded as the most subversive people of South Asia and that their lands have been regarded significant strategically as well as geographically, yet they are portrayed as the Others of the mainstream cultural discourses. This paper aims to highlight the contours of the socio-cultural and political valuation of Pashtuns in contemporary Pakistani fiction in English.

Pashtun Images in Contemporary Pakistani Fiction in English

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
South Asia ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Global Powers

Living in an area that has long been a battlefield where various world powers have often been at loggerheads, Pashtuns have frequently drawn the attention of several works of fiction. Yet literary scholars have largely ignored the importance of these works of fiction looking into the lives of Pashtuns. This paper proposes that from the times of the Cold War to those of the War on Terror, Pashtun identities have been clouded by the hegemonic discourses of the contesting global powers, leading to gaps and silences in their depiction in literature.This paper argues that the Pashtun images in contemporary Pakistani fiction in English exhibit strong influences of the dominating narratives; simultaneously, however, they seem to offer various patterns of subversion of the prevailing power narratives. Despite the fact that Pashtuns are generally regarded as the most subversive people of South Asia and that their lands have been regarded significant strategically as well as geographically, yet they are portrayed as the Others of the mainstream cultural discourses. This paper aims to highlight the contours of the socio-cultural and political valuation of Pashtuns in contemporary Pakistani fiction in English. Keywords: Pashtun Images, prevailing discourses, power narratives, contemporary Pakistani fiction in English, subversive.

Pashtun Images in Contemporary Pakistani Fiction in English

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Syed Rasool ◽  
Jehangir Khan
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
South Asia ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Global Powers

Living in an area that has long been a battlefield where various world powers have often been at loggerheads, Pashtuns have frequently drawn the attention of several works of fiction. Yet literary scholars have largely ignored the importance of these works of fiction looking into the lives of Pashtuns. This paper proposes that from the times of the Cold War to those of the War on Terror, Pashtun identities have been clouded by the hegemonic discourses of the contesting global powers, leading to gaps and silences in their depiction in literature.This paper argues that the Pashtun images in contemporary Pakistani fiction in English exhibit strong influences of the dominating narratives; simultaneously, however, they seem to offer various patterns of subversion of the prevailing power narratives. Despite the fact that Pashtuns are generally regarded as the most subversive people of South Asia and that their lands have been regarded significant strategically as well as geographically, yet they are portrayed as the Others of the mainstream cultural discourses. This paper aims to highlight the contours of the socio-cultural and political valuation of Pashtuns in contemporary Pakistani fiction in English.

India and Pakistan's Unstable Peace: Why Nuclear South Asia Is Not Like Cold War Europe

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Paul Kapur
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Indian Territory ◽  
Nuclear War ◽  
Nuclear Level ◽  
International Attention ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Cold War

Scholars attribute conventional violence in a nuclear South Asia to a phenomenon known as the “stability/instability paradox.” According to this paradox, the risk of nuclear war makes it unlikely that conventional confict will escalate to the nuclear level, thereby making conventional confict more likely. Although this phenomenon encouraged U.S.-Soviet violence during the Cold War, it does not explain the dynamics of the ongoing confict between India and Pakistan. Recent violence has seen Pakistan or its proxies launching limited attacks on Indian territory, and India refusing to retaliate in kind. The stability/instability paradox would not predict such behavior. A low probability of conventional war escalating to the nuclear level would reduce the ability of Pakistan's nuclear weapons to deter an Indian conventional attack. Because Pakistan is conventionally weaker than India, this would discourage Pakistani aggression and encourage robust Indian conventional retaliation against Pakistani provocations. Pakistani boldness and Indian restraint have actually resulted from instability in the strategic environment. A full-scale Indo-Pakistani conventional confict would create a significant risk of nuclear escalation. This danger enables Pakistan to launch limited attacks on India while deterring allout Indian conventional retaliation and attracting international attention to the two countries' dispute over Kashmir. Unlike in Cold War Europe, in contemporary South Asia nuclear danger facilitates, rather than impedes, conventional confict.

The Power of Literature to Decipher the Archetype of Lone-Wolf

2021 ◽  
pp. 182-194
Author(s):  
Maximiliano Emanuel Korstanje
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Entertainment Industry ◽  
Lone Wolf ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cold War

The Soviet Union collapse marked the end of the Cold War and the rise of the US as the only superpower, at least until 9/11, a foundational event where four civil aeroplanes were directed against the commercial and military hallmarks of the most powerful nation. Terrorism and the so-called War on Terror characterized the turn of a bloody century whose legacy remains to date. The chapter explores the dilemmas of lone-wolf terrorism from the lens of literature as well as cultural theory. The authors hold the thesis that terrorism activates some long-dormant narrative forged in the colonial period respecting to the “non-Western other.” Having said this, the chapter dissects the plot of some novels and TV films, which takes part in the broader cultural entertainment industry. Based on the logic of living with the enemy, novels alert on the importance to scrutinize the non-Western guests (migrants) as future terrorists.

Full Spectrum Global Dominance

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian G. R. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
The Third ◽  
Military Control ◽  
The Cold War

The third chapter looks at the spread of U.S. military control across the planet from the Cold War to the “war on terror.” It considers how various military infrastructures have been materialized across land, sea, and finally, outer space. It argues that all of these are becoming “dronified.”

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