Distorted history?: Shahid Amin’s concise history of Pakistan

Politicians and scholars attend the launch of Amin’s fifth book

KARACHI: Writing history is never easy as one has to control his/her bias and make people understand what the actual fact is, said Shahid Amin, former ambassador and diplomat, at the launch of his fifth book ‘The Concise History of Pakistan.’

The book launch was held at the Institute of Business Management on Saturday, which was attended by scholars and renowned personalities. Talking about the topic of his book, Amin said he decided to write about the history of Pakistan as it is highly distorted and there is only some part of it in the curriculum.

“I critically examined all the facts and sources so that I can explain the great Muslim heritage, political struggle of Muslims before Partition and to remove misconceptions about Pakistan,” Amin said. He believes his book will create a great impact on the mindset of youth, as the book reveals new facts about Pakistan’s history.



Praising the author and his book, Dr Talat Wizarat, a scholar of International Relations, said that Amin has interpreted facts in a way that it leads us to the truth and reality. “The best part about his book is that he tries to fill the gap between our teachings of history,” she said, adding that it depends on one’s own mindset that which lens we use to understand the reality.

Calling Amin one of the best diplomats of Pakistan, Institute of Business Administration social science department chairperson Dr Huma Baqai admired Amin for being objective in his book. “The book to me was more of a reality check and he [Amin] cleverly selected the most interesting part to share, such as the pre-Partition era and most prominently the military rule in Pakistan,” she said.

Syed Tariq Fatemi, the special assistant to the prime minister on foreign affairs, appreciated Amin for stating facts accurately in his book. He added that when it comes to the history of the sub-continent, only a few Pakistanis have written about it and mostly Indian or Western scholars have tried their luck.

Talking about the time of Partition, Fatemi said that when Pakistan came into being, India had the opinion that Pakistan would not survive for long.



“But we must thank the leaders of that era who kept Pakistan stronger,” Fatemi said, adding that Pakistan is now on the right track and moving faster towards prosperity.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Amin said his new book will also help the overseas Pakistanis in learning the dynamics of their country, as he believes they have little knowledge about the history of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2015.