Description
Book Synopsis'Aboard the Democracy Train' is a gripping front-line account of Pakistan's decade of turbulent democracy (1988-1999), as told through the eyes of the only woman reporter working during the Zia era for the nation's leading English language newspaper.
Trade Review‘…A remarkably readable and anecdotal account of events in Pakistan. […]Hoodbhoy provides an excellent perspective to a foreign reader of life in Pakistan when, in spite of many dichotomies and contradictions, people co-existed in relative harmony. […] The forte of ‘Aboard the Democracy Train’ is its rich repertoire of anecdotes and quotable quotes. […] Told in Hoodbhoy’s racy style, politics assumes an exciting dimension.’ —‘Dawn’
‘Hoodbhoy’s lively, and at times daring, eye-witness account provides many insights into Pakistan during her sixteen years at Dawn [and] reveals complex political machinations as well as the many shortcomings of the Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif governments, including flagrant corruption… Her harrowing and riveting tale [draws its value from] the events that she reported and witnessed and which provide the key to the discordant forces battling for control in Pakistan today.’ — Muneeza Shamsie, ‘Journal of Postcolonial Writing’
Table of ContentsList of Figures; Preface; Introduction: The Effects of Partition; PART I: POLITICS AND JOURNALISM IN PAKISTAN; 1. Aboard the Democracy Train; 2. Ethnic Violence in Sindh: The MQM Saga; 3. News is What the Rulers Want to Hide; PART II: HUMAN RIGHTS; 4. Where Have All the Women Gone?; 5. Uncovering a Murder; PART III: TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN; 6. Pakistan in the Shadow of 9/11; 7. The Democracy Train Revs for Motion; Epilogue; Select Bibliography; Index
