Description
Book SynopsisThe troubled borderland of Pakistan and Afghanistan the so-called AfPak region is one of the most dangerous areas of the world. Between 2006 and 2010 David L. Gosling lived in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where he was principal of Edwardes College, a prestigious higher education college, affiliated with the University of Peshawar. In this book, Gosling describes his time at Edwardes College and the challenges and changes of his tenure. Already the first co-educational college in the province, Gosling significantly increased the proportion of female students and staff. The book also describes the early stages of Taliban growth in Afghanistan, its spill-over into the tribal borderlands of Pakistan and how a combination of Pakistan army activity and US drone strikes provoked a furious backlash by Taliban groups against civilian targets in and around Peshawar, including death threats against the author. Providing a personal account of the education and politics of this frontier region, this book offers a unique viewpoint on a part of the world which is often misunderstood."
Trade Review'Imagine the English principal of a famous college on the North West Frontier, a place built by the British and founded by Christians. Inject a few nightmares - Taliban bombs, suicide attacks, the daily slaughter of civilians and children, and bloody US drone attacks on the surrounding countryside - and picture how this teacher nevertheless carries on, trying to instruct the Muslims and Christians in his class in the fundamentals of history, physics and economics. You come up with only one name: David Lagourie Gosling.' Robert Fisk, The Independent
Table of ContentsForeword Introduction The Prince who never came Brave new world The daily round Enter the Taliban In the eye of the storm Islam in context Educational renaissance The dominant minority Trials and tribulations Finally – a new beginning? Afterword Appendix 1: The investigation of the embezzlement Appendix 2: Annual Report to the Board of Governors, May 2010 Appendix 3: Pakistan’s role in securing a permanent Afghan peace. Analysis commissioned for submission to US Defense Secretary, March 2011 Glossary of terms Recommended reading Index
