Description
Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the retrogressive agrarian interventions by the Pakistani military in rural Punjab and explores the social resentment and resistance it triggered, potentially undermining the consensus on a security state in Pakistan. Set against the overbearing and socially unjust role of the military in Pakistan’s economy, this book documents a breakdown in the accepted function of the military beyond its constitutionally mandated role of defence. Accompanying earlier work on military involvement in industry, commerce, finance and real estate, the authors’ research contributes to a wider understanding of military intervention, revealing its hand in various sectors of the economy and, consequently, its gains in power and economic autonomy.
Trade Review“This is a pioneering study of the military’s appropriation of land to enrich retired servicemen and, more importantly, strengthen its economic domination as a corporate entity.” —Tariq Rehman, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore
“This engaging, grounded book captures the essence of military influence and control throughout Pakistan’s economy and doesn’t shy away from exploring everyday acts of social resistance. Arguing that the military is in large part responsible for ‘development denied,’ this book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand politics, economics and many of the reasons behind the social upheavals in Pakistan today.” —Anita M. Weiss, University of Oregon
“Analytically incisive, the authors boldly reveal how growing resistance to military authority in rural Punjab is eroding the army’s institutional power and challenging its sacrosanct status in Pakistan’s politics.” –Kavita Khory, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts
Table of ContentsPreface; 1. The Military and Economic Development; 2. Punjab’s State–Society Consensus on the Military’s Dominance and Economic Role; 3. Research Design, Method, Institutional Issues and Scope of the Military’s Land Acquisitions; 4. The Military’s Agrarian Land Acquisitions: High Handedness and Social Resentment; 5. From Social Resentment to Social Resistance; 6. Bahria Town: A Military-Related Real Estate Venture; 7. The Military as Landlord in the Pakistani Punjab: Case Study of the Okara Farms; 8. Guardians No More? The Breakdown of the Consensus; Glossary; Index
