The Great Divide

At a time when India and Pakistan are both reeling under terror attacks and hysterical talk of an impending war, it is important to take stock of where we have reached, individually and as part of the Indian subcontinent; sixty years after the two nations were carved out as two distinct entities. This volume of essays by writers from both sides of the border attempts to do just that. As the editor, Ira Pande, says in her introduction, 'There is a balance here between the 'hard' topics (politics, economy, diplomacy, religion et al) and 'soft' (music, crafts, language, cricket, cinema) to bring out the full range of our engagement with each other.' The writers who have explored the various aspects of being Indian, or Pakistani, in the context of personal and national identity include Urvashi Butalia, Shiv Vishwanath, Sonia Jabbar, Amit Baruah, Alok Rai, Lord Meghnad Desai, Mukul Kesavan and several other well-known writers and political and social commentators.