Learn about Pakistan’s fascinating culture and history without spending a dime! Access our free books for info about the region.
If you’re interested in learning more about South Asia history, you can now do so for free. Our library features hundreds of books pdfs on the region of Pakistan, as well as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. With such a vast collection of available materials, you are sure to find something that catches your eye.
Table of contents
Book Collection on Pakistan History PDF
History of Pakistan PDF – Collection
Free Pakistan history books pdf at the Internet Archive. Some books: A Brief History of Pakistan, Pakistan at the Crosscurrent of History, Islam in India and Pakistan, A Historical Atlas of Pakistan, The Making of Pakistan, The Land and People of Pakistan, Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity, Modern Economic Development of Pakistan, Pakistan: birth and early days, Religion and Politics in Pakistan, Pakistan: transition from military to civilian rule, Pakistan Past & Present: a comprehensive study, many more books on the history of Pakistan.
More Collections of Free Books on Pakistan History Topics
More Free Books at Internet Archive on Pakistan History Topics
Suggested Books on Pakistan History
Pakistan: Eye of the Storm
Bennett Jones, Owen
Yale University 2002 Dewey Dec. 954
“Pakistan, a nation for only fifty-five years, has had a turbulent history. Ruled by the military for half its existence, it has seen three wars with India and the loss of much of its territory. The combination of political instability, deep-seated economic and social problems, and access to nuclear weapons has made it one of the most strategically sensitive countries in the world. The war in neighboring Afghanistan has placed it at the very center of global attention and projected its military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, onto the world stage. Musharraf has become the first Pakistani leader in thirty years to dare to confront the country’s Islamic extremists. But can he succeed in controlling the forces that helped create the Taliban in Afghanistan? In this riveting history of Pakistan from 1947 to the present, Bennett Jones describes the many fault lines in Pakistani society. While most Pakistanis have a moderate, tolerant vision of Islam, he argues, the country’s central institutions are so weak that the military regime may prove incapable of rescuing the “failed state” of Pakistan.” -Publisher.
Pakistan
Einfeld, Jann, ed.
Greenhaven 2004 Dewey Dec. 954
A volume in the “History of Nations” series. Traces the origin and history of Pakistan and describes the rise and fall of the Mughal Empire, rule by the British Raj, the birth of Islamic Nationalism, and the years of war and military rule.
Conflict Between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia
Lyon, Peter
ABC-CLIO 2008
“This up-to-date encyclopedia examines the conflict between India and Pakistan from Independence to the present day, with an authoritative treatment that presents the issues evenhandedly and from both countries’ perspectives.” – Publisher.
Pakistan: A Global Studies Handbook
Mohiuddin, Yasmeen Niaz
ABC-CLIO 2007
Although Pakistan became a country only in 1947, its people and culture have a rich history. It is a Muslim state, a nuclear power, and a politically troubled land. Pakistan stretches from the heights of the Hindu Kush to the lowlands of the Indus delta. Its people and culture are as varied as its landscape. This scholarly yet accessible work treats the full range of modern Pakistan. Its thorough examination of the country’s problems–along with its strengths–makes this an ideal resource for high school or college course work, and an indispensable addition to library collections.
Pakistan: Tradition and Change
The background, the issues, the people
Mumtaz, Khawar and Mitha, Yameema
Oxfam 2003 Dewey Dec. 954
“Born in the ferment of change that accompanied the end of British colonial rule in India, Pakistan is still a country in transition. It is also a country of contrasts: geographical, economic, and social. Busy modern cities co-exist with rural areas where little has changed for centuries; the thriving middle class enjoys a high standard of living, but many people in Pakistan live in the deepest poverty. Pakistan: Tradition and Change attempts to capture the many facets of Pakistan: its rich cultural heritage, the variety of its landscape and peoples, its dynamic economy, and its political problems. In describing the way in which wider social and economic issues affect the daily lives of Pakistani men and women, the book makes clear some of the dilemmas facing a country poised between tradition and change.” -Publisher. Contents: The land – the four provinces – A turbulent history – Pakistan’s cultural heritage – A land of poetry – The birth of Pakistan – Pakistan and its neighbours – Islam and Islamisation – Economy and development – Women in a changing society – Bounding population – Health services in Pakistan – Pakistan’s environmental problems – NGOs in Pakistan – Up-date: events in Pakistan since 1996 – Facts and figures – Further reading – Oxfam in Pakistan.
Book Collections on South Asia History
Online Collection – South Asia Open Archives
“South Asia Open Archives is a free open-access resource for research and teaching – a rich and growing curated collection of key historical and contemporary sources in arts, humanities and social sciences, from and about South Asia, in English and other languages of the region. SAOA’s collection currently contains hundreds of thousands of pages of books, journals, newspapers, census data, magazines, and documents, with particular focus on social & economic history, literature, women & gender, and caste & social structure.” – Website.
History in South Asia Books – Collection
History of South Asia free pdf books at the Internet Archive. Some books: South Asia: a short history, Modern South Asia: history, culture, political economy, The Middle East and South Asia, Atlas of South Asia, War and Escalation in South Asia, Land, Politics and Trade in South Asia, The City in South Asia, India, Pakistan and the Bomb, State, Market and Peasant in Colonial South and Southeast Asia, Roots of Confrontation in South Asia, South Asia in the Literature of Empire, South Asian Conflicts since 1945, many more pdf books about History in South Asia.
More Collections of Free Books on Countries of South Asia Topics
More Free Books at Internet Archive on Countries of South Asia Topics
Bangladesh – Description and travel
Bangladesh – Politics and government
Nepal – Description and travel
Nepal – Politics and government
Suggested Books on South Asia History
Sri Lanka At The Crossroads Of History
Biedermann, Zoltan and Strathern, Alan, eds.
UCL 2017 Dewey Dec. 954
The peoples of Sri Lanka have participated in far-flung trading networks, religious formations, and Asian and European empires for millennia. This interdisciplinary volume sets out to draw Sri Lanka into the field of Asian and Global History by showing how the latest wave of scholarship has explored the island as a ‘crossroads’, a place defined by its openness to movement across the Indian Ocean.
A History of Sri Lanka
De Silva, K. M.
University of California 1981 Dewey Dec. 954
“Sri Lanka is an ancient civilization, shaped and thrust into the modern globalizing world by its colonial experience. With its own unique problems, many of them historical legacies, it is a nation trying to maintain a democratic, pluralistic state structure while struggling to come to terms with separatist aspirations. This is a complex story, and there is perhaps no better person to present it in reasoned, scholarly terms than K.M. de Silva, Sri Lanka’s most distinguished and prolific historian. A History of Sri Lanka, first published in 1981, has established itself as the standard work on the subject. ” -Publisher. Contents: Ancient Sri Lanka – The decline of the Sinhalese Kingdom – Sri Lanka and the western powers – Sri Lanka under British rule – Sri Lanka in the twentieth century – Independence and after.
Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon
Edmunds, Tom Owen
Viking 1988 Dewey Dec. 954
Portrays the beauty and the way of life of Bhutan. Pictorial. History of Bhutan pdf,
Living Martyrs: Individuals and Revolution in Nepal
Fisher, James F.
Oxford University 1998 Dewey Dec. 954
“‘Living Martyrs’ details the life-histories of two important Nepalis, Tanka Prasad Acharya, Nepal’s former Prime Minister, and his wife, Rewanta Kumari. In 1936 Tanka Prasad founded Nepal’s first political party and subsequently spent his life working for human rights and democracy. His inspiring and heroic story is coupled with that of Rewanta, who aided her husband in his efforts while keeping the family together during the bleak years of oppression under the tyrannical Rana regime…” – Publisher.
Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan (Himalayan Kingdoms) in Pictures
Gordon, Eugene
Sterling 1972 Dewey Dec. 954
Discusses the land, history, government, people, and economy of the three Himalayan kingdoms.
See our Imperialism Literature
India, Ceylon, Bhutan, Nepal, The Maldives
Greystone Press
Greystone 1970 Dewey Dec. 954
A volume in the “Illustrated Library of the World and its Peoples”.
Under the Holy Lake: A Memoir of Eastern Bhutan
Haigh, Ken
University of Alberta 2008 Dewey Dec. 954
“In 1987, when Ken Haigh arrived as a volunteer to teach in a small high school, foreign travelers were as hard to find in the kingdom as telephones or toilet paper. Under the Holy Lake describes a two-year sojourn in the valley of Khaling in eastern Bhutan. Ken learns to cope with leeches, rabid dogs, and culture shock, and in return finds his life transformed. He rents a small cottage next to an old Buddhist monastery and quickly settles into a pattern of existence that is hundreds of years removed from the world he’d known in Canada. He finds his students are polite and eager to learn, his neighbours warm and welcoming. Under the Holy Lake is a love song to a mountain valley and its people, a story of youth, and discovery, and, ultimately, of loss.” -Publisher.
Democracy And Authoritarianism in South Asia
Jalal, Ayesha
Cambridge University 1995 Dewey Dec. 954
A comparative and historical study of the interplay between democratic politics and authoritarian states in South Asia. Contents: Colonial legacy in India and Pakistan – State formation and political processes in India and Pakistan, 1947 to c. 1971 – The ‘populist’ era and its aftermath in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, 1971 to c. 1993 – The state and political economy, 1947 to c. 1993 – Central power and regional dissidence – Societies, cultures and ideologies; hybrids in contrived monoliths – Conclusion.
Temptations of the West: How to be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet and Beyond
Mishra, Pankaj
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2006 Dewey Dec. 954
“Old, new; rich, poor; rural, urban; Brahmin, Dalit; Hindi, Muslim. India is a country of contrasts, and Temptations of the West explores this diversity in all its forms. From the empty corridors of a grand but guestless western-style hotel to improvised shacks clustered along muddy roadsides; from the polite efficiency of stewards on board one of India’s private airlines to overpopulated tenements and one-roomed school buildings where no teachers ever set foot; from sites of religious worship to those of mass burial; from road blocks to voting booths — as Mishra’s travels take him from one part of India to another, and then beyond, to Pakistan and Afghanistan, he paints a clear and often alarming picture of disarray and disorder. All too often, superficial changes seem simply to paper over the cracks, and beneath modern facades, the old tensions still exist. A travel book unlike any other, Temptations of the West also offers a detailed and thought-provoking exploration of the histories, politics, religions and philosophies of India – and her neighbours.” -Publisher.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives –
Robinson, Francis
Cambridge University 1989 Dewey Dec. 954
“This book offers for the first time a comprehensive study of South Asia in one volume, analyzing not only the riches of the past but also the problems and achievements of the present, placing them where appropriate in their global context. The South Asian region, which comprises the present day states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives, has long been significant in world affairs. This fifth of mankind embraces enormous diversity: every level of human development from stone-age tribesman to Nobel prizewinner; many levels of wealth from mass poverty to comfortable middle class consumerism; the believers of seven major religions; the bearers of three racial strains; and the speakers of languages in two major families with India alone acknowledging fourteen official languages and 1,652 mother tongues. The international team of contributors presents the world of South Asia in an accessible and enjoyable form, which will appeal to both specialists and general readers. The Encyclopedia is richly illustrated with many photographs, maps, and tables closely interwoven with the text.” -Publisher.
Sri Lanka
Samaraweera, Vijaya, ed.
Clio Press 1987
A volume in the Clio Press “World Bibliographical Series”. Comprised of annotated entries on works dealing with the country’s history, geography, economy and politics; and with its people, their culture, customs, religion and social organization. Attention is paid to current living conditions; housing, education, newspapers, clothing, etc.
The Sikhs
Singh, Patwant
Knopf 2000 Dewey Dec. 973.91
“Patwant Singh tells the stirring story of how a movement of peace transformed itself, of necessity, into a community which placed military values alongside spiritual, the Sikh soldier becoming the envy of every nation’s army. How in 1699 the tenth and last Guru, Gobind Singh, founded the fellowship of the Khalsa at Anandpur ; a move which would define every Sikh by a distinctive code of personal appearance, dress and conduct. How Guru Gobind Singh’s inspiring leadership led to a succession of spectacular and daring conquests after him, which sowed the seeds of a Sikh State. How the enlightened ruler Ranjit Singh fulfilled that promise of founding a Sikh empire.The author’s compelling account takes the reader through centuries of trials, triumphs and tribulations, upto the present time. It is by far the most comprehensive study of the origins, traditions and beliefs of an exceptional people. And the story is told with rare skill and mastery of the subject.” -Publisher.
War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh
Sisson, Richard and Rose, Leo E.
University of California 1990 Dewey Dec. 954
“A decade after the 1971 wars in South Asia, the principal decision-makers were still uncertain why wars so clearly unwanted had occurred. The authors reconstruct the complex decision-making process attending the break-up of Pakistan and the subsequent war between India and Pakistan. Much of their data derive from interviews conducted with principal players in each of the countries immediately involved-Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh-including Indira Gandhi and leaders of the Awami League in Bangladesh.” -Publisher.
Spirited Women: Gender, Religion, & Cultural Identity in the Nepal Himalaya
Watkins, Joanne C.
Columbia University 1996 Dewey Dec. 954
“In the Himalayan highlands of northern Nepal, the small group of Tibetan Buddhists known as the Nyeshangte have maintained a gender egalitarian social organization over many years. Nyeshangte women own land, control household money, and have the right to initiate divorce. Most important, they participate equally with men in central social institutions: international trade and Buddhist ritual practice. Spirited Women explores how the traditional culture of the Nyeshangte has confronted the changes brought about by modernization and the transition to a market economy, as the community has experienced a diaspora extending from the Himalayan highlands to such urban areas as Kathmandu, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Spirited Women looks into the lives of individual Nyeshangte men and women, both in their native Nepal and in the various urban centers where some have settled. Supplemented with photographs and regional maps, the first anthropological study of this fascinating cultural group adds an important chapter to the ethnographic record of Nepal.” -Publisher.
India and the Frontier States of Afghanistan, Nipal and Burma, Vol 1
Volume 2
Wheeler, J. Talboys
P.F. Collier & Son1900-01 Dewey Dec. 954
Vol 1: Part I – Hindu India (1500 BC – 1000 AD). Part II – Muhammadan India (1000 AD – 1748). Part III: British India (1700-1785)
Vol 2: Part III: British India (continued) (1785- 1899).
Nepal
Whelpton, John, ed.
Clio Press 1990
A volume in the Clio Press “World Bibliographical Series”. Comprised of annotated entries on works dealing with the country’s history, geography, economy and politics; and with its people, their culture, customs, religion and social organization. Attention is paid to current living conditions; housing, education, newspapers, clothing, etc.
Sikhim & Bhutan: Twenty-one Years on the North-East Frontier, 1887-1908
White, John Claude
Longmans, Green 1909 Dewey Dec. 954
Memoirs of a Political Officer’s Wife in Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan
Williamson, Margaret D.
Wisdom 1987 Dewey Dec. 954
Memoirs portraying life in Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan in the 1930s.
Sri Lanka: War-Torn Island
Zwier, Lawrence J.
Lerner 1998 Dewey Dec. 954
“The World in Conflict series gives readers an unbiased historical perspective on some of the major wars and conflicts recently in the news. Each volume aims to present a thorough picture of the people and groups involved in these conflicts, while also presenting those working to end them. World in Conflict is a wonderful supplement to current event classes.” -Publisher. Contents: The recent conflict and its effects – The conflict’s roots – The present conflict – What’s being done to solve the problem.
South Asian History, 1750-1950: a guide to periodicals, dissertations, and newspapers
Case, Margaret H.
Princeton University 1968
“This is a major bibliographic research guide designed to assist scholars of South Asian history (India, Pakistan, and Nepal) in finding materials relevant to their research. It offers an annotated and indexed list of over 5,000 articles from 351 periodicals and 26 books of collected essays and encyclopedias. It lists 341 English and bilingual English-vernacular newspapers, and 251 vernacular papers published in South Asia, all with pertinent information. It also provides an extensive unified list of dissertations for degrees in modern South Asian history from South Asian, European, and American universities.” – Publisher.
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