000			01594nam a2200193Ia 4500
999			_c45429 _d45429
005			20220314225425.0
008			200204s9999 xx 000 0 und d
020			_a813378265
082			_a320.9549 HAS
100			_a"Hashmi, Taj ul-Islam"
245		0	_aPakistan a peasant utopia : the communalization of class politics in East Bengal 1920-1947
260			_aOxford
260			_bWestview Press
260			_c1992
300			_a307p.
520			_aDr. Hashmi's study brings to light the important and often-ignored role of East Bengali peasants in the formation of Pakistan. The author shows how religion and ethnicity played more important roles than did class differences in this process. Because most zamindars, moneylenders, and professional elites in East Bengal were high-caste Hindus, and peasants and other working-class people were mostly Muslims, religion and ethnicity always had the potential to become more important than class differences. The British government, apprehensive of the Hindu nationalists, helped develop the Muslim and low-caste peasant cause to counteract Hindu nationalism. Similarly, Muslim elites and bourgeoisie supported the government's efforts because of their own conflicting interests with the Hindu nationalists. Ultimately, both the Muslim aristocracy and rich peasants collaborated in arousing a "false consciousness" between themselves and the poorer peasants, thus weakening the class struggle and paving the way for the peasants' support of a homeland for Indian Muslims.
650			_aBangladesh Politics and government
942			_cB _2ddc