State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia

Few regions of the world are riven with the variety of ethnic conflicts that stalk South Asia. These conflicts stem from the impact of colonial legacies, population movements across porous borders, the disruptive effects of modernisation forces and the exigencies of electoral politics. The costs of ethnic conflict in South Asia have been staggering.... In every state of South Asia, ethnic minorities - and sometimes majorities - have been hapless victims of violence. Today several major ethnic conflicts wrack the region.

(This book) is a dispassionate and painstaking analysis of many of the ethnic problems that plague South Asia. Ishtiaq Ahmed carefully traces the historical origins of these various conflicts and discusses their contemporary dimensions. He also provides a succinct summary of a substantial body of literature on ethnicity and state-formation.....a useful analysis of a range of conflicts that continue to punctuate the South Asian political landscape....will be of particular use to scholars and policy-makers interested in understanding the origins of ethnic conflict in South Asia.' Survival

'a major compendium of theoretical, historical and political literature interspersed with rich empirical data.' International Affairs