Update on Islam in India: Recorded, Really

A number of you asked if my upcoming -- as in today -- lecture on the Muslim communities in India would be recorded.  I'm happy to say that it will be, in audio format.  It will be made available on the Camden College's iTunes "channel," which I will link to; I will also provide the audio directly at this blog.

Comments

[Gerry Durisin]

Haroon, your lecture tonight was excellent, and the best yet in a very good series. You are a born teacher, and I hope you will choose to teach at the university level once you have completed your doctoral studies. Several of us have already asked Dr. Pesda to have you return to Camden County for another lecture in the future.

Can you recommend further reading on India and Pakistan that would add to the "big picture" view you provided tonight and be accessible to the non-historian?

[Haroon Moghul]

Gerry,

Thanks for attending. Further reading on India and Pakistan... I can recommend several titles which are accessible, enjoyable and provide a bigger picture.

India, by John Keay, is quite good (and quite long.)

Vishnu's Crowded Temple can get a bit dry, but is a great overview of Indian history more recently

On Pakistan, anything by Ahmed Rashid, esp. Descent Into Chaos, which is brilliant and incredibly easy to read; Farzana Shaikh's book Community and Consensus in Islam is more academic, but worth engaging if you have the time.

I'd also recommend two films: Silent Waters (about Pakistan and fundamentalism) and The Clay Bird, about Bangladesh and the '71 War and the place of ideology. Both are very well-done and really explore numerous topics from a very human place.