Pakistan Left Review: Then And Now by Nadir Cheema

This volume places the spotlight on an important moment in history. The late 1960s was a time of profound change around the world, and the contributions included here from Pakistan’s leftist intellectuals based in London, speak volumes about the implications of the turbulence and the promise for a better future in relation to Pakistan. More than five decades on, the promise of a better tomorrow looks as far away as ever, but the turbulence has returned with a vengeance. The newly written contributions reflect on the significance of this leftist journal at the time and the impact of those ideas and discourses on the politics that came to be.

Challenging the triumphant narratives of global capitalism long before the current impasse created by the mantra of neoliberal market fundamentalism, the essays reproduced here from the PLR underscore how critical intellectual engagement with history and other social science disciplines can offset the disillusionment and lack of direction in our increasingly troubling present. An overture to a fairer and more equitable deal for the disempowered and exploited, the volume is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the left in Pakistan.