CONDITION USED GOOD, PAKISTAN MILITARY RULE OR PEOPLE’S POWER? ,TARIQ ALI, HARDCOVER, 1970

In November 1968, Pakistani students began demonstrating against the dictatorial regime of Field Marshal Ayub Khan. To their surprise, the movement spread rapidly and soon engulfed the entire country. Three months later, the uprising showed no signs of slowing down, and President Ayub stepped down, making Pakistan the first country where a student-led movement, supported by workers, succeeded in overthrowing a dictator.

At the time, many political observers in the West considered Pakistan to be one of the most stable and promising countries in the developing world. British and American commentators often advised other nations to follow Pakistan’s example. In reality, however, the country was riddled with contradictions. Its economy was controlled by an oligarchy of just twenty families—Ayub Khan’s among them—and widespread political repression further fueled public anger, eventually leading to a mass uprising.

Tariq Ali, one of the most dynamic and controversial figures of the international revolutionary movement, returned to Pakistan at the invitation of left-wing student groups from across the country. In this book, he analyzes the political and economic conditions of Pakistan to place the uprising in proper context. He discusses both the achievements and shortcomings of the movement. Although Ayub Khan was deposed, another military ruler, Yahya Khan, took power, continuing the cycle of dictatorship. The student movement in Pakistan is also compared to its counterparts in Europe, particularly the events in France.

A Pakistani and veteran student revolutionary, Tariq Ali is uniquely qualified to write this book. While rich in historical and social insights, the book is unapologetically passionate and polemical. Ali argues that unless Pakistan’s existing social structure is dismantled, the country itself risks disintegration in the near future.