Tahir Amin
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Tahir Amin (, 13 March 1952 – 5 April 2019) was a Pakistani
political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
who served as the vice-chancellor of
Bahauddin Zakariya University Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) () is a public university with its main campus located in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. Bahauddin Zakariya University was founded in 1975 as Multan University, and is the 2nd largest university in Punjab follow ...
, in
Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...
, Pakistan. Amin also held additional charge of the vice-chancellor of
Women University Multan The Women University Multan (WUM), , is a public university located in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan.University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, Cambridge, UK (c.1997–2001, succeeding
Akbar S. Ahmed Akbar Salahuddin Ahmed, is a Pakistani-American academic, author, poet, playwright, filmmaker and former diplomat. He currently is a professor of International Relations and holds the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American Universi ...
, followed by Tahir Kamran). He holds a PhD in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
(1988), a master's degree in
international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
from
Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...
, Canada (1978), and a B.A. in international relations from
Quaid-i-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), founded as the University of Islamabad, is a public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate study, but later expande ...
(1976). He received a King Faisal Scholarship to study at MIT, and a Fulbright Award at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
(1992), where he worked on a research project on "Reactions of the Non-Western world to the Thesis of the
Clash of Civilizations The "Clash of Civilizations" is a thesis that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post–Cold War world. The American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington argued that future wars would be ...
by
Samuel Huntington Samuel Huntington may refer to: * Samuel Huntington (Connecticut politician) (1731–1796), American jurist, statesman, and revolutionary leader, 18th Governor of Connecticut * Samuel Huntington (Ohio politician) (1765–1817), American jurist, thi ...
." He was a visiting Fellow at the
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, soon to be renamed Watson School for International and Public Affairs, is an interdisciplinary research center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Its mission is to promote a ...
,
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
, Providence, USA (1996), and at the
Center for International Affairs The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA), formerly Center for International Affairs (CFIA) is a research center for international affairs and the largest international research center within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts a ...
(CFIA) at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. Amin has also served as a member of the board of governors at the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, at the National Institute of History Commission, and at the Area Study Center for North America and Africa, all at Quaid-i-Azam University. His research focuses on questions of world order, Pakistan's foreign relations, domestic politics of Pakistan, Kashmir, terrorism, and the politics of
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and Central Asia.


Research and publications


Books and monographs

Published monographs include: * * * * *


Scholarly articles

He has written more than two dozen
peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
articles or chapters, including: * "Kashmir Question" in ''The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture'' Vol. VI: ''Islam in World Today'' (Paris: UNESCO, 2012); * "1977 Coup D’etat in Pakistan" in ''Pakistan Journal of History and Culture'' Vol.XXV111 No 2 (July–Dec.2007); * "Developments of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: A Case Study on Recognition of Taliban" (Lahore: Pildat, 2004); * "The Plebiscite Option in Kashmir: A Reappraisal" in ''The Kashmir Imbroglio: Looking Towards the Future Islamabad'' (Islamabad Policy Research Institute, 2005); * "Pakistan and the Islamic World Order" in ''Pakistan After 9/11: The Turn Around'' ( Institute of Strategic Studies and Wolfson College Cambridge, 2005); * "Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: An Evaluation", ''National Development and Security'' (Autumn 2003); * "Changing Global and Regional Scenario and Pakistan", ''National Development and Security'' (Spring 2003); * "Indian Approach towards the Kashmir Dispute", in K.F. Yousaf (ed). ''Perspectives on Kashmir'' (Islamabad: 1994); ‘Kargil Crisis in Kashmir’, Cambridge Review of International Affairs (Spring/Summer 2000); * "Pakistan and the Central Asian States," in
Myron Weiner Myron Weiner (11 March 1931 – 3 June 1999) was an American political scientist and renowned scholar of India, South Asia, internal and international migration, ethnic conflict, child labor, democratization, political demography, and the politic ...
, et al. ''The New Geopolitics of Central Asia and its Border Lands'' (Bloomington: Indiana University Press 1994); * "Kashmir," in the ''Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam'' (London: Oxford University Press 1996); "Accommodation Across Cultures: Towards a Peaceful World Order," ''Strategic Studies'' (Winter 1996); * "Pakistan in 1994: Politics of Confrontation," ''Asian Survey'' (February 1995); "Pakistan in 1993: Some Dramatic Changes," ''Asian Survey'' (February 1994); * "Changing World Order and Pakistan," ''Strategic Perspectives'', Vol. 1, No. 1 (Summer 1991); "Moscow’s Kabul Connection: Lesson for Asian Countries," ''Strategic Studies'' (Fall 1982); "Two Years of Afghan Resistance" ''Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences'', Vol. VII, no 1 & 2; * "Pakistan-United States Aid Deal: A Pakistan Perspective," ''Pakistan Journal of American Studies'', Vol. 2, No. 1 (March 1984); * "Iran: Political Economy of an Islamic State," ''American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences'' (Washington, DC July 1985); and "Afghan Resistance: Past, Present and Future," ''Asian Survey'' (April 1984).


Reception

Scholar Reeta Tremblay from
Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...
notes in a scholarly review of ''Mass Resistance in Kashmir'', that despite a claim to following a "social-scientific method", the book suffers from nationalist bias with arguments and counterarguments supported by "conjectural and emotional analysis" and in this sense is no exception to most works by Indian and Pakistani scholars which Tremblay observes also suffer from nationalist bias. She also finds it most worrisome that Amin paints the Kashmir resistance movement as fundamentally Islamic, seeking Kashmir's integration with Pakistan. According to Tremblant waving Pakistani flags and shouting pro-Pakistan slogans do not mean that the Valley's Muslim population want to join Pakistan. She also finds Amin arguing that Pakistan must actively support the resistance by offering military assistance, orchestrate economic sanctions against India and shape the resistance into a modern guerrilla warfare "capable of inflicting lethal blows to the Indian army". The history of Kashmir is presented as a
Muslim history Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or ''Allah'') as it ...
without any attention to the alternative versions of history by the
Kashmiri Pandit The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...
s. In examining the causes of the movement, she notes that Amin takes no account of the military training of the militants by the
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP), is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist political party. It is the Pakistani successor to Jamaat-e-Islami, which was founded in colonial India in 1941. JIP is a "vanguard party", whose members are intended to be leade ...
and other groups in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. The term has since ...
. She finds Amin's claim that the mobilisation of Kashmiris was achieved "in the name of Islam" rather than that of nationalism, as being flawed and unsubstantiated. She also finds as unsubstantiated Amin's claim that the JKLF's popularity is confined to urban areas and Hizbul Mujahideen is more popular in rural areas. Tremblay ends her review by arguing that Kashmir's Azadi movement is genuine and such a hawkish analysis does not do justice to the Kashmiri cause. Scholar Lawrence Ziring in a scholarly review of Amin's work ''Ethno-National Movements in Pakistan: Domestic and International Factors'' calls the book timely and useful and observes that Amin's work is thoughtful, well-researched, full of information and insight and is written in a readable style. Although Ziring considers it a useful study he says the book is not without its problems. Ziring believes the East Pakistan factor should have been part of the analysis and also doubts Amin's claim that the Pashtunistan issue is no longer significant. According to Ziring, Amin's problem is his desire to suggest that movements can change their character without changing their direction. Ziring ends the review by saying that there is no reason to quarrel with Amin's complaint that ethnic elite be included in political power but says it is also important to accept that issues of national integration can never fully be resolved. Ziring considers the book essential reading for students of Pakistan, ethnicity and those looking for a parallel between East Bengal and Sindh.Ziring, Lawrence. “Pacific Affairs.” Pacific Affairs, vol. 62, no. 3, 1989, pp. 421–422. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2760656.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amin, Tahir Pakistani political scientists Pakistani writers International relations scholars 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Academics of the University of Cambridge MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Carleton University alumni Quaid-i-Azam University alumni 1952 births 2019 deaths