Writing History of Civil Society: A new Trend and its challenges in IndoPakistan Subcontinent

Authors

  • HINA KHAN

Abstract

The term civil society has only recently entered the discipline of history. Nevertheless, the existence of viable civil society institutions since the ancient period is a historical fact. There have always been private and semi-private organizations which worked in areas relating to state, the business and the family mainly our nonprofit basis. The ancient Indian ‘sreni’, the medieval European ‘guild’, the medieval ‘khanqah’ of Muslim saints, the Church missionary schools and hospitals, and the modern NGOs, all indicative of the wide array of civil society initiatives existing through ages in various parts of the world. The renewed interest in the west regarding the various dimensions of civil society brought forth a multitude of writings since the twentieth century. Along with sociological, economic and public policy researches, historical studies also have found space in the fresh discourse on civil society. However, in many developing countries evolution of civil society and its role over centuries has yet to be taken seriously. In this context, this paper is a historiographical overview of the scattered descriptions related to civil society in the historical writings published in Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent and the challenges in the way of historical studies on civil society in the region. The paper is divided into three parts: the first part is an overview of studies on civil society and its institutions in the western particularly English historiography. The second part focuses on endeavours in India and Pakistan on the subject, and the third discusses the challenges faced by regional and particularly Pakistani scholars in the way

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Published

2021-03-06

How to Cite

HINA KHAN. (2021). Writing History of Civil Society: A new Trend and its challenges in IndoPakistan Subcontinent. Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 67(1-2). Retrieved from http://phs.com.pk/index.php/phs/article/view/25