Pakistan's 1951 Census: State-Building in Post-Partition Sindh

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1970 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This article explores the carrying out of Pakistan’s first (1951) census from the perspective of contemporary developments in the southern province of Sindh. Conducted against the backdrop of Partition-related migration to and from the province, this attempt at population enumeration proved to be a mammoth bureaucratic undertaking on the part of the recently-created Pakistani state. The challenges that this exercise posed at the provincial level shed light on processes of attempted nation-building, as well as the centrality of population counting to the biopolitical management of citizenship, during a key period of transition in mid-twentieth century Sindh.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)820-840
Number of pages21
JournalSouth Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies
Volume39
Issue number4
Early online date13 Sept 2016
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 13 Sept 2016

Keywords

  • Sindh; 1951 Census; citizenship; nation-building; state-building; Pakistan

Cite this