"The region of the Indus Valley has a 4,000-year-old history, being the site of one of the earliest riverine civilizations in the world, while the modern nation of Pakistan as we know it was created as a postcolonial homeland for the Muslims of British India. This Very Short Introduction looks at Pakistan as one of the two nation-states of the Indian sub-continent that emerged in 1947. Pippa Virdee reaches into the ancient past to understand the complex tapestry of linguistic, ethnic, and cultural identities and tensions of the region today. She also considers the challenges of the 21st century and the future of Pakistan."--Front cover flap.

1.Progress of a dream -- 2. Ancient in the modern -- 3. Towards the idea of Pakistan -- 4. Consolidation and fragmentation -- 5. Building the land of the pure -- 6. Visualizing the land of the pure -- 7. World outside -- 8. Looking backwards, going forward?.