A White Trail

Book excerpt: The formation of Pakistan and the search for an Islamic identity are inextricably interlinked. In recent years, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the country owing to the twists and turns of global politics has complicated matters. The religious intolerance that almost always accompanies fundamentalism has placed the minority communities of Pakistan in a precarious position. A White Trail is an ethnographic study of these communities and their lives. At a time when almost all accounts of religious minorities in the country focus on the persecution and discrimination they experience, this work delves deeper into their lives, using the occasion of religious festivals to gain a deeper insight into the psyche of Pakistani Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Zoroastrians and Bahais. It seeks to understand, through the oral testimonies of the members of these communities, larger socio-political issues arising from the situation.