CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Nasar, Saifullah |
|---|---|
| Title | Rulemaking and the Production of Tribal Subjects: Power and Culture in Postcolonial Balochistan |
| Summary | The invalidation of chiefly authority by the Pakistani state in 1976 marked the end of colonial governance, where the local population of Balochistan was governed through tribal chiefs – sardars. The reforms were envisioned by the Pakistani state to produce a modernist form of sociability in the tribal space where the local population could organize itself along the lines of interest beyond their tribal affiliation against the “oppressive” authority of sardars. After four decades, chiefly authority of sardars and tribal affiliation and identity continues to be a characteristic feature of the place. My ethnographic research in Duki, a town in Balochistan, suggests that far from being enfeebled, sardars have gained more power with the introduction of parliamentary politics in postcolonial Balochistan and the very existence of the modern state in the tribal area. The relevance of chiefly authority has particularly increased with the development of a pervasive political society in the region which uses chiefly authority to undo state rule. I argue in the thesis that the various practices of rulemaking are predicated on the production of tribal subjects. This thesis problematizes the evolution of tribal societies into the modern state as the latter expands its rule. Instead, I claim that tribes may reproduce themselves in their interaction with the state. This thesis calls for a fresh understanding of the tenacity of tribal societies in the modern state; rather than looking at “failed” attempts of the state to penetrate the culture of tribal groups, the ‘failure’ of the state should be viewed as a different kind of sovereignty which is animated by the state and locals in its practices of rulemaking. |
| Supervisor | Rajaram, Prem Kumar; Rabinowitz, Dan |
| Department | Sociology MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/nasar_saifullah.pdf |
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