Haroon Khalid: Pakistani newspapers tend to censor my writing much more than Indian newspapers

Updated On: 13 February, 2016 09:56 AM IST | | Haroon Khalid

<p>Pakistani author Haroon Khalid introduces the reader to eye-opening religious traditions in his home country that are rooted in the cultural beliefs of South Asia</p>

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Haroon Khalid

1) What was the trigger point for this book? Weren't you apprehensive about the subject matter being controversial?
I did not begin the research for this book as a planned enterprise. These were stories that I had accumulated over the years as a result of my travels around the country. However, for the longest time I could not see any connection between these different shrines and religious traditions. I saw them as anomalies in the larger religious and cultural sphere of Pakistan. Eventually though, as I began researching on these traditions I realized that they were all linked to the pre-Islamic religious traditions of South Asia. They weren’t anomalies but rather part of the larger Indian civilization that the Pakistani state constantly rejects. This became the trigger point for the book. These shrines and religious traditions for me defied the nationalistic discourse of the state, which is premised upon its separation from the Hindu past. These religious traditions celebrated their pre-Islamic roots. I wanted to juxtaposition the state narrative with these folk narratives, both of which survive together, yet are diametrically opposed to each other.

Haroon Khalid