Abstract

One of the recent developments in South Asian historiography is the adoption of new approaches for each of its sub-disciplines. Historiographical scholarship has also discovered new avenues including exploration of the ignored and marginalized aspects of history. Muhammad Iqbal Chawla is one of such academicians who has left a strong mark on the field of historiography by making multifaceted and original contributions.  These can be ascertained by a comprehensive assessment of his entire intellectual cum scholarly sojourn. Dr Chawla has attempted to create to put a new face in the varied field of historiography in Pakistan and he has largely succeeded in his endeavour. The main aim of this research paper is to assess his contribution. This objective can best be achieved by a thorough perusal of his contributions to historiography from multiple perspectives as the author has tried to do so in this article.

Key Words

Historiography, Discourse, Freedom Movement, History of Pakistan, New Trends in History, Subaltern Studies, Colonial Punjab, Post-colonialism

Introduction

An erudite and profound historian seems readily equipped with the ability to guide his readership about the emerging demands of his nation in any spatial-temporal setting. Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chawla is indeed one such name who always lends his credentials to the intellectual contribution to the Discipline of History. His specialities range from the field of professional historiography to the general commentary over wide areas of political, social, and cultural aspects of the Pakistani state and society such as modern South Asia, the Pakistan Movement, the history of Pakistan, the history of Punjab, China-Pakistan Relations as showcased in the CPEC.  Hailing from Sargodha, he did his Master's, M.Phil. and PhD in history from the prestigious Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He has been a fellow of the History/Law Short Course at Boston College, United States in 1995. He has also been a regular contributor to the national and international media. Well-known international media services such as the B.B.C., Voice of America, and other media houses have conducted their interviews on national and regional issues. Apart from international media coverage, he has been a regular part of the historical format of the national media houses for his expert opinion on various current issues. In his academic carrier, he has published more than 70 research articles in journals of national and international repute. He has also published five books. His PhD dissertation has been expanded and was published as an HEC Best Book Publication award-winning book by the OUP.  He has been awarded several scholarships, such as the HEC Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award 2010-2011 and the overseas Ph. D. Scholarship. He has also presented papers at several international conferences while he has organized five international conferences and several seminars and lectures on different themes and topics related to Arts Humanities and Social Sciences in the Department of History and Pakistan Studies at the Punjab University, Lahore. Prof. Chawla’s works are important for the attention of researchers, journalists, political scientists, media men, and students of modern South Asian history. Pakistan Movement and its related issues are the main domain of Prof. Chawla’s interest.  




Freedom Movement 

The history of the freedom movement has been a very pivotal subject for Pakistani historians and in spite of a good output in this area, much still remains undone. Thus, there are still so many avenues to be investigated by researchers of history. The historians of Pakistan have sadly neglected the period of the last three viceroys of British India. Iqbal Chawla has come up with academic studies on the last three viceroys of British India. He intends to explore the largely unexplored dimensions of this period. The third last viceroy of British India lord Linlithgow is indeed considered important as, during his tenure, British India was passing through its first proper constitutional dispensations as General elections of 1936 were conducted during this crucial period of 1936-42. Lord Linlithgow's tenure, which overlapped with the post-1935 Act election and the formation of the provincial governments period, was the most important of the last three British viceroys' tenure something seriously neglected by the historians( Chawla, Wasti and Arshad, 2018).

The penultimate viceroy, Wavell, has formed the main topic of Prof Chawla's doctoral research, which he later expanded into an HEC's award-winning full-length book. The author has rated Wavell as the most important of the last three viceroys but he was the first one from Pakistan to dilate upon his term of office in detail. From October 1943 to March 1947, the period of the viceroyalty of Archibald Percival Wavell was the time, which set a future course of action.  This study shows that though Wavell was not in favour of India's division he was in favour of minority rights in the larger context of the subcontinent.  Wavell was of the firm belief that Cabinet Mission Plan was the last effort to preserve British India as a single geographic entity. Dr Chawla has presented in his study that Wavell's breakdown plan was not aimed at creating Pakistan rather it was a calculated plan for the confederation of the British Indian Army in the uncertain atmosphere as chaos and civil war were looming large on the horizon of India. This plan was not well received in London and cost him his job. Muhammad Iqbal Chawla has described previously unnoticed aspects of Wavell's plan(Chawla, 2006). This plan held so much importance that despite being rejected as an overall project, parts of it were incorporated into the final plan envisaged by Lord Mountbatten in his 3rd June announcement ( Chawla, 2009). 

In one article Dr Iqbal Chawla tried to assess the shaping of the future course of the history of Punjab and Bengal. (Chawla, 2009). The inception of the Interim government during Wavell's viceroyalty is another important episode of the ending days of British India. Iqbal Chawla also sheds light on this important part of the freedom movement primarily with the help of Lord Wavell’s collections and other papers as well(Chawla, 2014) After delineating the political circumstances of the constitutional deadlock, Iqbal Chawla presented his opinion that Mountbatten had done his best to break that constitutional stalemate. However, Lord Mountbatten could not produce an idealized solution (Chawla, 2014). Describing his political diplomacy, Iqbal Chawla also delves into details about several of Lord Mountbatten's policies. For instance, the referendum in NWFP has always been a very critical subject in the history of the freedom movement. In one of his research pieces, Iqbal Chawla described in detail this particular episode(Chawla, 2011).

Communal disturbances during the partition of India have been a serious occupation of the historians of South Asian history.  Iqbal Chawla has come up with his assessment of the violence. His take is primarily about the alleged role of the last Governor-General Lord Mountbatten. According to the author, the alleged irresponsibility of disturbances by Lord Mountbatten is overrated. By using declassified British reports on the political condition of British India, Dr Chawla has presented various alternative possibilities, which diminished the allegedly highly culpable role of Lord Mountbatten(Chawla, 2014). According to his research, episodes of violence in India and Punjab were primarily the important primary causes but it role of the local dynamics could not be set aside, which played a crucial role in unleashing violence(Chawla, 2018). In offering an explanation different from the traditional, this time seemingly exonerating Mountbatten’s culpability for violence even to some extent, Iqbal Chawla deviated from the traditional discourse on the violent happenings during the partition. Many a historian from India and Pakistan had blamed Lord Mountbatten for not showing the least responsible interest in taking stern actions against the law-breakers However, according to Iqbal Chawla, this depiction requires a wholesome revisiting with the help of primary sources declassified by the British government(Chawla, 2018).

 Another work is about Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s role in the Rowlett Act of 1919. This research paper substantiates that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as a man of constitutional approach in politics, went far ahead in looking at the matter. This approach manifested his diplomacy even at an earlier phase of his politics(Chawla, 2000). Mian Mumtaz Daultana is one such towering personality whose name is, though, quite prominent but any actual assessment of him in our mainstream historiography is not of good quality. He has played a very important role even after the making of Pakistan. He has been controversial in his way of politics. However, this has not shadowed his role in the Pakistani movement(Chawla, 2020).  he has written in detail research about his personality and role. Those marginal aspects of are in need to be revisited.  Khilafat Movement is indeed a very important part of Indian Muslims’ historical struggle. In this respect, Iqbal Chawla has studied Maulana Jauhar’s role and researched his pro-Turkish feelings as he exhibited in letters to local and international personalities. (Chawla, 1990).  




Diplomatic History

Diplomatic history is a lesser-explored genre in the field of Pakistani historiography. Iqbal Chawla has worked a lot in this genre as well. His main occupation in this specific area is primarily the emerging diplomatic equation of China-Pakistan relations. He started by revisiting the historical background and worth of the Silk Route(Chawla, 2016). 

He organized a three-day international conference at the University of Punjab, Lahore. Later on, he published the proceedings of this conference in one huge volume. This effort has widened the scope of understanding of CPEC to the indigenous and international academia and policymakers as well(Chawla, 2018). Apart from these proceedings, he wrote another article evaluating the regional and global dimensions of this newly emerging partnership between China and Pakistan(Chawla, 2018). Next in this series, he also explored the Human resource development dimension of this project(Chawla, 2018). In another related study, he also analyzed the various challenges posed by this huge enterprise in the Political, Economic and Socio-Cultural realms. In the subsequent portion, the author also pinpointed those areas where adjustments and improvements are needed (Chawla, 2019). In 2017 the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Summit was held in China. This summit is considered very important due to the international impact of the project. Dr Iqbal Chawla attempted to study the proceedings of this summit from a broader regional and international perspective. The author argues that this summit was a landmark for the progression of One Belt One Road but also a historic development for the economic, social, cultural, and strategic partnership of Pakistan(Chawla, 2017).

The nature and purpose of the foreign policy of Pakistan is quite an important subject for understanding various aspects of the country’s history at crucial periods. During the premiership of Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan had settled upon many basic principles for its foreign policy, which set the dimension for the future course of its foreign policy for decades to come.  In this research, the writer has substantiated the reasons and direction of foreign policy and provided the conclusion that due to the international atmosphere imbibed with the cold war between a socialist and capitalist hemisphere of the modern world, Pakistan had to take side with which it felt would provide the necessary support. In the next article, he selected a new political topic for exploration by selecting the role of Fatimah Jinnah in the making of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Muhammad Iqbal Chawla has explored that aspect of hers while contributing to a foreign role. (Chawla, 2019) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a natural ally of Pakistan since the latter’s emergence on the world map. Iqbal Chawla has tried to synthesize all the factors which have bound the two together since then including stressing the powerful common link of religion between the two(Chawla, 2005).

Colonial Punjab

Muhammad Iqbal Chawla wanted to incorporate various aspects of Punjab's historiography by incorporating the pluralistic aseptic of its politics, state, and society during the colonial period. Before the actual start of British projects of democratic dispensation in colonial Punjab, it is important to mention the actual position of the different communities in the urban settings. This religious and political posturing between various communities became the hallmark of Punjab's interactively changing communal landscape at many levels(Chawla, 2017). Mr Chawla sees Sir Fazl-i-Husain as the leading figure who tried to channel this division into a political community of common interests through his Unionist Party. Iqbal Chawla sees in Sir Fazl-i-Husain (aka Fazli') an all-inclusive character who wanted to create a Punjabi identity of the state of British united Punjab although he is overlooked by Pakistani historians.  

In his paper about Fazli Husain, the author studies that his charismatic personality helped him to establish a provincial political party on a secular basis. Iqbal Chawla also incorporates various aspects of Sufi tradition in colonial Punjab. According to him, Sufism was such a strong tradition, which exhibited the real and true face of a pluralistic society where people from all religions would come and go to the Sufi shrine. However, due to the coming of the British, this multicultural face of Punjab got defaced which resulted in the creation of a religious and political divide between the communities. Khalistan Movement has been another important topic that has attracted Chawla's attention. He points out that its roots were laid in colonial times so it is not a post-colonial phenomenon. He believes that the creation of a sense of alienation, leading to insecurity, among local communities was one of the main factors responsible for this movement.  Iqbal Chawla's thesis holds the channelling of these insecurities into aggressive directions as responsible for the Khalistan Movement. By researching this crucial aspect of united Punjab history, Iqbal Chawla becomes perhaps one of the first genres of Pakistani historians who bring into the limelight the case of Khalistan in Pakistani Academia(Chawla, 2020). 




History of Pakistan

Pakistan as a nation-state has been the subject of a wide range of conflicting interpretations among historians and political scientists. According to one opinion, the Pakistani state has not yet been put into any sort of appropriate framework. Such a framework ought to be able to satisfactorily provide a recognizable understanding of the nature of the Pakistan state. Thus, in this way, the History of Pakistan in the post-partition period is very important for understanding the different currents and trajectories the Pakistani state and society have experienced since its founding. Iqbal Chawla has come up with some of the selected episodes and themes in this matter

Pakistan People's Party is perhaps the first political party in Pakistan with strong populist features. In the wake of its dissolution in 1977, this party had to undergo agitation mode. Iqbal Chawla has studied this special feature of 'The Pakistan People's Party' and has brought to the fore many such hidden contours of Pakistani agitation politics which have not been studied properly by academia(Chawla, 2019). This theme invokes the dynamics of pragmatism in the realm of politics in a third-world country where the establishment plays a central role in many of the state policies. In such kind of given political circumstances, a popular party hardly finds constitutional space to manoeuvre its agenda. Thus, the Pakistan People's Party has adopted a compromising discourse in the wake of pivotal interference by a state institution(Chawla, 2018).

One of his papers deals with an era of unusual political development, which can be described as the "era of reconciliation" from 2006 to 2017. This era was unique in Pakistan's history because it brought closer all political parties for the restoration, protection, and continuation of democracy in Pakistan. According to this research, Benazir and Mian Nawaz Sharif passed through the same experience and learned a lot about dealing with the politics of the establishment.  After reaching a common understanding in the political realm of Pakistan, both leaders agreed to strengthen the culture of democracy in Pakistan. In this particular perspective, the idea of reconciliation got its initiative with the subsequent agreement on the 'Charter of Democracy' in 2006(Chawla, 2017).

The Intellectual History of Pakistan

Pakistan has inherited the Muslim intellectual thought of the Indian subcontinent comprising thousands of years of its shared history. In one of his earlier articles, he tried to encompass an encyclopedic overview of the intellectual traits of Muslim thinkers by covering the ideologies of well-known personalities from Shah Wali Ullah to Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Shah Wali Ullah and others intellectuals have presented their ideas and commentaries on the particular circumstances in which Indian Muslim society was passing.    Iqbal Chawla thus traced the logical links and common intentions behind the discourse of all those intellectuals from orthodox Shah Wali Ullah to a rather modern Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Allama Iqbal, and other prominent names as well. Iqbal Chawla not only discussed their religious interpretations but also elaborated on their strong political orientation in the dismal situation surrounding the Muslim state and society in Indo-Pakistan (Chawla,1997).  

Mr Chawla’s book, A Study of Islamic Writings in Pakistan dealt with the life and philosophy of Ghulam Ahamd Pervaiz(Chawla, 1991). Muhammad Iqbal Chawla has assessed the origin, contents, and contours from its comprehensive perspective. Thus, he provides an analytical discursive assessment of all such writings, which were trying to reinterpret the orthodox text of Islamic epistemology. According to Chawla's research, Ghulam Ahamd Pervaiz knew that until the existing social values lack a justification as per the basic tenets of Islamic teaching his ideology could not be persuaded in the social realms.  Thus, he tried his best to appropriate the basic teachings of Islam according to modern social requirements (Chawla, 1991). Iqbal Chawla has tried to place Pervez's ideas on political Islam in their actual context (Chawla, 1999). Ghulam Ahmad Pervaiz also studied the concept of the modern welfare state. Ghulam Ahmad Pervaiz presented his concept of the possibilities of a welfare state in the basic teachings of Islam. To do that he castigated many of the prevailing practices in Islamic societies and their prescriptive teachings, which resulted in unleashing of critique on his ideals by the orthodox political Islamism in Pakistan(Chawla, 2017). Iqbal Chawla produced a comparative study of the intellectual works of Ghulam Ahmad Pervaiz (1906-1985) and Abdessalam Yassine (1928-2012). His study says that throughout the last half of the past century, Muslim thinkers have spelt out such practices of Islam, which could help create an ideal society free of fear, violence and extremism. (Chawla, 2016).In another research Paper, Muhammad Iqbal Chawla attempted to critically evaluate the history of extremism in Pakistan. It is argued by the author that intellectuals from this land always emphasized on universal integrity of humanity (Chawla, 2015).




New Trends in History

Purveyors of the country's mainstream historiography are always in touch with the latest trends in their arena. Iqbal Chawla in his professional career has always sought to break into new arenas of research sometimes referred to as 'New Trends'. Considering writings about Sufis who were not affiliated with any established Sufi order like Mian Abdul Rashid Panipati who was also known in popular circles as 'Notan Wali Sarkar' whose life had escaped historians' attention until Iqbal Chawla surveyed his peculiar and unique persona with a befitting perspective. Without presenting a judgment on his actual status in Sufism, Iqbal Chawla thinks that he could be considered one of the contemporary torchbearers of Sufism in Pakistan (Chawla, 2015).

There are some subjects related to the freedom movement, which have not been given their proper due in our professional academic writings such as histories of nationalist Muslims who were against the demand for a separate homeland of Muslims. Iqbal Chawla has not hesitated to bring their cases into the domain of historiography. First, he wrote a wonderful research paper on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a prominent Congress leader and nationalist Muslim. As a professional historian, he delved deeply into the study of Maulana Azad's arguments and his position in respect of the Muslims League case for a separate Muslim homeland (Chawla, 2013). In the same way, he also wrote a paper on the character and ideology of Bhagat Singh. This paper attempted to study the ideology and radical struggle of Bhagat Singh, which he waged against colonial repressions. The historical role of Bhagat Singh has been a subject of a wider range of academic studies (Chawla, 2018).

In the same line of researching marginalized groups, he also constructed the lost history of the Jain community in Pakistan.  In his research, he attempted to understand the history, art, and architecture of Jains in Pakistan. Studying Jain history and culture, no serious research is produced so far in Pakistani academia. This study is a systematic effort for the exploration, and documentation of the Jain heritage in modern-day Pakistan (Chawla, 2019). The culture of the Kalasha people is another very important subject to be explored in Pakistani academia. In one important research, he tried to present a study of their festivals. This research brought into the limelight the history and meaning of their festivals with a slight sociological perspective (Chawla, 2019). Iqbal Chawla also delves into studying the art produced under the military regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul Haq. This study tells us that this was perhaps the first of its kind in Pakistan. As per this study, this was an indirect result of the politics of oppression conducted during the military regime. This artistic metamorphosis also highlighted the scope of injustice inflicted by the military regime (Chawla, 2017). 

Modern historiography has entailed feminist discourse in its domain. In Pakistan, it is also being practised to rather a noteworthy extent. Iqbal Chawla also tried to bring this dimension as well in his historiography. In one of his research, he incorporated women empowerment in the district of Rawalpindi. This research manifests the emerging parameters in our social settings (Chawla 2017). Extending this feminist discourse in historiography, Iqbal Chawla also brought Sufism into this feminist discourse. Bibi Pakdaman is well known female Sufi of medieval Punjab.  He also studied the lingering impact of Bibi Pakadaman in the post-partition history of Lahore and Punjab as well(Chawla, 2019). Working on feminist lines by incorporating its discourse into mainstream historiography, he studied the role of Fatima Jinnah from quite a different perspective. He attached the concept of populism to the historical personality of Fatimah Jinnah(Chawla, 2019). 

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has been one of the most popular parties in Pakistan. However, after the fall of, and subsequent execution, Bhutto PPP faced a daunting challenge in the political realm of Pakistan. Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto offered historic resistance to the military rule in Pakistan. Iqbal Chawla also attempted to analyze the nature and direction of PPP politics during this period (Chawla, 2018). Apart from politics and Sufism, Iqbal Chawla also studied the representation of women by keeping postcolonial literature in Pakistan as the main area to explore. This shows not only the diversity of the discipline of history by bringing and applying the post-colonial theory into its folds but also engaging literary history in a particular way (Chawla, 2019).

The Sikh problem is deeply rooted in the colonial and pre-colonial parts of our regional history. Iqbal Chawla has studied its modern-day extension, which is a kind of new experiment on the part of Pakistani academia.  In one article in this series, he tried to contextualize the pre-colonial situation of the Sikh-Mughal relationship. This article provides sufficient and plausible understanding (Chawla, 2016). By tracing the roots of mutual hostility, Iqbal Chawla constructed a comprehensive account of the dynamics of Sikh politics, which resulted in radical politics in Sikh politics with its lingering impacts on the current Sikh politics in India (Chawla, 2016). After tracing the historical contexts of this problem, Muhammad Iqbal Chawla then moved into the post-colonial phase of Sikhs' separatism. In his effort, he studied the Khalistan Movement full of its dynamics and aspects. Iqbal Chawla also delineated the aftermaths of the failure of this movement in Indian society. (Chawla, 2016).

Impact of Muhammad Iqbal Chawla on Historical Research in Pakistan

Various works have been produced under his supervision, which includes Lyallpur, Lahore, and many others. This way of seeking how the process of partition influenced the locality of a particular city is indeed a commendable job as far as the realm of the history of Punjab is concerned. The second line of research in locality study was the process of migration. Those studies investigated the different patrons of migration and studied the different types of responses that migrants had meted out. Another important work in this regard is of study of the Patiala state before partition. Ghulam Mustapha Dogar an independent scholar has completed his PhD. On this topic study of princely states had been neglected areas. In this research, it was studied that Muslims of the Patiala state had played a very crucial role while developing the state in many ways. The land of Punjab had been a topic of controversial subject of foreign invasion. It was always been accused that Punjab had always lent its support to foreign invasions and did not raise any kind of resistance to them. Prof. Azizudin Ahmad has written a book on this theme but that was not a research or academic book. Punjab University PhD scholar, Anum Iftikhar has completed her PhD research with academic credentials she delineated the theme that Punjab had always been a resistant region to any kind of invasion or suppression. This research also described various revolutionary and rebellious movements germinating in Punjab, which challenged the British raj. Tawhid Chatha also presented his doctoral study on the Kriti Kissan Arty. This kind of topic had been considered taboo yet in Pakistani historiography as it not only dealt with the communist leanings but also deal with such kind of political culture, which was beyond religious affiliations. The same line of creating new trends includes the works on minorities in Punjab's history and the role of minorities in Punjab that have never been properly explored subject. Thus to work on this topic is indeed a commendable job. Christian community is the subject of the research and by highlighting and fitting their role in the larger panorama of Punjab history; this research added another plural dimension to the discipline. A new trend in social history is another hallmark of the history of Punjab. Ahtasham Jan But has come up with his doctoral research on the topic of prostitution in Punjab which is quite a bold and taboo subject to be researched. By allowing this research, Punjab University has manifested its liberality in terms of engaging such kinds of topics.  This research shows that prostitution is not institutionalized in Pakistan due to various reasons, this research delineated all those social and religious factors, which were behind it are not institutionalized. This is commendable work, which would indeed set the patron for many such kinds of sensitive subjects to be dealt with in the discipline of history in Punjab and Pakistan as well.

Conclusion

Pakistani historiography as a disciple is in search of a new paradigm. This search is normative and requires the involvement of professionals of high credentials. This discipline intends to keep its epistemological discourse dually. On the one side, it wants to progress by intending to incorporate all the new approaches in the discipline. On the other hand, it also wants to retain its traditional discourse. Iqbal Chawla seems successful by attending to both the trends in his scholarly and intellectual writings. His career started with researching the historiography of the freedom movement. In the initial phase, his main occupation was to construct some of the unattended phases and aspects of the freedom movement. Then he moved to study the intellectual history of Pakistan. Working on the development of the Islamic intellectual movement in the post-colonial settings of Pakistan, he assessed the writings of Allama Ghulam Pervaiz. While doing his doctoral research he came up with scholarly research on the viceroyalty of Lord Wavell, in particular politics of the All India Muslim League. He also delved deeply into many other avenues of historiography. His scope of writings includes many hidden and unexplored aspects of the freedom movement. Diplomatic history is a less explored part of our mainstream historiography. He showed important interest by writing many significant research articles on the diplomatic history of Pakistan. Colonial Punjab is one such domain on which foreign historians have tried their best so far. However, Iqbal Chawla is one of the few names who pioneered serious interest research on this topic and came up with some new works in this domain among indigenous scholars. In a major contribution to the history of colonial Punjab, he explored many previously unexplored avenues of colonial history of Punjab. He not only has done research on such personalities and movements, which were not seriously taken by researchers. He also tried to incorporate theories of post-colonialism, the public sphere, locality, feminism, and other new trends of historiography as well. Apart from the entire major theme and avenues of historiography, his recent interest in CPEC is a trendsetter in Pakistani academia. Due to his contribution and interest in this particular arena, he can be designated as the torchbearer of research on CPEC in Pakistan. He has contributed immensely by bringing multifaceted dimensions of CPEC into the limelight of purely academic interest. He also organized a wide range of conferences and seminars of CPEC, which sparked the attention and interest of Pakistani students toward this important topic. Thus from a broader perspective, it could be asserted that he enlarged the scope of historiography in Pakistan.

In short, it is always a challenging task to pen down the writings, approaches and thoughts of a living researcher, scholar and teacher like Prof Iqbal Chawla whose passion for historiography is unique. For the last three decades finds out new avenues or controversial historical issues and develop a hypothesis, collect data and critically evaluate the phenomenon. Therefore, by examining the writings of Prof Iqbal Chawla, this paper tries to challenge those who still not only underrate the writings of Pakistani historians but also allege that Pakistani historians follow only one line of action----write and rewrite high politics with the national approach and thus commit the sin of 'murder of history'. If KK Aziz, misunderstood the phenomenon in the 1980s and rest followed his line of argument even after 40 years when new approaches are accepted and adopted in the historiography of Pakistan. 

References

• Iqbal, C. M., Wasti, M., & Arshad, F. (2018). Lord Linlithgow and Muslim Politics in India: An Overview, Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, 55(1), 12-20.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2009). Wavell’s Relations with His Majesty’s Government (October 1943-March 1947). South Asian Studies A Research Journal of South Asian Studies 24(1), 69-95.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2007). Quaid-I-Azam and the Simla Conference,” Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Vol., XXVI, No. 3. Lahore
• Iqbal, C. M. (2009). Wavell and the Cabinet Mission Plan 1944, Journal of The Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab, Lahore. Vol. XXXXIV, No. 2.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2014). The Interim Government in India in 1946-1947 – A Fresh Light, Journal of Pakistan Historical Society, Karachi Vol. LXII, No. 2.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2011). Mountbatten and the NWFP Referendum: Revisited" Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab, Lahore. Vol. 48, No.1
• Iqbal, C. M. (2016). Mountbatten's Response to the Communal Riots in Punjab, 20 March to 15 August 1947: An Overview, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, pp 1 – 24
• Iqbal, C. M. (2017). Violence, Partition and Locality of Lahore: A Critical Reappraisal. Pakistan Vision, Pakistan Study Center, University of Punjab, Vol. 19, No. 2. Lahore. pp. 239-269.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2018). The Redcliff Award of August 1947: A Reappraisal with a Focus on Role of Viceroy Mountbatten in its Deliberation and Implementation. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 12, Issue - 1, PP. 172-179.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2016). A History of Sindh from a Regional Perspective: Sindh and Making of Pakistan”, Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab, Lahore. Vol. 53, No.1, January-June 2016. pp. 251- 267.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2020). Forgotten soldier of Pakistan Movement: Reimagining the role of Mian Muhamad Mumtaz Daultana in Colonial and Post-colonial Punjab” Journal of Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab, Lahore. Vol. 57, No. 1, January – June, pp. 115 – 129.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2019). Assessment of Social Political and Economic Dimensions of CPEC: An Integrated Approach” Pakistan Vision, University of the Punjab, Lahore. Vol. 20, No.1, January-June, 2019. pp. 1-10.
• Iqbal, C. M.(2020). Religion, Spirituality and Foreign Policy Dynamics: A Case Study of Relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia” Journal of Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab, Lahore. Vol. 57, No. 1, January – June, pp. 329 – 337.
• Iqbal, C. M. (2019). Fazl-i-Husain’s Plural Approach and the Punjab Politics: Re- contextualizing the Foundation of the Unionist Party