Review: Bahawalpur tells the history of a kingdom that acceded to Pakistan

An account of a kingdom that acceded to Pakistan offers a useful way to understand tensions within Pakistani society in shaping its history

I read books about Pakistan with great interest. As an Indian, they help me cut through the jingoism of the present moment and connect with a shared historical, cultural and geographical landscape going back thousands of years. While the act of reading cannot heal old wounds between countries, it can certainly soothe people like myself who thrive on the hope that things will get better one day. 

Bahawalpur: The Kingdom that Vanished, written by a British woman named Anabel Loyd, promises to nourish the curiosity of readers interested in a part of Pakistan that is rarely celebrated in the way Lahore,