The Role of Dynasties and Caste in Politics

In a previous episode of the podcast, Dr. Adil Najam made a very important point that underneath all divides in Pakistan is the class divide. That is a very important point and one could argue that this divide is anchored by the caste divide in the country, particularly in Punjab and Sindh. However, both caste and class are absent from the daily political and economic discourse in the country.

To talk about this issue, Uzair hosted Dr. Hassan Javid, who is an Associate Professor of Sociology at LUMS. He has done phenomenal research on democratization and the relationship between class, power, and the state.

We spoke about why dynastic politics remains popular in Pakistan, why caste is missing from political discourse, and the path ahead for Pakistan's political evolution.