Although most of Tanner’s thesis is much too superficial to explain Afghanistan’s complicated history, it does provide a comprehensive and fascinating account of its military history.
The acceptance of the jirga system that has awarded some of the most heinous punishments, such as gang-rape, as an alternate means to resolve disputes, exposes the lacunae in the country’s judicial system.
The exclusion of any commitment to secularism from the BJP’s discourse in recent years contributed in no small measure to the communal bloodshed in Gujarat.