Adeel Hussain, author of ‘Revenge, Politics and Blasphemy in Pakistan’, discusses the history of blasphemy in South Asia with Loveleen Kacker in this 4th episode of ‘My Book’ podcast show, recorded in London for Cine Ink. The book has been published by Hurst Publishers.

Described as one of the best researched books on blasphemy by critics, Hussain’s latest work uncovers the hidden stories behind Pakistan’s fixation with blasphemy–tales of revenge, political scheming and sovereign betrayal.

Hussain’s account opens in 19th-century colonial Punjab and traces blasphemy killings to the present, linking their emergence to polemic encounters between Hindu and Muslim revivalist sects, namely the Arya Samaj and the Ahmadiyya.

Adeel Hussain is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies at New York University Abu Dhabi and a Senior Research Affiliate at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. He holds two state examinations in German Law (admitted to the bar in 2018) and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Has also authored ‘Nehru: The Debates That Defined India with Tripurdaman Singh (London: HarperCollins, 2021) and ‘Law and Muslim Political Thought in Late Colonial North India’ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022).

Produced by broadcasters, Achala Sharma and Pervaiz Alam, My Book podcast covers a wide range of genres and is a part of the London-based, Cine Ink, Private Limited, UK, a well known hub of podcasts in Hindi and Urdu, available on all major podcast networks, including www.cineink.com