A major challenge Pakistan has been confronted with since it came into existence is the self-assertion of various ethinic groups, which have actively contested the legitimacy of the state structure. However, despite the seriousness of this ethnic challenge, there exists no detailed study of these movements--Politics of Identity fills this vacuum.

Introduction: Crude thinking -- Ethnicity, nationalism and the modern state -- Colonial state and colonial difference in India -- Nationalisation of the colonial state in Pakistan -- Pukhtun ethnic nationalism : from separatism to integrationism -- Baloch ethnic nationalism : from guerrilla war to nowhere? -- Sindhi ethnic nationalism : migration and marginalisation --- Mohajir ethnic nationalism : El Dorado gone sour -- At a crossroads as ever before! -- Appendix A: The MQM's charter of resolutions and revised list of demands -- Appendix B: List of interviews and informal conversations (1997, 1998).