| Summary/Abstract |
The following article introduces Pakistan’s Hindu community and shows how the group represents itself through and within the country’s public spheres. In a first step, the paper reveals the ways in which Hinduism and its followers are portrayed in government schoolbooks, Urdu pulp fiction and religious literature. Through such media, the category ‘Pakistani Hindu’ emerges as caught between religious and nationalist discourses. In a second step, the paper analyses the Pakistani Hindus’ ways of becoming public within such an environment. Utilising Michael Warner’s work on public spheres, I will suggest calling Hindu engagement with the public in Pakistan ‘wary and aware’ performances.
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