THE HALF SMILEmemory of Sind's past. Their stories are recited to explicate the nation-
hood of Sind and to argue against imperial aggressors (in most cases
the military regime of Pakistan). These women are seen as proud,
daring personifications of an ancient Sindhi nation that always resisted
conquerors. In the words of the Sindhi poet Shaikh Ayaz, this compar-
ison of their body with nationhood is stark:
RajaDahar!
your daughters
beautiful, wise
who dragged them here
anxious, devastated
ropes around their waists
their braids dishevelled
the princesses
all naked
yes, but with heads held high
there is hatred on their face,
greatness, daring3^4
The Pakistani state, in contrast, built its narrative around the
Muslim woman abducted by pirates and who cried out to Hajjaj for
rescue. Pakistani historiography insisted that Muhammad bin Qasim's
conquest of Sind was to avenge the defilement of that woman. The epi-
sode of "Ya Hajjaj" is pivotal and archetypal for modern Pakistan. Hence,
when invoked by Faisal Shahzad, the failed bomber of Times Square, the
figure of the beleaguered Muslim woman transcends history and stands
for a challenge to Pakistan's masculinity and piety. This masculinity
is best encapsulated by the heroic figure of Qasim, who represents the
"first citizen of Pakistan." Yet, as we have seen, Chachnama offers a
stinging denouement for Muhammad bin Qasim and for the political
capital of Baghdad.
These women-whether the one who was saved by Qasim or the
ones who destroyed Qasim-mark the afterlife of this text. It is clear
that of the many accounts from Chachnama, the account of Qasim's
death has sparked the most attention, the most engagement. Mahru
read it for subversion, and others read it for resistance. The account,
which I read as the depiction of a political subjecthood, became in his-
toriography either an account of the destabilizing role of female sexu-