In QAUM, MULK, SULTANAT, Ali Usman Qasmi explores the profound challenges faced by India and Pakistan following the partition in 1947. Both nations grappled with creating new national narratives and identities, shaping their political lives amid the trauma of mass violence and displacement. While India’s leadership emphasized its anti-colonial struggle and civilizational heritage, the political elite in Pakistan had the more complex task of carving out a distinct Muslim history. In QAUM, MULK, SULTANAT, Ali Usman Qasmi draws on a rich archive to trace the development of citizenship and national belonging in postcolonial Pakistan. Through a nuanced history, QAUM, MULK, SULTANAT details the arduous process of drafting a democratic constitution, along with the invention of state rituals. Ali Usman Qasmi provides an illuminating analysis of what it means to be Pakistani and offers a fresh perspective on Muslim history in the subcontinent.