Institute of Historical and Social Research (IHSR) is a Karachi (Pakistan) based research organization with a very vibrant progressive and pro-people vision. It would undertake researches on historical and socio-political issues particularly with reference to Pakistan. The research conducted by the Institute will cover different disciplines independently as well as in multi-disciplinary manner. In the area of historical research it will deviate from traditional modes of historiography. It will address and view history from below, encompassing the common people, their sociopolitical contribution, ethos and values, and creative pursuits, as the major determinants of historical evolution.

The Institute on the one hand will preserve the sources of peoples’ history, retrieve the relevant historical documents, and conduct original research, dealing with the ways of life and thinking and the movements reflecting the concerns of the common people at a given point of time in the past. On the other hand, the Institute will disseminate its historical research in the form of books, monographs and occasionally held seminars and conferences. Preservation and publication of the political literature of Pakistan is of special interest for the Institute.