Apart from what is taught to children in Pakistan, a grandiose delusional, skewed history of Muslim rule in India, depending on which era one was in school--that is from Muslims being saviors of the subcontinent to glorious struggle of Muslim League, an honest glance at the history shows Pakistan as nothing more than an ill-conceived aborted idea, in the form of a land, a result of clash between a handful self-righteous, rigid and deluded individuals. Had anybody, and I mean ANYBODY been in place of these five or perhaps six individuals, our course of history, which we call Pakistan (and for that matter, India and Bangladesh) would have been a different one.
A nation born from an idea of a single person, who kept the understanding enclosed in his own mind, never-sharing it with anyone, and certainly not in the manner taught, would look exactly like Pakistan. This nation would be a nation in only name, as the understanding behind the nation left unlocked hidden, in Jinnah's mind, died with him.
The result, generations and generations of Pakistanis without any identity, except perhaps as an anti-Indian, reactionary identity.
The lack of identity has made this never-to-be nation, existing as Pakistan, open to foreign influence and especially strengthening of local identities, which in an absence of an understanding of a new-born nation, that is Pakistan, which was also forced upon them, that is Pakistanis, as these local identities, which were just a part of pre-partitioned single Indian identity. Without any narrative, these local identities started functioning as nations. Since the details of what entailed a nationhood were never known, it was only matter of time that these local identities became nations themselves.
A sense of belonging, is a need, which arises over time. In an absence of a narrative for belonging to Pakistan, local identities such as Sindhis, Punjabis, Pushtoons, Balochis, or perhaps at time even more tribal like Soomro, Jutt, Gujjars, Achakzais, Dehli-walay, Hyderabadi became the sole identities of nation-hood.
Much damage has already been done. The identity of a Pakistani remains, non-existent. It does not mean much when a Pakistani meets a Pakistani, but it means plenty when a Gujjar meets another Gujjar. And, the whole political scene, the entire intellectual elite remains incapacitated or rather unable to realize, the absence of a Pakistani identity,
I am not sure, why we are all living in a wonderland, believing we know exactly what Pakistan is or rather as a result, who we are as a Pakistani.
When India got independence, it got the entire British political infrastructure, which was used to develop an "Indian Identity". On the contrary, Pakistan was provided no infrastructure, not even the promised one, to start developing an identity. In the absence of social, political and economic infrastructure or understanding of Pakistan, right from the second Pakistan was born, created enormous hurdles in creating any sort of meaning under which a newly born nation like Pakistan could grow. Neither any actions were taken to conceive a Pakistani identity.
I am not sure, how one can assume a nation to come into being by just cutting the land into pieces. The understanding of Pakistan remained shrouded, which made it, whatever anybody wanted it to be, and thus, a great bargaining chip for political purposes in Pre-Partition India. After all, Muslim League or Jinnah, for that matter, always wanted muslim electoral representation, at the most. And, Congress was the one to partition the Sub-Continent into "Pakistan and Hindustan". Plus, as Khwaja Nazimuddin quotes, and I say from my memory of Hussain Haqqani's History on Pakistan, and to the effect "what Pakistan means, is only known to Jinnah".
With complete clarity that no understanding of a Pakistani nation was provided, no steps were taken to develop any Pakistani identity, and the very fact, that Pakistan was created as a response from Muslim League's (Pakistan's champion) mortal enemy Congress, responsible for partitioning India, in effect, making Congress the creator of partitioned India, how could nobody have done anything about it? How come nobody even addressed the problem of an absence of Pakistani Identity.
I am not sure, how such a pressing problem remains unabated?
Is it a surprise that we have become an unstable state? Anything that does not know where to go, or what it is, will always be unstable, no matter what is done.
Nevertheless, it is the burden of the present generation to build the Pakistani Identity. If the Identity is not forged, what do the borders mean that we keep securing? It is an uphill task, but also a glorious opportunity to bring all idealism into reality through Pakistan, if only we could reach a point of a nationhood. Pakistan has everything, from minerals to agriculture, a factory of self-sustenance, if only we can get that Pakistani Identity.
I guess, the paradox here is there is a Pakistan, but no Pakistani.
A nation born from an idea of a single person, who kept the understanding enclosed in his own mind, never-sharing it with anyone, and certainly not in the manner taught, would look exactly like Pakistan. This nation would be a nation in only name, as the understanding behind the nation left unlocked hidden, in Jinnah's mind, died with him.
The result, generations and generations of Pakistanis without any identity, except perhaps as an anti-Indian, reactionary identity.
The lack of identity has made this never-to-be nation, existing as Pakistan, open to foreign influence and especially strengthening of local identities, which in an absence of an understanding of a new-born nation, that is Pakistan, which was also forced upon them, that is Pakistanis, as these local identities, which were just a part of pre-partitioned single Indian identity. Without any narrative, these local identities started functioning as nations. Since the details of what entailed a nationhood were never known, it was only matter of time that these local identities became nations themselves.
A sense of belonging, is a need, which arises over time. In an absence of a narrative for belonging to Pakistan, local identities such as Sindhis, Punjabis, Pushtoons, Balochis, or perhaps at time even more tribal like Soomro, Jutt, Gujjars, Achakzais, Dehli-walay, Hyderabadi became the sole identities of nation-hood.
Much damage has already been done. The identity of a Pakistani remains, non-existent. It does not mean much when a Pakistani meets a Pakistani, but it means plenty when a Gujjar meets another Gujjar. And, the whole political scene, the entire intellectual elite remains incapacitated or rather unable to realize, the absence of a Pakistani identity,
I am not sure, why we are all living in a wonderland, believing we know exactly what Pakistan is or rather as a result, who we are as a Pakistani.
When India got independence, it got the entire British political infrastructure, which was used to develop an "Indian Identity". On the contrary, Pakistan was provided no infrastructure, not even the promised one, to start developing an identity. In the absence of social, political and economic infrastructure or understanding of Pakistan, right from the second Pakistan was born, created enormous hurdles in creating any sort of meaning under which a newly born nation like Pakistan could grow. Neither any actions were taken to conceive a Pakistani identity.
I am not sure, how one can assume a nation to come into being by just cutting the land into pieces. The understanding of Pakistan remained shrouded, which made it, whatever anybody wanted it to be, and thus, a great bargaining chip for political purposes in Pre-Partition India. After all, Muslim League or Jinnah, for that matter, always wanted muslim electoral representation, at the most. And, Congress was the one to partition the Sub-Continent into "Pakistan and Hindustan". Plus, as Khwaja Nazimuddin quotes, and I say from my memory of Hussain Haqqani's History on Pakistan, and to the effect "what Pakistan means, is only known to Jinnah".
With complete clarity that no understanding of a Pakistani nation was provided, no steps were taken to develop any Pakistani identity, and the very fact, that Pakistan was created as a response from Muslim League's (Pakistan's champion) mortal enemy Congress, responsible for partitioning India, in effect, making Congress the creator of partitioned India, how could nobody have done anything about it? How come nobody even addressed the problem of an absence of Pakistani Identity.
I am not sure, how such a pressing problem remains unabated?
Is it a surprise that we have become an unstable state? Anything that does not know where to go, or what it is, will always be unstable, no matter what is done.
Nevertheless, it is the burden of the present generation to build the Pakistani Identity. If the Identity is not forged, what do the borders mean that we keep securing? It is an uphill task, but also a glorious opportunity to bring all idealism into reality through Pakistan, if only we could reach a point of a nationhood. Pakistan has everything, from minerals to agriculture, a factory of self-sustenance, if only we can get that Pakistani Identity.
I guess, the paradox here is there is a Pakistan, but no Pakistani.
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