Prof. Dr. Mansoor Akbar Kundi
Dean, Faculty of Languages, University of Balochistan Quetta.
In 1947 a nation was looking for a country, today the country is looking for a nation. The concept of nationhood which serves as an important pillar in the development of countries has unfortunately been withered with time. Pakistan is one of the countries having been faced with the crisis of identity. Having been emerged as a large nation-state on the world map with an important geo-strategic status and ideological foundations it unfortunately has not come out of the grip of the crisis with the fact that the ratio of the crisis which grown over the past years.
The crisis of integration/identity can simply be defined under the context of how far residents of a nation-state identify themselves with the bases of identification of a state and societal structure. The major bases of identification can be historical, linguistic, ethnic, religious, symbolic, socio-cultural, economic and political. For example, in case of many Arab countries suffering from the crises of legitimacy, representation, and participation are out of the crisis of identity due to strong bonds of historical/linguistic (Arab nationalism). They predominantly identify with Arab nationalism. It is true in case of Iran and Turkey where the roots of nationalism are stronger. Turkey and Iran are the two countries which despite having even faced with militancy/insurgency are overall without the crisis of disintegration due to the fact that ratio of identification with bases of state-societal structure as a unified nation is stronger. A similar example can be of Afghanistan the people of which having been in the grip of brutal war/civil war with a series of repressive regimes still predominantly and proudly identify themselves as Afghans without any option for state division. The developed countries such as USA, Canada, and EU countries etc. enjoy the established bases of economic, political and social support as melting pots. The countries with high level of homogeneity such as Japan, Korea and Malaysia have strong linguistic and sauce-cultural bases of support for identification with established structure of governance.
Pakistan soon after its independence was faced with the crisis of identity. The Two-Nation Theory which served the ideological foundations and platform for the Muslim League under the capable leadership of Quaid-e-Azam was soon found incompatible with the demands of the new state for the political and economic development. The major factor accountable was the sad demise of the founder of Pakistan and the beginning of the volatile game of power struggle which ultimately led to a series of undemocratic and praetorian rule. The growing differences amongst the leading participants of Muslim League, the political party credited for mobilizing Muslim support for the creation of Pakistan, over issues of power of mine-and-thine undermined the constitutional and political development in process.
The role of a leader and system of governance play a role in the promotion of identity bases in diverse societies. Unfortunately the leadership gap developed after the death of Quaid-e-Azam and assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan was not filled. A combined class of leadership could have easily emerged from the East and West wings in case a representative system had been allowed but it did not happen. After 1970 crisis Z. A. Bhutto emerged as a national leader. He and his party held popularity among masses. He had a fair chance of winning the bases of popular support in case he shown tolerance to opposition and not overwhelmed by power ambitions. Bhutto could win the support of opposition by showing tolerance and reconciliation, supports electoral institutions, and keep army out of politics, but he failed to do so. Nonetheless, it was unfortunate for the country that a man of his caliber was removed from the scene through a military coup and a along the system which could promise hopes of a democratic order in the country.
Pakistan was achieved on the basis of the theory that necessitated the partition of India on the ground that two major segments of its population lacked any resemblance between their culture, religion and historical heritage. The essence of the theory and later on the driving force behind the All India Muslim League for mobilization of the Indian Muslims, majority of those from common class of society needed a separate homeland where they could exercise political, religious, social and economic independence away from Hindus’ dominance. It was a dream which could have been achieved through the establishment of a political system based on representation of all segments of the society. The differences between the East and West Pakistan were the result of an unrepresentative system which fanned the separatist movement and ultimately resulted into the disintegration of Pakistan. The separation of East Pakistan into Bangladesh was the end of the Two-Nation Theory the die about which had long been cast.
Pakistan is a heterogeneous country divided into different ethnic and tribal groups. There are differences of social, cultural and societal norms in four of its provinces and constituent parts i.e. the federally administered tribally and Northern areas. Pakistan has lacked a common language which is an important component in uniting people in a society bifurcated by social and cultural differences. It was necessary for a bifurcating society like Pakistan was to have a common language. Urdu as our national language failed to mobilize masses for national unity due to two major reasons. First, it was a language that was not spoken in large. Its use was limited to a narrow section of population and thus could not become a lingua franka. Second, Urdu was not adapted as a medium of instruction for all academic curricula and civil and military examinations. The adoption of national language as a source of important academic and administrative purposes in a society can mobilize masses into a nationhood. It is true in case of many nation-states with stronger sense of nationalism. If Urdu had been given the status of an important medium of instruction and used for official and non-official purposes there would have been mobilization of masses into a unified nation, but it did not happen. The rich and privilege class send their children to expensive English medium schools where they are groomed as a special class for competitive state examinations for their future role as elite against those who unable to afford sending their generation to those schools and are left at the mercy of poor rate Urdu medium schools. The division bifurcates the society into have and have-nots with have as the considerably larger group.
The lack of a unified system of education with Urdu as a recognized medium of instruction has failed to mobilize our generations in familiarity with our history and culture. The sense of masses’ identification with the national bases is comparatively much smaller than with the regional and provincial bases. Majority of us are proud to be Sindhi, Punjabi, Pathan or Balochi than Pakistani. The roots of nationalism have not been strengthened on national, but are rather on parochial and tribal bases. Countries with universal education in a unified national language enjoy higher sense of nationalism.
The role of symbolic modernization, economic development and the setup of infra-structure strengthens the identification bases of masses into a unified nation. Many states with cultural and social diversity have reduced the crisis of identity by faster communication network; they include roads, telecommunication, electricity and media. Pakistan being an agrarian society with majority of people living into far-flung rural areas of the four provinces have not been linked by faster means of communication. The conditions of roads are not satisfactory and distances of hours is made into days. It is particular in case of Balochistan where the availability of metalled roads compared to its area and size are nominal.
Pakistan has been suffering from the crisis of identity. The lack of the continuity of an electoral rule and a viable representative system, good governance, and the national leadership are the major factors for the crisis against the integration of masses into one nation.
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