Ethnicity and Politics in Pakistan

316 Pages·1998·41.172 MB·English

by  Feroz Ahmed

ETHNICI1Y
AND POLITICS
IN PAKISTAN
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ETHNICITY
AND POLITICS
IN PAKISTAN
Feroz Ahmed
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Karachi
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York Delhi
1998
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©Oxford University Press, 1998
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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ISBN 0 19 577906 1
Printed in Pakistan at
Punjnad Graphics, Karachi.
Published by
An1eena Saiyid, Oxford University Press
5-Bangalore Town, Sharae Faisal
PO Box 13033, Karachi-75350, Pakistan.
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Contents
page
..
Foreword
Yll
.
Introduction
Xl
l . The Nationality Theory 1
2. The Separation of East Pakistan 12
Qu~tion
3. The Language in Sindh 41
4. The Sindhi Grievances 61
5. The Rise of Mohajir Identity 89
6. Myths and Realities of the Mohajir Problem 136
7. The Futility of Ethnic Politics 159
8. Contradictions and Co-optation in Balochistan 172
9. The Pushtoon Question 183
10. The Integration of Pushtoons 212
] 1. Nationality or Ethnic Group?: A Reconsideration 229
12. Ethnicity, Class, and the State 249
13. Trends Towards Integration 261
Conclusion 271
Index 289
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List of Tables
page
1. Gross Domestic Product in 1959-60
Constant Prices 16
2. Educational Disparities 16
3. Some Economic Indicators 19
4. Inter-regional Trade 20
5. Selected Social Indicators, Karachi, 1959 48
6. Mother Tongue and Language of Literacy
by Province, 1961 51
7. Federal Civil Servants from Sindh by
Urban-Rural Domicile, 1993 152
8. Distribution of Pushtoons, 1961 190
9. Number of Selected Manufacturing
Industries and their Gross Fixed Assets
(in million rupees), 1967 196
10. Senior Military and Civil Service Officers
by Ethnicity/ Regions 252
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Foreword
The end of the cold war has been proclaimed as the
culmination of political history. Democracy had triumphed
and the nation-state has proven to be more enduring than
the collectivist order. Yet in this moment of victory, the
nation-state is being challenged by the drive of racial,
cultural and religious minorities for self-determination. A
wave of ethno-nationalism is sweeping the world, buffeting
both old and new nations, from Great Britain, Canada and
Russia to Spain, Sri Lanka and Sudan, etc. The basis of
nation-state is in question from internal forces. The myth
of national homogeneity is being exploded by the social
diversity of constituent minorities, Pakistan is the fulfillment
of a minority's demand for self-determination. It was the
first ethno-nationalist state in the post-colonial era.
Yet as an independent nation, Pakistan largely ignored
the social diversity of its people and the economic
disparities of its regions. It constructed a 'national ideology'
based on a mechanical nation of unity and simplistic ideas
of cultural homogeneity. This neglect of social diversity
and disregard of ethnic and regional interests has exacted
a heavy cost from Pakistan. A majority of its population
broke away to form a separate country, Bangladesh. The
remainder of Pakistan continues to be besieged by political
instability, ethnic and now sectarian violence and economic
inequality. The root of these problems lies in Pakistan's
failure to acknowledge and accommodate its ethnic
diversity and economic disparities. Ethnicity particularly is
a much talked about, but little understood, topic.
Feroz Ahmed started to analyze ethnic and class
disparities of Pakistan long before they were fashionable
topics. As a social scientist, he was among the pioneers who
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Vlll FOREWORD
initiated the empirical analysis of ethnic issues. As a
journalist, he attempted to inform political discourse with
sociological facts. He persistently drew attention to the
social diversity in ·Pakistan's society and passionately argued
for bridging disparities of political power and economic
opportunities among provinces, ethnic groups and social
classes. He_illuminated political events with social theories
and viewed concepts and notions through the prism of
_political activism. Ethnicity and class have been emblems
of his writings. This posthumous book bears premonitions
of his untimely death. In it he brought together and
reassessed his writings on major issues of the ethnic divide
in Pakistan's history. It is a unique book in which the author
muses over his past conclusions and observations with the
benefit of hindsight.
Feroz Ahmed's writings are based on the best practices
of social analysis. Explicit in value orientations and
informed by progressive ideals, his writings are backed by
rigorous empirical observations .and theocratical
formulations. This book exemplifies these achievements. It
examines theoretical debates about the 'nationality'
question and the Bengalis' autonomy movement in the late
1960s, the language issues of the Bhutto era, and the
Muhajir Quami Movement in the 1980s. Thus it analyzes
Pakistan's contemporary history from the perspective of
divergent ethnic and economic interests competing for
their rightful places in the polity and in society. Its historical
narrative gives readers a feel of the intellectual and political
battles raging at the time of various epochal events that
-. have shaped Pakistan's political development. The
reassessment of past events in the light of subsequent
developments and recent theories lends an aura of
freshness to the narrative.
Ethnicity is not a threat to Pakistan's national unity,
provided it is acknowledged and accommodated. The
modern concept of national unity is organic in conception.
It is a unity of a system made up of distinct parts. It is a
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.
FOREWORD IX
unity of diversities. Like most contemporary soc1eues,
Pakistan is a 'community of communities' where peace,
stability and prosperity lie in promoting quality of
individuals, the rule of law, and the balancing of group
interests. In a Pakistan organized along these lines, ethnicity
will tum into a force of national fulfilments and
coh~sion,
linking people into a well-knit hierarchy of communities
ranging from local, regional and provincial to national
levels. Such a vision needs to be fostered. This book
beckons readers towards such a goal.
Mohammad A. Qadeer
Queen's University, Canada
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