Pakistan or Punjabistan: Crisis of NationalIdentity

• PUNJAB:
• Sikander Hayat did not want Pakistan
• This was Punjabi regionalism not Muslim nationalism
• BENGAL:
• Regionalism was absorbing nationalism
• Suhrawardy rejected Two Nation Theory-> Independent Bengal
• SINDH:
• Opposed to any center whether controlled by League or Congress
• NWFP:
• No clear articulation of nationalism
• Wanted restricted power for the center
• KASHMIR:
• Sheikh Abdullah was loyal towards Congress
• BALOCHISTAN:
• Lay outside the British controlled Balochistan so did not have much of a say in the matters

Pakistan or Punjabistan: Crisis of National Identity

Group 9

• Ijlal Haider
• Lala Rukh
• Jehanzeb Mufti
• Izza Adnan
• Hiba Shakil
• Hamza Ahsan
• Habiba Rehman
• Hooria Saboor

Aftermath of Bengali Victory

MILITARY-BUREAUCRATIC OLIGARCHY

Party/Government Stance (you decide)

Overview

M.Q.M: Muhajir nationalism

The Pre-1947 Scenario

• Fears of West Pakistan:
• Weakening of Federal Structure.
• Domination of Eastern officials in National Affairs.
• Tikka Khan unleashed army action in East upon Yahya Khan’s orders.
• Mass migration to India.- 90% emigrants were Hindus.
• 1971 war broke out.
• RESULT: Bangladesh gained Independence.

• The military-bureaucratic oligarchy had a lot of influence on the politics of the pre-1947 era.
• This trend continued in the post-1947 era.
• 80% of the military and 55% of the federal bureaucracy constituted of individuals with Punjabi roots.
• The oligarchy played an interventionist role in Pakistan’s affairs.
• The oligarchy was not ethnically neutral in the co-option of its allies.
• Representatives of other ethnic classes politicized their ethnic identities in an attempt to legitimize rebellion against the pro-Punjabi government.

• Musharraf: Strengthen Federation, remove Inter-Provincial disharmony and restore National cohesion
• PPP: Neglected Balochis and Pashtuns, continuous power war between Sindh and Punjab
• PML-N: Decentralized government with Punjab being favoured the most, developments seen only in one province

• Yunas Samad is a British social scientist.
• He published several books on the topic of Pakistani nationalism and ethnicity.
• Nationalism is a belief, creed or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one's nation.
• Ethnicity could be referred to as being associated with ethnic traits, background or allegiance.
• Examples of Ethnic groups are: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi, Kashmiri etc.

• Muslim nationalism was Janus-faced i.e. it would shape shift to either Islamic ideology or to regionalism given the situational context
• The Muslim League had garnered support from Muslims all over India who possessed discreet modes of nationalism -> fear and distrust of Congress

• This was the first time when a civilian politician was gaining such power in the centre and popularity and it was taken as a threat to their influence over country’s politics by the military and the bureaucracy who had been the ones controlling the center. He provided political access to Sindhis.
• The recognition of the Sindhi language in 1972 and the quota imposed on Muhajirs entering the civil service led to the deflation of the Sindhi identity and subsumed them in the official Pakistani National identity.
• His main opponents were the Balochis and the NWFP
• In 1977 Zia ul Haq over threw Bhutto’s government very eagerly and later on Bhutto was hanged to death.

• 1971: separation of East Pakistan
• 1973: 33.5% of civil service officers were Muhajirs
• Bhutto implemented Quota system
• Lost their influence in center
• Zia and Bhutto both policies served to decrease the Muhajir's power in the center.
• Altaf Husaain: a student of Karachi university formed an organization APMSO.
• Formation of Mutahida Qaumi Mahaz.
• Benazir reign: A threat to military influence on centre so the military is said to have supported the Muhajir and Sindi conflict.

• Reasons for distrust:
• Congress attitude towards Muslims in inter war years (1939-1945)
• Inadequate constitutional safeguards for Muslims provided by Congress

Bhutto: A nationalist

Present Scenario

Conclusion

Continued.

Agenda

The Post-1947 Scenario

Pre-Bangladesh: Divorce of Ethnicity and Nationalism

• After the separation of East Pakistan, and the failure of the army in the Indo-Pak war. Bhutto came into power. He was a nationalist and a socialist. Even though he was a Sindhi, he was a proponent of central control and against India which made him acceptable to the Military-Bureaucracy.
• He introduced many policies which made the country strong economically and in international security matters.

• 9,000 lives were lost in the Balochi uprisings in attempts to crush the opposition.
• Bhutto’s regime also threatened the Military-Bureaucracy and the creation of FSF displaced the army’s role in internal security and lateral entry of political nominees into the bureaucracy antagonized the oligarchy.
• When the Pakistan National Movement against PPP mobilised urban groups against electoral misconduct in the 1977 elections, it paved way for the Military-Bureaucracy led by Gen. Zia Ul Haq to take over.

• Muslim nationalism was not a homogenous phenomenon
• Punjabis and Muhajirs initially advocated a highly centralized state
• Ayub Khan, Zulfikhar Ali Bhutto & Zia-ul-Haq changed policies with each passing regime
• Balochis always ignored

• Muslim Nationalism used before the partition was a heterogeneous phenomenon with all of its parts subsumed by the Pakistan Movement.
• The tension between nationalism and ethnicity was the basis of all opposition to the center which hardened the ethnic fault lines.
• The Military-Bureaucracy were key preserves of the Punjabis and their allies of which they vigorously defended the necessity for a highly centralized state.
• Bhutto’s regime reformulated the power at the center and co-opted Sindhis at the expense of Muhajirs.
• Zia’s expulsion of Sindhis led to uprisings from Sindh, however, as a result of the soviet invasion, the western provinces had to be neutralized.
• However, not all Punjabis benefited from this domination, Zia’s regime alienated some Punjabis and introduction of Islamic Law politicised women.
• His regime was also opposed by Saraiki areas, the Mirpur population and Azad Kashmir.
• Domination by the Punjabi elite was the primary cause for the ethnic conflicts that convulsed the nation’s history and challenge the Punjabi hegemony!

• How Punjabi hegemony of the state has perpetuated correlation between Punjab’s and Pakistan’s interests.
• How nationalism and ethnicity actually came to co-exist in the first place
• Processes that reactivated ethic identification at the expense of nationalism; 1947 till current date.

• High degree dissimilarities between Bengalis and Punjabis
• Imposition of Urdu as the national language.

• Elections called by Yahya Khan:
• West Pakistan politicians failed to homogenize the West.
• Victory of Eastern Party.
• A six point formula proposed to weaken the federal structure.