Abstract
The first self-professed Muslim state, known as Pakistan, came into existence in 1947 to provide a separate homeland to the Muslim populace of the Indian subcontinent. It was assumed that the new country would not only ensure the physical, economic and religious security of Muslims from the predominantly Hindu majority of India, but would also construct such an environment where they would be able to pursue their civilisational destiny without any hindrances. However, after six decades, Pakistan has become one of the ‘most dangerous and violent place on earth’ where radical Islamic groups are trying hard to introduce revolutionary changes in the very political and social order of Pakistan by actively supporting violence and terrorist activities in the country, while the spectacular rise of the indigenous Taliban militants have factually pushed the very state to the threshold of a civil war. Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s idea, reflected in his famous speech on11 August 1947, of secular, democratic and moderate Pakistan is under severe threat from ethnic groups and religious extremists and is no longer accepted outside the already dwindling liberal constituency. Scholars and analysts, even from Pakistan, now acknowledge the fact that Pakistan means different things for different people and is still in search of a common and robust identity for itself. At this crucial juncture Javed Jabbar, film maker, writer and former federal minister of Pakistan, has come up with a brilliant piece of study which attempts to re-discover Pakistan and proposes a new ‘evolving identity’ for the country and in this way contributes to the ongoing debate on Pakistan’s identity. The book is divided into eight chapters, some of which are as short as only two pages, while the longest chapter covers 37 pages. The study is primarily aimed to remove some of the misperceptions in regard to Pakistan and to make the people of Pakistan, particularly new generation, more conscious about certain untouched and positive features of the society as well as the state.
The first chapter, spread over five pages, is an introduction in which the author has recognised the fact that Pakistan, at present, is facing several internal and external threats which is an indication that unique origin of a state like Pakistan does not guarantee a unique destiny. He is of the view that Jinnah’s ‘Two Nation Theory’ did not fail with the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971but it evolved into a ‘Two-Nation-Three-State Theory’ (p. 28). However, the claim can be easily refuted with the fact that ‘Two Nation Theory’ indeed collapsed on day one, when a large number of Muslims preferred to live in India instead of migrating to Pakistan. This was later validated by the separation of East Pakistan from West Pakistan in 1971.
The second chapter, with only two pages, is titled ‘What is so Special about Pakistan?’ in which the author first talks about the diversity among the states, existing in the United Nations, and then claims that Pakistan’s origin represents ‘the most unique set of factors to shape the formation of a new nation–State’ (p. 31). He however, does not substantiate his claim in this very chapter and leaves the issue for the following chapters.
The third chapter is titled ‘Six Categories of Nation–States’ in which the author has divided the nations of the world, on the basis of their origin, into six distinct categories. The first category is of historical nation–states, which is based on the land, race, language and a common recorded history recognised by others. China, Japan, Egypt, Persia (Iran), Turkey, England and some micro-States like islands in the Pacific Ocean and in Polynesia are part of this category (p. 34). The second category contains nation–states that were created through mass migration while the third category is about permutated nation states in which the author has placed primarily Germany and Italy; but to some extent, not fully, also post-1947 India, as in the view of the author, India absorbed over 500 princely states (pp. 38–39). The fourth category is about the post-colonial nation–states which clearly include India but surprisingly not Pakistan. The fifth category is for those nation–states that emerged due to the disintegration of larger states such as the countries that became independent after Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’ (USSR’s) dismemberment, and also Ethiopia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Sudan, etc. This time again, Pakistan surprisingly becomes part of the fifth category while at the same time it also qualifies for the sixth and the last category, based on religion, where it has been listed with Nepal, the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Maldives and Israel. If we thoroughly examine all the categories, we will come to conclude that there is no watertight distinction between them; for example, India and Pakistan are part of two separated categories. One can even raise the question that why is India, despite being the inheritor of a great Indian civilisation, not mentioned in the category of historical nations? And also, why is Pakistan not a post-colonial state?
In the fourth chapter titled ‘Eight Reasons that Make Pakistan’s Origin Unique’, the author discusses eight reasons that, in his view, make Pakistan’s origin unique, which include the name of the country that is both a noun as well as an adjective and where each character denotes different geographic units, the state with two wings (east and west), acquiring religious identity on the land that was never a centre of Islam, 10 weeks’ short notice for its creation, receiving refugees with independence, born with two hostile neighbours, located on a land of historical civilisation and a state without any history.
The fifth chapter titled ‘Two Not-So-Good Reasons that Make Pakistan’s History Unique’ discusses two not-so-good reasons that make Pakistan’s history unique; first, separation of both the wings of the original Pakistan from each other, and second, the numerically superior East Pakistan picked up a different name, Bangladesh, for itself. The author has been very objective when dealing with the question of Pakistan’s disintegration. He has rightly pointed out seven factors that had shaped East Pakistan’s perception towards West Pakistan which in the end, after the 1970 general election and the army’s brutal crackdown on East Pakistan, resulted in the creation of Bangladesh with the help of active and timely Indian military intervention. Unlike other writers, he has not emphasised too much on the Indian hand, instead he argued that the primary cause for the disintegration was the failure of the people of West Pakistan, particularly the leadership, to take fair and equitable democratic actions to ensure the stability of the Pakistan of 1947.
In the sixth chapter, titled ‘Pakistan in 2011: Sixty Strengths’, the author has identified Pakistan’s 60 strengths in 2011, including some unacknowledged, in which 44 are collective traits and 16 are individual achievements. Some of the important strengths comprise of a strong and independent judiciary, high hopes of democracy, energetic youth, a vibrant and flourishing mass media sector, nuclear weapons, largest contribution in the UN Peacekeeping force, some of the top positions to women (sometimes for the first time in Muslim nations), best cricket umpire, all-weather friendship with China, country’s geo-strategic location and geopolitical significance and in the end the evolution of a new identity—Pakistaniyat.
The seventh chapter is titled ‘Pakistan in 2011: Forty Weaknesses’, in which the author has acknowledged 40 weaknesses in which some important ones are—the low HDI ranking, severe economic inequalities, misgovernance and rampant corruption, intelligence agencies beyond civilian control, religious extremism, deeply flawed education system, blaming others for all problems, decline in values and ethics, excessive dependence on foreign aid and loans, a negative global image, repeated intervention in politics by the army, institutional decline and the erosion of the writ of the state.
The concluding chapter is titled, ‘Towards a Unique Destiny?’, in which the author has argued that Pakistan would be able to achieve a unique destiny for itself only if it converts its strengths into the enduring pillars of stability and properly addresses the prevailing weaknesses. He has also discussed five factors that will shape Pakistan’s future; first, the nature of governance (preferably democratic); second, the relationship with Islam; third, global circumstances; fourth, the relationship with India, and fifth, collective actions of Pakistanis.
This book is a must-read for all those who are engaged in research or policy planning on Pakistan and also for those who have any interest in Pakistan. It is a well-researched study and presents an objective picture of Pakistan to its readers.