Pakistan Today

Pakistan today is under siege from radical Islamic militant groups who are diverting the democracy to suit their own purposes. Many people have blamed the politicians for this tragedy but the reasons lie deeper in History.

I believe that this is a by-product of the partition of the Indian sub-continent. Many scholars believe, and I support their view, that Pakistan may not have been created had it not been for the stubbornness on the part of the Congress to show its strength. Moderate Muslim leaders, like Jinnah, were not in favour of the "two-nation theory" till the early 1930’s. They found it out of the question and ridiculous to establish a separate nation for the Muslims. The election victory of the Congress in 1937 was a blow to the belief of these moderate Muslim leaders, who now felt betrayed by the Congress and its Hindu majority leadership, especially Nehru. The Congress who emerged as the largest majority party in the election did all it could to keep the Muslim League out of power. Jinnah and other moderate leaders now moved closer to the "two-nation theory" and Jinnah became its champion. The "two-nation theory" was in effect a bargaining chip in the hands of Jinnah who wanted to use it to force Congress to give more representation to the Muslims. Nehru called his bluff and Pakistan was created even though Jinnah knew that such a creation would never serve the needs of the Muslims in India.

Pakistan in the wake of partition gave rise to leaders with extreme views. These were mostly landed elites from the region who wanted to share in the power and cater to their own needs. The various regions of Pakistan other than the western Punjab were relatively much safer for people from the other religions. The Hindus and Sikhs in these regions were not willing to leave Pakistan which they considered their home and where they had established their living. Not too many communal riots occurred in these regions. The government in these regions were also eager to hold on to these people for they commanded the economy of the regions and without them it would be difficult to hold up the economy. Also, Hindus and Sikhs formed a large part of the officialdom in the regions.

Problem started as Muslim refugees (muhajirs) started pouring into the region. Those that came from eastern Punjab and Delhi had faced communal violence at the hands of the Hindus and Sikhs and were eager to have their vengeance. The refusal of some of the Hindus to leave Pakistan and the high-handedness of the local Muslims to accommodate them after they had overrun the regions infuriated them. These people were the reasons for communal violence in post-independence Pakistan. They had come to Pakisan with a hope that all their needs will be taken care of and the promise of a new and dignified life; but Pakistan had nothing to offer. They were refugees in a nation limited by its limits to cater to more than certain numbers of citizens. Refugees had swamped Pakistan and the authorities did not have enough resources at hand to cater to its own administrative needs, let alone cater to the needs of the refugees. The refugees saw it as a breach of the Islamic tradition of brotherhood and hospitality. The leaders who emerged from their ranks were much more radical than the moderates who had created Pakistan and the politics in Pakistan slowly absorbed them. Politics i Pakistan, thus, became much more radical over the years .

The present prominence of radicalism in Pakistan, I believe, can be traced to the massive influx of refugees from India and the inability of the Pakistan government to cater to their needs. The creation of Pakistan was the result of an effort to inculcate the Muslim identity among the Muslims in India. This focus on religion had spurred the Muslim masses in India to demand Pakistan and when their dreams were not fulfilled in this Pakistan, they reverted to religion to demand their share. From there it was a little step towards radicalism in Pakistan.