Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the PMLN’s interior minister, has passionately proclaimed his “Muslim identity” above his “Pakistani nationality”. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly last week, he described himself as “first a Musalmaan and then a patriotic Pakistani” in denouncing the execution of Qader Molla, the Sec-Gen of the Bangladesh Jamaat i Islami by the government of Hasina Wajed for war crimes against Bangladesh during the “war of liberation from Pakistan in 1971”. Chaudhry Nisar explained how he had tried desperately to convince his cabinet colleagues to officially convey their Muslim passions to the government of BD but failed to evoke a response, the Pakistani Foreign Office shrugging off the episode as an “internal matter” of BD. He also tried to whip up frenzy in parliament through the good oratory skills of his former PMLN colleagues and current opposition leaders Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Javed Hashmi for a condemnatory resolution against the execution of Qader Molla but failed, thanks largely to resistance from the PPP and MQM who watered it down significantly.
On the face of it, many Pakistanis might unthinkingly agree with Chaudhry Nisar in staking their Muslim identity over and above their Pakistani one in any given situation. In fact, recent polls show that a significant majority of Pakistan’s youth are inclined to say “I am a Muslim” when asked the simple question “who are you?” rather than “I am a Pakistani”? This contrasts sharply with Muslims elsewhere in the world who are more likely to stress their nationality over their religion, eg, Arabs, Saudis, Malaysians, Chinese, Palestinians, Kuwaitis, Emiratees, Iranians, etc. Indeed, even Muslims in India would answer “Indian” rather than “Muslim”. Why are we Pakistanis different from our fellow Muslims in other nation states? What are the consequences for our state and society of this difference in perceptions and notions of identity?
The issue can be traced back to partition when the leaders of the Pakistan movement, including Mohammad Ali Jinnah, deliberately mixed up propagandistic notions of Islam, the religion and culture, “being in danger” with the fact of “economic and political discrimination” of Muslims in the body politic of India led by the predominantly Hindu-Congress. Unfortunately, however, after the creation of Pakistan, the political leaders of the new nation state continued to clutch at “Islamic ideology” rather than secular democracy for purposes of legitimacy and conjured up “Hindu India” as the perennial external enemy seeking to undo Pakistan. In this dubious quest for a religious nationhood, they trampled over the right of Pakistanis to assert their state identity (Pakistani), followed by their ethic and regional sub-identities. This mass identity falsehood eventually led to the democratic reassertion of Bengali rights and the impetus behind the creation of BanglaDesh in 1971, followed by eruptions of similar regional-ethnic sentiments in Balochistan and Pashtunistan in 1973.
The second consequence of trying to forge a singular Muslim identity in Pakistan in opposition to the nation-state identities of other Muslim and non-Muslim countries is the legitimization of large-scale violence by state and non-state actors. Singular religious and belief identities are likely to be more passionately held, defended and extended than plural ones that are more conciliatory and tolerant. This explains the rise of separatist ethnic movements no less than eruptions of Islamic terrorism and sectarianism.
The third consequence of Muslimising our primary identity is eternally pitting our nation-state of Pakistan against the nation-state of India by portraying it in our national consciousness as Hindu-India, despite the fact that Indians identify themselves as Indians and not Hindus or Muslims when dealing with citizens of other nation states who do likewise. This distortion of the legitimizing narrative of a new nation-state has, in turn, led to the creation of a national security state based on the supremacy of the military as the predominant political force in Pakistan.
Under the circumstances, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s Muslims passions are totally misplaced and even dangerous in articulating Pakistan’s interests. Indeed, the fact that he is ideologically on the same page as the two spokesmen of the military, Sheikh Rashid and Javed Hashmi, is cause for serious concern. He is dipping into the lowest common denominator of religious passions at a moment in history when his leader Nawaz Sharif is trying to keep religion out of the politics of conflict-resolution between Pakistan and India; out of the equation between the forces of democracy and the forces of Praetorianism; and out of reckoning between the forces of religious terrorism and the writ of the nation-state.
To be sure, the ruling party of Bangladesh is whipping up nationalist passions for rank opportunist political reasons. But these are internal matters for Bangladesh. On the other hand, it is morally and politically wrong for Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and his ideological ilk to belabour the Muslim passions of 1971 in which Pakistan was the clear transgressor, and create a rift within and outside the country.
Creating a rift within and outside the country. worry of a sane person . But should we expect all politicians to be in that category. some when join politics remove their brain and keep it outside . Nisar is one of them.
perhaps it was needed to unite the Muslims to project the ambition of Jinnah against the sea of Hindu leaders. At that time even the Muslim league of west Punjab was not very keen in support of Jinnah’s unification. frontier Gandhi opposed him. Even today Baluchi’s are more friendly with secular India than with Muslim Pakistan. Its leaders can be murdered periodically and freedom fighters can miss for ever. Is any Bangala Desh leader whipping up what is happening in Balochistan.
presidents, prime ministers and politicians were always playing Muslim card to safeguard their seat. It was easier to do when majority of the population is kept poor, uneducated and fed with tutored educational nonsense . It is not possible in a nation where its masses are working hard and competing each other to face international competition and there by to rise its standards of living.
religion is opium. you have to increase its dosage to retain original level of loss of memory and sense. Mullas and Nisars are doing that.
That is what zia did and put the clock back by several decades. that is what Bhutto did in his last years. that is what Nawaj also tried to do . that is why he keeps saying he will discuss peace with talibans when his citizens are blasted every day. he is not upset about his soldiers getting killed.
As long as Pakistani leader’s energy is spent on wrong objectives, it is easier for other nations to pose a threat to them.
We invite Nisar to stay in Mumbai and find for himself how people have integrated with just one business activity of entertainment.
At Chennai where i live Muslim children and other children walk and talk, laugh and shout while going to school. Mr Nisar create such a scene. That is what you are paid for as a minister. Not for isolating.
MR Nisar you need a break . take a holiday and attend a course at Harward. it will be good for your country. And for the world.
Visit TAJ with your family. see ten Bollywood films. enjoy the music. mix with indians. you as a minister must know what changes are taking place around you
Do not be a frog in the well.
Its been 42 yrs since its creation, yet u don’t know its written as a single word with no capital d? Shame! This ignorance today shows what the situation might have been in the 60s & why it chose the destiny it did.
Copy Editor’s error, Mr. Amar. Thanks for pointing it out.
Your own print media makes the same mistake, you guys will be better off working on your own ignorance, arrogance doesn’t suit people who are ignorant themselves.
after partition the Muslim league leaders couldn’t forget the use of people in the name of the relegion
You correctly pointed the error of the spelling of the name of my country. Thanks. In this context, I would like to mention that the Indian mass media (print, electronic) also are doing this type of thing. Sometimes, the spelling of even the Bangladeshi prominent peoples’ names are distorted by some Bengali newspapers; one of the prominent examples is the Anandabazar Patrika of Kolkata.
Pakistan is getting back into lane for 21st century.There was no doubt that a confident Sindh,Baluchistan and Pakhtunkhwa had never any problem with plurality,diversity and a secular,tolerant society never eager to ape arabian civilization as their own.
Punjab took two generations to realise the real ethos of Punjab no dissimilar to other provinces. This time people of Punjab and Army are also on same page.That gives me hope unless India or Fauj again bungles it!
Absolutely correct except that it is not fair to drag Mr. Jinnah in this unfortunate controversy. He was highly secular – more so than Gandhi, Nehru or Patel – and had his will prevailed, the minorities would never have left Pakistan. It was his handpicked Prime Minister who not having a constituency, delayed constitution making with gimmicks such as Objectives Resolution that dragged in Islam into the affairs of the State. As regards the present controversy, my feeling is that some people still regard East Bengal as their colony. They are in complete denial of the fact that Bangladesh is a sovereign republic since 42 years now. Mr. Molla was a Bangladeshi citizen. We should let Bangladesh mourn their dead and we can mourn our own. We did not mourn when the army officers who shot Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were hanged. Where is the compulsion now? Furthermore, why Islam be an issue in a country with 98% Muslims; this attitude has caused us enough harm and even resulted in the first Martial Law in Lahore in 1953.
Since when did the military in Pakistan become synonomous with Pakistan? You are incorrect in proclaiming that “Pakistan was the transgressor.” The military in Pakistan was, like all militaries everywhere, out of touch with the reality of the civilian populations within its borders given its isolation and the parallel universe in which it lives. That is why military rule not only leads to a legitimacy crisis, it disrupts the social fabric of society leading to long term negative consequences. That said, we must recognize the role of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in altering the mass consciousness of the nation from the Jinnahesque opportunistic use of the religious identity (in partnership with the British who authored such separation) to basic material issues that freed albeit temporarily the mass of people from the ghost of partition – we cannot just gloss over that period- that is why an extra effort had to be made by the US in partnership with Zia to reinfuse that in the people post ZAB. Are we then still not colonized in the real sense?
Moderator, though I am challenging Najam Sethi’s own stance, I am doing so based on facts. Please pulish Andia the spirit of an intellectual debate.
Sir, you are quite right when you say that the foreign office statement was right and Pakistani parliament should not have passed a resolution against a foreign government convicting its own national. This was not the first time it happened was it. Exactly the same thing was done earlier this year when an Indian national was convicted by Indian courts and hanged for his role in attacking the Indian parliament, you chose not to say then what you are saying now and in fact supported the populist narrative then in your show. When even intellectuals justify an error instead of acknowledging it, the error is repeated, as has happened here, something to consider.
Generally the hot button issues are used near elections. It is surprising that
Nisar Khan chose to play the religious card now. He mistakenly thinks that
the religious issue works with the people and he can gain some legitimacy
while he is failing to restore law and order and the much vaunted policy of
peace talks with Taliban are going nowhere.
It must be pointed out that playing sentimental card is common everywhere.
Although Wing Cmdr Balachandran has pretense of secularism in India,
The Economist magazine issue of December 14th-20th has map of India
dotted with the communal riots and the death toll. The map has the dots
covering every part of India, though just one in Tamil Nadu( Balachandran’s home state). Politicians either initiated or exploited the conflicts for electoral advantage.In USA it used to be common to use “race’ as electoral issue to rile the whites and garner their votes. South used to vote for Democrats till 1960s but started voting Republicans after Civil Rights Act of 1964 pushed by the democratic president Lyndon Johnson giving equal rights to blacks. Anti immigration sentiments are whipped up in Europe, mostly directed at Muslim immigrants even in liberal countries like Netherland and Denmark not to mention France witnessing the rise of Nationalist party of Marine Le Pen and English Defense League in England.
It is time for the politicians to clearly understand that the religious card has
done no good for the country except giving blood, sweat and tears. May be Nisar
Khan should buy John Lennon’s CD- “Imagine”. It is about peace imagining no religion and patriotism and this holiday season is good for someone to give him this CD or at least suggest to him play on You Tube.
It is true India had many riots, but they were mostly under the rule of secular congress. In spite of the many riots, Muslims in India never went to Pakistan in the last forty years.
On the other hand, Pakistan never had riots. Hindus and Sikhs were very happy there. And still, most of them left the land of the pure.
@ Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi
@ masadi
Dr Kazi’s thesis is that ‘Jinnah was even more secular than Gandhii and Nehru’, and positing all the blame on Jinnah’s hand picked successor,
And Mr masadi believes Pakistan and Bhutto were doing great, it is the Americans that introduced Islam in the body politic.
Both the responses are symptoms of the same disease. The ‘Burying of the Head in the Sand Syndrome’.
Consider the fact that it was Mr Jinnah who passionately propounded the Two Nation Theory and also launched Direct Action.If Mr Jinnah had hand picked his PM how can he escape responsibility. In law, Principals are answerable for the actions of their agents. Further, the PM did not adopt the Objectives Resolution all by himself, the entire Muslim component of the Constitutional Assembly stood behind him. Are you saying that Mr Jinnah was completely at odds with all his followers and yet was the Supreme Leader?
And Mr Z.A.Bhutto denied the Awami League a legitimate electoral victory and famously claimed ‘Idhaar Hum, Udhar Tum’. And Mr Bhutto also produced the 2nd Amendment without any assistance from either the Americans or Gen Zia.
Let us take our collective heads out of the sand and look at the world as it is.
The “so called” seculars of Pakistan can not change the reality that majority of Pakistanis want Pakistan to be an Islamic state and are proud to be Muslims. In fact these are the liberals who keep on trying to force their ideology on others. If Mr. Nisar AHmad Khan is comfortable with his Muslim ideology, and he is an elected representative of people, unlike Mr. Najam Sethi who is a self-proclaimed intellectual, why it is bothering the liberals and seculars and giving them sleepless nights?
Seriously! These people, not representing even 1% of the country’s population, are always ready to impose their colonized mindsets on the rest through Dawn, Tribune and the likes. You can’t help but feel sorry for their readers who are being confused. May Allah guide them all.
Awesome article. Kudos to the writer for calling a spade a spade.
We all live in glass houses, yet we throw stones at others… Applicable to everyone and all countries in South Asia, and indeed the world if we look all around.
We should have the magnanimity to see our faults, learn from them and move on !!
The president, PM, Ministers, top officials have greatest responsibilities of guiding a Nation and its People. Like that of the Vice chancellor of an University, principal of a college, or an headmaster of a school. can they bring good name if they themselves promote poisonous policies . institution will collapse.
In Pakistan every President, civil or military were trapped by Taliban dictation. Gen Musharraf tried to check. But some of his own generals opposed his move. finally he took action under the threat of American President George BUSH ” either you are with us or….”
India cannot be an exception. there were riots. Misguided. imported terrorists trained by ISI is very active. there are sleeping cells all over in India. Yet we do not have a minister like Nissar who as an interior minister openly playing communal card.
i am ashamed of communal riots. As and when more and more parents want their children to study unbiased non religious, scientific studies, and attain high position in nation building, there will be less and less recruits for religious stupidities.
I read that there were just 147 Madrassas in 1947. Understand now you have more than 50,000 of them, funded by great friends Saudi. Even Americans had fueled the fire in financing and encouraging foot soldiers from these schools for fighting the Russians. Americans if allowed will create so much internal disorders in any country. It is their passion to poke their nose.
We do not have Zias, Nissars, Hafeeds, Bins, mulla omars etc.
yes there is Modi. But the entire country is keeping a close watch on him. if he repeats any nonsense he will be roasted in the streets in hot oil. we are trying him just to replace non performing congress. that is all.
I apologize for all those communal killings on behave of all Indians.
We do not need Nissars and Modis anymore to tell us how to pray, when to pray, where to pray and what to pray..
we are not circus animals.
wg cdr (r) Ramaya balachandran.
I don’t understand your logic on Mr. Narinder Modi. It come across to me that you also buying into big lie of congress party. Just to enlighten your soul please can you watch this interview on Newslaundry.
http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/06/i-agree-with-madhu-kishwar-part-1/
http://www.newslaundry.com/2013/06/i-agree-with-madhu-kishwar-part-2/
Before making any statement check fact from different source.
Anyway Ms. Madhu Kishwer is well known journalist with no non-sense journalism.
Chaudhury Nisar should move to the OIC since he is a Muslim FIRST, then a Pakistani. Actually he is a DUFFER first, then a Pakistani and NO Muslim. A true Muslim cannot endorse such heinous crimes like looting, arson, rapes and murdering about 340 unarmed civilians that Bangladesh war criminal Quader Mollah committed. Chaudhury Nisar has proven that he is similarly a criminal by supporting another of that stature. SHAME!
Pakistan should not have been split between West & East (Bangladesh). Rather it should be split between Two idiologies; One, Religious fudametalist, conservative, Non democrative & ignorant; the Other, Secular, Democrative, Progressive, Liberal & Tolerant. All pepole should be given an option to live wherever they want. Only then you can get rid of all such ideas.
!947,rapes, murders, looting, humiliation, loss of properties …. should we blame Nehru, Jinna, Mountpattern or road side beggars, fate, weather and god. political and religious riots are engineered by men in power. there cannot be smoke without some fire however small it is. when college students riot and destroy the properties, the principal cannot escape blame for not handling it with firmness. so also in a state or a country.
Pakistani editors, generals , writers have now started agreeing that politicians and army were responsible for the dismemberment of their country in 1971.
when the drunkard Yahya refused to step down junior army officers threw him out in a mild coup .
when the children of a family misbehave should we blame the parents or someone else.
The PMs and CMS cannot be exceptions. logic or no logic.