Are those, who, like me, believe that they are Pakistanis the only members of the “Pakistani Qaum”? Of course, those who have chosen to abandon provincial, linguistic and communal identities and taken their Pakistani identity as their only identity as citizens of Pakistan are Pakistanis, but they are not the “only” Pakistanis. They are people who have lost the benefit of several associated relationships which they are entitled to. Perhaps some of them, like me, are receiving the benefits of those relationships without contributing to the communal ties which they refuse to recognize. The communities, however, continue to recognize them as full members with all the benefits that they have to offer.
All citizens of Pakistan, no matter what their language, politics, lifestyle, province/district or religion are equally Pakistani, even those who, like a new-born child, do not know that they are Pakistani. I could even imagine that some community of shepherds or nomads in some hilly region of our territory have not yet learnt that the British have left [although that is a very far-fetched idea]; they too are Pakistanis and entitled to all the same privileges, but not the same responsibilities as I am. Simply put, all residents of Pakistan who don’t claim that they are not Pakistani and claim an exclusively a foreign nationality, are Pakistanis.
Having identified those who are entitled to being called Pakistani in my view, perhaps you would like to know what kind of nation we are. This apparently unintegrated population is divided by language barriers and presents a large variety of cultural fragments that appear to be irreconcilable if we wish to define a “national culture” or depict a typical Pakistani. If I was asked to give a single cultural trait that is typically Pakistani, I could not find one from our dress, language, religious persuasion [even though we are a ‘Muslim Majority Country’], or any ethnic marker which is generally used as a basis for national identity. Actually, I find it very strange that those of my friends who claim that Pakistanis are not a nation, are able to “identify” a Pakistani trait and allege that “as a nation we do not believe in “Rule of Law”.
Someday soon, Insha-Allah I will challenge this claim and refute this allegation. Today, we can move on with just my note of dissent. However, I will present some typically “Pakistani traits” that are attitudes, behavior patterns and characteristics, not the usual markers of a nation’s identity but things that you associate with nations that claim unity on linguistic or ethnic grounds but display some typical attitudes: British “keep themselves to themselves”, the French are “artistic” and “romantic”, Germans are “brusque, straight-forward and harsh”, the Italians are “passionate and clannish” and so on. Well Pakistanis are low-key and low-profile but innovative and pragmatic; so, they find a solution to problems by using any one of the values and procedures from the various communal contexts they subscribe to.
I must confess, that, that is the answer that I wished to give at the start of this blog, but it did not seem appropriate as an opening statement. Besides, the idea of several communal contexts and the single identity of a human-being may not be acceptable to some of my readers. Although this is one of the basic premises on which most of my ideas are formed, I realize that it is not a self-evident reality that most Pakistanis will be conscious of. Rather it is a sub-conscious reality that is ingrained in our personalities as Pakistanis so that most of us respond intuitively to the demands of our various identities as second nature.
For me, the variety of Pakistan’s ecologies and ethnic components that have contributed to our composition are responsible for a unique multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society which has been formed into a state only recently but which has a long history of communal life. I believe that this presents us with great challenges and equally great opportunities. I am leaving you with some questions which you may like to respond to:
What are the key opportunities presented by the range of ethnic and ecological components of Pakistan?
Which key challenges are posed by the ethnic and ecological components and, in your view, how can we overcome them?