Pakistan: Sruggle for the Soul - Essay Example

PAKISTAN - A DILEMMA: THE LOST IDENTITY OF IT’S PEOPLE A REVIEW OF AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE by Aaaa Bbbb June 2008 Question1. How and why was Pakistan created?Pakistan came into being as an independent nation in the year 1947 when the British hurriedly gave up their 100 years old colonial rule of the Indian sub continent in South Asia. On the insistence of a Muslim leader, Mohammad Ali Jinnah it was agreed by the British rulers to give the Muslims an independent homeland as India was dominated by Hindu majority with which the Muslims did not nurture a good relationship.

The area of the country was demarcated in a hurried manner which resulted in border disputes with India which exist till date. As a result of splitting up of the sub continent into two countries – India & Pakistan, there was mass migration of Muslims and Hindus across the border which resulted in rioting and massacres leading to more than a million deaths.Question2. Did the creation of Pakistan fulfill its objectives?The basic idea on which Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisaged and visualized Pakistan to be a homogenous state where Muslims would live in their own secure, secular and modern world failed miserably as shown in the article in the ‘National Geographic’ magazine by Belt, D.

(September, 2007). According to him the nation is split up into different ethnic and geographical identities of the people who are confined to their individual tribal beliefs and practices and there is no national character as such. This has been complicated by the suppression of democracy by military rulers in the past sixty years of existence of this nation who have enjoyed huge benefits by profiteering from the nation’s land, industry and natural resources. They have also been successful in crushing any semblance of democracy brutally by force, most of the times resulting in the trial and hanging of democratically elected leaders (e.g. Hanging of former Prime Minister by General Zia ul Haq.). The military leaders who had ruled Pakistan were more preoccupied by self preservation and a luxurious life and came mostly from the Punjab province from families of feudal landlords who crushed the general public with impunity and force.

The practice exists till date where the present President, General Pervez Musharraf sacked the Chief Justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, which lead to wide unrest and protests in the country. The general public still lives in poverty with no educational and health facilities provided by the government. Justice is non existent as even a genuine case of rape as exemplified in the article (Belt, D. 2007) is proven otherwise by the people in power. People thus live in a constant fear of the powerful rulers and seek refuge in the fundamentalist locations where they are offered succor and justice in exchange of total loyalty.

Question3. What have been the major political upheavals in Pakistan?Pakistan has lagged in development and has been dependant on external influences in the region and the world during its existence. It has been at loggerheads with India and has all along amassed arms and ammunition for facing the threat from India with which it has a longstanding border dispute. It underwent a huge loss of political demeanor when it lost a huge chunk of its territory which was known as East Pakistan and later on became an independent nation Bangladesh.

Under General Zia ul Haq, it underwent an ‘Islamization’ process where it was proclaimed to be an Islamic state. When the Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan got huge aid in form of arms and money from the CIA of America and Saudi Arabia to fight the Russians by building up of a ‘Jihadi (religious warriors)’ force later called as the ‘Taliban’ who were projected as freedom fighters. After the withdrawal of the Russians in 1989, the Taliban continued to dominate the border areas between Pakistan and within Afghanistan.

It grew into a radical Muslim sect which believes in the Muslim tenets of the 7th century and is strictly against the moderate Muslims of the country, who otherwise are in majority. But due to their strict code of ethics, the Taliban came to be feared not only within but outside the country as they gave birth to the ‘Al-Qaida’ group of terrorists who were instrumental in the 9/11 incident in the United States of America.Question4. What is the education system in Pakistan?The government has failed to provide modern education to the public and the government run schools are empty of students and just serve to fill the coffers of government teachers in terms of salaries.

The radical groups run ‘Deobandi Madrassas’ which are fundamentalist Islamic schools which provide a roof, education of ‘Koran’ and three meals to its students who are predominantly males. Education is forbidden for females and they are supposed to be veiled from ‘head to toe’ and follow the religious tenets comprehensively. The outside world believes these ‘Madrassas’ to be the breeding grounds for modern day Islamic terrorists and fundamentalists. A moderate group follows the tenets of ‘Sufism’ at the ‘shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a 13th century Sufi Saint who preached peace between Muslims and Hindus’ (Belt, D, 2007).

Such shrines are considered as ‘zones of peace’ where the ‘oppressed and the powerful worship side by side’. Works CitedBelt, D. (2007, September). Struggle for the Soul of Pakistan. National Geographic 212(3). 32-59.