Every state, every nation, and nearly every social collective goes through the process of imagining its own roots and history. Similarly, every state, every nation, and nearly every social collective has its own heroes and, in a few cases, heroines. The process of creating history is partially done by the purposeful efforts of a few intellectuals, and partially done by the organic celebration of certain symbols and myths, and in nearly all cases, significant departure from, what we would consider to be, objective historical reality is commonplace.
The fact that the rationalisation of the Pakistani state is also built upon exaggerations cannot be stated enough. The historical continuity drawn from the arrival of Islam in the sub-continent (via Mohammad bin Qasim) right down to the creation of Pakistan is perfectly linear. It is one long, uninterrupted story of Muslim arrival, conquest, glory, decline, and then finally, reclamation. Over and above this, from Bin Qasim to Mahmud of Ghaznavi to Akbar to Aurangzeb to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and finally to Jinnah, the larger-than-life imaginations of real figures decorate this very linear trajectory. Similarly, the constant reminder of the Hindu other aims to act as an instrument of internal cohesion.
Over time, the crystallisation of this particular version of state identity has taken place in an environment of geo-strategic flux and change, and has been shaped by the compulsions of global politics and larger religio-political narratives. There is little doubt that the historical and sociological narration of our genesis is incredibly flawed, and in retrospect has ultimately yielded nothing more than an intolerant society, a tottering federation, and the ugly specter of religious terrorism. What this context dictates, however, is a need to find appropriate counter-narratives, for the explicit purpose of resolving our identity question beyond the level of the state.
The traditional suggestion has been to rethink and revise discourse formation at the level of the state. This basically implies higher education reform, re-designing curricula, and freeing up space in the print and electronic media. But this particular route, to me at least, does not appear to be logical. The primary dilemma that I see in this is that in a country where state interest is equated with societal interest, any attempt to re-rationalise the state cannot possibly be expected from within the state itself. That, for all intents and purposes, would be akin to shooting oneself in the foot.
If the state is not to be trusted with the task of self-revision and introspection, then the solution must lie within the realm of society itself. Two days ago, I was lucky enough to participate in a discussion led by Manan Ahmad (South Asian historian in Germany), where the question of state identity was raised time and again. After much back and forth, the final analysis given by Manan was that exaggerating and lying about the past is a universal exercise. What is, however, important to keep these exaggerations in check, is the presence of a vibrant intelligentsia, that can recognise the exaggerations for what they are, and then proceed to generate counter-knowledge within society. This has the explicit advantage of ensuring that the exaggerated state identity of the establishment is kept in check.
Three weeks ago, I was unlucky enough to participate in a discussion led by a young research fellow/lecturer from a public sector, khaki-run university in Islamabad. This young man started his talk by detailing the various aspects of Islamic rule in the sub-continent, drawing parallels between our current military apparatus and the forces of Mahmud of Ghaznavi. Amongst other things, his talk also highlighted how the military is, in fact, the last line of defense for our religion, and that the evil machinations of masked and unmasked enemies show that the world simply does not want the Islamic Republic to prosper. He said all this in utmost seriousness.
In retrospect, when I think about that rather torturous evening, I realised that my depression does not stem from seeing the indoctrination of this young lecturer, but rather, it comes up because I know hell go on and spout the same exaggerated notion of identity in his classes, and ruin another generation for us. The importance of having an intellectual class that can see through the myth making of the state is immense, especially for a country like Pakistan. Till such time that our public universities and colleges bring about a sense of objectivity in the social sciences, the unfiltered proliferation of exaggerations, lies, and myths will continue unabated.
The writer works in the social sector and blogs at http://recycled-thought.blogspot.com. Write to him at [email protected]
