Pakistan may be described as a failure of the dreaming mind; … perhaps the place was insufficiently imagined. (Salman Rushdie, Shame, 1983, pp 91–2). This was the quote by Salman Rushdie in his book that I am going to analyse in the light of the issues that Pakistan had to face for the past sixty years.
At the time of its birth, the leadership of Pakistan had to manage two geographically apart regions that were miles from each other. Moreover, an influx of a large number of refuges was another issue. Then there was the language issue ie, to choose one national language for all the citizens, from the five big ethnic groups, Punjabi, Sindhi, Bengali, Pakhtun and Baloch. Furthermore, Pakistan lost its founding leaders like Mr Jinnah and Mr Liaquat Ali Khan quite early. Also, the leading party Muslim League had its roots in Indian parts of Punjab and Bengal and was weaker in the regions of Pakistan, due to which its leadership was badly affected.
Moreover, there was continuous military interference in the state’s politics. On the other hand, Islamic militants also tried to get a strong political hold, especially after the separation of Bangladesh, but they never managed to gain full control over the state. Lastly, Pakistan still faces a severe identity crisis.
From all these facts, we can clearly see why Pakistan was “failure of dreaming mind” but it does not mean that “the place was insufficiently imagined”. Mr Jinnah made it very clear that Pakistan will be a state where everybody will be free to practice their own religion and it will be kept out of politics. He also wanted Pakistan to be an economically developed state.
What has happened to Pakistan is because of lack of efficient and qualified leadership which would have worked for the national interests, instead of its own individual interests. The interference by military and Islamists are also the obstacles in its success. But I think there is still time to steer Pakistan on its way to Mr. Jinnah’s dream and the first step would be to vote for the right leader in the coming elections.
AYESHA IKRAM BUTT
LUMS, Lahore
