SINCE the country’s creation, the accent has always been on ‘unity’, even at the expense of diversity, in every aspect of life — identity, language, culture, education, faith and what have you. Using unity as a political slogan (forget that you are so and so; just remember you are a Pakistani), diversity was unduly suppressed and underestimated let alone emphasised.

What this attitude did was to essentialise and homogenise what was in fact amorphous. This homogenisation was something unnatural, unhistorical and unpragmatic. Did it serve the people of Pakistan well? Did it keep intact national ‘unity’? Did it help make all ethnic minorities and religious entities safe and allow them a nurturing space to flourish? Few if any would say ‘yes’.

I argue in this article that, so far, the emphasis on unity has failed us, can we now try ‘diversity as strength’ in all senses of the slogan? Just as unity is not enough without diversity, diversity on its own is not enough without unity. When a tree with so many branches, a human body with so many limbs, music with so many instruments function as harmonious entities, they create a powerful life of diversity contained in unity.

Fortunately, Pakistan, now as well as before partition, comprised an enormous diversity of languages, ethnicities, cultures, faith traditions and customs. Policymakers couched Pakistan’s ideology in a poetic slogan, perceived a diverse nation in only a normative mould and tried to fit all communities into such a tight body politic. This could not have served the people of Pakistan well, because neither history, nor faiths, nor languages, nor ethnicities would have lent themselves to such a narrow mould.

If we accept diversity as a way of life, what would happen?

This should have been evident to the early policymakers in the new country, but ‘unity’ more than ‘diversity’ was emphasised as it was a politically expedient way of controlling entities and ethnicities with one slogan (‘we are nothing but Pakistani’) in the hope of keeping the country intact. It is difficult to blame those who promoted this view because they faced the huge issue of uniting a diverse population along so many lines.

Today, what if we shift the focus a bit to diversity, not at the expense of unity, but as a policy allowing space to all federating units, appreciating, admiring and celebrating them as national policy? If we accept diversity as a way of life even in the interpretation of faith, cultures, languages, etc, admiring and celebrating each other as many advanced countries do, what would happen? Would we not have more peaceful space to live in by not judging others, but admiring and celebrating them? And would the government not work as a moderating and facilitating force?

So, we, the people of Pakistan, and our policymakers, need to think of how to negotiate diversity, in terms of difference of opinion, of colour, of culture, of faith traditions — so long as they are not militant or invoking hate. We say that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) appreciated diversity and a hadith is reported in which it is mentioned that the diversity (ikhtilaf) in the ummah is a blessing. So, why isn’t this view reflected in our education, our daily interactions and our political policies?

Communalism, sectarianism, bigotry, exclusionism and self-righteous approaches have made us so introverted, ‘exclusive’, intolerant and emotional that we have made our country a shrinking cage, a ‘difficult’ country to live in. Space for dialogue, debate and discussion on differences needs to be created for historical, political, religious and communal reasons, avoiding polemical postures and refraining from abusing those who are different from ‘us’.

The government and the people in general need to create space in homes, in the curriculum and textbooks, in teaching approa­c­h­­es from kindergarten to higher education. They should advocate, from the pulpit and through the media and social interactions, a creative dialogue and discussion on issues thereby making us a thinking nation. We need to appreciate that diversity of form and thought is a divine fact as the Holy Quran stresses and as exemplified in the verse which says, “To each among you have We prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He hath given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute” (5:48).

The great poet Zauq beautifully conveys the importance of diversity in one of his couplets: “The world is made so beautiful thanks to the diversely coloured flowers! O Zauq! Remember, the splendour of the (Lord’s) garden is thanks to its diversity.”

The writer is an educationist with an interest in the study of religion and philosophy.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2022