On August 11, 1947, the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, gave his most important official speech — not to a political gathering, but as the president of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

Almost at the beginning he said: “The Constituent Assembly has got two main functions to perform. The first is the very onerous and responsible task of framing our future constitution of Pakistan, and the second of functioning as a full and complete sovereign body as the Federal Legislature of Pakistan.”

Towards the end of his speech he stated: “…you will find that, in course of time, Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense, as citizens of the state.”

He reaffirmed his vision for the federal character of the state, where all federating units would have identical stakes, as was first mentioned in the 1940 Lahore Resolution, besides his desire for an equal citizenship for all, irrespective of their personal faith.

Regrettably, since the very early years, the powers that be in Pakistan decided to choose a political course that was opposite to what Jinnah had stated — from the passing of the Objectives Resolution in 1949, which was further tweaked by Gen Ziaul Haq in 1984. On the one hand, Pakistan’s journey since then has been marred by ethnic strife, emanating out of regional disparities and provincial inequities. On the other hand, religious extremism was also encouraged to grow and become uglier with time.

For more than seven decades, Pakistan and Pakistanis have harboured a unique ability to discriminate against people on every possible metric — from their ethnicity, to their religion, sect, social status and caste. As each successive generation continues to internalise these prejudices, are we doomed to remain a bitterly divided country and people?

After 77 years of existence as a country, we see ethnic, provincial, religious and sectarian prejudices being consolidated again. On a regular basis, there are incidents of hate speech and ensuing violence reported from different parts of the country. Political differences have also morphed into bitter animosity, leading to complete intolerance for any political views that may conflict with one’s.

These solidifying prejudices will eventually lead to more extremism and violence in various shapes and forms. Consequently, religious and ethnic minorities in the country are becoming more and more vulnerable with each passing day.

As we approach the country’s 78th Independence Day on August 14, let me take stock of what the Pakistani state and society have done to itself and where we stand today, before moving on to the way forward.

CULTIVATED PREJUDICES

There are many different types of prejudices that the generation today has inherited from the recent or not-so-recent past, which continue to shape our ideas in the present. These prejudices are transmitted to us from our family, teachers, friends, colleagues, peers, politicians and religious clerics. As is the case in Pakistan, many class-based, ethnic, religious and sectarian prejudices are cultivated over time — intentionally or unintentionally — by the misplaced priorities of state policy.

These prejudices have, time and again, led to brutal violence, large scale damage to private and public property, and massive killings in different parts of the country. But a significant portion of our intelligentsia refuses to learn any lessons from them and continues to live in a state of denial.

Let me recount a trivial personal memory, which speaks of a very different kind of prejudice but helps me understand how prejudices are nurtured and then play out. As a 12-year-old, my first brush with a certain ingrained prejudice came along when I was eating with my left hand, although using a fork. My paternal aunt’s husband looked me in the eyes and snubbed me. He brusquely said that those who eat or write with their left hand are followers of Satan and slaves of the West. I became terrified and stopped eating.

By that time, I had read a little bit about the use of the left hand being considered sinister in old cultures of both the orient and the occident. But I learned then how, even in present times, some people can immediately demonstrate contempt for any kind of difference, however minor that may seem.

The incident brought home to me that, when people encounter a person who is simply different, it invokes a feeling in them about something much bigger that they detest — ideology, race, religion or culture.

JUSTIFYING DISCRIMINATION

In 1971, the first major tragedy that struck Pakistan, as a consequence of cultivated ethnic and racial prejudice, was the secession of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh — merely 24 years after Pakistan had gained independence from the British.

There are multiple economic and political reasons behind the Bangladeshi state coming into being. But the prejudice cultivated in the then West Pakistan against Bengalis of East Pakistan, soon after independence, helped to shape the minds of common people in West Pakistan to see the Bengalis as traitors.

There were exceptions, of course, but many people in the western wing of the country became blinded by racial prejudice and could not see the linguistic chauvinism of West Pakistan in the name of Urdu — which was partially based on Jinnah’s ill-conceived understanding of the language question in East Pakistan. That was further compounded by the perpetual economic exploitation and the political disenfranchisement of the region.

It took Pakistan nine long years to agree to a constitution of the republic after turning West Pakistani provinces into ‘One-Unit’ and making East Pakistanis agree to the principle of parity when their population was larger than ours. Even that constitution could not last beyond a couple of years, due to the military takeover in 1958.

None other than the first military ruler and self-proclaimed president of the republic, Gen Ayub Khan, summed up this prejudice against Bengalis in parts of the influential West Pakistani intelligentsia, in his autobiography Friends Not Masters.

Besides other derogatory remarks, he says about Bengalis: “Their hot and humid climate puts them at a physical disadvantage and the marshy nature of terrain with poor communications make them exclusive, mother-attached and inward-looking. No wonder they are secretive, unsocial and unpredictable.” Consider that this book was published in 1967 — when Bengalis formed the majority of Pakistanis.

Undoubtedly, there was international interference and Indian military intervention during the 1971 war, but we need to introspect as Pakistanis about our own conduct. Instead of accepting our historic blunders so that we do not commit them again, a part of the Pakistani establishment, assisted by parts of the intelligentsia, continues to employ plausible deniability and churn out propaganda material that only those who generate it consume.

Ironically, they stop short of mentioning the hundreds of thousands of stranded non-Bengali Pakistanis in Dhaka’s Mirpur and Mohammadpur camps who have never been repatriated.

After 77 years of existence as a country, we see ethnic, provincial, religious and sectarian prejudices being consolidated again. On a regular basis, there are incidents of hate speech and ensuing violence reported from different parts of the country. Political differences have also morphed into bitter animosity, leading to complete intolerance for any political views that may conflict with one’s.

VIOLENT VICTIMHOOD

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, ethnic violence swept across Sindh, taking thousands of lives. It was encouraged by the policies of Zia’s martial regime, which helped whip up a deep sense of victimhood in the minds of those who had migrated to Sindh in 1947 from different provinces of what is now India.

We saw the second and third generation immigrants (Mohajirs) organising the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, later renamed Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), an offshoot of the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO) that was founded in 1978. The party gained immense popularity in the immediate aftermath of the orchestrated Pakhtun-Mohajir riots in Karachi and the Sindhi-Mohajir riots in Hyderabad. The MQM leadership claimed perpetual victimhood and resorted to lethal violence in attacking other ethnic communities, while massively terrorising and killing their own.

Going exactly by the usual playbook of Pakistani politics, the state sponsors of MQM had a falling out with its founding leadership sooner rather than later. It was split within its ranks, besides continuing to be at odds with others. Ruthless urban warfare provided the powers that be with the pretext for launching wide-scale police and military operations in Karachi, resulting in the killings of thousands, including many who were innocent.

The exchange of racist slurs, between MQM workers on the one hand and the largely Punjabi and Pakhtun constabulary fighting them on the other, echoed across low-income Mohajir-dominated neighbourhoods. It was commonplace to find racist graffiti on the walls of the city. A whole generation grew up imbibing those slurs and graffiti.

ALIENATION AND BETRAYAL

The Baloch remain disgruntled since long and bear a strong feeling of alienation from the Pakistani state. It is a direct consequence of strong kinetic means being used by the state apparatus since the beginning, from Jinnah’s hurried accession of the Kalat state, to the times of Gen Ayub and, most importantly, the unmet demand for a fair distribution of resources.

In the 1960s, Ayub had also betrayed the Baloch leader Nawab Nauroze Khan and martyred his sons. A strategy similar to that of Ayub’s has continued since then to settle issues of civil, political and economic rights.

Multiple military operations bringing death and devastation on the Baloch, enforced disappearances of Baloch activists and, above all, persistent interference by the state to manoeuvre local political processes continue to add fuel to the fire. This has also translated into ethnic tensions between the Baloch and others who inhabit the province — particularly those of Punjabi origin.

There are increasing incidents of Punjabi civilians, mostly labour, being attacked or killed. The powers that be have neither learned anything from the past nor do they seem willing to. They still do not see merit in a genuine political dialogue to address the genuine concerns of the Baloch civil resistance. There are reports from places like Lahore and Karachi that Baloch students are picked up randomly, locked up and severely manhandled.

Pakhtun students meet the same fate, particularly if they are seen to be the supporters of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), primarily a non-violent group. Although Pakhtuns are more integrated into Pakistan’s economy and governance but, as a result of the unending conflict in their region, there are many who feel the same alienation with the state of Pakistan as the Baloch do. The way military operations aimed at culling terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including the newly merged districts) have been conducted has created a deep mistrust between the citizens and the state.

In recent years, there is also a growing tension being observed between Sindhi and Pakhtun inhabitants of Sindh as well, because of the continued migration of Pakhtuns and Afghans to Sindh from the areas affected by the wars in KP and Afghanistan.

RELIGIOSITY AND SECTARIANISM

The religious and sectarian tensions in Pakistan go as far back as our initial years. The Shia-Sunni riots, which later turned into frequent attacks on Shia processions and worship places, have led to prominent professionals shedding a lot of blood, from Quetta to Parachinar and Gilgit to Karachi, over the past many decades. The Hazara community in Balochistan is doubly jeopardised in terms of their ethnicity and due to predominantly belonging to the Shia sect of Islam. They have faced brutal violence, leaving hundreds dead.

The anti-Christian and anti-Hindu sentiment among the majority Muslim community has also increased over time. Christians, Hindus and, occasionally, Sikhs remain under attack. Their worship places are not safe either. The landmark 2014 Justice Tasadduq Jillani judgement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, which laid out some tangible measures to protect minorities, is yet to be implemented.

Low-income classes within these communities also face both latent and overt discrimination in accessing education and jobs. Even after quotas have been fixed, according to estimates, about 20,000 positions earmarked for minorities have been kept vacant for the last many years.

The proper census count of non-Muslims in Pakistan remains an outstanding problem. According to them, like transgender persons, they are undercounted. We are also familiar with the issues of forced conversions, particularly of minority girls, and the inhuman treatment meted out to sanitation workers, who are largely Christian from the lowest tier of society.

After the blasphemy laws were made more stringent in the 1980s, all communities have a sword hanging over their heads, due to the frequent misuse of these laws. There is a higher number of Muslims charged with blasphemy, but those belonging to minority communities have a much higher percentage compared to their overall population. Besides, people take the law into their own hands on a regular basis. The discrimination defining society’s attitude towards working class Christians and Hindus is equally based on their lower social class as much as their different faiths.

The first anti-Ahmadiyya riots in Lahore are recorded as early as 1953. That was 21 years before the Ahmadiyya were excommunicated from the sphere of Islam by the Pakistani parliament, during the prime ministership of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Even after their excommunication, the acrimony continues, with tweaking of certain laws, further restricting their religious and community affairs.

This has created an enabling atmosphere for increased attacks on individuals and their worship places and the desecration of their graves. Reportedly, the tombstone of Nobel Laureate Professor Abdus Salam was also vandalised once by some unknown individuals.

Pakistani society is held hostage to religious outfits that preach hate and incite or commit violence from time to time. The organs of the state are either found to be complicit or come up with wishy-washy, ad-hoc and temporary solutions instead of taking the bull of religious extremism by the horns.

CLASS AND CASTE DISCRIMINATION

In terms of caste and class, not only the majority of our elites but the affluent and not-so-affluent middle classes are anti-poor and caste conscious. We all know Pakistanis boast of being charitable. It is a valuable tradition. Nonetheless, when it comes to any public structural reform to correct the economic imbalance — with social justice and equal opportunities for all — the elite and middle classes immediately resist.

A wide majority of them will grossly underpay their work employees or household help but will distribute food at mosques or shrines. They are against collective bargaining rights for labour, or regulating domestic help, or introducing land reforms, or facilitating the landless peasantry. They also have little interest in creating decent working conditions for miners, fisherfolk and gig workers, to name a few.

State policy is representative of the interests of the elite and the affluent middle class. Here, I reiterate that we have degrees of marginalisation, with an interplay of caste and class. You are marginalised if you are a poor Muslim man. You are more marginalised if you are a poor Muslim woman. You are even more marginalised if you are a poor non-Muslim man. You are most marginalised if you are a poor non-Muslim woman.

EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUAL LIVES

There are a plethora of prejudices Pakistanis seem to hold against each other, in terms of all the possible differences that we espouse. But those of us who are born into the official religion of the state and brought up in a plural environment, with access to education and exposure to the outside world, have a definite social privilege. When we experience some prejudice, we may feel emotionally disturbed for some time, but we remain unaffected in the longer run.

But people who continuously face prejudices on an ethnic or sectarian basis develop their own hardened prejudices in reaction. If viewed from a distance, these prejudices may appear ludicrous. But they play out most viciously in our polity and society.

Put aside for a moment, the major incidents of discrimination and violence based on our prejudices. Imagine the discrimination faced by common people on a daily basis — the constant ridicule, perpetual fear, systematic exclusion and social oppression felt by them. Think about a Christian woman working at a brick kiln, who cannot buy herself a cup of tea if not carrying her own utensil. Or a scheduled caste Hindu farmhand disallowed to drink water from the same tap as others. Or an Ahmadi refused entry into a grocery store. Or a Shia child walking to school and on the way reading graffiti on the walls proclaiming ‘Shia kaafir’ [Shias are unbelievers].

Imagine a woman living with a disability, hearing every other day that she is God’s retribution for the sins committed by her parents, a 10-year-old Pakhtun boy polishing shoes on the streets of a big city instead of being in school and treated like dirt by some of his customers, and a nine-year-old malnourished Punjabi housemaid minding a four-year-old well-fed child.

Imagine the cockiness, the slights, the scorn and the contempt faced by ordinary people due to their caste, class, ethnicity, faith, gender, sexual orientation, complexion or physical disability.

THE WAY FORWARD

When it comes to the rest of the world tackling these issues of discrimination and prejudice at different levels, we see that larger humanity does take a step back at times. But then comes a moment when it takes two steps forward. In Pakistan, we observe a perpetual downward slide, with diminishing hope. What is needed is a major intellectual and material transformation, if the country wants to preclude itself from the looming threats of complete chaos and internecine warfare.

At a societal level, it is necessary for those shaping opinions through the classroom, public space, workplace or media to sensitise people on these issues, so that an attitudinal shift in society is made possible. Primarily, it becomes the responsibility of our artists, writers, teachers and journalists to create an atmosphere in which neither faith, ethnicity, caste or class is used by politicians and clerics to undermine an individual or a group. We have to shun fear, as individuals and as communities of practice.

At a political level, it is the responsibility of none else but the state to look beyond its short term interests and remove any injustices faced by the diverse peoples of Pakistan, from Balochistan to Gilgit-Baltistan, from gender minorities — including the transgender persons — to persons living with disabilities, and those considered deviant by society because they wish to spend their lives differently from how the majority lives.

The distortion of history in our textbooks and mainstream media must immediately stop, through radical curriculum reform and honesty in media discourse. We cannot have a glorious future if we insist on inventing a glorious past that never was. We committed major wrongs that we are bound to repeat if they are glossed over by a fictitious narrative of greatness — that develops a false pride and obstinate self-righteousness.

Immediate practical steps will only mean adherence to the 1973 constitution and the respect it accords to the ideal of federalism, where all provinces (federating units) are equal, abiding by the trichotomy of power between legislature, judiciary and executive. This means not abrogating but strengthening the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which allocates due powers to the federating units/provinces. Additionally, the upholding of equal citizenship for all faiths has to be ensured — beginning with the implementation of the 2014 Justice Tasadduq Jilani judgement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

If we wish to move forward, every citizen’s rights and freedoms must be guaranteed, all faiths equally respected, all languages promoted and equal economic opportunities provided to citizens by the state. This is all that is already enshrined in the 1973 constitution — nothing new.

Otherwise, our prejudices — particularly ethnic and religious — will mutate into even worse forms. We will carry on producing confused, ignorant, chauvinistic and lopsided individuals who collectively shape an intolerant, fragmented, agitated and violent society.

Header image: Illustration by Abro

The writer is a poet, essayist and the Secretary General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 11th, 2024