Pashtun Nationalism in Search of Political Space and the State in Pakistan

摘要

Pakistan is a multi-ethnic state. Vibrant linguistic and cultural communities have been living in the areas, much before Pakistan was formed in 1947 or 'imagined' in the 1940 Lahore Resolution. After its creation, the political leadership of Pakistan had to deal with the ethnic-diversity of the newly formed country. However instead of accommodating the diverse ethnic groups and recognising their unique identity, the leaders unleashed a process of forming a strong state with Islam as its base and Urdu as national language. For that they used the narrative of Islam which they thought would unite the Punjabis, Sindhis, Baloches, Pashtuns and Muhajirs. As Jinnah had said, Pakistan was not Bengali, Balochi, Punjabi, Sindhi, or Pashtun. It was a new nation. While stating it was Islam that united India 1,300 years ago, Jinnah emphasised that.