Pakistan In Search of Identity Pakistan In Search of Identity MubarakAli AAKAR PAKISTAN IN SEARCH OF IDENTITY MubarakAli © Mubarak Ali, 2011 First Published in India 2011 ISBN 978-93-5002-099-9 Published by AAKARBOOKS 28 E Pocket IV, Mayur Vihar Phase I, Delhi 110091 Phone: 011 22795505 Telefax: 011 22795641
[email protected]; www.aakarbooks.com Composed by Limited Colors, Delhi 110 092 Printed at Mudrak, 30 A Patparganj, Delhi 110091 Contents Foreword 7 1. Consciousness of Muslim Identity in 'South Asia Before 1947 13 2. Pakistan's Search for Identity 25 3. New Religious Trends After Partition 49 4. History, Ideology and Curriculum 65 5. Development of the Discipline of History in Pakistan 72 6. The Khilafat Movement: Islamisation of Politics 92 7. Religion and Politics: Integration, Separation and Conflict 105 8. Politicisation and Commercialisation of Religion: The Case of Pakistan 122 9. Karachi: Living City, Dying Culture 130 Index 143 Foreword Throughout the course of her history since independence, Pakistan has faced a persistent crisis of identity. Seldom can one find a country in the comity of nations whose intelligentsia and often the common people be seen speculating about the basis and rationale of their country. In the case of Pakistan, it is a common observation that our intelligentsia spares a major part of its time and the newspapers and periodicals spend a lot of their space on discussing the questions such as why did the country come into being? What purpose has it served? What can ensure its survival? Will it hold itself together against all divisive and centrifugal tendencies? Expressed in others words, Pakistan has for long suffered from an existential crisis.