A Holistic Picture of the Ideology of Pakistan

Since the very early days of education, almost every student in Pakistan is taught that the ideology of Pakistan is based on Two Nation Theory and its is the biggest reason behind the establishment of this great country. However, it is mostly taught in such a way that students’ minds are filled with more questions as the history they are narrated is largely fabricated and distorted. Today, if you ask someone a question on the causes of the independence of Pakistan, most would fail to answer in a plausible way. The problem is not with the students’ understanding levels but with the course and narrative which inculcated in them. It is so complex that they fail to grasp it fully and due to this reason more and more young people are getting estranged from the concept and quite a few even think that it was a ‘divide and rule’ policy of the British.

Before discussing the ideology of Pakistan, we need to look deep into the history of the Indian Subcontinent so that we may understand the causes which spurred the Muslims to raise the demand for a separate homeland.

When the British conquered India, it was a Muslim monarchy and the Muslims were dominant on the political and administrative fronts – though they were only one-fourth of the total population of the country. The British started introducing different political and administrative reforms and their model for this was ‘democracy’ which means majority is authority. Since the British political and administrative structure was based on the proportion of population, therefore, the Muslims would soon fell behind the Hindu majority on all fronts.

The situation led to the creation of resentment in Muslims as Hindus were making a lot of progress due to the newfound opportunities but Muslims were nowhere in the race. The Hindus entered into the folds of the British and readily accepted the new education system, official language and new rules. Muslims, on the other hand, were reluctant to jump into the bandwagon because, being a minority, they thought themselves aggrieved. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who was a progressive and foresighted man, assessed the situation and started his endeavours to equip the Muslims with modern education.

The Muslims, though reluctantly, started acquiring modern education and getting into the political system. But, soon they understood that they would never be a dominant power in the modern scheme of things. So, they started demanding separate electorates which meant that Muslims would vote to Muslim candidates only. This demand was accepted by the British in the Minto-Morely Reforms of 1909. The next demand was to increase seats for Muslims in the legislative assemblies and for stronger provinces because in this way they would be able to safeguard Muslims’ interests in a better way.

All India Muslim League, the biggest representative of the Muslims, had its presence in Muslim-minority provinces whereas local political parties headed by local elites were influential in Muslim-majority provinces and they were getting votes – and seats as well. The ordinary Muslims, particularly the ones who belonged to the Muslim-majority provinces, did not understand the new legal-constitutional system and they had no idea what the Hindu domination will ensue in; it were actually those in Muslim-minority provinces and the educated elite who had a better understanding of the British democratic system and had fear of falling eternally into the trap of Hindu-dominated political structure.

Hence, the Muslim League started uniting the Indian Muslims, who were divided in different parties and factions, for one cause. Comprehending the fact that in the new setup Muslims would always be in minority; the AIML leaders started finding ways to unite the Muslims for the cause of a separate of homeland. Since Quaid-e-Azam was a visionary leader of India’s Muslim minority, he was well aware of the hardships that minorities would face in the new country, so he always spoke in favour of a country where the rights of minorities would be protected at all costs. For example during a press conference, the Quaid responded to a question by saying:

“Minorities to whichever community they may belong; will be safeguarded. Their religion or faith or belief will be secure. There will be no interference of any kind with their freedom of worship. They will have their protection with regard to their religion, faith, their life, their culture. They will be, in all respects, the citizens of Pakistan without any distinction of caste or creed.”

Today, when we teach the ideology of Pakistan to our students, we don’t tell them about the political struggle rather our sole focus is on presenting Pakistan as a state created for religious reasons only. It is high time we taught the people of Pakistan actual reasons behind the partition of the Indian Subcontinent as it will help us inculcate in our people a sense of pluralism and a trait of forbearance for the minorities.