Pakistani nationalism - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pakistani nationalism refers to the political, cultural, linguistic, historical and religious expression of patriotism by people of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, of pride in the history

History of Pakistan

The 1st known inhabitants of the modern-day Pakistan region are believed to have been the Soanian , who settled in the Soan Valley and Riwat almost 2 million years ago. Over the next several thousand years, the region would develop into various civilizations like Mehrgarh and the Indus Valley...

, culture

Culture of Pakistan

The society and culture of Pakistan comprises numerous diverse cultures and ethnic groups: the Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis in east, Muhajirs, Makrani in the south; Baloch and Pashtun in the west; and the ancient Dardic, Wakhi and Burusho communities in the north...

, identity and heritage

Cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...

of Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, and visions for its future.

Most of modern-day Pakistani nationalism is centered around the common Indo-Iranic

Indo-Iranians

Indo-Iranian peoples are a linguistic group consisting of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples; that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family....

identity and heritage of 99% of the population. Kashmiri, Sindhis, Balochis, Punjabis, Pashtuns and other minorities are mainly of Indo-Iranic stock. It also refers to the consciousness and expression of religious influences that help mould the national consciousness. Nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

describes the many underlying forces that moulded the Pakistan movement

Pakistan Movement

The Pakistan Movement or Tehrik-e-Pakistan refers to the historical movement to have an independent Muslim state named Pakistan created from the separation of the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent, partitioned within or outside the British Indian Empire. It had its origins in the...

, and strongly continue to influence the politics of Pakistan

Politics of Pakistan

Politics of Pakistan have taken place in the framework of a federal republic, where the system of government has at times been parliamentary, presidential, or semi-presidential. In the current parliamentary system, the President of Pakistan is the largely ceremonial head of state, the Prime...

.

From a political point of view and in the years leading up to the independence of Pakistan

Pakistan

, the particular political and ideological foundations for the actions of the Muslim League can be called a Pakistani nationalist ideology. It is a unique and singular combination of philosophical, nationalistic, cultural and religious elements.

Muslim Conquest

Pakistani nationalists state that Pakistan

Pakistan

is the successor state of Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic empires and kingdoms that ruled the region for almost a combined period of one millennium

Millennium

A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....

, the empires and kingdoms in order are Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

, Ghaznavid Empire

Ghaznavid Empire

The Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...

, Ghorid Kingdom

Muhammad of Ghor

Sultan Shahāb-ud-Din Muhammad Ghori , originally called Mu'izzuddīn Muḥammad Bin Sām , was a ruler of the Ghurid dynasty who reigned over a territory spanning present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.Shahabuddin Ghori reconquered the city of Ghazna Sultan Shahāb-ud-Din Muhammad Ghori...

, Delhi Sultanate

Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...

and Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

. Pakistan's

Pakistan

imperial past composes possibly the largest segment of Pakistani nationalism.
Pakistan today celebrates numerous Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

kings and emperors for wars of "liberation" and "emancipation" such as Muhammad bin Qasim

Muhammad bin Qasim

Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...

(not a king or emperor, but the commander of the first Muslim force sent to what was then known as Sindh), Muhammad of Ghaur, Mahmud of Ghazni

Mahmud of Ghazni

Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...

(who defeated the Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

king Prithviraj Chauhan), Aurangzeb Alamgir and Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...

who fought the British. However, few, if any, of the Kings mentioned above belonged to the region comprising modern day Pakistan

Pakistan

. The region that is today known as Pakistan has always been tribal in nature. The Pashtuns have always considered Islam to be their primary source of identity and have thus supported many Islamic rulers. The Baloch were a Tribal Confederacy, who at times paid tribute to Afghanistan and Persia. Sindh was ruled by the Indic Kalhora

Kalhora

The Kalhora are of Sindhi origin they trace their origins to a Sindhi warrior named, Sultan Ahmad Kalhora who married a daughter of Raja Rai Dhorang Sahta, receiving much territories as dowry. Amir Fathullah Khan Kalhora, is the recognized ancestor of the dynasty. He conquered the bhangar...

and Baloch Talpur

Talpur

Talpur ; is a Baloch tribe settled in Sindh. Talpurs settled in northern Sindh, spoke Sindhi language very soon their descendants and allies formed a confederacy against the Kalhora dynasty. Later, however, they enjoyed good relations with the Kalhoras and were invited by them to help organize...

dynasties (both tributaries of Persia and Afghanistan at various times) in the period between the fall of the Mughal Empire and the beginning of the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. Punjab and Kashmir were captured by the Durranis of Afghanistan, but later formed the Sikh Empire which captured integral Afghan territory including its former winter capital, Peshawar

Peshawar

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

However liberal Muslim kings to an extent are also part of Pakistani pride. Akbar was a powerful Mughal emperor who started new religiont Din-i-Ilahi

Din-i-Ilahi

The Dīn-i Ilāhī was a syncretic religious doctrine propounded by the Mughal emperor Jalālu d-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar , who ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1556 to 1605, intending to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects...

(for which he was condemned by orthodox clerics as a "heretic"), forged familial and political bonds with Hindu Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

kings, and developed for the first time an environment of religious freedom. Akbar undid most forms of religious discrimination, and invited the participation of wise Hindu ministers and kings, and even religious scholars in his court. In his reign, the Mughal Empire was politically powerful, prosperous and its common people secure.

The main Mughal contribution to South Asia was their unique architecture. Many monuments were built during the mughal era including the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

Renaissance vision

See Also: Syed Ahmed Khan
Syed Ahmed Khan
Javad-ud Daula, Arif Jang, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, KCSI , commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist...

, Indian rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...

Syed Ahmed Khan

Javad-ud Daula, Arif Jang, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, KCSI , commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist...

promoted Western-style education in Muslim society, seeking to uplift Muslims in the economic and political life of British India. He founded the Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

, then called the Anglo-Oriental College.

In 1835 Lord Macaulay's minute recommending that Western rather than Oriental learning predominate in the East India Company's education policy had led to numerous changes. In place of Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

and Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

the Western languages, history and philosophy were taught at state-funded schools and universities whilst religious education was barred. English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

became not only the medium of instruction but also the official language in 1835 in place of Persian, disadvantaging those who had built their careers around the latter language. Traditional Islamic studies were no longer supported by the state, and some madrasahs lost their waqf or endowment. The War of Independence 1857

Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...

is held by nationalists to have ended in disaster for the Muslims, as Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal, was deposed. Power over the South Asia was passed from the East India Company to the British Crown. The removal of the last symbol of continuity with the Mughal period spawned a negative attitude amongst some Muslims towards everything modern and western, and a disinclination to make use of the opportunities available under the new regime. This tendency, had it continued for long, would have proven disastrous for the Muslim community.

Seeing this atmosphere of despair and despondency, Sir Syed launched his attempts to revive the spirit of progress within the Muslim community of India. He was convinced that the Muslims in their attempt to regenerate themselves, had failed to realize the fact that mankind had entered a very important phase of its existence, i.e., an era of science and learning. He knew that the realization of the very fact was the source of progress and prosperity for the British. Therefore, modern education became the pivot of his movement for regeneration of the Indian Muslims. He tried to transform the Muslim outlook from a medieval one to a modern one.

Sir Syed's first and foremost objective was to acquaint the British with the Indian mind; his next goal was to open the minds of his countrymen to European literature, science and technology.

Therefore, in order to attain these goals, Sir Syed launched the Aligarh Movement of which Aligarh was the center. He had two immediate objectives in mind: to remove the state of misunderstanding and tension between the Muslims and the new British government, and to induce them to go after the opportunities available under the new regime without deviating in any way from the fundamentals of their faith.

At the same time, Muslim nationalist leaders like Sir Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...

emphasized the spiritual richness of Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

and Islamic philosophy. Sir Muhammad Iqbal the conceptual founder of Pakistan, Is venerated by Pakistani and Muslim

Muslim

nationalists for implicitly endorsing the independence of a Muslim state in South Asia. It must be noted that initially, Iqbal did not voice any such views. It was only in the late 1920s and early 1930s that he started proposing for autonomy for Muslim provinces within India. At this time, the Muslim League was not demanding independence from the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

unlike the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

. Iqbal demanded a Muslim state, regardless of the fact whether it will have self-government, or whether it will be within the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

.

Iqbal is widely credited for his work in encouraging the political rejuvenation and empowerment of Muslims, and as a great poet not only in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

and Pakistan

Pakistan

, but also in Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

and Muslim nations in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

Independence of Pakistan

In the Indian rebellion of 1857

Indian Rebellion of 1857

, Muslim soldiers and regional kings fought the forces allied with the British Empire in different parts of British Indian Empire. The war arose from a racialist viewpoint on the part of the British who attacked the "Beastly customs of Indians" by forcing the South Asian soldiers to handle Enfield P-53 gun cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

s greased with lard

Lard

Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...

taken from slaughtered pigs and tallow

Tallow

Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...

taken from slaughtered cows. The cartridges had to bitten open to use the gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

, effectively meaning that sepoys would have to bite the lard and tallow. This was a manifestation of the disregard that the British exhibited to Muslim and Hindu religious traditions, such as the rejection of Pork in Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, the rejection of slaughter of cow in Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

and the mandate of vegetarianism

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...

in Hinduism. There were also some kingdoms and peoples who supported the British. This event laid the foundation not only for a nationwide expression, but also future nationalism and conflict on religious and ethnic terms.

The Muslim desire for complete freedom, or Azadi, was born with Kernal Sher Khan, who looked to the glories of Muslim history and heritage, and condemned the fall of Muslims from the ruling elite to subservient citizens of the British Empire. The idea of complete independence did not catch on until after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, when the British attempted to exert totalitarian power with the Rowlatt Acts of 1919. When the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Jallianwala Bagh massacre

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre , also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer...

in Amritsar

Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...

, Punjab (India)

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

of hundreds of unarmed and innocent civilians by British forces took place in the same year, the Muslim public was outraged and most of the Muslim political leaders turned against the British.

Ethnic Nationalism in Pakistan

Despite sharing a common Indo-Iranic language and origin with the rest of the country, Pakistan's Balochi populations are strongly nationalistic and have their own language and cultural identity as do most of Pakistan's major ethnic groups. Some groups within them wish to secede from the country and form their own separate states and have been aided and assisted by foreign governments. Nawab Akbar Bugti

Nawab Akbar Bugti

Akbar Khan Bugti was the Tumandar of the Bugti tribe of Baloch and served as Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Balochistan Province in Pakistan.He is the head of the Bugti Family...

of Balochistan had expressed the need for Balochistan to separate and formed the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army

Balochistan Liberation Army

The Balochistan Liberation Army is a terrorist group based in Balochistan, a mountainous region within southern Iran and Pakistan. The organization is a participant in the Balochistan conflict and strives to establish an independent state of Balochistan, free of Pakistani and Iranian rule...

to that effect, alleging that the Pakistani governments had been biased in favor of the Punjabi

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

and Sindhi

Sindhi people

Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...

ethnic groups. He was killed in military action by Pakistan's forces in 2006, but many Balochis continue to support him. The majority of Baloch, however are content within Pakistan but yearn for greater autonomy and more provincial development and a greater share of national funds to bring the province at par with the rest of the country. Many Baloch irredentist movements have been inspired and supported by the Baloch from Iran and Afghanistan (countries where Baloch are also trying to achieve independence).

The Pushtun people of the North Western Frontier province also have an Indo-Iranic identity. The former Taliban regime in nearby Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

enjoys significant support in Northwestern Pakistan, both in recent times and during the Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

Occupation of Afghanistan

Afghanistan

, the support reflecting in their aid to the Mujahideen

Mujahideen

Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...

. Pashtuns are disproportionately represented in all sphere's of Pakistan be it the bureaucracy, business, police force, civil service and the all-powerful Pakistan Army.

However, despite nationalistic feelings many ethnic groups have often felt alienated by what they see as "Punjabization of Pakistan", due to the domination of the Punjabi groups due to their overal larger population. This extreme version of Pakistani nationalism is often attributed to the tensions among the different ethic and linguistic groups despite an Islamic majority. The secession of East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

is largely blamed on such a "Punjabization" but many also claim the imposition of "Urdu" (later language of the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

held much clout in the country up to the mid 70's) was the key catalyst in encouraging Bengal separatism. Many in Bengal felt betrayed by such a so-called "muslim nationalism" and Urdu imposition which soon proved futile, paving the way for Bengali nationalism.

Many indigenous Pakistanis also reject the imposition and state support towards the language of Urdu seeing it as a foreign language imported along with the migrant community (Mohajir) that arrived from India and quickly came to dominate the government and policy making. They cite the exclusiveness during the early years of Pakistan that those who spoke Urdu (or Undri) as a first language practiced in favouring fellow co-linguists over native Pakistani's. Many blame this policy for failing to bring cohesion and interprovincial harmony within the country. Others point to the fact that the policy of the newly arrived refugees is what catalyzed and marginalized the inhabitants of East Pakistan to secede from the state. Urdu continues to be Pakistan's national language but has undergone considerable changes over the years acquiring a particularly 'Pakistani flavour' with the incorporation of more and more grammar and prose from Pakistan's many indigenous languages (e.g. Pashto, Panjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Kashmiri etc.)

Nationalist mausoleums, shrines and symbols

Pakistan has many shrines, sights, sounds and symbols that have significance to Pakistani nationalists. These include the Shrines of Political leaders of pre-independence and post-independence Pakistan

Pakistan

, Shrines of Religious leaders and Saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

s, The Shrines of Imperial leaders of various Islamic Empires and Dynasties, as well as national symbols and sounds of Pakistan

Pakistan

. Some of these shrines, sights and symbols have become a places of Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

for Pakistani ultra-nationalism and militarism, as well as for obviously religious purposes.

Nationalism and politics

The political identity of the Pakistani Armed Forces, Pakistan's largest institution and one which controlled the government for over half the history of modern day Pakistan

Pakistan

(see History of Pakistan

History of Pakistan

for events in the region that is now Pakistan before the Pakistani nation-state emerged) and still does, is reliant on the connection to Pakistan's Imperial past. The Pakistan Muslim League's

Pakistan Muslim League

The Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962, as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League in Pakistan. Unlike the original PML which ended in 1958 when General Ayub Khan banned all political parties, each subsequent Muslim League was in some way propped by the military dictators of...

fortunes up till the 1970s were single-handedly propelled by its legacy as the flagship of Pakistan's Independence Movement, and the core platform of the party today evokes that past strongly, considering itself to be the guardian of Pakistan's freedom, democracy and unity as well as religion. Muslims have remained loyal voters of the Pakistan Muslim League, seen as defender of Religious rights. Smaller parties have arisen, such as Pakistan Peoples Party

Pakistan Peoples Party

The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...

, a party based on Liberal conservatism have also arisen. In contrast, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal is a coalition of Islamist parties that was formed in 2002 to electorally challenge the Pakistan Parliament's incumbent parties...

employs a more aggressively theocratic nationalistic expression. The MMA seeks to defend the culture and heritage of Pakistan

Pakistan

and the majority of its people, the Muslim

Muslim

population. It ties theocratic nationalism with the aggressive defence of Pakistan's borders and interests against archrival India

India

, with the defence of the majority's right to be a majority. The party's fortunes arose primarily in the 1990s, with the frustration of the people with over 40 years of military domination as well as PPP

Pakistan Peoples Party

The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...

corruption, sycophant leaders and lack of direction.

Ethnic nationalist parties include the Awami National Party

Awami National Party

The Awami National Party is an Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International...

, which is closely identified with the creation of a Pashtun

Pashtun people

Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

-majority state in North-West Frontier Province

North-West Frontier Province

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...

and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas

Federally Administered Tribal Areas

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...

includes many Pashtun leaders in its organization. However, the Awami National Party

Awami National Party

The Awami National Party is an Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International...

, At the last legislative elections

Elections in Pakistan

At the national level, Pakistan elects a bicameral legislature, the Parliament of Pakistan, which consists of a directly elected National Assembly of Pakistan and a Senate, whose members are chosen by elected provincial legislators. The Prime Minister of Pakistan is elected by the National Assembly...

, 20 October 2002, won a meagre 1.0% of the popular vote and no seats in the lower house of Parliament. In Balochistan

Balochistan (Pakistan)

Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...

, the Balochistan National Party

Balochistan National Party

The Balochistan National Party or Balochistan National Party is a political party in Balochistan, Pakistan...

uses the legacy of the independent Balochistan

Balochistan (region)

Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid, mountainous region in the Iranian plateau in Southwest Asia; it includes part of southeastern Iran, western Pakistan, and southwestern Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, Iranian peoples who moved into the area from the west...

to stir up support, However at the last legislative elections

Elections in Pakistan

, 20 October 2002, the party won only 0.2% of the popular vote and 1 out of 272 elected members.

Almost every Pakistani state has a regional party devoted solely to the culture of the native people. Unlike the Awami National party and the Balochistan national party, these mostly cannot be called nationalist, as they use regionalism as a strategy to garner votes, building on the frustration of common people with official status and the centralization of government institutions in Pakistan. However, the recent elections as well as history have shown that such ethnic nationalist parties barely ever win more than 1% of the popular vote, the overwhelming majority of votes go to large and established political parties that pursue a national agenda as opposed to regionalism.

Key people

Pakistan has more than 160 million Muslims. It is also the fastest growing population among the 10 most populated countries with greater than 2% population growth each year and is expected to become the most populated Muslim country in the world within 10 years.
Pakistani Nationalism has varied from the original idea in the early 1900s to the status quo, usually varying by socio-economic class and political ideology. Originally, it was a concept defined by the Western regions of British India and their religious affiliation of Islam. During the late years of British rule and leading up to Partition, it had three distinct supporters:

1) Realists, such as Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who driven by political inflexibility demonstrated by the Congress Party, feared a systematic disenfranchisement of Muslims (and not necessarily Islam). This also included many members of the Parsi, and Nizari Ismaili communities.

2) Technocratic Elitists, such as the majority of Aligarh students who were driven by a fear of being engulfed in "false secularism" that would assimilate their beliefs and values into a common system that defied Islamic tenets while hoping to create a state where their higher education and wealth would keep them in power over the other Muslims of India.

3) Idealists, primarily lower Orthodoxy (Barelvi), that feared the dominative power of the upper Orthodoxy (Deoband) and saw Pakistan as a safe haven to prevent their domination by State-controlled propaganda.

Nuclear power

On May 28, in 1998, Pakistan tested its first nuclear weapon

Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...

in Chaghi, Balochistan, in response to Indian Nuclear tests on 11th of the same month; and thus became the 7th nation in the world to possess an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It is postulated that Pakistan's nuclear program arose in the 1970s as a response to the Indian acquisition of nuclear weapons. It also resulted in Pakistan

Pakistan

pursuing similar ambitions, resulting in the May, 1998 testings of five nuclear devices by India and six as a response by Pakistan, opening a new era in their rivalry. Pakistan is not a signatory to the NPT

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...

and CTBT, which it considers an encroachment on its right to defend itself.

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