We are 60 years old

Mansoor Akbar KUNDI

SIXTY YEARS ON: Pakistan is sixty years old today. Its creation was a necessity for Indian Muslims to have an independent nation-state where they could practice their religion, economy, and socio-cultural norms independent of Hindus dominance.

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a great leader, who felt that an India independent of British rule will leave the Muslims in perpetual minority in all walks of life.

The All India Congress was a mass political movement, but it was predominantly under the control of Hindus whose sole criterion for independence was One Nation Theory - India is for Indians - irrespective of religion, caste and geographical boundaries.

The Two Nation Theory was a response to that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan propounded and Muslim League adopted as a political campaign for struggle for independence. A major factor Pakistan was demanded was lagging behind of Muslims in education and business, other than their numerical inferiority to Hindus.

Quaid-e-Azam knew that Muslims could not compete with Hindus while living in united India, thus Pakistan had become a dire need and reality. It was a blessing we achieved.

Nevertheless, a question arises how far we have honoured and integrated ourselves as a nation and promoted the banner of independence over the years. Each year when we celebrate Independence Day we realize that we are not truly serving the cause for which the country had been created.

A nation is built on the aspiration and trust of its people. A nation is neither run nor developed on empty slogans and pseudo politics.

We as a nation are 60 years old. The period may not be a long period in the history of nation building, nonetheless, it is sufficient enough to make adequate progress in the development of important infrastructure.

China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Bangladesh etc. achieved nationhood after we did, but have progressed far ahead of us.

Pakistan was needed as a homeland where they could exercise political, religious, social and economic independence away from Hindus dominance.

The two-nation theory with Islam as its ideology was believed to be common homeland of Muslims where they could, irrespective of their sauce-political differentiation, could promote their interests.

Where many groups, industrialist, businessmen, politicians, and servicemen perceived their interests, there was a common man force which constituting largest portion of this country’s population associate many hopes from the creation of this country. The common man’s hopes and trust are violated.

A nation is built and grown on trust and confidence put into people from above through good governance and services rendered for their betterment - the process of input and output. People have trust in government as long as they know that it represents them and exists for their betterment - the crux of modern representative system. —

Unfortunately in Pakistan the continuity of representative government as not taken place and the crisis of legitimacy reflects on the system where people have declining trust in rulers, and important government agencies.

The common man of society is the most suffered and least hopeful. Pakistan was needed as a homeland where they could exercise political, religious, social and economic independence away from Hindu dominance.

A bane of political development in Pakistan, for which we as a nation have been suffering in chaos and despair without a stable and good governance, is that for the longer period of our existence we have governed by those who entered power through back doors and unconstitutional means.

The order of power establishment has largely been based or influenced by autocratic leadership style, if not dictatorial, with centralised authority with low participation rather than democratic/egalitarian style with institutional or representative one without popular support. How secure and proud we are as a nation is the question we cannot help asking ourselves.

The Nation, Pakistan

Few individuals significantly alter the course of history.

Fewer still modify the map of the world.

Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state.

Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.

Stanley Wolpert, professor of history, University of California, author of Jinnah of Pakistan