Power structures

Published September 25, 2016

Pakistan is a multi-ethnic state with a diversity of languages and cultures. The major linguistic groups with claims of distinct ethnic identities are the Punjabis, Sindhis, Pakhtuns, Balochs, and Seraikis. In addition to these local ethnic groups (sons of the soil), the Muhajirs — who are basically immigrants from North India, Hyderabad Deccan, and Gujrat, also demand recognition as a distinct ethnic group.

Transitional Structure, Nation State Discourse

Previously, in academic and non-academic literature, a group based on common ancestry of race or a common language was considered an ethnic group. Horowitz, however, defined an ethnic group in a broadened, but more clarified manner as a group based on ascriptive (i.e. by birth) identities — tribe, caste, race, religion, or language. According to this definition, religious and sectarian groups fall in ethnic categories, but, in the case of Pakistan (and maybe in other cases as well) — since it is related to contending stances about state ideology — religious and sectarian violence is addressed in the earlier chapter dealing with the state’s ideological issues. An ethnic group is different from a class group, which is based on economic status. However, in some sociopolitical relations the economic status of ascriptive groups is their predetermined destiny, which they enjoy or suffer for their whole life, sometimes even for generations — for instance, apartheid in South Africa and the caste system in India. Such sociopolitical systems are termed as ranked ethnic systems.


How various ethnic groups sought to establish their political identity post-1947


The initial perspective about ethnic assertiveness was essen­tialism, which is also termed primordialism. Essentialism is based on the distinction of human groups on the basis of inherent genetic properties which can generate historical animosities. Inherited characteristics make groups intrinsically different from each other. The essentialists contend that intrinsic differences caused inter-group prejudices, and thus primordial animosities keep recurring time and again. Geertz was among the earliest proponents introducing the primordialist perspective. However, Conner instituted it on firm philosophical footing, as he argued that “man is a national not rational animal” and that the appeal of common ancestry is more powerful. However, essentialism fails to explain why some ethnically diverse societies are peaceful and others are not.

Instrumentalism attempts to give a rational explanation in this regard, as it contends that the elite, for political and economic interests, manufacture and manipulate ethnic identities. However, instrumentalists fail to answer the question of why the elite do not manipulate other identities — e.g. class or professional identities. According to Schelling, members of the same ethnic group have convergence of mind with regards to expectations, which he termed the focal point. Hence, due to the focal point, it becomes easy for the instrumentalist elite to mobilise an ethnic group.

The constructivists and postmodernists accept that identities are primordial but claim that identities in premodern time were based on face-to-face personal contacts and hence operated on a small scale; ordinary people rarely interacted beyond the local environment, thus conflicts were local in nature and scope, and were managed locally. Modernity — modern technology and the capitalist economic system — facilitated the development of a common consciousness beyond the local environment. Thus the ruling elite and leaders were able to shape and construct the common consciousness according to their interests and visions.

The printing press and capitalism are considered modern tools that facilitated individuals imagining their communities at a large and extra-local level. Postmodernists contend that knowledge formation, particularly about social phenomena, influences power relations. Therefore, the knowledge elite construct a narrative about social realities that either confirms the existing power relations or helps the ruling elite to stay, in power. So, ruling elites promote that narrative through institutions, while alternative narratives are de-emphasised or suppressed. The whole debate of constructivists and postmodernists revolves either around modernity or power relations, for which the modern nation state is the referent point. Therefore, many scholars in the field link the phenomena of ethnic consciousness and ethnic mobilization with the modern nation-state.


In this study, however, it is argued that it is the nation state discourse, rather than the nation state structure, that developed and sharpened the ethnic consciousness.


In this study, however, it is argued that it is the nation state discourse, rather than the nation state structure, that developed and sharpened the ethnic consciousness. Discourse about the new social order, i.e. the nation state — developed during the colonial period, especially at the time of the nationalist anti-colonial struggle, created social consciousness about the basic right of being treated equally (i.e. empowerment and self-rule), and the public’s rights to necessities (i.e. public interest) to be provided by the state. However, incomplete structural reforms by the colonialists and the limited scope of the nationalist movements could not affect the old social structure to such an extent that a new rational democratic structure could be consolidated. Hence neither did a democratic culture of accommodation and recognition nor an overarching common cultural framework (that would have facilitated the smooth interaction among ethnic groups) subsequently develop in the new state.

The governing elite itself was the product of a transitional structure, and therefore contained rational-democratic features as well as the features of authoritarianism. Hence, due to an authoritarian-democratic paradox, the governing elite neither accommodated completely nor coerced, consistently; while because of the nation state discourse in the environment of limited coercion, ethnic consciousness becomes transformed into a political movement — ethnic nationalism.

Unequal Share Of Power: Competing Approaches

In the new state, when an overarching national identity was yet to be developed and the elite was still to learn the peaceful norms of common interaction and conflict resolution, the uneven economic development and unequal share of power was bound to create ethnic hatred and a rift between the central and regional elites.

In the new state, Punjabis and Muhajirs — who had higher literacy rates — were over-represented in the civil bureaucracy and military. In the ruling party, the PML, the situation was not very different. The ascendency of bureaucracy in the power structure entrenched the dominance of Muhajirs and Punjabis. In order to maintain their dominance, the Muhajirs emphasised ‘Muslim nationalism’, which meant the promotion of their own language and culture. After partition, the Muhajir intelligentsia presented themselves as preservers of ‘Muslim culture’ and steered public discourse according to their values. Punjabis, as another dominant group with a language that is close to Urdu with slight variations, also supported the ‘Muslim nationalism’ as opposed to resurgent, but marginalised ethnic groups. Under the patronisation of the ruling elite, Karachi, a Muhajir dominant city, became the commercial hub of Pakistan.

Ethnic groups from less-developed areas were poorly placed in the power structure. However, the elite in those areas had experienced a taste of autonomy, while the populace in general, due to increased ethnic consciousness, were not willing to accept the dominance of other ethnic groups.

There were better prospects for jobs and business in Pakistan’s rapidly developing urban centres — particularly in Karachi — as compared to Afghanistan’s stagnant economy and this channelled the Pakhtuns’ mobility southwards. They found new economic opportunities in Pakistan and thus became well-represented in the power structure and integrated with Pakistan, economically, at least. Thus initially, the Punjabis and Muhajirs were the dominant groups. Later on, Pakhtun influence increased while the Muhajirs’ share of power declined, but Punjabis have maintained their disproportionate share in power throughout the history of the state.

Pakhtunistan: Dynamism And Religion Separation To Partner Of The Power Elite

For the British Raj, the maintenance of direct control over Pakhtuns had always been a daunting task, given the history of Pakhtun resistance against invaders. During the first half of the 20th century, the instinct of resistance took an ethno-nationalist shape because of the nation state discourse that developed due to the various nationalist movements in India and nation-building projects in Afghanistan. However, in contrast to Sindh and Balochistan, where the tribal/feudal elite was articulating ethnic autonomy for postcolonial arrangements, the minor Khans in KPK were leading the anti-colonial movement, as the big Khans had been patronised and co-opted by colonial masters.

Ghaffar Khan, because of the well-developed organisational structure and support base his social movement, Khudai Khidmatgar, had the advantage in the provincial electoral politics. Hence, when this sociocultural movement participated in electoral politics as a provincial unit of the Congress party, it won consecutive provincial elections, i.e. the provincial elections held in 1937 and 1946.

The above excerpt is taken from the chapter ‘Centralized Governance and Ethnic Diversity’.

Excerpted with permission from
Governance in Pakistan Hybridism, Political Instability, and Violence
By Sagheer Ahmad Khan
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0199401840
328pp.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, September 25th, 2016

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