LAHORE: Historian Ayesha Jalal says Pakistan is still perpetuating colonialism through its institutions.

“Our failure is at institutional level and we have to change this. Much of what colonialism comprises of is colonial bureaucracy with several opportunities of rapid promotion which in turn further declines the institution’s own strength. Institutions need to be constantly changing but it is easier to perpetuate a system that is already in place rather than make a new one,” she said while speaking at talk, titled ‘Understanding Contemporary Pakistan through History,’ organised by the Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR) on Friday. The talk was hosted by Ali Cheema, programme director Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan. Ijaz Nabi, chairman of the board of governors of the CDPR, also joined briefly through a video link.

“Despite the narrative that Pakistan is a failed state this country has a sort of resilience. There are also narratives that say that not only it is a failed state, it is also an ‘insignificant state’. But what’s the criteria for failing?” she asked, saying history was the only thing that could give the right picture.

“People imagine that Pakistan’s institutions are failing while India’s are well-established but they are also decaying very slowly and I am not sure which is worse. There are different situations on both sides.”

She spoke on the centralised system and declared it as a major issue.

“The question of federation and the issues arising from it is a problem of all South Asian countries. Jinnah had said back in that time that constituent units should have a great deal of negotiating power. But that is not what is happening. No debate is allowed to the marginalised units and somehow their challenge to anything done by the Centre becomes treason.”

Dr Jalal also addressed a notion regarding Pakistan being a failed state since its inception, saying there was no necessary connection of failure in Pakistan’s history and this narrative didn’t have basis. There were decisions made by individual leaders through the history that shaped Pakistan as it stood today, including the decisions by the military dictators, she argued.

She said that after Jinnah’s demise things went off balance which delayed the constitution while India had one in place by 1950.

“There were religious groups that did not even want Pakistan but after Jinnah’s death they hijacked it with their own narrative. There was also an issue of the Bengalis’ representation. On the other hand, India’s constitution was criticised by Chandra Bose who said it was not well-equipped for emergencies and that it gave too much extra power to the Centre.”

About the prejudice in Punjab towards Balochistan and other provinces, Ayesha Jalal said that it was not just political anymore.

“It does not even matter whether Balochistan acceded to Pakistan initially or not, what matters is how Punjab handled everything and how Balochistan for example has become a victim to social and political indifference and neglect. The least we could have done was to win over its middle and educated classes.”

Ms Jalal suggested that the problem could only be solved now by giving them a share of power in the Centre and to let them know that they had ownership of the country.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2017