“PAKISTAN: THE FIRST 11 YEARS 1947-1958” PART 1

<< THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE PAKISTANI NATION-STATE

“PAKISTAN: THE FIRST 11 YEARS 1947-1958”PART-2 >>

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Lesson 2

"PAKISTAN: THE FIRST 11 YEARS 1947-1958" PART 1

The reason for defining a framework of 11 years i.e. from 1947-1958 is the fact that the civil, political process

prevailed in this period. It was in October 1958 that this desirable and ideal process i.e. the civil, political

process ― which, in real life, in virtually every country of the world is far from ideal! ― was disrupted by the

abrogation of the Constitution and the introduction and imposition of martial law. October 1958 therefore

marks a fundamental turning point in the history of Pakistan.

When we attempt the task of evaluating the progress of a nation-state, one of the first questions that arises is:

when exactly should we evaluate a nation-state? Perhaps one of the answers to that question is related, in

turn, to the question as to which of the 5 categories of nation-states spelt out in Lecture #1 does a particular

nation-state belong? For example, if we are evaluating the progress of a nation-state that belongs to the first

category, i.e. of historical nation-states, and even if there is a country with a long history which has become a

nation-state, in the modern sense, as late as somewhere in the 20th century (e.g. China in 1949) then we will

have to apply very strict criteria because countries with a long history have had plenty of time to evolve and

to correct basic aspects that otherwise retard positive growth.

For a nation-state belonging to the second category i.e. of migratory nation-states, then too the evaluation has

to be made on a fairly strict basis because such countries have been evolving over the past 200 to 300 years.

The only exception we could make is in the case of South Africa where the white race-based apartheid system

ended only in 1990 and the majority rule by blacks or a political system on a non-racial basis was

implemented only onwards of 1990 i.e. about 30 to 40 years after countries like Pakistan and India became

independent.

For a country that belongs to the third category i.e. of permutated states, then our evaluation may be

somewhat less strict than in the previous two categories. Even though, at least in the case of Germany and

Italy, they too have had over 100 years to develop as nation-states. In the case of a country belonging to the

fourth category i.e. post-colonial nation-states, we should probably be ready to make a fairly generous

allowance for the fact that in many such cases, the territorial frontiers of such nation-states were arbitrarily

drawn and that it therefore takes sometime for such countries to adjust to their existing form and territory.

In the case of a country like Pakistan which belongs to the fifth category i.e. religion-based states, we have

already seen in Lecture #1 that we are quite different from Israel, Iran and Nepal which all claim to be

directly linked with religion in some way or the other, and the very origin and "age" of Pakistan as a concept

for a nation-state is exceptionally young and recent.

We therefore need to be the most flexible and tolerant and generous in our evaluation of Pakistan.

However, this does not mean that we by-pass truth or that we deliberately ignore errors and blunders,

weaknesses and follies that we committed between our independence in 1947, and our advent into the 21st

century.

Even after making the maximum possible allowance for our uniqueness and the extraordinary, unrivalled

difficulties that we faced at the time of our independence, we need to apply a candid and comprehensive

focus on our history. Therefore, in Lecture #2, we look at the principal themes and trends that became

evident in the very crucial and initially formative phase of Pakistan. Some of the themes and trends that we

saw in this first 11 years had already begun to make them evident in undivided India before 1947. For

instance, some of these previously running themes have to do with some aspects of human nature, with a

preference of colonial forces for authoritarian approaches to political problems, with the desire to impose

"order" in order to manage confusion.

Some of the themes and trends came suddenly to the fore with, and after independence. Some were not

anticipated and there was lack of preparedness for such phenomena. There were clearly two positive themes

in this first 11-year period. The first was the existence of a will and a determination amongst all the people

who had suddenly come together to form a new nation-state that they must simply survive at all cost. Like a

baby that is thrown into the water and forced to instinctively learn how to swim in order to keep its head

above water, in the case of Pakistan too it was like being thrown into a large body of turbulent water without

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knowing how to swim. But instead of being able to use both arms and both legs to swim, the predicament of

Pakistan was that it was like being asked to learn how to swim with only one arm and one leg, if we remember

all the enormous difficulties that we faced at birth.

The second positive theme was our resilience, the capacity to resume "normalcy" and the ability to generate

new levels of activity even after suffering a tremendous setback as occurred with the decline in the health of

the Quaid-i-Azam and in his very early demise just 13 months after the securing of freedom. Another

example is our ability to resume our struggle for survival after the inconclusive war with India over Kashmir

which we had to fight in 1948. In contrast to the positive themes, there were also 4 negative themes and

trends evident in the first 11 years.

Inheriting the colonial, authoritarian, "ruler type mentality" through the Government of India Act 1935, the

first 11 years of Pakistan were marked by a concentration of undue power at the central level, an imbalance

that became particularly noticeable because of the peculiar, two-wing structure of the new nation-state. This

imbalance of power at the Centre led to frequent dismissals and changes of governments in the Provinces, as

well as at the Centre.

A third negative theme was the unwillingness to extend respect and attention to the otherwise rich diversity

of languages, ethnicities and cultures in Pakistan, the phenomenon that was mis-perceived as being the basis

for possible disunity, division and weakness. The most profound example of this theme is the manner in

which the people and the language of East Bengal / East Pakistan were not afforded their due recognition, -

thus planting seeds of mistrust and resentment which were only belatedly sought to be redressed.

The fourth negative theme in the first 11 years was the tendency to take arbitrary decisions in a highly

personalized manner which expressed an authoritarian tendency non-accountable for its actions and its

consequences. This tendency was evident in the dismissal of provincial governments, particularly in Sindh in

1948 in the case of Chief Minister Ayub Khuhro who was deemed to be indulging in corrupt practices but

who continued to have the support of the majority of the members of the Sindh Assembly. Should the

principle of democratic legitimacy being derived from a proven democratic majority have been respected or,

in the "larger national interest", should the power to dismiss a majority government have been used? The

manner in which this kind of action was taken four decades later in the 1990s suggests that the original

dismissals in 1948 and thereafter did not set a good example. The debate can continue.

In Lecture #2, by coincidence, while the scope of the lecture covers the first 11 years of Pakistan, 11 major

factors have also been identified which shaped the content and direction of our history.

Excerpts from books for this hand-out:

To help the students note the different nuances and perceptions that determined the direction of themes and

trends at that time, this handout includes reproductions of the following documents which students are urged

to read, and to reflect upon:

54 pages from the chapters titled: "Economic & Financial Problems of the New State" (Chapter 16)

and "Administrative & Political Problems of the New State" (Chapter 17) from the book titled: "The

Emergence of Pakistan" by Chaudhry Muhamad Ali, Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 1955

to September 1956) published by the Research Society of Pakistan, University of Punjab, Lahore.

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