CONTENTS

Executive Summary............................................................................................2
1-Brief introduction regarding Culture.................................................................3
2 -Elements of Culture........................................................................................ .4
3-Pakistani Culture in History..............................................................................7
3.1-The Historical Evolution of Pakistani Culture..............................................9
3.1.1-Gandhara Culture................................................................................9
3.1.2-Impact of Islam..................................................................................10
3.1.3-The Impact of colonial culture............................................................11
3.1.4-Post-Independence culture................................................................12
4-Interpreting Culture: Our Own and Others.....................................................13
5-Cultural complexity and Diversity..................................................................15
6-How culture Develops, Inferiority or Superiority in its members?..................16
7-Ethnocentrism...................................................................................... ..........17
8-Xenocentrism ................................................................................................18
8.1-John D. Fullmer theory of Xenocentrism...................................................19
9-Causes of Xenocentrism in Pakistan...............................................................20
10-Effects of Xenocentrism in Pakistani society................................................31
11-How to reduce the Xenocentrism.................................................................34
12-Applying the Principles of Quaid and Iqbal in our cultural policy..................39
12.1-Iqbal’s concept of culture.......................................................................40
12.2-Quaid-e-Azam concept on Pakistani culture...........................................41
Reference ......................................................................................... ................44
............................................................................................................... ..........45
Brief introduction regarding Culture.................................................................46
Xenocentrism ...................................................................................................47

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Culture is a dynamic phenomenon, it is constantly going to diversify itself;

different norms, values, goods and bad from different societies emerge in one
of the culture. Same in case of Pakistan; which is a state of 16 billion people,
came into existence just fifty five years back, with its unique identity, ideology
and culture. This unique culture was a mixture of different societies that were
here in this region thousands years back. In this culture of Pakistan there is
influence of ancient Hindus civilization, the effects of Muslims monarch and
final impact of the British colonization. At time of freedom people of Pakistan
treat themselves as a nation having a Muslim identity but now the scenario is
totally change, people took their own culture as alien and have tendency to
adopt the foreigner western culture. This trend is called the Xenocentrism and
our whole report is revolving around this particular phenomenon in Pakistani
nation.

We are loosing our identity by changing and adopting foreigner styles, ideas,
thinking, communication etc. We are copying all that stuff from the west
directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously and for a nation it is a thing
of great menace. With the globalization it was one of the biggest challenges
that colonial states like Pakistan has faced but unfortunately we fail to
unwavering our identity. The reasons for this failure are hundred but some of
the majors are our education system, our system of politics, our constitution,
our media, our changing family structure and finally our Government. In fact
the Government play a major role in it because it do nothing for the survival of
our culture and we have loose every thing even our basic way of
communication (Urdu) and adopted the foreign colonial masters.

Now, the question arises what should be the policy for the survival and
rehabilitation of our culture? The answer is that we have to do every thing for
the survival and rehabilitation of our culture as soon as possible. We have to
take all the necessary measure to block out this cultural change. The first step
we can take is to change our education policy and remove this duality so the
people don’t confuse in the duality of our system this will help to gain the
confidence in our young nation. Same we have to reapply the cultural concept
of Iqbal and Quaid adopted such policies which are according to their vision.
Media should play its positive role regarding our culture, in these days media is
showing and promoting the foreigner heroes and changing the attitude of
nation towards nationalism. This should be condemned and media should
adopt such policy which is not in conflict with the culture.

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 1-BRIEF INTRODUCTION REGARDING CULTURE

Of primary importance to the study of human behavior is the study of culture

which is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior. Culture defines
our Weltanschauung, in fact, culture determines everything about us including
our ideas, norm, values, customs, and artifacts, in other words, what and how
we think, how we behave, what we believe, our understandings of right and
wrong and good and evil, how we interact with one another, and what we
make.

William F. Ogburn (1886-1959) wrote that there were two aspects to culture:
material culture which is the physical or technological aspects of our daily
lives (food, houses, factories, raw materials, etc.), and non-material culture
which are our ways of using material objects (customs, beliefs, philosophies,
governments, and patterns of communication). From Ogburn’s concepts we
have developed the idea of three types of culture: cognitive culture which is
what we think and believe, normative culture which is what we do and how
we behave, and material culture which is what we make and how we use the
natural world.

In the process of interpreting our own and others’ cultures, terms such as
“ethnocentrism,” “xenocentrism,” “temporocentrism,” and “cultural relativism”
are useful. Ethnocentrism is the assumption that one’s own culture is superior
to others. Xenocentrism, the opposite of ethnocentrism, is the belief that
what is foreign is best. Temporocentrism, is the belief that one’s own time is
more important than the past or present; it is the temporal equivalent of
ethnocentrism. The belief that culture must be judged on their own terms
rather than by the standards of another culture is known as cultural
relativism.

A culture is a complex and diverse system comprised of many interdependent

factors. Subcultures participate in the larger, dominant culture, but possess
their own set of cultural elements. Countercultures adhere to sets of norms and
values that contradict those of the larger culture. Ideal cultures are created
through shared group interactions. In most cultures, differences exist between
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what people are supposed to do—ideal culture—and what they actually do—
real culture. All societies have particular needs and goals. Social institutions
develop to meet those basic needs and goals.

2 -ELEMENTS OF CULTURE

The term “culture” means different things to different people. To some, it is associated with
activities. Elite culture refers to the life style of the wealthy, affluent, or upper classes. POPULAz is
viewed as the culture, particularly the leisure time, of the common people. Both of these cultures
having certain set of elements like language, norms, values etc.

1. Symbols

The existence of culture depends on people’s ability to create and understand SYMBOLS,
things that are used to represent something else.

• Symbols are arbitrary designations that are collective creations; most sociologists
believe that the ability to use symbols is uniquely human.
• Success or failure in many relationships, both personal and professional, often
depends upon our ability to communicate symbolically.

2. Language

The systematized usage of speech and hearing to convey or express feelings and ideas, is
the most important set of symbols.
• Language is uniquely human and is one of the basic distinctions between human
beings and other forms of life, as demonstrated by the comparative studies of infants
and chimpanzees.
• Regular use of words over time and place, and the widespread use of certain words,
indicate that language is an integral and universal part of culture. Linguistic symbols
are learned and shared just like other cultural traits.
• In addition to a verbal and written language, every culture develops a “silent
language” of gestures, expressions, and mannerisms; knowledge of this nonverbal
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 language can be very useful to those who must deal with people from different
cultures.
• The SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS suggests that our perceptions of reality and
consequent behaviors are significantly influenced by the grammatical forms, labels,
and categories provided by our language.

3. Values

These are shared ideas of what is important and worthwhile by the people in a society.
Values often are emotionally charged and learned early in life.

• Most values have both positive and negative counterparts.

• When basic values conflict with one another, a person may experience guilt or mental
stress and attempt to resolve the guilt by pursuing alternative courses of action.
• Despite the social diversity of the United States, Robin M. Williams (1970) described
15 major value orientations that are shared in our culture, including belief in
achievement and success, external conformity, and democracy.
• Williams states that most conflicts between value systems in the United States occur
between values centering around individual personalities and values organized around
categorical themes or conceptions. Group discrimination and racism, for example, are
contrary to other central values of our society.
• An understanding of value systems can be useful for many people in their work. The
ability to recognize and deal with competing value systems leads to better
management.

4. Social Norms

Norms are rules of conduct or social expectations specifying how people should or should
not behave in various social situations. Norms are either prescriptive or proscriptive.
William G. Sumner identified two types of norms, FOLKWAYS and MORES, and
distinguished between them by

• the degree to which group members are compelled to conform to them

• their importance
• the severity of punishment if they are violated
• the intensity of feelings associated with adherence to them

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 i. Folkways

Folk Ways are learned customs or conventions that are passed down from one
generation to the next; violation tends to be punished mildly, if at all.

ii. Mores

Mores are considered more important than folkways; reactions to their violations
are more serious. They tend to involve clear-cut distinctions between right and
wrong and are more closely identified with society’s important values. Mores that
prohibit something, that state “thou shalt not,” are called TABOOS. To care for
one’s child is called a MOS (singular for MORES), while committing incest is a
TABOO.

iii. Laws

These are formal, standardized expressions of norms enacted by legislative bodies

to regulate particular types of behaviors. Laws state the punishment for their
violation and are enforced by a group designated for that purpose.

5. Technology
Technology is the practical production and application of material
techniques and products to maintain a culture’s standard of living; it
includes social customs and practical techniques for converting raw
materials into finished products.

For example, ARTIFACTS are physical objects that reflect a society’s technology.
Artifacts provide clues to a society’s level of technological development, but
the presence of more sophisticated technology in one culture as opposed to
another culture should not be used as scientific criteria for evaluating the two.
It is a mistake to dismiss a culture’s technological system because it appears to
be less developed or complex than our own.

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 3-PAKISTANI CULTURE IN HISTORY

In addition to the geographical factors that form the basis of man’s interaction
with nature, it is through historical experience that people show their strength,
ability to learn, capacity to change and willingness to adapt to the new
situations. Pakistan’s history clearly demonstrates that its people have always
reacted positively to new historical movements and have always absorbed the
finest ingredients of other cultures either through cultural and commercial
contacts and sometimes even through warfare. The basis of Pakistani culture is
its land. It was here that the first foundation of an enduring culture was laid.

Pakistan’s historical experience also depicts a cross-road impact on our culture.

At different episodes of our history, our people came into contact with many
civilizations. Some features of these civilizations form an integral part of our
culture. But this process of acculturation was made possible only by the
grammar of our indigenous culture. Our historical experience is therefore a
testimony to the capacity of our cultural patterns. There is indeed a need to
critically assess the impact of these phases of history on our culture and to find
out the underlying principles of our society which kept its strength and identity
and yet absorbed the enduring elements of some of the best known world
civilizations.

ISLAM AND PAKISTANI CULTURE

It is important to note that Islam entered in the areas constituting Pakistan

much before the Muslim rule began in Delhi. It is also noteworthy that Islam
flourished in those areas which were away from the centre of Muslim political
power and were often at odds with the sultans and kings of Delhi. It means that
the acceptance of Islam by the people of Pakistan was not because the political
predominance of the Muslims in South Asia but because of the capacity of
Pakistani Culture to identify itself with the spirit of Islamic culture. It also means
that our indigenous culture was receptive to the ideas generated by Islam and
did not perceive the new religion as a threat to its governing principles.

The bond between Islam and Pakistani Culture was strengthened by the Sufis,
saints and scholars. The Sufi poets used native metaphors, similes and love
parables to spread the message of Islam. Music, dance, painting and songs
contributed significantly to some of the philosophical dimensions of Islam. It
7
was this strength of our culture that when the movement for freedom was
launched, it was popular Islam with its intellectual dimensions that supported
the establishment of an independent Pakistan.

The rapid changes in communication and technology are bound to influence

our culture. These changes have been described under the appellation of
global village syndrome which manifests its impact through television and
other forms of mass media. This technological stimulation of consciousness has
to be collectively and corporately understood in our society. It requires the
depth of awareness, empathy and willingness to adopt new ideas.

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 3.1-THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF PAKISTANI CULTURE

The origins of Pakistani culture are rooted in its rivers, mountain, plains,
deserts, animals and flora and fauna. The areas constituting Pakistan are one of
the oldest seats of human civilization. The Indus River and its tributaries
provided food and protection of the people living in these areas. It is the story
of a nation and a territory that has existed in history for more than 5000 years
with short intervals of political occupation by different dynasties. The
discoveries at Mehrgarh in Balochistan are significant in reinforcing the
antiquity of our culture. Normally, people trace their cultural identity from the
origins of their culture evolving since the time of their recorded history.

Contemporary studies show early human settlements in Punjab, Upper Sindh.

Chitral, Swat, Peshawar, Gomal and Bolan regions. These people were engaged
in cultivation of land and practiced belief systems with a clear perception of a
supreme power who the source of all bounties for mankind. The Indus valley
culture was further enriched by Buddhism whose traces are still visible in
brotherhood, hospitality and conventional wisdom of our people.

3.1.1-GANDHARA CULTURE

During the post-Buddhist period, a new culture developed which was

culminated in the shape of the Gandhara Culture. In 558 BC, Cyrus conquered
the northern areas of Pakistan and later on Darius added Makran and Sindh
valley to Iranian empire. Since the Iranians were constantly at war with the
Greeks, the impact of this strife was also felt in this area. The Gandhara culture
originated from the interaction of the local people with the Aryan traditions,
Iranian influence, Greek impact, the culture of Mauriyas, Sakas and Parthians.
In addition to these regional and ethnic influences, it had the stamp of religious
impact: the Vedas, Aryan religious concepts, Buddhism, Paganism and
Zoroastrianism. Some of the important features of this culture have been
mentioned in various contemporary studies. Herodotus mentions that cotton
dress was most commonly used by the people of Punjab and Sindh. Bow and
arrows were manufactured. We also learn that Taxila was a centre of learning
with Kautilya and Panini as the major scholars, teaching diplomacy, statecraft
and linguistics. During this period we observe Iranian influence on coinage and
international trade. New trade roots were discovered and goods were
exchanged between Pakistan and other countries in the region. So far as the
political implications of the Greek imperial culture were concerned, they were
strongly resisted by the local people. Alexander the Great during his
adventures received perhaps the strongest resistance in Punjab and Sindh. The
period of Gandhara culture was also enriched by the contribution of Mauriyas
and Kanishka, whose capital was Peshawar.
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 3.1.2-IMPACT OF ISLAM

Although Buddhism as a religion was pushed out of Indus Valley by the closed
society of Brahmans, its impact on our culture had been enormous. Therefore
when Islam appeared in this region, it was Buddhist culture which embraced it
willingly. It must be pointed out that the areas that constitute Pakistan today
were on the periphery of the Muslim empire in Delhi, yet Islam established
itself in Pakistan with more speed than around the Muslim seat of political
power. This again testifies to the cultural values of this area, which were more
open and liberal than their counterparts in Central India.

The impact of Muslim culture was steady. Starting with the Arabs in Balochistan
and Sindh, it culminated through the Muslim impact from Central Asia. Cultural
transformation of this area had taken place much before the Muslim flag was
hoisted on Delhi. It was not a simple case of Muslim political predominance but
the presence of a culture which saw similarities between Islam and the
indigenous social patterns. It is indeed relevant to point out that the
subsequent upheavals of Muslim empire in the rest of the subcontinent felt the
impact of this territory both in terms of its strength and weakness. The most
predominant feature of Muslim culture was the development of cities, trading
centres, and bazaars. The mosque occupied a unique place not only for
religious purposes but also for commercial and social gatherings. If we look at
the contribution of different saints in bringing the new religion to the masses,
we will see that it was in many ways emancipation from the different forms of
oppression.

Pakistani culture bears a deep imprint of the thought and the life style of Sufis
who used local medium to convey the intellectual content of the message of the
Prophet of Islam. Even those Sufis who had received their education and
training in Iran and Central Asia adopted local practices in order to appeal to a
wider public. Shah Latif’s story of Marvi, Baba Farid’s Dohre and Rahman
Baba’s poetry all represent the local nodes, natural environments and regional
symbols revealing the truth of Islam. The Mughals introduced new innovations
in architecture especially mosques, tombs and gardens. New flowers and plants
were introduced. Dress, music, cuisine and painting achieved new dimensions.
The impact of Islam was felt on local religions and the emergence of Sikh
religion and Bhakti movement could not have been possible without an
interaction with Islam.

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 3.1.3-THE IMPACT OF COLONIAL CULTURE

"All the new nations faced severe problems, for political independence did not
automatically bring them prosperity and happiness...they were seldom free of
external influences. They were still bound to...structures developed earlier by
the colonial powers."

THOMAS H. GREER. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, 5th edition. San
Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1987, p. 536-37.

By the end of the first half of the 19th century, this area was occupied by the
British who had come to the subcontinent 150 years ago. In order to control the
people of this region, the British created a new comprador class which
represented their economic and commercial interest and a new feudal class
which was assigned to controlling the local population. Some of the
manifestations of this new development were made possible through the
settlement of canal colonies, railways and other forms of communication
designed primarily with defence and commercial considerations in mind, but
which made the population more mobile.

The British also introduced a new language and a new educational and
administrative system. It is a truism that each language brings its own culture.
The introduction of the English language imported Western cultural paradigms
in Pakistan. Forms of literary works underwent a change and the influence of
European themes became visible. These impressions were further strengthened
through the missionary schools and emergence of a new urban culture. Cricket,
which has now become a part of our culture, was a product of this period.

Social stratification also underwent considerable change both in the urban as

well as rural areas.

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 3.1.4-POST-INDEPENDENCE CULTURE

The impact of some myopic post-independence policies on our cultural heritage was almost
suicidal. The tragedy of East Pakistan was essentially a product of this unfortunate legacy. In 1947,
what we inherited was a conglomeration of regional culture which shared common grounds could
act as a bond to integrate various regional cultures.

Post-1971 Pakistan represented a turning point in our history which points at two lessons. Firstly, no
system of government could keep Pakistan as a united entity but democracy. Democracy ensures
participation of the people in policy formulation and provides true legitimacy to rulers and
legislators. Pakistan was created because of democracy and it was the power of the people that had
strengthened the hands of our leaders who foiled every attempt that was aimed at denying our
independence. Secondly, that religion alone could not keep us together, especially when it is not
reflective of the people’s aspirations. Pakistani people identify their religion with the Holy Prophet
of Islam whose treatment of his followers as well as Christians and Jews provide the ultimate
framework of establishing a cosmopolitan society where religious affiliations, racial and ethnic
considerations, and allusion to social and political status are not allowed to hinder the distribution of
social justice, equality, and brotherhood. These dimensions of Islam form an integral part of our
popular culture which has been strengthened by the messages of love and mutual respect by the
saints of this land.

It shows that the state can only succeed in an environment of peace, tolerance, and freedom where
people feel free to practise their religion.

Where the state was not able or willing to provide a conducive environment, arts, theatre and film
industry suffered. This facilitated the VCR/DVD/CD culture which was nourished by uncensored
foreign films. Many of the younger generation were drawn to these films, several of which depicted
violence, obscenity and corruption. The unfortunate impact of this new culture is still visible in our
cities and towns, and has even penetrated some of our countryside.

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 4-INTERPRETING CULTURE: OUR OWN AND OTHERS

4.1-Ethnocentrism

Sumner defined Ethnocentrism as “that view of things in which one’s own

group is the center of everything and all others are scaled and rated with
reference to it.” It is the attitude that one’s own culture is superior to others;
that one’s own beliefs, values, and behaviors are more correct than others; and
that other people and cultures can be evaluated in terms of one’s own culture.

1. Ethnocentrism is particularly strong among people who have had little

contact with other cultures; yet ethnocentric attitudes are found among
the highly educated and experienced travelers as well.

2. The functions of ethnocentrism include

• Promoting unity

• Encouraging conformity

• Reinforcing nationalism

• Maintaining the status quo

3. The dysfunctions of ethnocentrism include

• Increasing resistance to beneficial change

• Discouraging integration

• Increasing the likelihood of hostility and conflicts among

groups

• Preventing beneficial social change.

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4.2-Xenocentrism

The opposite of ethnocentrism, is the belief that one’s own lifestyle, products,
or ideas are inferior to those of other cultures.

There are a lot of factors involved which causes the Xenocentrism. We have to
consider these factors in the aspects of developing and underdeveloped
nations, because the problem is more common in under develop and
developing nation. Some of these factors are

1. An economic plague in underdeveloped and developing nations

2. Leads to the collapse of local industries because of the lack of a local

market

3. Incapable of sustaining an industrial base

4. Third World countries often have been convinced by their former colonial
masters

4.3-Tempocentrism

It is the belief that one’s own time is more important than the past or future.
Historical events are judged not in their own context, but rather on the basis of
contemporary standards. It is most prevalent among those who lack historical
perspective.

4.4-Cultural Relativism

The belief that cultures must be judged on their own terms is known as Cultural
Relativism

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 • Cultural relativism means that a behavior appropriate in one place may
not be appropriate everywhere.

• Knowledge of cultural relativism can be useful to anyone who works with

people from different cultures.

5-CULTURAL COMPLEXITY AND DIVERSITY

Culture is a complex and diverse system of independent factors; its

organization is influenced by physical circumstances such as climate,
geography, and population. The complexity of a culture can best be understood
by examining various units of a culture.

5.1-Subcultures

These are groups of people who participate in the larger, dominant culture yet
also maintain their own distinctive life styles and set of cultural elements as
well. In heterogeneous societies, a person may be a member of several
subcultures at any one time or at different times in his or her life.

5.2-Counter culture

It is a subculture that adheres to “a set of norms and values that sharply

contradict the dominant norms and values of the society of which that group is
a part.”Ideologically, countercultures adhere to a set of beliefs and values that
radically reject the society’s dominant culture and prescribe an alternative set.

5.3-Ideal culture

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Every group forms an Idioculture, a system of shared knowledge, beliefs,
behaviors, and customs created through enduring group interactions and
shared experiences.

5.4-Real culture

In most cultures, differences exist between what people are supposed to do

and what they actually do; that is, there is a distinction between the ideal
culture and the real culture. Regardless of the manner in which cultures are
organized, all cultures share some basic concerns, known as cultural universals.
Food, shelter, and protection are examples.

6-HOW CULTURE DEVELOPS, INFERIORITY OR

SUPERIORITY IN ITS MEMBERS?

Usually societies are proud of whatever they have i.e. their culture, their
traditions, their norms their values, their inventions etc. These norms,
traditions and culture are the valuable inherent from their ancestors. So they
should be proud of that. But there are certain extremes regarding this
phenomenon which both are considered abnormalities. These two extremes are

1-Ethnocentrism

2-Xenocentrism

Both these two are related with the importance and value which is given by the
member of society for their own culture.

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 7-ETHNOCENTRISM

The tendency to assume that one’s own culture and way of life are superior to
all others. Some degree of ethnocentrism is necessary for social cohesion but
frequently creates conflict between different or diverse cultural groups

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the

perspective of one's own culture. Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that
one's own race or ethnic group is the most important and/or that some or all
aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups. Within this
ideology, individuals will judge other groups in relation to their own particular
ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behaviour,
customs, and religion.

These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define each ethnicity's

unique cultural identity. Ethnocentrism leads us to make false assumptions
about cultural differences. We are ethnocentric when we use our cultural norms
to make generalizations about other peoples' cultures and customs. Such
generalizations -- often made without a conscious awareness that we've used
our culture as a universal yardstick -- can be way off base and cause us to
misjudge other peoples.

Ethnocentric thinking causes us to make wrong assumptions about other

people because Ethnocentrism leads us to make premature judgments."They"
may not be very good at what we are best at. By evaluating "them" by what we
are best at, we miss the many other aspects of life that they often handle more
competently than we do.

Examples

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Some very simple examples of ethnocentric thinking. . .

We often talk about British drivers driving "on the wrong side" of the road. Why
not just sa "opposite side" or even "left hand side"?

We talk about written Hebrew as reading "backward." Why not just say "from
right to left" or "in the opposite direction from English."

Former Taliban Government try to implement their own culture by laws and
react quickly to the individual who wanted to act against the society norms and
values.

While in Pakistani society if we see at the things like people hate the Indian
culture, their religion, the way they greet and the way they treat idols is in fact
example of ethnocentrism.

8-XENOCENTRISM

In literary sense, Xenocentrism means a preference for the foreign, broadly

speaking, Xenocentrism is the term used that the people have been convinced
that any products developed in their own countries are inferior to those that
are produced in more industrialized nations Xenocentrism. Or more precisely
in sociology term we can define it as that

It is the belief by the people that the products, styles, or

ideas of their own society are inferior to those that
originates elsewhere in any other developed society.

In a sense, it is a reverse ethnocentrism. For example, people in the United

States often assume that French fashions or Japanese electronic devices are
superior to their own. Are they? Or are people unduly charmed by the lure of
goods from exotic places? Such fascination with overseas products can be
damaging to competitors in the United States. Some U.S. companies have
responded by creating products that sound European, such as Haagen-Dazs ice
cream (made in Teaneck, New Jersey). Conflict theorists are most likely to
consider the economic impact of xenocentrism in the developing world.
Consumers in developing nations frequently turn their backs on locally

18
produced goods and instead purchase items imported from Europe or North
America (Warner Wilson et al. 1976).

Those who leave their country to live abroad are not the only ones who reject
ethnocentrism. In every society a few persons reject their group or some part
of its culture. There are anti Semitic Jews, blacks who reject black identity,
aristocrats who lead revolutions, priests, who abandon their faith and so on.
This rejection of one’s group or its culture is a form of deviant behavior. There
are few individuals or groups present who are in claim of xenocentrism but the
ratio to develop to developing and underdeveloped is quite high, as in case of
Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh etc.

8.1- JOHN D. FULLMER THEORY OF XENOCENTRISM

Xenocentrism has recently been used in social philosophy to describe a

particular ethical disposition. Ethnocentrism, as coined by Professor William
Graham Sumner 1of Yale University, describes the natural tendencies of an
individual to place disproportionate worth upon the values and beliefs of one's
own culture relative to others. Expanding upon this idea, John D.
Fullmer of Brigham Young University offered that Xenocentrism results from an
attempt on the part on an individual to correct his or her own ethnocentrism.
He argued that as an individual reacts to his own perceived ethnocentrism, he
or she will often overcompensate and instead begin to place undue
consideration upon the ideas and needs of social groups that are far removed.

Thereby, a wealthy philanthropist may hear of an obscure disease in a distant

country and invest in its research, although the matter is not entirely pressing
within the community that he resides. The tendency for xenocentrism is also
used to explain the reason that, in the political systems of many liberalist
democracies, emphasis is often placed upon legislation to protect groups that
are of a minuscule minority and with whom most voters have no immediate
experience.

Fullmer further asserts, however, that as an individual begins to place

importance upon things once foreign to him, he or she almost inevitably
depreciates those matters that are present and familiar. In events which
directly contrast the welfare of two parties, such as war, it can be seen in many
1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ John D. Fullmer
19
free-speaking democracies that a large portion of the population is more
sympathetic toward the deaths of foreign citizens rather than toward the
deaths of the society's own soldiers. Furthermore, Fullmer argues that
xenocentrism is the major defining attribute of all dissenters to modern wars
undertaken by contemporary liberalist democracies. Soldiers from common
American communities, for example, are not greeted with sympathy by
xenocentric groups, but instead are appropriated disparaging labels such as
'baby killer' as in the Vietnam War. Thus, it has been proposed that the
excesses of Xenocentrism are the primary cause of many liberalist
democracies' difficulty to politically justify and sustain foreign wars.

9-CAUSES OF XENOCENTRISM IN PAKISTAN

9.1-Educational institutions

WE MUST DO OUR BEST TO FORM A CLASS WHO MAY BE

INTERPRETERS BETWEEN US AND THE MILLIONS WHOM WE
GOVERN, A CLASS OF PERSONS INDIAN IN BLOOD AND
COLOUR, BUT ENGLISH IN TASTE, IN OPINIONS, WORDS AND
INTELLECT."

Thomas Macaulay2

This was the wording still embedded in the books of the history but
unfortunately in Pakistani nation there is not such thought of their own because
we are living in free country but our thoughts are not free as it should be. We
still are the slaves of English rulers and all our loyalties are towards our
masters. We want to adopt all their things means their culture, their thoughts,
their way of living and thinking. We have nothing own of ourselves. In fact we

2
Thomas Macaulay, architect of Colonial Britain's Educational Policy in India.
20
are blank in our thoughts and in our practical’s. All this is due to our education
system which is a divine gift from our rulers.

It is the very duty of educational institutions to develop proud among the

members of the nations that they belong to a respectable and honorable
culture. If this feeling is developed, then nobody will feel inferiority about
his/her own culture. But unfortunately our educational institutions did not
perform their duty. Our education policy is not such that which realize our own
cultural superiority among the masses but it is more towards the xenocentrism.

Might be it is one of the reason of our colonial masters who give us British and
western culture. We are neither proper Muslim, nor proper western civilized. We
are hanging in between our own Muslims, Indians or Hindus and western
cultures. All this is what we are teaching to our children and what we are
learning in our educational institutions.

9.2-Foreign Educational Institutions

Some people of Pakistan are from foreign educational institutions. These

institutions inject in their delicate mind that your own culture is inferior
to ours. So if you want to learn civilization, then salute our culture and
hate your own culture.

Imran Khan describes the impact of his British schooling in these words.

“My Generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at

its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge
inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was a
similar to all elite schools in Pakistan, despite becoming
independent, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public
school boys rather than Pakistanis. I read Shakespeare which was
fine, but no Alama Iqbal. The Islamic class was not considered to
be serious, and when I left the school I was considered amongst
the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore
21
 western clothes. Despite periodically shouting Pakistan Zindabad
at school functions, I considered my own culture backward and
Islam an outdated religion. Amongst our group if any one talked
about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately
branded a Mullah. Because of the power of the Western Media, all
our heroes were western movie or pop stars. When I went to
Oxford already burdened with this hang up from my school days,
things didn't get any easier. In University, not just Islam but all
religions were considered anachronism. Science had replaced
religion and if something couldn't be logically proved it did not
exist. All supernatural stuff was confined to the movies.”

9.3-CULTURE AND THE DOMINANT IDEOLOGY

Both functionalist and conflict theorists agree that culture and society reinforce
each other, but for different reasons. Functionalists maintain that stability
requires a consensus and the support of society’s members; thus the need for
strong central values and common norms. This view of culture became popular
in sociology beginning in the 1950s. It was borrowed from British
anthropologists who thought that the function of all cultural traits was to
stabilize a culture. From a functionalist perspective, a cultural trait or practice
will persist if it fulfills functions that society seems to need or contributes to
overall social stability and consensus. This view helps to explain why widely
condemned social practices such as prostitution continue to survive.

Conflict theorists agree that a common culture may exist, but they argue that it
serves to maintain the privileges of certain groups. Moreover, while protecting
their own self-interests, powerful groups may keep others in a subservient
position.

22
The term dominant ideology3 describes the set of cultural beliefs and
practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political
interests. This concept was first used by Hungarian Marxist Georg Lukacs
(1923) and Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci (1929), but it did not gain an
audience in the United States until the early 1970s. In Karl Marx’s view, a
capitalist society has a dominant ideology that serves the interests of the ruling
class.

From a conflict perspective, the dominant ideology has major social

significance. Not only do a society’s most powerful groups and institutions
control wealth and property; even more important, they control the means of
producing beliefs about reality through religion, education, and the media.
Feminists would also argue that if all a society’s most important institutions tell
women that they should be subservient to men, this dominant ideology will
help to control women and keep them in a subordinate position.

A growing number of social scientists believe it is not easy to identify a “core

culture” in the Pakistan. For example, point to the lack of consensus on national
values, the diffusion of cultural traits, the diversity within our culture, and the
changing views of young people. Yet there is no way of denying that certain
expressions of values have greater influence than others, even in so complex a
society as the Pakistan.

9.4-Exploitation of common man

“Ever since Pakistan’s creation, it has been used by a coterie of

rich and influential people. All power and prestige is monopolized
by elite of landlords, jagirdars, waderas, industrialists, by senior
military officers and civil bureaucrats. These elite constitute a
small, negligible fraction of the population. Inheriting the legacy of
power-politics from their outgoing masters, this clique has literally
stepped into the shoes of the former British rulers and is trying to
maintain the status.”

Khalid Muhammad4

3
Abercrombie et al. 1980, 1990; Robertson 1988

4
Khalid Muhammad, social problems of Pakistan, p124
23
When an individual compare his/her society with rest of the societies in the
world, he/she becomes really disappoint and try to change its thinking, wanted
to migrate from this world to another, where he/she having an equal rights with
the rest of the society and no one will be there who exploits his rights in this
world.

Evaluation of certain thoughts compels the individuals to adopt such culture

which is not there own but he is adopting because it is protecting his rights. It
saves him from a lot of stress, tension and anxiety which he really feels
whenever he is in his own society.

9.5-Criteria’s to compare the society

Ethnocentrism is caused when we compare society with our own standards,

whereas Xenocentrism is caused when we compare the society with the
standards given by some one else, outside from our own culture. There are no
hard and fast rules to make comparisons among societies. We can’t evaluate
our culture without indulging in it and we can’t predict that others culture is
good or bad that’s why we really remained in confusion. We hang in between
the things, can’t make a real comparison among societies.

9.6-Lack of understanding about other cultures

When we saw western culture with western spectacles, then western culture
looks as just like a paradise. It is because we don’t know the flaws in their
culture. The problem with Pakistani society and the rest of the colonial societies
is that they wanted to opt all the rights from the west but don’t bother to take
the duties.

For example in Pakistan a man might ask that police should control the traffic
while on the road while when he himself will be on the road he might not
follows the roles and when some one noticed and try to ask him that why he is
violating the roles he will say that I am in hurry , I have some problems and try
to avoid to pay the fine. And when some one asks after this he will say in west
it is not so, no one is responsible to ask you but here the culture is bad, I am
not secure here and thousands of things like this.

24
Actually first he idealize the things that the things should be such that but we
only wanted to get their culture completely we just took a part of our own
interest and the other part which is not in right of us we try to avoid.
Resultantly we remain in confusion.

9.7-Role of social agencies

Our social agencies didn’t perform well. They failed to develop true ideology of
Pakistan. Even though, we don’t have developed our own cultural policy yet.
We don’t have any importance about our own culture we added the things of
our own interests. We are leaving our own social norms, values, and opting
others.

Do you know what the reason is behind; the reason is very simple that our
social agencies are not working properly to save our own culture. Our social
agencies should promote our own culture rather than others.

In our fast-changing world, the rapid transformations in communication and

technology are bound to influence our culture. If confidence and pride is not
restored to our cultural values, it could result in the adoption of only superficial
symbols of these new changes. Such an adoption would lead neither to any
meaningful change in our socio-economic development nor to a meaningful
integration of our social consciousness. It is essential that our cultural structure
is receptive to new ideas to comprehend the technological stimulation of
consciousness. If globalization finds us in cultural confusion and chaos, we are
bound to suffer from externally imposed cultural patterns. Our cultural heritage
is one of the oldest in the world and our people have always shown resilience
to new ideas. We need to rehabilitate our cultural pride and to anticipate its
future manifestations so that we emerge as a nation living in the modern world
with a unique, distinct, and proud heritage.

9.8-MEDIA, A CAUSE OF XENOCENTRISM

Media plays an important role in order to develop the minds of a nation.

Western media is promoting own culture, their own values and norms and
shows other culture as a deviance. The common example of this is the French
media making propagandas against American media.

But in case of Pakistan or other colonial culture the things are totally opposite
our media is showing which should not be there on the screen. Certain ads,
25
programs, talk shows which should not be there. But as it is an easy and cheap
way to get popularity so media don’t hesitate to get these sticks in order to
promoting own self. But on the other hand they are playing with our culture,
changing the mind of the nation and taken to the masses away from our own
norms and values.

9.8.1-Wrong picture of Society by Media

Sometimes advertisements promotes what actually lacks in the society, but

promoted in a way as if it’s penetrated deep in their roots. This is why we say
media / advertisements are used for propaganda purpose too. For example,
Indian advertisements show the best of the ‘patriots’ and ‘patriotism’ whereas
we don’t, but probably we are more patriotic than them. This eventually affects
the Pakistani viewer’s mind that “may be I am not a pure nationalist” or “they
can win us”. Hence this might demoralize us. But that’s what Indians actually
want similarly, we are perhaps more religious, family oriented than them but
their advertising media exposes it the best. Sometimes media acts as a threat
too. As mentioned above, we are always receptive to nice and sensational
change. Hence the advertisements that have special messages in terms of
glamour, elevates temptation to cause to switch. The degree of acceptance
may vary from individual to individual. It may have ‘macro effects’ and not
‘micro’ ones on the society and sometimes the change comes so gradually that
before we realize it, we are practically into it. Cultural and Social norms are
such issues that are at a stake almost in every society, especially in the
developing ones, like Pakistan and India.

9.8.2-Conveying wrong message in a way of glamour

Economical situation plays an important role in order to check the

ethnocentrism and xenocentrism. Countries those are less developed or even
developing often adopt others culture of developed societies rather than just
passed on their own

Same scenario is in cause of Pakistan which can be easily observed through in

our ads in Country’s poor economy is supported by the ads like “Limited Time
26
Offers” that are applied on certain products. This is done in order to increase
sales (on the producer’s part) and the better opportunity to buy something on
nominal rates (on the consumer’s part). Keeping in view the Pakistanis
economic situation ads and media agencies focus on the things like heavily use
of glamour which is not a part of our own culture.

9.2.3-Inspired from Western Culture

We (Indians and Pakistanis) are always eager to copy the Western culture. We
can say India is being influenced by the West, so we are. Both of these societies
may have different norms and values. We can say that with time and exposure
we have overcome the fundamentalism and have become more liberal.

9.2.4-Impact of Indian Media

“We need not to invade Pakistan physically, we have invaded culturally.”

Sonia Gandhi

Unfortunately, Indian culture has been invaded into our society via media /
advertisements to such an extent, that now its absence upsets us. We know
their models more than ours. Similarly, we know their products more than ours.
We have variety of favorite Stars there, than here in Pakistan. This is purely a
fact. We have our so called Norms but so much influenced by the western
culture that we directly or indirectly copy them without realizing it that there is
a lot of difference between Indian and Pakistan that’s the reason for the
creation of Pakistan in this universe. But unfortunately, we are forgetting all
this and copied all from Indian media.

9.9-Fail to develop constitution in time

After Pakistan become a reality, we as an independent country, failed to frame

a Constitution for realizing the objectives for which it had been created.
Consequently, difference among provinces over the question of political
representation, economic parity, national language, provincial autonomy came
27
on the surface. So due to these small ethnic groups in Pakistan accept and try
to adopt other culture rather then own and the reason was that they had been
ignored for a long time in their own country.

9.10-Lack of explanation of Pakistani culture

The clear message is that Pakistanis should accept this culture; but nobody
explains what it is, beyond the Urdu language. In practice this culture is being
imposed upon us through the very effective means of the textbook.
Resultantly, followers of a particular culture when don’t find sufficient
information about their culture they try to find another way out means try to
adopt another culture which is not in fact of their own. Same is in the case of
Pakistan.

9.11-Loyalty to British

Our culture had a very strong element of loyalty to the British and, by
extension, to any master or liege lord. In this respect, and in no other, it shared
the value system of the Punjabi culture. But other cultures of India and later in
Pakistan were less inclined to call their political masters their _mai bap_
(mother and father).

7.12-Effect of disintegration of eastern Pakistan

The disintegration of Pakistan and the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971

reinforced the aspirations of many ethnic movements in 'new Pakistan'. It was
followed by the Pakhtoons and Baluchi nationalistic assertion in the 1970s
same in 1980’s Sindhi nationalism and in 1990’s Muhajir movement. However,
successive governments instead of accommodating these forces with polity
and granting political concessions have exacerbated them through neglect.

9.13-Lack of Participation of Common People in Running the Country

28
Another reason for this failure to create the spirit of national integration is the
neglect on the part of successive governments to provide for the participation
of the people in the running of their own country in the meaningful manner and
the fat that the national decision making process has been confined to an to an
unelected few for much of Pakistan’s history. Thus few have developed a stack
in this country.

9.14-Lack of Citizenship Concept in Pakistan

Today in Pakistan, there is very little concept of a meaningful Pakistan

citizenship as befitting a free people. Sectarian and ethnic identity is how
individuals are defined by the state in its relation to society and why not if the
government itself uses this form of identity to impose a rigid system on jobs
and opportunities, instead of merit as the sole criteria.

9.15-Feudalism

Pakistan is hardly in metaphysical stage. It is among developing countries with

very low development rate. This is particularly so with regard to clichés such as
‘Pakistan is an agrarian economy’, and the view, that ‘Pakistan is largely rural’
this causes disappointment in Pakistanis.

“Perhaps the most important factor that, sadly, many

Pakistani social scientists still do not comprehend is that
Pakistan is neither a so-called feudal, agricultural, rural or
even a traditional society or economy. Only those social
scientists who write their papers on anecdotal evidence still
talk of Pakistan as being feudal. Even a cursory examination
of any kind of economic data suggests that this is not so.
With the share of agriculture as part of the GDP falling
drastically from 26 percent in 2000 to 20 per cent in 2007,
agriculture has lost its predominance in the economy.”

By S. Akbar Zaidi5

9.16-Uneven economic development

5
Another kind of change By S. Akbar Zaidi, Dawn, April 14, 2008

29
The socio economic regions at different stages of development are in a
situation of real or perceived conflict of interest. Fast increasing population and
slow and uneven development that can assume to be the pattern in
foreseeable future is likely to further aggravate the ethic device.

9.17-Fail as a country

Pakistanis as an individual are good but when the thing come as a nation they
unable to prove themselves as a nation except the causes of national
calamities’ or any other reason when this nation revise its concept of
nationalism. In the normal life, Pakistanis don’t prove themselves as a Pakistan
all the concept of unity, faith and discipline just fake up from this nation.

In the words of a scholar,

“In my view, to call Pakistan a failed or anarchic state is rather a

harsh judgment as it could be applicable to many other
developing countries in Asia and Africa also. The very survival of
Pakistan as a country despite its odds has amazed observers.
From the backwaters of the British sEmpire, Pakistan has reached
the threshold of middle income country. Pakistanis withstood a
radical shift in the regional balance of power in the 1970s,
following a military defeat and India’s nuclear explosion in the
1974, registered temptations and coercing from a global power
and re-established the nation's credibility, resilience, and regional
pre-eminence.”

I.H. Malik6

9.18-Class culture in Pakistan

One of the major problems faced by Pakistan, it is that it is suffering from class
culture. Someone in the society is millionaire but on the other hand, majority of
the people are running short of basic needs. Even they have not honorable
mean to feed themselves. Suicides due to hunger, unemployment and poverty
are common. Such miserable conditions really make Pakistanis as a failed
nation having so much class conflicts among themselves. Pakistanis are really
loosing their morals due to such pathetic condition.

9.19-Illiteracy

6
I.H. Malik, state and civil society in Pakistan, p.259
30
Pakistan is considered as an illiterate country. Foreigners take it as less civilized
and ill mannered nation state. Foreigner’s down pay sight of honor to this
country. Pakistanis are considered to be less motivated towards education and
those who get education having poor standard, don’t know its practical
implementation. So, in practical life they really failed in the society.

9.20-Extremist in the Society

In Pakistani society there is existence of some extremists in the society. These

extremist are the product of Afghan War. After nine eleven, these extremists
were announced as terrorists. As Pakistan is directly related with these
extremist, so world does not take Pakistan as an honorable as responsible
country. Now the conditions are so miserable that Pakistanis in foreign hesitate
to called themselves as Pakistan because as they utter that they are Pakistan,
foreigner took them as aliens. All this is not limited up to the general publics
same situation is with the officials of Pakistan’s. They have been dishonored by
the other side of the boarder whenever they visited other countries.

10-EFFECTS OF XENOCENTRISM IN PAKISTANI SOCIETY

31
10.1-Devaluing ones own culture

This is the very effect of Xenocentrism in a society. A xenocentric person

always hates all the features of his culture rather all the features are not bad.
But once he has developed Xenocentrism, he always dislikes his cultural
characteristics.

For example, now new generation dislikes Pakistan’s marriages. They argue
that it wastes a lot of time. They don’t take this in such meaning that these are
the source of socialization in eastern culture. They don’t take it positively
because they have blind affiliation with western civilization.

10.2-Environment of non Cooperation among Societies

Xenocentrism develops an environment of cooperation among societies. For

example, westerns are so rigid in their ethnocentrism that they fail to show
flexibility to adopt other good features from other cultures, so xenocentrism
provide a way in order to develop a corporation among the societies. Help to
adoption some of the good from all the societies don’t cause the culture as a
stagnant but to move further and its development.

10.3-Conflicts among civilizations

Conflicts among civilizations and Dialogues among cavitations are two most
debatable points now a day. Ethnocentrism and Xenocentrism cause conflicts
among civilizations. For example, cultural conflicts of eastern and western
culture are one of the reason of xenocentrism among the society.

10.4-Product choices

Xenocentrism has made Pakistanis more brand conscious “Be Pakistani & Buy
Pakistani” concept failed to being adopted. People take Pakistani home product
as sub standard cheap and go to buy imported ones.

10.5-Hold of multinationals

Due to brand consciousness, multinationals are building their hold stronger on

local markets. Every year, they capture a lot of revenues from Pakistan. Nestle,
Lever brothers. Procter and Gamble, Pepsi, Coca Cola etc are treating Pakistan
as golden egg laying hen.

32
10.6-Change of Styles

• Architecture

• Dresses

• Foods

Our eastern and subcontinent way of construction and architecture are now
transferred toward western style. Our dresses are no more “Kaumi suits”. We
usually use western style of wearing. We are more towards fast foods from
continental foods.

10.7-Destruction of Family System

Xenocentrism has destroyed our family structure. Earlier we had a pride on our
joint family system. But now we don’t like joint family system. Now Pakistanis
are more towards nuclear family system.

10.8-Destruction of national language

Our national language is Urdu. But we feel shy to speak in Urdu. It is because of
Xenocentrism. We feel proud to talk in English. No one can e successful in life if
he is not experts in English. Wee have destructed our national valuable
heritage only because of this Xenocentrism.

10.9-Dangerous to collapse of Local market

Xenocentrism leads to the collapse of local industries because of the lack of a

local market. For example, due to Xenocentrism, Pakistani youngsters like
foreign brand products. They don’t buy local manufacturing. So due to this,
Pakistani producers suffer market difficulties.

33
 11-HOW TO REDUCE THE XENOCENTRISM

Pakistan is a country of diverse communities with cultural traditions, belief

systems, value systems, life styles, dialects and aspirations which determine
the objectives. Keeping in view the rich heritage of our culture and to provide
conducive environments for its growth and promotion as enshrined in the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, so the intent need of the hour
is that there should be made such effective measures as soon as possible in
order to reduce the xenocentrism.

11.1-Institutions must be strong

We have the weakest social institutions. These institutions are already polluted
with Xenocentrism. They are already suffering from inferiority complex. Then,
in this situation, how they can give us a proud able socialization? So first we
should strengthen our social institutions.

One institute each for the following disciplines will be established provided that
they are not being taught in the universities/institutes in Pakistan. This will not
only help to proper explanation of our culture but also be useful in order to
prepare the new generation to live according to our own culture. Following
disciplines should be promoted.

1.Music – Folk, classical and popular music with emphasis on evolution of

musical notes, instruments and performance.

2.Art and Architecture – Calligraphy, geometrical designs and other aspects

of traditional Pakistani and Islamic Art and Architecture with comparison
with other forms of Art and Architecture.

3.Painting and Sculpture – Different schools and their cultural relevance.

4.History of Science and Technology – A study of the development of

science and technology in various societies including Pakistan.

34
11.2-Defining and propagating the ideology of Pakistan

Our greatest tragedy is that we have not ideology of Pakistan. Ideology is the
thing which gives a nation its identity. We never tried to understand our
identity. So due to this reason, we don’t want to call as Pakistani, We don’t want
to have Pakistani identity. It is because we have not explained our ideology
ourselves. We are dependent on the concepts which we received as a gift from
our former rulers. A portion of the national budget will be allocated specifically
for cultural activity in accordance with internationally accepted best practices.

Allama Iqbal’s concept of the spirit of Muslim Culture and Quaid-e-Azam’s

statements on culture will be highlighted by various institutes engaged in
research on Islam, Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam.

Historical monuments such as tombs, forts, old buildings and other remnants of
the past will be preserved, repaired and documented. It has been decided that
no historical building will be demolished or altered to the extent that it loses its
relevance to our history and culture. Cultural centers will be established at
provincial and district headquarters to preserve and promote the culture of
their respective areas. These Centers will have following features

• They will be administered by professionals preferably from the local

regions.

• Their activities will be co-ordinate by Federal Cultural bodies.

11.3-Strengthening the concept of Pakistani

We should not be ashamed of calling Pakistani. Instead we should feel proud on

calling Pakistani. This concept should be developed y our institutions of
socialization. Like the president of Pakistan gives the concept of

“Sab se pehlee Pakistan”

This concept should be revealed and should be implemented. It should be clear

from the attitude from the citizen of Pakistan that they are Pakistan and they
really have proud to be Pakistani rather than just writing on shirts or just calling
that Pakistan zindabad, it should be appear from their mentality too.
35
11.4-Direction of Media should be towards Pakistan

Media plays a great role in nation building but in case of Pakistan what has
been showing in the media? Media is a way of the depiction of our culture too
that is influenced or uninfluenced by the foreign media. Sometimes media
promotes what actually lacks in the society, but promoted in a way as if it’s
penetrated deep in their roots. This is why we say media are used for
propaganda purpose too. So, why don’t we use it in a positive way? It is the
responsibility of media to promote our own cultures, values rather than others.

The Pakistan Television Corporation and National Broadcasting Service will

prepare catalogues of their programmes, artists and producers and will make
video/audio CDs/DVDs available for sale to the public, if commercially viable.

An Institute of Translatology will be established by the National University of

Modern Languages to promote mutual understanding among citizens of all
Pakistani languages.The Pakistan National Council of Arts will undertake the
following projects: -

1.A History of Performing Arts in Pakistan.

2.A Catalogue of Painters and Calligraphers.

3.A Catalogue of Actors, Producers, Directors and other notables in the

fields.

A National Film Academy should be established under the Pakistan National

Council of the Arts with the following objectives: -

1.To promote Pakistani culture in feature films.

2.To train artists, directors, and script writers.

36
 3.To improve the technology of film industry.

4.To establish a trust for film makers.

11.5-Defining the true Culture

Common man doesn’t know that what the true national culture of Pakistan is.
We are stagnant with our ethical culture. But we didn’t think what the whole
culture of Pakistan is? Even, now a day we have not true ethical culture too. We
have to develop certain culture policy which has the following objectives.

1. To awaken the spirit of participation of the people of Pakistan and to

safeguard their rights in promotion of culture.

2. To relate our spiritual cultural aspects with their physical

manifestations and to highlight and develop the universal values of
our respective belief systems and the message of the founders of
Pakistan in the promotion of our culture..

3. To map, record and document all tangible and intangible cultural

assists in the country and to frame national cultural strategies to
sustain cultural heritage.

4. To meet the challenges of globalization by enhancing awareness and

dissemination through traditional and modern technological means of
our own cultural heritage and quality of cultural expressions in
performing and visual arts

5. To further enrich our national language by making it truly

representative of our national ethos and to recognize our rich
linguistic diversity by promoting historical as well as existing Pakistani
languages through research and study.

6. To inculcate a quest for inquiry and research in application of modern

technology to our social and economic needs through critical thinking
and constructive reasoning.

7. To encourage the growth of public-private partnerships and to

support civil society cultural initiatives by providing material
incentives and support

8. To provide a free and healthy environment for the promotion of all

cultural activities at different levels of society.

9. To encourage the thoughts and aspirations of our artists,

37
 intellectuals, musicians, singers, poets writers, artisans, architects,
stage and film artists, dancers and other related with cultural
activities towards the process of national integration, while retaining
the integrity of cultural diversity in the Federating Units.

10. To highlight the culture of tolerance, harmony and social integration

inherent in Pakistan’s cultural fabric and eradicate the culture of
violence, intolerance and fanaticism by affirmative cultural action
through education and legislation.

11. To encourage a positive cultural response to negative aspects of

foreign and local culture by improving national entertainment
programmes, enabling new channels of electronic media and
introducing latest technologies in articulating Pakistan’s cultural
activities.

12. To make our national language truly representative of all Pakistani

languages by providing a framework of adaptation and assimilation by
encouraging language translation.

13. To seek a correlation between our spiritual cultural and its material
dimensions.

14. To inculcate a quest for inquiry and research in application of modern

technology to our social and economic needs through critical thinking
and constructive reasoning.

15. To highlight and develop the principles laid down by Islam and the
founding father of Pakistan in the promotion of our culture.

16. To ensure a healthy interaction with other cultures through cultural

exchange programmes, exhibitions, and international interaction at
governmental and non-governmental levels.

17. To awaken the spirit of participation of the people of Pakistan and to

safeguard their rights in promotion of culture.

18. To mitigate the impacts on our cultural environment resulting from

development works

11.6-Promotion of Pakistani culture internationally

No doubt Pakistani culture is one of the best culture in the world, it has all the
aspects of life and mergers of different culture has also been visible in our
culture, but we are lacking behind in proper promotion of our culture, the need
of the hour is that Pakistani culture at the international level will be promoted
through:

38
 1. Publishing and disseminating DVDs/CD-ROMs, posters and
informational material depicting our cultural heritage.

2. Displaying Pakistani handicrafts and DVDs of performances in our

embassies.

3. Providing targeted printed material on Pakistan for interested

scholars, tourists and businessmen.

4. Holding cultural shows and music concerts after detailed target

audience analysis

5. Assisting academic institutions which teach Pakistan and Islamic

culture in exchange programmes and research.

12-APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES OF QUAID AND IQBAL IN

OUR CULTURAL POLICY

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 12.1-IQBAL’S CONCEPT OF CULTURE

While defining the ingredients of Muslim culture, Iqbal emphasized that the
spirit of Muslim culture was not so much as a breaking point from history but as
initiating a process of intellectual revolution which developed into inductive
reasoning. He stated that the abolition of priesthood and hereditary kingship in
Islam, the constant appeal to reason and experience in the Qura’n and the
emphasis that is laid on Nature and History formed the basis of this new
intellectual framework.

Iqbal’s emphasis on the recognition and development of khudi (self) centres on

the creativity of individuals and their collective transformation into a system of
intellectual power which subjugates various phenomena of nature and to some
extent controls the direction of history. This concept of development of the
human self is based again on the triad of self-knowledge, nature and history. In
other words, it is the highest form of cultural development that is visualized as
the ultimate development of human consciousness. Explaining the various
aspects of the spirit of Muslim culture, Iqbal identifies knowledge of the
concrete as the starting point of the method of observation and experiment in
Islam. Knowledge of the concrete is conceived as “the intellectual capture of
and power over the concrete that makes it possible for the intellect of man to
pass beyond the concrete”. This knowledge is evolutionary in the sense that
time is perceived to be an active agent of change. Any culture that lags behind
the intellectual framework of time are doomed to decay and ultimate
extinction. Muslim culture thus provides a dynamic concept of the universe.
This idea of human unity is the hallmark of Iqbal as a social movement to make
this idea a living factor.

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Concluding his statement on the spirit of Muslim culture, Iqbal asks Muslims “to
appreciate the cultural value of the idea of the finality of Prophet hood in
Islam.” This idea was the foundation for Iqbal to study the cultural
transformations taking place in other Muslim areas. He says, “the teaching of
the Quran that life is a process of progressive creation necessitates that each
generation guided but unhampered by the work of its predecessors should be
prompted to solve its own problems.” It is indeed relevant to point out that
when he spoke of a future Muslim independent state in South Asia, he laid a
particular emphasis on the areas that constitute the territory of Pakistan today.

Demographically, Muslims were in an overwhelming majority in the areas of

today’s Pakistan. It was both the territorial contiguity of Pakistani territory with
the Middle East and Central Asia as well as its unique cultural identity that
made the existence of independent Pakistan possible.

12.2- QUAID-E-AZAM CONCEPT ON PAKISTANI CULTURE

With Pakistan’s independence, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah laid down

the principles of the future cultural contours of Pakistan. The Quaid-i-Azam not
only defended the intellectual heritage of Islam, but also the capacity of
Pakistani culture to absorb modern ideas of nationalism and statehood. His
political leadership was the result of that historical process in which culture and
history played an important role and it is because of this process that he was
successful in materializing Iqbal’s thought of independence for the people of
Pakistan so that they could develop their distinct cultural heritage without any
hindrance. In many ways, his speech of 11th August 1947 that was delivered
before the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan forms the basis of not only the
Pakistani state, but also its cultural policies.

Highlighting the salient features of Pakistan’s cultural growth, the Quaid told
the nation:

“You are free: you are free to go to your temples, you are
free to go to your mosques or to any other place of
worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any
religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the
business of the state.”

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This message contained the spirit of Pakistani culture which was supposed to
be nurtured under the guidance of the principles of equality and freedom.
Dwelling on the historical experience of Britain, he visualized a culture for
Pakistan where identity of the citizens will not be judged through sectarian,
religious and ethnic appellations, but as members of an independent nation. He
not only saw the disappearance of sectarianism amongst Muslims, but also in
wider terms, where

“Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would

cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, but in the
political sense as citizens of Pakistan.”

During the swearing-in ceremony as the first Governor-General of Pakistan,

when the Quaid was reminded by Mountbatten to follow the ideals of Akbar the
Great, he replied,

“The tolerance and goodwill that the great Emperor Akbar

showed to all non-Muslims is not of recent origin. It dates
back thirteen centuries ago when our Prophet not only by
words but by deeds treated the Jews and Christians, after
he had conquered them, with the utmost tolerance and
regard and respect for their faith and beliefs.”

In addition to the historical developments of Muslim culture, the Quaid

visualized the Charter of Madina (Mithaq-i-Madina) as the foundation stone of
Muslim culture. Lest this notion of Islamic heritage was misinterpreted, he
categorically declared,

“…make no mistake. Pakistan is not a theocracy or

anything like it. Islam demands from us the tolerance of
other creeds and we welcome in closest association with
us all those who, of whatever creed, are themselves willing
and ready to play their part as true and loyal citizens of
Pakistan.”

The Quaid was not only conscious of our Islamic heritage, but also emphasized
the contribution of Pakistan’s cultural legacy and historical experience. He
stated

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 “Not only are most of us Muslims but we have our own
history, customs and traditions and those ways of thought,
outlook and instinct which go to make a sense of
nationality.”

Perhaps no other statement could be as comprehensive as this in

conceptualizing the essence of Pakistani culture. It is here that we see the
contribution of our territory both in history and social formation in shaping the
contours of our culture. The emphasis is clearly laid on our history, customs,
traditions, thinking, outlook and insight, in addition to our identity as Muslims.
Aware of our spiritual and material progress, he declared:

“We demanded Pakistan, we struggled for it, and we

achieved it so that physically as well as spiritually we are
free to conduct our affairs according to our traditions and
genius. Brotherhood, equality and fraternity of man these
are all the basic points of our religion, culture, and
civilization”.

These ideas indeed clearly lay down the principles of our culture which seeks to
rejuvenate optimism in the strength of our culture, our traditions and our
outlook.

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 REFERENCE

Reports and Books

Alichin, Bridget, and Alichin, Raymond. The Rise of Civilization in India and
Pakistan, 1982

Hussain, Ishrat. Pakistan: The Economy of an Elitist State, 1999.

Shaw, Isobel. Pakistan Handbook, 1996

State and civil society in Pakistan, I.H. Malik, 1992, 4th edition
Social problems of Pakistan, Khalid Muhammad, 1997, 2nd edition

Cultural policy of Pakistan, Ministry of Culture, 1995-2002

Pakistan – Wikipedia Report, the free encyclopedia

The History of India: The British East India Company and Colonization

Effects of colonization, sandara Marker, November 2003

Websites

http://www.photius.com/countries/pakistan/society/pakistan_society_prospects_for_social
~10393.html

http://www.wikipedia.com/culture/pakistan.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_D._Fullmer&action=edit&redlink=1

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 Summary
Culture is a dynamic phenomenon, it is constantly going to diversify itself;
different norms, values, goods and bad from different societies emerge in one
of the culture. Same in case of Pakistan; which is a state of 16 billion people,
came into existence just fifty five years back, with its unique identity,
ideology and culture. This unique culture was a mixture of different societies
that were here in this region thousands years back. In this culture of Pakistan
there is influence of ancient Hindus civilization, the effects of Muslims
monarch and final impact of the British colonization. At time of freedom
people of Pakistan treat themselves as a nation having a Muslim identity but
now the scenario is totally change, people took their own culture as alien and
have tendency to adopt the foreigner western culture. This trend is called the
Xenocentrism and our whole report is revolving around this particular
phenomenon in Pakistani nation.

We are loosing our identity by changing and adopting foreigner styles, ideas,
thinking, communication etc. We are copying all that stuff from the west
directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously and for a nation it is a
thing of great menace. With the globalization it was one of the biggest
challenges that colonial states like Pakistan has faced but unfortunately we
fail to unwavering our identity. The reasons for this failure are hundred but
some of the majors are our education system, our system of politics, our
constitution, our media, our changing family structure and finally our
Government. In fact the Government play a major role in it because it do
nothing for the survival of our culture and we have loose every thing even our
basic way of communication (Urdu) and adopted the foreign colonial masters.

Now, the question arises what should be the policy for the survival and
rehabilitation of our culture? The answer is that we have to do every thing for
the survival and rehabilitation of our culture as soon as possible. We have to
take all the necessary measure to block out this cultural change. The first
step we can take is to change our education policy and remove this duality so
the people don’t confuse in the duality of our system this will help to gain the
confidence in our young nation. Same we have to reapply the cultural
concept of Iqbal and Quaid adopted such policies which are according to their
vision. Media should play its positive role regarding our culture, in these days
media is showing and promoting the foreigner heroes and changing the
attitude of nation towards nationalism. This should be condemned and media
should adopt such policy which is not in conflict with the culture.

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 BRIEF INTRODUCTION REGARDING CULTURE

Of primary importance to the study of human behavior is the study of culture

which is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior. Culture defines
our Weltanschauung, in fact, culture determines everything about us
including our ideas, norm, values, customs, and artifacts, in other words,
what and how we think, how we behave, what we believe, our
understandings of right and wrong and good and evil, how we interact with
one another, and what we make.

William F. Ogburn (1886-1959) wrote that there were two aspects to culture:
material culture which is the physical or technological aspects of our daily
lives (food, houses, factories, raw materials, etc.), and non-material culture
which are our ways of using material objects (customs, beliefs, philosophies,
governments, and patterns of communication). From Ogburn’s concepts we
have developed the idea of three types of culture: cognitive culture which is
what we think and believe, normative culture which is what we do and how
we behave, and material culture which is what we make and how we use the
natural world.

In the process of interpreting our own and others’ cultures, terms such as
“ethnocentrism,” “xenocentrism,” “temporocentrism,” and “cultural
relativism” are useful. Ethnocentrism is the assumption that one’s own
culture is superior to others. Xenocentrism, the opposite of ethnocentrism, is
the belief that what is foreign is best. Temporocentrism, is the belief that
one’s own time is more important than the past or present; it is the temporal
equivalent of ethnocentrism. The belief that culture must be judged on their
own terms rather than by the standards of another culture is known as
cultural relativism.

A culture is a complex and diverse system comprised of many interdependent

factors. Subcultures participate in the larger, dominant culture, but possess
their own set of cultural elements. Countercultures adhere to sets of norms
and values that contradict those of the larger culture. Ideal cultures are

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created through shared group interactions. In most cultures, differences exist
between what people are supposed to do—ideal culture—and what they
actually do—real culture. All societies have particular needs and goals. Social
institutions develop to meet those basic needs and goals.

XENOCENTRISM

In literary sense, Xenocentrism means a preference for the foreign, broadly

speaking, Xenocentrism is the term used that the people have been
convinced that any products developed in their own countries are inferior to
those that are produced in more industrialized nations Xenocentrism. Or more
precisely in sociology term we can define it as that

It is the belief by the people that the products, styles,

or ideas of their own society are inferior to those that
originates elsewhere in any other developed society.

In a sense, it is a reverse ethnocentrism. For example, people in the United

States often assume that French fashions or Japanese electronic devices are
superior to their own. Are they? Or are people unduly charmed by the lure of
goods from exotic places? Such fascination with overseas products can be
damaging to competitors in the United States. Some U.S. companies have
responded by creating products that sound European, such as Haagen-Dazs
ice cream (made in Teaneck, New Jersey). Conflict theorists are most likely to
consider the economic impact of xenocentrism in the developing world.
Consumers in developing nations frequently turn their backs on locally
produced goods and instead purchase items imported from Europe or North
America (Warner Wilson et al. 1976).

Those who leave their country to live abroad are not the only ones who reject
ethnocentrism. In every society a few persons reject their group or some part
of its culture. There are anti Semitic Jews, blacks who reject black identity,
aristocrats who lead revolutions, priests, who abandon their faith and so on.
This rejection of one’s group or its culture is a form of deviant behavior. There
are few individuals or groups present who are in claim of xenocentrism but

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the ratio to develop to developing and underdeveloped is quite high, as in
case of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh etc.

Causes of Xenocentrism in Pakistan

9.1-Educational institutions

9.2-Foreign Educational Institutions

9.4-Exploitation of common man

9.5-Criteria’s to compare the society

9.6-Lack of understanding about other cultures

9.7-Role of social agencies

9.8-Role of Media

9.8.1-Wrong picture of Society by Media

9.8.2-Conveying wrong message in a way of glamour

9.2.3-Inspired from Western Culture

9.2.4-Impact of Indian Media

9.9-Fail to develop constitution in time

9.10-Lack of explanation of Pakistani culture

9.11-Loyalty to British

9.12-Effect of disintegration of eastern Pakistan

9.14-Lack of Citizenship Concept in Pakistan

9.15-Feudalism

9.16-Uneven economic development

9.17-Fail as a country

9.20-Extremist in the Society

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Effects of Xenocentrism in Pakistan:

10.1-Devaluing ones own culture

10.2-Environment of non Cooperation among Societies

10.3-Conflicts among civilizations

How to get rid from Xenocentrism

11.1-Institutions must be strong

11.2-Defining and propagating the ideology of Pakistan

11.3-Strengthening the concept of Pakistani

11.4-Direction of Media should be towards Pakistan

11.5-Defining the true Culture

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