DIFFERENCES ARE NURTURED IN PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN STUDIES

DIFFERENCES ARE NURTURED IN PAKISTAN

BY
MIRZA RAQEEM AHMAD
21-10503
SECTION A
 DIFFERENCES ARE NURTURED IN PAKISTAN

Difference is a funny word, it is mostly used in a bad sense, to explain negativity in the
society whereas it could simply be differentiating two things from one another. Yet, I find that its use in
Pakistan has been just. Pakistan, a country that needs its president to be Muslim and older than 45 years
of age. A country which is inclined towards patriarchy, where women are not given their rights and are
looked down upon. A country that ranks second highest in the number of out-of-school children. A
country where only one percent of the population pays taxes. A country that still incubates a disease from
the medieval ages, feudalism. A country that even though is a democracy still has the powerful pulling its
strings. A country that identifies its citizens through religious sects, geography, culture and language.

All of this says a lot about the idea of “difference” in this country. We are led to believe
that Pakistan was made using the idea of difference between Hindus and Muslims as fuel whereas in
reality that was only a realization. The idea was of freedom, of a new life, a better one. But here we sit,
confused and disgruntled with altered and biased history. The system of democracy in Pakistan is not far-
fetched, the mindset behind the implementation of that system is ill equipped. Differentiation is occurring
in Pakistan due to the dominance of elite culture in the society that further creates opportunities only for
themselves or their kind.

Class differences have always divided Pakistan into two halves out of which one always
fares better while the other faces the worst. The rich and elite will always get the better things, education,
food, shelter and opportunities. Religiously the case is the same, Pakistan being a Muslim majority
country undermines all the other religions, take Ahmadiat as an example, a religious sect that is
constitutionally stripped of their rights. The Punjabis have always had an upper hand on pathans,
balochis, sindhis and others, some argue that it is because of unfair distribution of resources but this is not
a communist state, it is a capitalist state where you have to work for what is yours and clench it or else
somebody will.

1971, East Pakistan was lost and due to what? Negligence? No, it was because of the
difference that we the people let grew between the two halves. The irony isn’t that we are living in a
differentiated country, the irony is that we as citizens want to live this way, we have accepted to
differentiate but what we should be doing is to actually accept the differences we have. We have to
liberate this country by liberating ourselves from these petty differences.

A lone wolf will die but a pack not only will survive but it will thrive as well and that is
what we Pakistanis need to understand.
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References

 Course Pack of Pakistan Studies by Ma’am Arfa Syed Syeda Zehra