32 Pokiston: Land Society and Economy craexacerbated wealth disparities. The contention that economic growth fosters democratisation, while t may bold good i some cireunstances, isat best open to further investigation inthe Pakistan case. Development land democracy may not go hand in hand prlly because ofthe direction fof economie change, but also because of Pakistan's geop ‘ocio-poltcl inheritances, The colonial roots ofa polities! through with confrontational as opposed to accommosatonistatnudes land with an authoritarianism inimical to the expansion of democratic institadons will form the focus of the following two chapter, 2 COLONIAL RULE, AUTHORITARIANISM. AND REGIONAL HISTORY IN NORTH-WEST INDIA ‘Athough an American Embassy official was still able to uncover fopies of Punch for 1883-4 in a Gakuch resthouse in Gilgit in June 1961, many of the visible symbols of the colonial past have long since disappeared in those areas ofthe subcontinent which became Pakistan in August 1947. The satue of Queen Vietoria which once thominated the Charing Cross intersection of the Lahore Mall has ‘nw found is final resting place inthe museurn where John Lockwood Kipling once worked as curator. The Mall itself has been renamed Shuhrahe-Quaid-e-Azam, just as one of the most important remaining ‘amples of British architecture? in Karachi, Pere Hal, is now kaown ts Baph-e-Finna Political and institutional inheritances from the Raj nevertheless con- tinue to exert a profound influence. The words of Rajeshwari Sunder Rajan, penned in a different context ring tue for Pakistan wher, ‘Ctontlsm isnot simply a matter of legacy but of active, immediate snd constitutive determinants.® This chapter focuses on the coloniat ive's administrative legacy and subsequent political inhertanes Colonial administration in the Muslin-majarity areas Many writers have emphasised the shared systems of govemance tuhich were bequeathed to the Raj's successor states. Asma Barlas Tor example finds the different post-colonial political trajectories of | Me fe f Amn Easy to DeprtmestfSta, 7 ne 1961, 7900 005: {6 Nien Actes st Cbege use 1 oer peta suvving eagles of courte fanons Ens Mit Tomer tele Negeri Tower whch war dened In 192 and sand a te junction of Sian so TL Chad Rods ae hey ie we Kae acc ‘use en fas fe Re. Lat and MS. an The Dal Ci. Rarac Ting he a aah, 0. 8. Rl, Real and Imagined Women (Loken, 193). 354 Colonial Rue and Authoritarianim in North-West India India and Pakistan a seking because ‘they acquired alist identical administrative stuctures from the Raj She proceeds to relate the tre f scl nd pola fs n colon India the ad features of subcontinenta pox solo plies In reality howere, thee was no nfo in admin sucare Regia vans resulted fom the sues of Brish Inferstion with Indian society and the original meses forthe annexation of tery. Ajesa Jala and Hamea Alvi are eare tothe mark than asles when they ink Pakistan's ‘oveedevelope”sininistatve snd military istiatons to the colonial practice of emphasising the requirements of law and ‘der rather han those of popular representation’ This colonial lesscy vs ist summed up in the term “sceepalism” by Khalid bin Sayed There has bee lite detated examination however, of ether ts char acteristics oF legacy forthe fare Pakistan ares, This Section takes this analysis stage farther by staying what was In eseace a security stein horh-west Indi which conasted consisably wih Tose areas which foomed the indian Dominion or East Pakistan afer the seat ve of 1947, The British security state in North-West India Bef adres he coasts btven nhs Ta a he ex of the sbcominet, tmp ot those caus plea Soerion which al sions init om he clonal ste, Tese in sloded preventive dcenon(ongnating i the Bengal Sate Primers Regulation Il of 1818) prohibition of pla actions seen by raises a prejudices (Stction 14 of the Criminal Cote of Procedure) and conta of he Pres (198 Idan Press Ee seney Powers Ac) The Pakisan autores eins e Emerge Fowers of Section 98 (as Sexton 924) of the T935 Goverment ot Inia Act whichensio the cette o dsl a provincial porn In aon to such legals from the colonia sts the Pai ad Reyreseatives OFises Dsquliftaton Aer PRODA) was neduced iiss ‘These mesures aos ot ofthe Bish ned to combat ainalis orcommual heats thera. Tey were regarded as exceptional eases aly tobe deployed inns of unrest Although hey red 4 Re, Dea. tana an Comma: The Cb Legacy i ath ie aed Rai Pata: he ot of ors 98), eft tee Chae 4 The British security state in North-West India 55 bck 0 the atocracy which accompanied the original British military snquest of the subcontinent, they coexisted with the progressive spread Dt representative institutions. The situation in the norih-west comer Sf India was somewhat diferent. Political participation was far Tess teveloped there and permanent police powers existed alongside emer seney coercive measures. British rule emphasised law and order rather than encouraging politcal paricipation. Why was the ethos of rule wo abiferent in the future Pakistan areas? ‘The answer lies pally in the timing of British annexation. With the exception of Benga, the fate Pakistan areas were aquired much Inler than the remainder of the subcontinent. The autocratic tations attendant on the erly period of British rule thus persisted within them ‘well beyond the high noon of Empire. "The tribal composition ofthese ‘eons and the threat of Russian expansion from Central Asia and ‘Alghanstan were futher factors in reinforeingautocracy. While force tual been applied to acquire territory elsewhere, it could be discarded ‘wore readily as commercial rather then stratezic considerations held toway. This was never the case in much of the British security state in north-west India. In order toillustrate these arguments, sight digres rion ito the history of British expansion in the Pakistan areas of the fuhcontinent is require. British power had already boon well established inthe Indian sub continent fo ease on cetury when the future West Pakistan regions ‘were annexed. Charles Napier, in an act of imperial private enterprise, scived Sindh fom ils Baloch Talpur cers sm 1843. Six years later ‘he Beish tamph in the Second Sikh War secured the remainder tl the Punjab? and the Frontier region which had been part of Ranjit Singh's Bipie. Tt was not until 1901 however thatthe sed districts rntir tracts were constituted into a separate province fom Punjab. British influence in the present Balochistan province increased tna piecemeal basis from 1884 onwards. Kalat and its erstwhile Feudatories Makran, Kharan and Las Bela were accorded the status of protected states. A boundary commission in 1872 resolved the un- ‘ified boundary between Kalat and Persia, During the 1878-80 Afghan War the strategically important regions of Pishin and Sibi were ceded (o the British and formed the Poiieal Agency of Balochistan. ‘The areas which formed Brish Balochistan auited the rontier with ‘Afghanistan and had been brought under imperial sway for strategic reasons from 1876 onwards. The treaty of tht year with the Khan ‘of Kala allowed troops tobe stationed in Queta, I Became an important he nS ere fad en aed rhe it Argh Sith War of 1846, ‘etish eit Loe war tse gover remit the Sh nado56 Colonial Rule and Aushortarianism in North-West India centre of military operations during the Second Afghan War (1878-80) and shortly afterwards the Khan passed the whole of the Quetia district ‘over tothe British, Pshin, which had been occupied during the war, formed par ofthe joint disc whose northern and western boundaries Were demarcated by a British and Afghan commission during 1894-62 ‘The Bolan Pas through which large quantities of sens were shipped during the Second Afghan War was similarly ceded tothe British Gover ‘ment by the Khan of Kala in 1883. Furher agreements in 1894 and 1903 placed those areas under British jurisdiction which were traversed by the strategic Meshkaf-Bolan and Nushki railways? What was to become the Zhob district interested the British because of the Kakar Jogiza ties” thea to lines of communication during the Afghan con- ‘ict. Military expeditions were sent to pacify the ties in 1884 and 1889, The following year, the Zhob Politieal Agency was founded and in 1894-5 itsnonhem boundary was demarcated by ajoint Afghan Baiish ‘This expansion of British power continues to exert an influence on post-colonial Balochistan. The privileging of administrative nd military institutions atthe expense of democratic expressions was felt ore {ally in the region than in any of the other “Pakistan” areas. British Balochistan di not follow the North West Pontes in making the tran sition from a Chief Commissioner's to. Governor's province ‘The power of the civil administration was augmented by strategic alliances with the local powerholders. Aguin this was by no means ‘unique to Balochistan, but strategic imperatives and ales egalitarian society than in the Frontier enabled i to flower more fll in the region by bolstering the sardars” postion through the formalisation ofthe tribal couneis” (jirgas) powers, The presence of the Native Sates acted as 1 further break on democratic political development, Wayne Wilcox has shown how thei consolidation withthe direetly administered areas ‘volved from the Balochistan States Union." The integration of Kalat proved dificult and, especially after the Oetaber 1958 eellion, provided {the seeds for the articulation of a Baloch political entity based on hostility to the increasing imervention of the cenze. Baloch ethnic identity has also gained importance in he postcolonial fa because of the competition for resources with the Pushtun. While the impect of migration and the Afghan conflict has been profound § vee and Pisin Dos Guster, vl. V jm, pA "Bota and Chaga Dire Gaer, vl. 1V (Kaci 1900) 16 1b Dr Caer, vo obay, 105, rie at feminine 6 A Wine, Patan: The Consonant (Mew Yok 186%). he British security state in North-West India 37 {is imponant to recognise the important inheritance from he colonial tra While Balochistan emained poorer than en future Pakistan eon, the northern Pusan areas schieved reser economic progress than the oulcn Bra and Baloch regions. This situation reflected n part the mote enlightened policl and economic framework throughout the tbconinent ofthe diet alist areas than the Princely Stes tain case However war the economic mulipireffct of the toad and allway tilding programmes inthe north "The British emberked on expensive inrastictoal developments to swore oops more eal to pacify the lea! popution and W meet iy thet from the Afghan fontr. The ailvay wich linked Qucta {othe Bolan Pase was completed atthe cost of Rs. 111 lath in Joly Tio: The Sin-Pshin allway inthe Sia which opened the Talowing year involved some of the most dangerous tunneling work inywhere Inte subcontinent. The Fort Sandeman-Chuhr Kh road Mic inked the Zh dit with Dera Tsmal Khan in Panjab from Ts onan was an major cgnering faa aie he Whting of « pasage through the Dahana Tang gorge “Trae as well a troope flowed slong the new coads and rallways, Within twenty year ofthe Brishooespation of the Zhob ditt, ysite new hae spd villages had son up inition othe Inter and administrative cones of Fort Sandeman and Hindbagh Tings talvayJontion, Bost in the Qua ditt grew up a8 & bhzar. Sib'sthiving esonomy was base both on its administative importance andthe sing of the North Western Railway workshops in ie town. Queta's population increased fourfold during the peiod Th¥S:1901 asa rsa of fs administrative and milary portance And -pood sail connections with the rest of Ind “The Brieh programme of road and alway consrtion depesed ceonomic activity southern Balochistan at the sme time mating iin te orhern regions, Goods once cared by eanel caravan from the cout to Afghanistan were now diverted by rail The poor com. tmunetions of he soar plains and coastal areas wih the remainder ‘Tndn now le oth economic margelsadon. 1 wold of couse teovery simplistictoconrat bockvard Baloch with developing Pusan teas. Even inthe southern areas tere was some economic development find wow towns such ab Kolput were bull along ralvay routes.” 2 i 9 6 F Schl “Tl State an Rego Teena: Hn Fi Bod! int tis, Margi end Maer. 2058 Colonial Rule and Authortarianism in North-West India ‘Moreover, many of the commercial opportunities resulting from the British opening up of the northera regions were seized by Hindu mer- chants rather than the Pushtuns. Indeed it was only in the aftermath ‘of patton that they began to take up the shops and businesses which the Hinds fad left behind. Nevertheless the colonial inheritance for the region was the favouring ofthe Pushtun population in competition With the Baloch for resources and power. Bengal was of course an exception to the late securiy-driven ac ‘quisition ofthe Pakistan ateas. The East India Company assumed the dlivant or revenue collectorship in Bengal in 1765. European administra: tion followed slowly thereafterand was commercially rather thn strategic cally mosivated. The British interes in hamessng the waters of Punjab and Sindh notwithstanding, their advance in Muslim north-west India ‘vas prompted by military rather than commercial considerations. They ‘were determined intl to ouflank and later to ill he vacuum rested bythe collapse ofthe dominant regional power, the Sikh Punjab kingdom of Ranjit Singh's successors. Even mocesignificanly, thei advance incised with growing anxieties about threats to Bash Inia fom ‘Afghanistan and dhe expanding Russian Empire in Cental Asia which lay behind i. Punjab was thus seen asa base for mailtary operations, ‘whilst the Frontier and Balochistan regions were bufler zones against 4 possible aitack "The irrigated areas of Sindh and Punjab had developed a seed agrarian lifestyle prior (othe intusio of the colonial sate. But large fateas of the newly-annexed rezions contained velatile nomadic and ‘semi-nomadic tribal communities. Their presence, allied to the external threat co the strategie gateway to India, inereased British security con ems. Cantonments strategic roads and railways, hilltop fors and such fengneering Tent as the creellated double-decker ion bridge soaring Above the narrow Indus gorge a Attock, bear physical witness 10 these anxieties. In fact security concerns were to dominate every aspect of “Adninistation, Despite the diferent approaches of the ‘Close Border ‘System’ and "Forward Policy" schools, the preservation ofthe existing ‘Soci system came to be feparded as essential for the maintenance Of stability in the new froaier regions. ‘A threefold division was created between the “tribal” states, tribal areas and the so-caled “setded” distcts The former areas included Stats like Swat, Chitral and Kalat. The British exered only advisory fib, its pp sft Fo cle sino he Puiu al eyo te Famer oe, Cat he Paha 350 BCA DIS? (Kame 5) 1 coe The Patan. p39, 0412 The British security state in North West India 9 powcr over thr intemal affairs which were under the exclusive juris Srv ofthe here rls. A asl of is eno nies fue, hey remained iargely untouched by plc social and exonomic ‘hange elsewhere in India and were amongst fhe most backward areas ‘tite subcontinent athe ine of independence. he iba areas were vencen by a Bith polit agent and were sujet to the tems {Uhduowninhiroffial weatiesand agreements Cntol was mana ty eal Teves in alin tothe carrot of es subsidies and the stick {punitive expeditions and collective fines” These areas were outside Bf egal jrsicton and were not subject land revenue demands bother tas, Casiomary lav, enforced though tba rg rather tan Islamic law, was the order of the da The postcolonial Pakistan states msistsined|the main features ofthe British adnnistration inlafing the roe Crimes Regulations ih the fitecn designated bal areas inthe Foner, Balochistan and Bere Ghar Khan dst of Pune The oun Adminired ‘rial Atea(PATA) regulations forthe Malakand Apency were however shold bythe Peshawar High Cour in February 1994, The jaca “acum wich followed encouraged the November Malakand lnsrgency {talon Sul Motaninad’s Tehk-e Nifz-e- Sharia Muhammad {TNSM which fought forthe replacement of the PATA tsb laws By te Shor. ” se ening ial areas were ainisterd rectly inthe Frontier, Punjab and Sindh provinces of Beth India. Spesial considerations Tortecurty were seen inthe bureaucratic auiboritaranism displayed inthe extemive power given odeputy commissioners under the Frontier mes elo an intr move wars implementing epon Sibte government, The Punjab mui was only marginally more “etoctatc piven the dominating ethos of the paternalistic Panjab school of auminstation Deputy commissioners wielded extremely wide powers under the terms of the Frontier Crimes Regulation, Tey could refer civil and Cin eaes 0 gs which ey had apie and they were abo mpowered fo inposecalletive punishmen’s where no cups for & Stine could be found, Tran-bordrtnbes were sometimes “bockaded Sd ater bombed into submission, Villagers were Forced to seve as 1 pte For eg hse we de nt he Malan, Kibo, Karan, No © Janson di, Pio atin: The Nona Movement ie Nort Wear Pr Province 185747 (pps 8 2 > ind. 30 21 Foe oe PLUM vo don Dngen,The Pj Tradition: fens arty ‘in Ninth cory Ini Lond 1972),60 Colonial Rule and Authortarianism in North-West India Unpaid nightovatchmen in the naubatichaukidari system. The atmy Sood in reserve to back up 4 burgeoning police force. By 1941 this Stood at 7.500 and was equipped with sten guns, mortars, ad motor Vehicles ‘Consent was of course preferred 19 coercion and the British sought to obtain this by winning the support of the large Khans. This as ‘obiained through the grant of “political pensions, the awatding of honorific titles, cash and land under the inam scheme and allowing them local adminsieative and judicial powers trough the aaldari and lambardari system.” However, the Government's neglect of a rising class of small Khans proved a major weakness by the 1930s, Indeed the polities of the closing years ofthe Raj were driven both by tradition factional disputes and the intr-clite conflict between the big and smal hans "Bish patemalistc rule in Punjab can be dated tthe petiod of the threeman board of administration - dominated by’ the titan figures of the Lavvence brothers which was set up ater the region's Final annexation in 1849. An 8,000-strong military police force was deputed to keep the tarbulent population in chock. The Britis sought to govern froma position of moral as well as physical sength. The district official, who were all invested with both administrative and judicial powers tere thus expected to win the allegiance ofthe rurl population by their example of hard work and far-mindedness. ‘The other dominant feature of British administration in the north-west security state area was the co-option of local landed elites. This not ‘only retarded political insttutonaisation, but reinforced a culture of Clientelism. It also placed insuperable barirs in the way of Tutre Socio-economic reform by establishing the bass fr a dominant landlord politcal interest. Again there are mrked contrasts between Bengal and the other future Pakistan areas. The overiding consideration in Heng was to extact revenue demands as efficiently as possible. The eration ‘ofa loyal landholding class was subordinate otis primary commercial ‘consideration and indeed was viewed in its light. The Company did not at this time consider it necessary t0 shield cltivatos from the ctfects of the commercialisation of agriculture and the introduction of private rights ownership. The pattem and ethos of Bengal's administra tion was 0 well established that twas not unduly modified by what 2 Sayed Wp Ab Sh "Matin sis the Nos roe Province 157-4 toatl DP hes Uv of Ono! 15 eh ine Pana 81858, Tur of Pi Ses 3 Oa De The British security state in North-West India ot ee ite es eset ated maj Akn oan Am ly pti ne ores mien ta aa ‘encouragement of a market-oriented agriculture, they used the resources 18 soe TR, Meal, The Aferath f Rea ni 897-1970 (ito. NI, 1968 1 Sor Tat, Pj and he a) 8691907 (Rew Dei, 1988; KM Tan. he Teja Uni Parad he Partne ofnda Lodon, 196) ort dete ce Ti Puja nd se RS. Ama Sf Ss nd tae aoe at sy power ‘tt tty war egies sel Pej and densa ary ‘BET tens wap of Bos ale For fae ta se Talo, Pf nd teak 3S eile64 Colonial Rule and Authortarianism in North-West India new imperial capital n Dei reflected Bengal's emergence asthe stormy petrl of Indian polities ‘is well known thatthe Bengali Hindu Ghadralok (respectable middle class) dominated the province's educational and politcal Insitutions» But early signs of Muslim political consciousness were provided by the establishment of such bodies as the Muhammadan Literary Society founded in Caleuta in 1863 and more importantly by the creation of the Central National Muhammadan Astocation in 1877. It founder ‘Syed Ameer Ali (1849-1928) played a leading role in the establishment of the Muslim League which of course took place in Dhaka, Equally important was the emergence by the beginning ofthe twentieth century (of a politicised jotedar(shareeropper) Muslim class in such areas a6 [Noakhali,Tippera and Mymensingh This formed an important reservoir ‘of suppor for Fazio] Haq's Krishak Praja Party (KP) and later for the progressive wing of the Hengal Mustim League In sum, in much of what was to become Pakistan, a tradition of ‘bureaucratic authoritarianism or vicergalism was deeply rooted. Its hallmarks were paternalism, wide discretionary powers and the per- sonalsation of authority. Political institutions were weakly developed jn comparison, In Punjab, the Tatu heartland of Pakistan, & special relationship bewween the peasantry and the army had been established Which Clive Dewey has forceflly argued holds the key to military ‘dominance in independent Pakistan.” The tradition of thls repression fof unrest andthe introduction of martial ayy had also been established Significantly such leading Pakistani administrative and political figures of the 1950s as Chaudhri Muhammad Ali Ghulam Muhammad and Iskander Mirza had spent part of their formative careers im this at mosphere. ‘Bengal was the exception to this tation, because it didnot hi torially form part of the British security state. Although the region's ‘more developed areas went to India in 1947, is politcal culture was ‘more conducive to the growth of democracy and civil society dan in any of the other Muslim majory areas. A future Pakistan state ‘Would face the major task of scsomimodating these Varying colonial inheritances “Thus a sharp contrast can be observed between the functioning of the security state in north-west ladia and the British administration 1M Seeforellen Parl Sct Tenth Cony Bengal tly, CA, 3 Interne of Patan (ante, 9) p36 " Colonial Rule and Aushoritarianism in North-West India 65 ofurher areas ofthe subcontinent, Inthe words of Mohammad Waseem, the slow growth ofthe elective principle in the provinces consttating Pakistan today mest be taken into account in any study of electoral tlemoeracy in that country, expecially when its compared wih India ‘This isnot co suggest that Pakistan authoritarianism can be explained tile wit referee to this legney. The Pakistan tuggle itself provided I countervailing tation of ass political mobilisation. The viceregal truiton could thus have been jettisoned withthe achievement of in- tlependence especialy asthe bifurcation of both the civil administration fan the army severely weakened these institutions. Theirabilitytosteadily Increase their power and insulate it from popular control can only be Understood in terms of the character of the Pakistan movement and the chaos crested by partition. The ways in which both enabled a re talishment of vcereelism wil form the focus ofthe following chap- tem 4 M¢ wc, The 1999 Eon in Pais p30