Political Culture of Pakistan

Introduction
➢ “It is only with United efforts and faith in our destiny that we shall be able to translate the
Pakistan of our dreams into reality” (Quaid-e-Azam)
➢ Political culture is a linkage between culture and politics of a State or a society
➢ Pakistan's political culture hasn't evolved much after independence, unlike other former British
colonies.
➢ Pakistan's political culture includes influx of migration, aristocracy, structural inequalities,
sectarianism, and caste system.
➢ This increases the likelihood of undemocratic rule.
➢ Since its founding, Pure land has been mired in undemocratic practices.
➢ This hinders the country's political, social, and economic progress.
➢ Pakistan's politics are hostile now. Instead of improving the nation, politicians typically point
fingers.
➢ In summary, politicians' hunger for power has hindered the country's progress.

Definition
American political scientist Lucian Pye`s defined Political Culture as:
❖ "Political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments, which give order and
meaning to a political process, and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that
govern behavior in the political system"

❖ “Political culture is a system of beliefs upon which a large majority of people agree”

Another definition of Political culture in context of Pakistan

❖ “The multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and religious orientations, which have been the source of
underdevelopment of national identity and political legitimacy of the State”

Evolution of Political Culture

Pakistan was inhabited by landowners, peasants, and middle-class wage-earners. Landowners, clerics,
bureaucrats, and the military have controlled politics since independence. Indian migrants ready to engage
with civil and military institutions-controlled politics.

Weak leadership struggled to construct a nation, and embryonic state institutions concentrated on state-
building. All this political bickering left undemocratic traditions in Pakistani politics.

Middle-class professionals from Punjab and Sindh formed a loose coalition and continued in power after
partition. The Muslim League was disorganized and rural. The ruling classes relied on the coercive civil
service to administer the state.
Winston Churchill in 1942 while talking at the House of Commons famously declared:

"If India is granted freedom, power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all leaders
will be of low caliber and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will
fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come
when even air and water will be taxed."

Factors Shaping Political Culture in Pakistan

1) Working of Muslim League after Independence
▪ Weaknesses in Pakistan's political culture stem from how the Muslim League achieved
power in Muslim centers. It was an alliance of landlord groups, pirs, sajjada nashins,
etc.
▪ Once Pakistan was created, feudal, pirs, sajjada nashins, and landlords resumed their
historic rivalry. The Muslim League also lacked a popular power basis in these regions,
hastening its demise.
2) Influx of Migration
▪ Partition prompted the largest refugee migration in history, which was terrible for both
India and Pakistan.
▪ After partition, the embryonic State of Pakistan, especially Punjab, saw a population
shift. The newly established biradaris changed the district's power politics after 1947.
3) Developing Alternative Source of Powers
▪ The States played an architect's role in the development of a political culture of power
politics and accommodated the various biradaris/castes/clans in this new power
structure for the State's own objectives, neglecting the political parties and not initiating a
process of integrating the masses into the country's political system, keeping them
frustrated and sidelined.
4) Bureaucratic Interference in Politics
▪ Bureaucratic control over state activities concentrated the system, giving the bureaucracy
additional authority. Pakistan's Civil Service grew more centralized than India's.
▪ Increased bureaucracy made nation-building difficult or impossible. The strong
bureaucracy controlled by Punjabi members worried Bengal, the Frontier, and Sindh.
▪ This top-down political style alienated people as they saw underdevelopment in their
provinces due to a lack of access to national and provincial decision-making.
▪ Inefficiency and a smaller involvement of Pakistan's political institutions in decision-
making hampered the state's capacity to enforce the rule of law and restrain strong
internal players.
5) Caste System
▪ Since independence, caste has diminished, but in politics, caste/community/biradari has
grown. Local power elites struggle for dominance in Pakistan's political culture.
▪ Political elites employ negotiating, coercion, pressure, and collaboration to obtain power.
6) Institutional Imbalance
▪ The country's political culture is also marked by institutional imbalance. Pakistan has
faced a delinquent constitution-making process, several military coups, and the
annulment of two constitutions.
▪ Part of the issue is the entrenched, centralized administrative structure, which leaves
authority undistributed and local political representatives and deputy commissioners
fighting.
 ▪ The unjust military-bureaucracy nexus, together with the implied concentration of
powers, has steered the country's ship into a long-lasting political crisis, whose
ramifications may be seen across its political system.
▪ The only solution is to have impartial and independent institutions all over the place.
Decentralization reduces the government's workload and ensures political stability.

7) Sectarianism
▪ Sectarianism hinders societal cohesion. Religion drove Pakistan's movement, but it's
unclear how it would be implemented.
▪ After division, Pakistan's post-independence popular mobilization lost its ideological
grounding.
▪ For power, military and civilian dictators exploited religious divides. As sectarians,
religious leaders failed to unite the people.
▪ Shia and Sunni disagreements are a barrier to nation-building and a religious state with a
shared philosophy. Zia-ul-Haq Islamic reforms divided Shia and Sunni.
▪ State and religious leader attempts to reconcile different factions have repeatedly
backfired.