About the Author(s)
Adeeba Arshad is a meticulous student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Bahria University, Karachi campus. With an astounding academic journey side by side, she’s also a writer and the author of a Google-recognized book, “With a Cup of Chai,” a collection of philosophy and poetry.
“No man can be grateful at the cost of his honour; no woman can be grateful at the cost of her chastity, and no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty.” Dr Ambedkar
I have a question for my dear readers who may come across this article: What is a nation? Every year on August 14th, we see people chanting “Pakistan Zindabad” and saying that we’re all an independent nation. I will come after independence after some time, but right now, I ask, what is a nation? What is a nation born out of? What is the difference between a community and a nation? And why is a nation in need of permanent independence?
“A nation is “a daily plebiscite,” and nations are based as much on what people jointly forget as on what they remember.”
“A nation is a historically evolved, stable community of language, territory, economic life, and psychological makeup manifested in a community of culture.”
From the definition, it can be seen that a nation is born out of the manifestation of language, territory, race, and psychological make-up. But all of such variables exist in a community, too. Then what makes Pakistan a nation and not a community?
At the time of independence, multiple communities existed under British rule. There were Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims. But there were also Punjabis, Sindhis, Balachis, Bangalis and Brahmins. Communities can be based on religion and racial backgrounds, and common languages and customs exist within such communities. Then why only Pakistan and India were able to emerge as a nation from so many communities? There must be something that made a community into a country. In such context, I would like to add some lines from a renowned sociologist, Ernest Renan,
“Language invites reunion; it does not force it. The United States, England, Spanish America, and Spain speak the same languages and do not form single nations. On the contrary, Switzerland owes her stability to the fact that she was founded by the assent of her several parts counts three or four languages. In man, there is something superior to language: will. The will of Switzerland to be united, despite the variety of her languages, is a much more important fact than a similarity of language, often obtained by persecution.”
A will is needed to form a nation. It was the will of Muslims to have a country where they could exercise their laws of religion and live freely in the way their religion destined them to. It was the will that made a nation out of thousand communities living in British India. It was the will of Sindhis, Punjabis, Balochis, and several other communities to forget about their differences and come together to form a nation, known as Pakistan—a nation born on religion.
Now we come to the second line, which is nationality. Nationality is simply the status that you belong to a particular nation. If you’re a part of a nation, you’re bound by a nationality. In our case, a Pakistani. Now I ask you, gentlemen, what is your nationality? If I hadn’t written any long explanation of a nation or community and had asked this question, I can account that your answer would have varied. You would have answered that you’re a Punjabi, belonging to the community of Punjab or Sindhi, belonging to the province of Sindh. That is the problem, my dear readers. We have lost our will. The most significant element that made us a nation, we have forgotten it.
Will is an idea. An idealist dreams of something. He talks about it. Commons think about it. And when that idea is seeped in every single person in some community, and the way for that idea is clear and concise, a will is born. A will binds people towards a common goal.
“Nations are born in the hearts of poets; they prosper and die in the hands of politicians. A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”
The idea that made Pakistan an independent nation was the idea of uniform religion. Pakistan was founded on the religion of Muslim. Islam, as we know it. Then where are those Muslims? If I again ask the question as to who you are in terms of your belonging to the religion, one would say a Sunni, maybe a Shia, perhaps some other lesser-known sect. Gentlemen, this problem is the one that has thawed our goals. The issue of segregation in the name of religion and racial diversity is what has made communities out of a nation.
Pakistan has ceased to be a nation. As I said, even a community has a piece of land shared among commons. Even a community has a number of people speaking a common language, a number of women practicing the same customs, a number of men exercising the same traditions, a number of children playing the common games, but do they all suffice for a nation? No, they don’t. Pakistan is now a dead piece of land ruled by an illusion of government and multiple communities waiting for their chance to get away. Most of us walk with pride when being called a Punjabi while drowning in shame if we’re called a Pakistani. The closest we get to being a Pakistani is when we watch cricket. And shamefully, even in such endeavours, we end up blaming certain people belonging to certain communities when Pakistan lose. It’s ironic that if we win, we are known as a Pakistani team, but if we fail, it’s because one player from Sindh didn’t perform well while Punjabi gave their best.
That is my matter. The issue I can’t seem to get my head out of. Why do we celebrate as a nation when we can’t take our downfall as a nation? Why was Arshad Nadeem a nobody until he won the gold for “Olympics Men’s Javelin Throw.” Why did he suddenly become a Pakistani, then? Ernest Rename again argues in one of his books,
“It is no more the land than the race that makes a nation. The land provides a substratum, the field of battle and work man provides the soul; man is everything in forming that sacred thing called a people. Nothing of material nature suffices for it.”
We have lost our souls; how could we ever dream of becoming a nation? Until and unless we can be homogeneous in our approach, we cannot be a nation. And a community isn’t asked, nor is it cared for in its opinion. So unless we can let go of segregation and stop the discrimination that rises in the name of religion or ethnic differences, whether it be racial or cultural, we cannot move on.
It doesn’t matter if our government is corrupt or not, or if the forces of our country tends to do everything except national security, as long as we have a common will towards a concise goal, we can rise as a nation. The biggest difference between Bangladeshi and Pakistani is that they acquired a common goal. They shared a will and succeeded in their nation-building in 1971. And once again, they prevailed in ruling out a corrupt minister due to their shared will.
The last yet most important point for Pakistanis is waiting for a Messiah. Even if we all cultivate a common idea, it wouldn’t matter if we don’t work on it. Pakistanis are obsessed with the makings of a follower. They are always looking for a leader who can help them attain their goal. Whether it be Quaid-Azam in the past or Imran Khan in the present, Pakistanis look for a saviour.
“Bhakti in religion may be a road to salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.
~Dr Ambedkar
What most of us Pakistanis don’t understand is that the common will is our saviour. A messiah has the purpose of leading people in a certain direction. If there are followers and they don’t know who to follow, they’ll scatter. However, in terms of nationalism, a nation already has a common direction. Will serves as a light towards that direction. People don’t need a saviour if they already know where to go. And so I humbly plead to every Pakistani who reads this: stop being a follower! If you know where you want your nation to be, you already have a goal. You already have a direction. What you need is the courage to follow it.
And lastly, what is the common will of us Pakistanis? It’s to rise as a nation. It’s to make our country better in terms of economy, national security, social welfare, heritage and culture preservation, environmental sustainability, international relations, technological advancement and lastly, to rise as a Muslim nation and never forget that we were born as a nation in the name of our religion. I hope wherever you are, whatever your job is, you don’t forget that you can work for your country while working for yourself.
Our country can firmly establish itself if we all play our roles well in interpersonal relationships, social endeavours, personal goals, and other such things. After all, every point in the thread elevates its purpose in making a long cloth.
Citation:
Excerpts from;
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7312/rena17430-012/html
https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=427360
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09502389300490251
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203209158/nation-identity-ross-poole
https://www.jstor.org/stable/24479052
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2642736
https://www.torrossa.com/gs/resourceProxy?an=5757034&publisher=FZ0661#page=292
