MJ Akbar
IN October 1947 Pakistan set off what has become history’s longest continuous war with an arbitrary invasion of Jammu & Kashmir when the political future of this princely state was still on the discussion board: a Maharaja was still in office; the British were still present on the subcontinent through Lord Mountbatten; India and Pakistan had got self-government but not full independence since they remained Dominions in the British Empire. Pakistan promised Kashmiris a place in an earthly Paradise as an alternative to “Hindu-infested” India.
More than seven decades later, the evidence is in, and it is visible in every statistic on an economist’s chart and every photograph in the media. Indian Kashmir is enjoying an unprecedented economic boom mir has become perhaps the most wretched province of a sinking country whose shrinking wealth continues to be usurped by an avaricious army in the name of security.
Artificial insemination Pakistan was created in 1947 through an artificial insemination between Islam and nationalism, a construct which had no antecedent in history and remains an absurd anomaly in contemporary reality. If Islam was sufficient as the basis of a nation-state, why would there be 22 Arab states? They even have language in common. If Islam was enough to glue geography, culture and separate forms of identity, why would Pakistan and Afghanistan be separate countries?
The Taliban currently in power in Kabul were sustained during their long exile in Quetta and the Frontier of Pakistan, but they showed absolutely no desire to amalgamate Afghanistan with Pakistan after their return to power. For them, as for others, Afghan identity is the rationale for Afghan nationalism. This does not make them less Islamic. Any sociologist will tell you that there are 72 recognised identities within Islam. Does Munir, who presumably follows Hanafi Islam, regard Ismailis and Bohras as ‘true’ Muslims?
The irony is that Islamic doctrine has no ambiguity about the multicultural reality of this world. Allah in the Quran is always defined as Rabb-ul aal-amin, or God of the universe, not just Rabb-ul Muslimeen, or God of Muslims. God has sent the message in every language; the Quran is the last message. Allah created every human being; it is for God to judge, and not for us.
Pakistan, a unique and negative experiment, was fashioned, with the help of the imperial British, out of the false notion that Islam was in danger, and had to be consequently protected by Partition. The concept that Islam can be in danger is heresy, apostasy, or shirq. If, as Muslims believe, Islam is the true faith, it cannot be in danger. Only a false faith can be in danger.
Still a dominion
Yes, Muslims can be in danger, as can Christians or Parsis or Buddhists, or those who feel they are underprivileged castes in Hindu society. Buddhists and Muslims have been virtually eliminated by the atheist regime of communist China, which does not seem to bother the great Muslims of Pakistan one bit. If General Munir mentions Uighur Muslims, he will probably be deposed immediately because the ruling cliques that have made Pakistan their private property know that they cannot survive without Beijing’s protection. In a very relevant sense, Pakistan continues to remain a dominion, but this time as part of the Chinese domain.
If people have a grievance, or feel fear, in a modern polity, then there are political solutions to such problems. If Partition were the only answer, then every land would be a conglomeration of farcically independent districts and villages. There would be hundreds of Americas, Russias, and Chinas.
India’s democratic Constitution has displayed remarkable flexibility in finding answers for the perpetual problems that accompany coexistence; that is the supreme virtue of democracy. Dictatorships impose solutions, some good, some unacceptable.
Asim Munir’s true purpose may not be a total war with India, although one can never predict which way a desperate coin of fortune might flip. A war between nuclear powers is not something one can contemplate with any equanimity. On a more realistic level, even a conventional war could further fracture a decomposing Pakistan. It seems more likely that Munir has announced his doctrine for an Army coup as Pakistan’s civilian politicians once again wither and self-destruct.
This speech is a possible manifesto as he reinvents himself as another Zia-ul-Haq, who seized power in 1976 from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto was eventually eliminated through a judicial murder. Bhutto’s daughter Benazir was assassinated with far less ceremony, during a public procession. The Pakistan Army offers only two options for enemies: prison or death. Nawaz Sharif survived in exile only because he had powerful friends in Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan’s Generals have given their nation nothing constructive in the past. That has not diminished their fantasies about the future. Dr Strangelove is back in power in Pakistan.
