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Recently, while browsing through the shelves of Boston’s famous Harvard Book Store, I found a book on Pakistan which was first published in 1950. Although the name of the author was missing, the book was published in Lahore in December, 1950. It is a curious little book which explains Pakistan as a young country made up of various ethnic groups, whose Muslim members got together to create a Muslim-majority country to safeguard the economic and political interests of South Asia’s Muslims from the majority-rule of Hindus in India.
Interestingly, the book then goes on to suggest that Pakistan was also created to safeguard the interests of South Asian Christians and lower-caste Hindus of India who were also ‘under threat from upper-caste Hindu majoritarianism and nationalism ... ’
I compared this with a 1992 ‘Pakistan Studies’ book in which the author went to great lengths to explain Pakistan as a theological state surrounded by enemies. In fact, the book carried a separate chapter on these ‘enemies’ which was subdivided into sections on Hindus, Christians and Jews.
Ever since 1950, much has changed in the religious and ethnic demography of Pakistan, but the country still is a multicultural entity with numerous ethnic communities, languages, Muslim sects and sub-sects.
When hate is maufactured through textbooks the results are often generational
Although the country was conceived as a Muslim-majority state, according to scholar and educationist, Prof A.H. Nayyar, the idiom of Muslim majoritarianism started gaining more currency in the country’s ethos after the 1971 East Pakistan debacle. But whereas the 1950 book explained this majoritarianism as an entirely inclusive idea, it became more exclusive after 1971.
Dr Rubina Saigol is of the view that the attempt to enforce this ethos through school textbooks began in the early 1980s. In her paper and essay ‘Radicalisation of State & Society in Pakistan’, Saigol informs that in the 1980s, the syllabus was revised and textbooks were rewritten to create a more monolithic image of Pakistan as a theocratic state and Pakistani citizens as Muslim only.
According to Saigol, this clearly tells non-Muslim students that they are excluded from the national identity.
In an extensive 2002 study, conducted by Nayyar and Dr Ahmad Salim, the following themes emerge most strongly in post-1971 history textbooks:
That Pakistan is for Muslims alone; the ideology of Pakistan is deeply interlinked with faith; and that the students should take the path of war and martyrdom. All these are then put under the umbrella of the ‘ideology of Pakistan’.
Scholars such as Ayesha Jalal have argued that the term ‘ideology of Pakistan’ is an after-thought; it was absent at the time of the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
According to her, Jinnah never used the term ‘ideology of Pakistan’. Also, for over a decade after the creation of Pakistan, the term was missing from official narratives.
Jalal informs that the phrase ‘ideology of Pakistan’ has no historical basis in the Pakistan movement. It was coined much later by those political forces that needed it to sanctify their particular brand of politics: especially those political entities who had earlier been against the creation of Pakistan because they believed Pakistan nationalism was a secular concoction.
Yet textbooks (ever since the 1980s) insist that the ideology of Pakistan was first pronounced by the Quaid. But no textbook has ever been able to cite a single reference to Jinnah using this term.
Jinnah’s speech to the Constituent Assembly on Sept 11, 1947 is completely contrary to the so-called ‘ideology of Pakistan’ as it is presented in school history books.
Some time after 1971, the subject of Indo-Pakistan history was replaced with ‘Pakistan Studies,’ with the sole purpose now was to define Pakistan as an exclusive faith-based state. The students were deprived of learning about pre-Islamic history of their region. Instead, history books now started with the Arab conquest of Sindh and swiftly jumped to the Muslim conquerors from Central Asia.
As scientist and author, Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, has often lamented, all history in these books is along religious lines, while social, historical and economic causes are missing. Pakistanis are not told that the rise of Western powers in the last 500 years was mainly due to the advances made in education, science and culture. This rise was not based on military might alone, and certainly not on any overwhelming religious doctrine.
After 1979, the themes of war and martyrdom in textbooks became strong. In this period, history and social studies books openly eulogised these.
According to Nayyar, in Pakistan the impression one gets from textbooks is that students don’t learn history, but rather a carefully crafted collection of falsehoods.
For example, in these books, Mohammad bin Qasim is declared the first Pakistani citizen. The story of the Arabs’ arrival in Sindh is recounted as the first moment of Pakistan.
Also, a widely taught history book insists that, “Although Pakistan was created in August 1947, the present-day Pakistan has existed, as a more or less single entity, for centuries.”
A history book published in 1992 has on its cover a Muslim warrior holding a sword and charging in on a horse, and a chapter called ‘The Enemies of Islam’. This chapter too is broken into various sections that define these enemies as being Hindus, Christians and Jews.
In their study, both Nayyar and Salim conclude that one should not be surprised at the confusion among Pakistani children and youth after what they learn at school; a state of mind that they can carry well into their adult life as well.
In her paper, Dr Saigol also stretches her study by looking at similar incidents of historical distortions in India. She suggests that Indian textbooks until the 1980s, avoided the economic and cultural reasons behind the break-up of India in 1947 and saw it as being purely a communal consequence triggered by the myopic religious impulse of Muslim leaders.
Saigol also informs how Indian textbooks also ignored the Hindutva dimension of Indian nationalism. As we can now see, this dimension has gradually become a predominant aspect of the Indian identity and, interestingly, its context and tone are mirror images of the belligerence found in the post-1980s Pakistani textbooks! The opposing twins have finally met.
Perhaps, the nature of the bloodshed during the Partition of India in 1947 was such that the official narratives on both sides of the divide decided to sacrifice the truth of partition on the killing fields. Instead, they created convoluted narrations in their still on-going attempts to blame each other for the bloodshed and its lingering consequences.
Both narratives are still trying to make sure that the truth remains buried where millions of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs slaughtered each other almost 70 years ago. As if these truths just might undo the continuing status quo of suspicion and belligerence between the two states. Something which is not good for politics, I guess.
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, June 19th, 2016
Comments (60)
Eye opening article.
That is true. And it was later on when I knew more and more then I came to know more truths. Consequently now I hardly believe anything official.
Rightly said. No cosmetics can impdove indo-pak ties unless we prepare the next generation for it, and that can happen if we prepars them by education through text books. However, the politics scenario here is such that often governments don't even take projects, benefits of which may be awarded to some another government in just few years. Then how can they plan generously for 20 yr later! Only more communication through digital media and journalism like the Dawn could be able to make awareness in future. Or an extreme idea could be that two benevolent dictator type leaders come at the top at same time in both countries and try to re-write narratives rather than being captive to some ideology or some historical nostalgia.
"When you mutilate history, history doesnt suffers but you." Z. Chaboi Same is happening with Pakistan, where the state actors and other chauvivists have deformed history according to their needs. This has not changed the course of history. All we need now is a history that is not biased but a factual one. We have to stop teaching our children that we are of arab or afgan descent and hindus/indians are our enemies.
MQM was formed when Mohammed Bin Qasim landed in Sindh. I am a firm beliver of it.
@ Brijesh You guys are quite a piece of art. In the first section of the piece when NFP was discussing distortions of history in Pak text book, you were okay. But when he wrote the same about Indian text books and the Hindutva aspect of Indian indentity, you got irritated. Be balanced, like the author was.
@ Usman : Dear Usman I would havehave completely agreed with you if your observation or even Nadeem's observation regarding the Indian text book would have been on facts & post reading /researching, UNFORTUNETLY that's not. Writer seems to be in Idea of Balancing tactics & want to create an impression that "same is happening in India". To his & many other disappointment it's NOT. Regards
Indeed. The opposing twins have finally met. The only difference is that Indians are some years behind Pakistan in this process. Also, unlike Pakistan of 1947, India has much larger portion of minorities. So the pace of this will be much slower. Hopefully good sense will prevail and the process will be reversed before it becomes impossible to turn back.
Very comprehensive article, it is sad how educational system was manipulated to achieve wishes of few over goodness of masses. I hope main stream scholars can help to create a culture of unity, equality and harmony.
Dear @Manish can you kindly explain this http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/opinion/mr-modi-dont-patent-cow-urine.html
And then this http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bjp-wants-akbar-road-to-be-renamed-maharana-pratap-road/article8614733.ece
NFP is right in suggesting that Pakistani conservatives and Indian conservatives are two sides of the same coin.
Whether it is Political Islam or Political Hinduism or Political Christianity or Political Buddhism etc. it is used to protect the religious,social, economical and political rights of their religious community during the process countries lose their liberalism and religious minorities become second class citizens.
Pakistan is another example of religious revolution similar to Iran, Saudi Arabia, gulf countries etc. than a liberal revolution of America, UK, European countries Malaysia, Singapore,Egypt etc.
@ Brijesh You are sounding like the Hindu version of our paranoid hate onagers. NFP has been one of the most informative and balanced writers in the region. Take off your blinders and try to say things that are not so knee jerk as your comment.
@Manish
It hurts somebody else talks about you.
NFP, save your credibility and please do proper research before commenting on India.
Excellent. Our textbooks are full of hate, obscurantism, extremism and other evils which people don't understand until they grow old, by then another young generation is being indoctrinated and turned into vampires.
Pakistani textbooks also don't tell you that the King and later Queen of England was Head of State of Pakistan since 1947 to 1956. We had Royal Pakistan Airforce and Royal Pakistan Navy. That our constitution was secular once. That the first law minister was a Hindu dalit. That Jinnah liked Attaturk a lot and so many other things. We are not arabs and we should focus on science and education along with making it a secular state.
It is the victors that write history.
@Ash Actually, Ash jee, save yourself the embarrassment of being naive about what is happening around you in India. NFP is correct on both counts. People like you are mirror images of our chauvinists. And as someone asked here already, explain these:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/opinion/mr-modi-dont-patent-cow-urine.html
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bjp-wants-akbar-road-to-be-renamed-maharana-pratap-road/article8614733.ece
NFP is spot on: Hindu fundamentalists are exactly like Muslim fundamentalists.
Another day, another article
india sadly has more muslims than pakistan now, and at mercy of hindus.. we should enocourage them to make pakistan home
@ Bro Can understand your frustration with current state of affairs in Pakistan and in the process trying to take some solace in knit picking and imagining things about India.Hope Pakistan does better from now on and you don't have to do this any more. Good luck !
@ Usman :action and reaction appear to be the two sides of the same coin. But they are not.
The lies that are told through text books in schools is the reason for us in such a sorry state of affairs. We love our religion more than we love our country. Science has no place in our day to day lives except while making nuclear weapons.
If people of 1947, who migrated to Pakistan, would read this article, th would cry cry of blood. They lost their whole families, trains of blood used to arrive in Lahore and here we are debating Ideology of Pakistan.
I am curious and no offence to pak citizens. Do the history text books discusses freedom struggle pre partition?
@ Usman How come population of Muslims in India increase by 4% and population of Hindus in Pakistan reduced by 13% ? How can you compare both on equal terms?
There is no place for hatred whether in minds or in textbooks......
Peace, progress, prosperity is what's needed, not religious jingoism or nuclear war-mongering
@ Usman are they text books?
@ Usman It will take Muslims at least another thousand years before you people can have the tolerance level of the Hindus in India. But yu people take that as sign of weakness as you only undertaker the language of violence.
Pakistani history students have got it easy since they have to remember only 70 years. Indian students have to learn about 4000 years of history and it becomes quite tough.
Apparently....History / Pakistan Studies text in Pakistan depicting future of Pakistan. My appology if anybody feels offended
linking India in everything isn't going to solve your problems.good luck
By misleading next generation, I don't know; how we can create a cohesive vision of national unity.
You can try as many ways as you can but in the end you ought to face the truth, willingly or unwillingly. Either we exhume the lies buried in those graves or the dead will testify themselves but then its always too late.
we over a period of time changed ideolgy of islam what to talk about ideolgy of pakistan
Sure!!
one day, truth will prevail.
If Hindu, Muslim, Sikh can live in harmony in ME, EU, US and Canada, then, why could not they live together in the united India? In fact, the division of India was conceived by a particular bourgeoisie group who saw a danger to their vested interest in the united India. It is regretted that our history textbooks are totally concocted and biased. In our history textbooks, we eulogize and own the foreign invaders from Arab and Central Asian countries while portraying our real native heroes like Chandragupta Maurya, Budda, Ashoka, Raja Dahir, Himu, Sheva Jee, Samba Jee,Guru Nanak, Ranjit Singh etc; as villains.
Good write-up. I agree that emotions and theatrics overtake facts and logic in nartatives of Pakistan as well as India.
For example, to call Mughals as invaders is wrong. They came, struggled, stayed and defended India for many years. They are as much Indian in nature as Ashoka or Shivaji.
Same way, in Pakistan, as detailed by NFP. Hope as thr time goes by, our next generations are more rational than us....
It's happened... Whatever said... The truth needs to come out someday. Why not today and teach our children well... They are the future we owe then the truth.
When hate is manufactured through textbooks it becomes a slow poison, and it cannot be stopped from being passed on to the next generation and then to the next and so on....
Pakistan will be serious about its effort of war on terror if only it revises the text books and removes hate ,racism ..otherwise the terrorists are being continually manufactured
I studied in Indian's Central Board of Secondary Education schools in the 1980s. The History was very strong on secular and democratic ideals, separation of religion vs state but with bias towards socialism. No religion was vilified or called enemy. Cast system was shown as a terrible practise to be rid off. Jinha was depicted as a divisive figure. Nehru was show in extremely positive light. Quite a bit on colonial past, non-aligned movement, central planning....Muslim invader from outside were shown as plunderers but Islamic heritage was shown as imbibed into the culture positively. China of those days was not shown to be friendly/turstable - but no derogatory reference was made to their culture or race. Indus civilisation was show as one of the heritages. We used 'Bharat' rather than 'Hindustan' almost all the time while referring to India.
While there was bias in the textbook - I doubt if what we were taught was anywhere as twisted/hatefilled as what was taught in Pakistan.
I strongly commend Mr. Peracha to bring the truth out but unfortunately political leaders will loose their fiath and elections and thus more lies and lies are collected and fire of hate continues to burn.Having read nd seen some of the books claiming Pakistn existance from Mohd Qasim onvasion,one has to ask simple question how long such lies can be told and are we not destroying the minds with such brain washing. Any history full of lies and untruth is more injutious to any nation who lives in such lies and more destructive in the long run. Unfortunately now with RSS/BJP in power,similar rewriting of history and turning the clock back is in progress and peace in the continent despite all efforts is a far cry. Nations built on lies and self created history cannot live in peace and prosper and once on this path of lies, turning the clock back to truth will not be easy. May God show us the light
For years on end I have been hearing the world renowned Pakistani Physics Laureate A. Salam was a Jew agent and that his Nobel award was nothing but just to embarrass the Muslims. How ironic. I wonder ho accurately, if at all, he gets mentioned to school kids since I notice there is no adoration of him in a typical Pakistani home.
Im sorry to inform others that there is no thing is written about religion and pakistan in our CBSE and other states history Books. I did not even knew that India had 4 wars and there is tense situation between both countries till i came in 12 th when I started to watch news channels and started doing my own research on Internet. And the best part my friends still dont know about this and i have to tell them as they dont have time to follow on these things. If u dont believe me search yourselves go on cbse websites and others and you can find a pdf version of books and search for terms muslims or hindus or pakistan etc and see for your self. I do not know from which books the author got his information. Maybe there are books which spat hatred on pakiatan but i can atleast gurantee that its not taught in any schools. Please check yourself if you want to belive others or even me. All indian authorised books which are taught in India are available online under CBSE .
I studied in India in 70s and 80s and our textbooks talk good equally about all religions. Textbooks talk about greatness of Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Guru Nanak,Jews etc all. There is history starting from the Aryan migration 10000 years ago to the preIslamic era, the Islamic era, Britiah etc... Even today. The textbooks also talk about Hindu identity, bcoz the lack of unity among Hindu kings was the main reason that British colonized India. The key difference is that textbooks dont paint picture of every child to be a Hindu soldier with a sword in hand and to achieve martyrdom by killing enemies - other religion. Look at Chinese or British or American txtbooks, they all talk proud about themselves without painting "other" as evil.
Thank you again NFP. Not only the false narrative in history books but the whole education system needs to be uprooted and a new planted. An 18yr old now, after 13yrs of full time schooling, is dumber than ever in the history of mankind, especially amongst Muslims.
We are not makers of history. We are made by history. - Martin Luther King. Although it is an NFP peice - we still need to respect our history in it's original form. No matter how cruel it is - Unbiased history will take the nation forward. Biased history in any form will bit us back.
@churan yes I was born 1959 red abt Ghandi bakhath Singh Abraham Lincoln.it all started in 80s.we even red abt Sita and ram I still remember the pics with story
I don't know about Pakistan but in my country my Hindu brothers have engraved victim mentality and they think Muslims rulers were responsible for their plights and as a result they see us with hate and suspicious. None of the Muslims rulers of India is hero of Hindus. They see them foreigners not Indian.
@Abbas Ali
Did he emigrate from present day India and speak Urdu?
Its time for Indian and Pakistani historians to get together and write a definite history of the region independently. Click RECOMMEND if you agree.
@Shadi Katyal no no more any one can lie and hide the truth. In todays online world you cannot hide anything . All information and facts is easily available online . Yes but If wrong things taught from the beginning to the kids then defiantly in there subconscious mind it would effect them and as they grow up and if by exploring knowing the truth they would begin to doubt even truth.
Beautiful comparative article. Is it this new found "Ideology of Pakistan" that is instrumental to present state of affairs?
Majority of Indians think that their good culture will keep us bonded and not religion. The moment you will become 100% muslim, you will start differentiating between Muslim as Shia, Sunni and Ahmedi. That is what happening in Pakistan.
@GUEST
that would be a really good initiative :-) India and Pakistan share the same history for thousands of years only to part ways 69 years ago.
@Ayub Spot on Dear
@Ak if true then it is good, hope those day will come back to pakistan once again