PAKISTAN

Pakistan -  (a nation?)

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Our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Pbuh) said: “Love of your country (patriotism) is a part of your faith.” Islam does not forbid a Muslim to love his motherland/homeland or his own country in which he lives or grows up. A true Mumin loves his own country dearly.”

Are we living as a nation or just a group of people bonded together because of one reason or another. Although every person living on this planet believe that he is living in a nation but most of us are not aware as what literally means from the word NATION as the whole phenomenon of Nation can be expressed in these words” Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it”. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”. Quaid I Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once said” “No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two”.

In Simple words a nation is a large group of people who share the same ethnicity, culture, language, beliefs, history, or passions. A nation might be a country, like Pakistan, or a group of people living in several countries, like the Kurds. Most countries are somewhere in between. The purpose of a nation, like a religion, or a kingdom, or a fiefdom, or a tribe, is to control people. Four essential features of a nation are: Population, Territory, Sovereignty, and Government. A nation is a large group of people with strong bonds of identity - an "imagined community," a tribe on a grand scale. It can be regarded as a stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, history, ethnicity, or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture. When a nation of people has an independent State of their own it is often called a nation-state.

According to Wikipedia, “A nation is a group of people who share the same culture, history, language or ethnicity. It can also be described as people living in the same country and government. Broadly, a country is a geopolitical state which exists within known boundaries and possesses sovereignty over its internal and international affairs. A country may be a nation state or may contain multiple nations within it. It's not clearly laid out in law, a territory essentially becomes a sovereign state when its independence is recognised by the United Nations.

In short we can easily state that a nation is a large group of people with strong bonds of identity - an "imagined community," a tribe on a grand scale. The nation may have a claim to statehood or self-rule, but it does not necessarily enjoy a state of its own. A nation is a stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, history, ethnicity, or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture. It is more overtly political than an ethnic group; it has been described as "a fully mobilized or institutionalized ethnic group. Some nations are ethnic groups and some are not. It is a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.

Now the question arises that we being Pakistan, “Are we a nation because we live in a country which was created on the basis of the two-nation theory”?  Yes we are if we follow the definition of a nation, ‘as a human group conscious of forming a community, sharing a common culture, attached to a clearly demarcated territory, having a common past and a common project for the future and claiming the right to rule itself.’ However in light of the modernist formula, we find ourselves lacking to be considered as a nation on many counts. We are divided in groups and sub-groups on the basis of religious, ethnic and provincial sentiments.

The strongest bond of our the  force of Islamic ideology is marred with controversies generated by sub-ideologies, as we are divided on sectarian bases into  Sunnis, Shias, Barelvis, Deobandis, Wahabis etc which resulted in dividing our nationhood and thus we just become a cultural enterprise. Further with provincial jealousy added with their linguistic and caste based identities such as Siraikis, Jat, Arain, etc. In Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), there are Pushto speaking, Hindko speaking, Hazarawal etc., has further disintegrated our vision of being a nation.

One should always keep in mind that in our quest to become a proud nation; we must not develop hate for other people and other nations. We must become a proud nation ready to coexist peacefully with other nations of the world. Work for the future, think for the future of humanity, stop considering everything as a joke, a lie, a manipulation, or a game. Younger generation should get focused and work for the progress and development of their country not as a country but as a nation.

The most relieving thing for us being Pakistani’s is that we might not be too late. We are still a young nation. 72 years are nothing in the lives of nations. It takes centuries for nations to be formed, for states to be established. It took the Indian Muslim nation almost a century to come together collectively in the form of the Pakistan movement. We might be somewhat misaligned or scattered, yet our collective consciousness exists within our unconscious, waiting to be re-discovered. Let’s hope and pray with sincerity that soon we will emerge as a strong real independent Islamic and truly democratic country, all we need is faith and discipline in our life and attitude.

Team Decorloot