RANDOM MUSINGS

The constant invoking of Kashmir by the Pakistani politicians, young and old, is an interesting continuation of the Pakistani search for identity after partition. Pakistan was a conception of an Islamic ideal placed in the center of the global ummah. The trajectory of this failed state has been discordant with the projected ideals before its creation. Over decades, the lack of clarity in applying Islamic principles to build a secular constitution has been at the root of the ongoing struggles between Islamic groups and the political establishment over Pakistan’s identity. Political scientist Jaffrelot says that Pakistan’s postcolonial travails are because it lacks a “positive” national identity and possesses only a “negative” identity defined by its opposition to India. Venkat Dhulipala (Creating a New Medina) says that Islamist visions and the ulama have fiercely contested, constrained, and limited the modern secular view of an Islamist state. Pakistan is now a heady and complicated mix of constitutional democracy, religious clerics keen to guide policies, and an ambitious army. The non-Muslims (undergoing severe demographic changes), mohajirs (mainly the United Provinces migrants), and even Muslim sects (Shias and Ahmadiyas) are at the receiving end of many discriminatory state policies and terrorist activities.