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Pakistani nationalism refers to the political, cultural and religious expression of patriotism by peoples of Pakistan, of pride in the history and heritage of Pakistan, and visions for its future. It also refers to the consciousness and expression of religious and ethnic influences that help mould the national consciousness.

Nationalism describes the many underlying forces that moulded the Pakistan movement, and strongly continue to influence the politics of Pakistan. It should be noted that, although controversial, Pakistani nationalism often imbibes the consciousness of Pakistanis that prior to 1947, Pakistan embodied the broader Indian subcontinent.

From a political point of view and in the years leading up to the Partition of India, the particular political and ideological foundations for the actions of the Muslim League can be called a Pakistani nationalist ideology. This ideology, too complicated for a compressed explanation, involves radical right doctrines, similar to Fascism. It is a unique and singular combination of philosophical, nationalistic, cultural and religious elements.

National consciousness in Pakistan

See Also: Ancient Pakistan

The Pakistani civilization, its leaders and those who admired the culture and civilization of this country are a source of nationalist sentiment to its people and those who identify themselves with the Pakistani culture.

Belief in the ancient nature of the Pakistani civilization

The core of Pakistani nationalism lies in the belief that the Pakistani civilization is one of the most ancient and influential in history. A strictly abridged set of mentions highlighting the ancient nature of the Pakistani civilization is given below:-

• The Mesolithic period in Pakistan was diverse and innovative.
• The earliest evidence of humans are pebble tools from the Soan Culture in the province of Punjab, dated from 100,000 to 500,000 years ago.
• The Indus region was the site of several ancient cultures including Mehrgarh, one of the world's earliest known towns, and the Indus Valley Civilisation at Harrappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
• The origins of the Indus valley civilization can be traced to Mehrgarh, which the archaelogist Jean-Françoise Jarrige has dated to before 6000 BCE.
• The Indus script can be dated to 3500 BCE.
• At the peak of the Indus valley civilization, around 2300–2000 BCE, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa housed some 40,000 inhabitants who enjoyed a high standard of living; for example, this developed, urban culture was sophisticated enough to have organized municipal waste management, drainage and well planned roads.
• Pakistan is the birthplace of one the two major schools of religions in the world, the Dharmic religions, the other school being that of the Abrahamic religions. The Dharmic religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Pakistan is also the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism at Nankana Sahib..
• Pakistan is widely seen as an important bastion of the Abrahamic religions with Christians having lived continuously in Pakistan since 52 A.D. Islam came to Pakistan as the early as the 7th century CE with the advent of Arab traders.
• Pakistan is home to the Kalasha community, which claims they are the direct descendants of either Greek settlers, Alexander the Great's army, or even Alexander the Great himself.

This belief that Pakistan is one of the cradles of human civilization is one of the greatest reasons of pride and Pakistani nationalism.

Wars of liberation, salvation and civilization

See Also: Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent Abbasid, Ghaznavid Empire, Ghorid Kingdom, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire

Pakistani nationalists assert that Pakistan is the successor state of Islamic empires and kingdoms that ruled the region for almost a combined period of one millennium, the empires and kingdoms in order are Abbasid, Ghaznavid Empire, Ghorid Kingdom, Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire.Pakistan's imperial past composes possibly the largest segment of Pakistani nationalism, No Hindu army was able to challenge the might of the Muslim armies for almost a millenium, Due to the meek performance of the native Hindu population over a period of several centuries it only fueled the chauvinism, jingoism and religious fanaticism of the successive Empires, Dynasties, Kingdoms and ultimately led to the formation of a Martial Race.

Pakistan today celebrates numerous Muslim kings and emperors for wars of liberation and emancipation such as Muhammad bin Qasim,Muhammad of Ghor ,Mahmud of Ghazni who inflicted a humilating defeat on the Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan, Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan who fought the British.

Pakistani nationalists hold the conservative Muslim kings such as Mahmud of Ghazni and Aurangzeb in high esteem, Aurangzeb for his unflinching use of vast military might in his goals, leaves him as one of the most admired and honored figures in Pakistani nationalism. He ruled for a period of 48 years; he also expanded the Mughal Empire to its greatest zenith, leaving only the south tip of the Indian subcontinent free from Mughal rule, During his reign, many Hindu temples were defaced and destroyed, and many non-Muslims converted to Islam, the jizya, a head tax on non-Muslims, was reinstated during his rule.

Pakistani nationalists take pride in Aurangzeb's defacement and destruction of Hindu temples, other actions of Aurangzeb for which he his forever venerated by Pakistani nationalists include the edicts he enacted which forbade Hindus to display illuminations at Diwali festivals. Hindu religious fairs were outlawed in 1668. The following year, he prohibited construction of new Hindu temples as well as the repair of existing ones. In 1671 Aurangzeb issued an order that only Muslims could be landlords of crown lands. He ordered provincial Viceroys to dismiss all Hindu clerks. Of particular pride to Pakistani nationalists is the damage Aurangzeb inflicted upon the restless Sikh community in particular his execution of Guru Teg Bahadur who was the ninth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism.Guru Teg Bahadur's execution for his belligerence and total disregard for the edicts and laws passed by Aurangzeb proved to be forever a scar upon the faces of the Sikh community, All claims of Guru Teg Bahadur being sent from God for the troubled people of the land as an enlightened soul whose main purpose in life was the spiritual and moral well-being of the masses, were subsequently quashed as he was meekly executed. Pakistani nationalists take great pride in the disorientation caused to the Sikh religion due to Aurangzeb's execution of Guru Tegh Bahadar, the event is very significant in Sikhism the ripples caused by this event can still be felt in the Sikh community even today who feel they were robbed of a promised Guru.

From the start of his reign up until his death, Aurangzeb engaged in almost constant warfare. He built up a massive army, and began a program of military expansion at all the boundaries of his empire. The conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was a policy objective under Aurangzeb's rule, due to which he is revered by Pakistani nationalists as a saint.Muhammad bin Qasim, and Mahmud of Ghazni amongst numerous other Emperors and Kings are considered saints by Pakistani nationalists.

However liberal Muslim kings to an extent are also part of Pakistani pride. Akbar was a powerful Mughal emperor who admired Hinduism, forged familial and political bonds with Hindu Rajput kings, and developed for the first time in medieval Pakistan an environment of religious freedom. Akbar undid most forms of religious discrimination, and invited the participation of wise Hindu ministers and kings, and even religious scholars in his court. In his reign, Pakistan was politically powerful, prosperous and its common people secure.

The main mughal contribution to the south asia was their unique architecture. Many monuments were built during the mughal era including the Taj Mahal. The first Mughal emperor Babur wrote in the Bāburnāma:

Hindustan is a place of little charm. There is no beauty in its people, no graceful social intercourse, no poetic talent or understanding, no etiquette, nobility or manliness. The arts and crafts have no harmony or symmetry. There are no good horses, meat, grapes, melons or other fruit. There is no ice, cold water, good food or bread in the markets. There are no baths and no madrasas. There are no candles, torches or candlesticks".

The comments made by the Emperor Babur, echo in the slighest terms the opinion many Pakistani nationalists have towards Hindustan and in particular to Hindus.

Foreign admiration

• Historian and geographer de Blij Muller characterized the historical embodiment of the land when he said:

  If, as is so often said, Egypt is the gift of the Nile, then Pakistan is the gift of the Indus.".

• British author and poet, Rudyard Kipling remarked in his novel 'Kim'

  "He sat, in defiance of municipal orders, astride the gun Zam-Zammah on her brick platform opposite the old Ajaib-Gher - the Wonder House, as the natives call the Lahore Museum. Who hold Zam-Zammah, that 'fire-breathing dragon', hold the Punjab, for the great green-bronze piece is always first of the conqueror's loot.".

• Rudyard Kipling also remarked in his Poem 'The Ballad of the King's Jest'

  And the tribesmen bellowed to hasten the food; And the camp-fires twinkled by Fort Jumrood; And there fled on the wings of the gathering dusk, A savour of camels and carpets and musk, A murmur of voices, a reek of smoke, To tell us the trade of the Khyber woke.".

Renaissance vision

See Also: Syed Ahmed Khan, Indian rebellion of 1857

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Bahadur (Urdu:سید احمد خان بہا در ) October 17, 1817 Syed Ahmed Khan promoted Western-style education in Muslim society, seeking to uplift Muslims in the economic and political life of British India. He founded the Aligarh Muslim University, then called the Anglo-Oriental College.

The War of Independence 1857 ended in disaster for the Muslims. The British chose to believe that the Muslims were responsible for the anti-British uprising; therefore they made them the subject of ruthless punishments and merciless vengeance. The British had always looked upon the Muslims as their adversaries because they had ousted them from power. With the rebellion of 1857, this feeling was intensified and every attempt was made to ruin and suppress the Muslims forever. Their efforts resulted in the liquidation of the Mughal rule and the Sub-continent came directly under the British crown. After dislodging the Muslim rulers from the throne, the new rulers, the British, implemented a new educational policy with drastic changes. The policy banned Arabic, Persian and religious education in schools and made English not only the medium of instruction but also the official language in 1835. This spawned a negative attitude amongst the Muslims towards everything modern and western, and a disinclination to make use of the opportunities available under the new regime. This tendency, had it continued for long, would have proven disastrous for the Muslim community.

Seeing this atmosphere of despair and despondency, Sir Syed launched his attempts to revive the spirit of progress within the Muslim community of India. He was convinced that the Muslims in their attempt to regenerate themselves, had failed to realize the fact that mankind had entered a very important phase of its existence, i.e., an era of science and learning. He knew that the realization of the very fact was the source of progress and prosperity for the British. Therefore, modern education became the pivot of his movement for regeneration of the Indian Muslims. He tried to transform the Muslim outlook from a medieval one to a modern one.

Sir Syed's first and foremost objective was to acquaint the British with the Indian mind; his next goal was to open the minds of his countrymen to European literature, science and technology.

Therefore, in order to attain these goals, Sir Syed launched the Aligarh Movement of which Aligarh was the center. He had two immediate objectives in mind: to remove the state of misunderstanding and tension between the Muslims and the new British government, and to induce them to go after the opportunities available under the new regime without deviating in any way from the fundamentals of their faith.

Azadi

Main Articles:Pakistan Movement, Muslim League, Partition of India, Jinnah, Sir Muhammad Iqbal,

Jinnah issued a call for all Muslims to launch "Direct Action" on August 16 to "achieve Pakistan". Strikes and protests were planned, but violence broke out all over India, especially in Calcutta and the district of Noakhali in Bengal, and more than 7,000 people were killed in Bihar. Although viceroy Lord Wavell asserted that there was "no satisfactory evidence to that effect", League politicians were blamed by the Congress and the media for orchestrating the violence. After a conference in December 1946 in London, the League entered the interim government, but Jinnah refrained from accepting office for himself. This was credited as a major victory for Jinnah, as the League entered government having rejected both plans, and was allowed to appoint an equal number of ministers despite being the minority party. The coalition was unable to work, resulting in a rising feeling within the Congress that partition was the only way of avoiding political chaos and possible civil war. The Congress agreed to the partition of Punjab and Bengal along religious lines in late 1946. The new viceroy Lord Mountbatten and Indian civil servant V. P. Menon proposed a plan that would create a Muslim dominion in West Punjab, East Bengal, Baluchistan and Sindh. After heated and emotional debate, the Congress approved the plan.

Nationalist Shrines and Symbols

Pakistan has many sights, shrines, and symbols that have siginificance to Pakistani nationalists, these include but are not limited to the mausoleums of M.A Jinnah-Father of the Nation,Fatima Jinnah-Mother of the Nation, and Muhammad Iqbal-National poet. K2 occupies a very special place in the hearts and minds of Pakistani nationalists, Indeed it holds similar significance to Pakistani nationalism as Mount Fuji in Japanese nationalist thinking.

Nuclear power

Main Article: Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction

In 1998, Pakistan tested its first nuclear weapon in Chagai, Baluchistan, and thus became the 7th nation in the world to possess an arsenal of nuclear weapons. It is postulated that Pakistan's nuclear program arose in the 1970s as a response to the Indian acquisition of the nuclear weapon. It also resulted in Pakistan pursuing similar ambitions, resulting in the May, 1998 testings of five nuclear devices by both countries, opening a new era in their rivalry. Pakistan is not a signatory to the NPT and CTBT, which it considers an encroachment on its right to defend itself.

References

1. Kennedy 2000:239
2. ^ University of Sheffield's archaeological research in Pakistan
3. Minnesota State University page on Mohenjo-Daro
4. Flood 1996:25
5. Bryant 2001:178
6. Flood 1996:24-25
7. World Gazetteer estimate for Nankana Sahib
8. The Indus River during this time used to flow to the east of Nerun. An earthquake at in the 10th century caused it to change couse to what it is currently.
9. American Journal of Human Genetics 70(5):1107–1124, 2002 May.
10. The Baburnama Ed. & Trans. Wheeler M. Thackston (New York) 2002 p352
13. Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life", pp. 372-73
14. Mansergh, "Transfer of Power Papers Volume IX", pp 879
15. R. Gandhi, Patel: A Life, pp. 376-78