In an article in the Pakistani daily The News, in connection with Pakistan's Independence Day on August 14, 2009, veteran Pakistani journalist Syed Jawaid Iqbal called for fundamentally redefining the Pakistani nation by separating religion from public life.
Following are some excerpts from the article, entitled "Rethinking Pakistan," in the original English. [1]
"Pakistan Needs to Find Its Own Definition of Democracy - Not One Inherited From the West"
"Pakistan has a chequered history - right from [founder Muhammad Ali] Jinnah's demise and [first Prime Minister] Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination to the toppling of democratic governments several times by the armed forces.
"Whether we like it or not, a majority of today's politicians are provincial leaders at best. On the contrary, the army, which happens to be the only permanent political party in Pakistan, has its loyalty with the state and not with any particular group or substrata of society.
"Before we criticize this institution, we must also remember that it does not assume power by virtue of its merit. Rather, it is the demerits of our politicians that disqualify them from being the right choice to lead the nation….
"Is our democracy really successful and sustainable? It must be remembered that democracy is not a manufactured product that can be imported, but rather it should be seen as a locally grown fruit whose strength depends on factors such as 'soil,' 'climate' and 'farmers.'
"Our ground realities are different from those found in the West, and hence in our context we will have to meticulously determine what parts of this fruit need to be peeled and discarded and which ones preserved and made use of. In other words, Pakistan needs to find its own definition of democracy and not one inherited from the West.
"Pakistan is a brand; and every brand has its life cycle. Pakistan's positioning within and outside Pakistan has deteriorated sharply. Before it falls below the danger level, it is essential that we redefine its attributes, utility, packaging, and [market] positioning."
First, We Must Increase Literacy And Reduce Population
"The first thing that we need to do is to increase the literacy rate and reduce our population. This means providing universal free education. Parents who don't send their children to school should be penalized. 'Food' banks should be set up in places where there are many impoverished families and help from NGOs, the private sector, and charitable organizations should be taken in this regard.
"On the population front, only two children should be allowed per family. The law should be [come into force within] one year of its announcement. Those with more children should be made to pay a higher tax burden.
"The second step is to dissolve all provincial boundaries and use the old system of divisions. The latter should be treated as autonomous states, each with its own state government. Foreign affairs, currency, and defense should be under the federal government, while the rest should be administered by the respective state governments. This would not only help overcome the issues of cultural animosity, language and ethnic discrimination, but would also be in the greatest interest of Punjab, which is accused of being responsible for the 1971 dismemberment of East Pakistan [creation of Bangladesh] and for capturing the country's major resources since 1947."
We Must Redefine Our Identity; Religion Should Be a personal Matter - Not Regulated By the Government
"The third essential element would be the redefinition of our identity. If we are uncertain of what it should be, we should go by the old Chinese proverb, 'If you don't know where to go further, go back to where you came from.'
"To recognize our identity, we need to revert to our origin and recognize the ideology whereupon Pakistan was founded.
"In his address as first Governor-General of Pakistan to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, Jinnah said: 'You are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state… You will find that in the course of time, Hindus would cease to be Hindus, and Muslims would cease to be Muslims - not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense, as citizens of the state.'
"As rightly envisioned by Jinnah over half a century ago, religion should be a personal matter to every practitioner of any faith, and not a subject regulated by the government."
"Political Parties' Manifestos Should Be Based on Social And Economic Programs - And All Religious Parties Should... Decide... Whether They Are Religious Factions or Political Parties"
"Accordingly, it should be declared that political parties' manifestos should be based on social and economic program and all religious parties should be given a month's notice to decide once and for all whether they are religious factions or political parties. Thereafter, Pakistan should neither be called a secular state, nor an Islamic one. Rather, it should be a welfare state, dedicated to the welfare of all its nationals alike.
"Pakistanis have never voted the country's largest religious party into power. The fact that this party had only three… [lawmakers] in the National Assembly during Z.A. Bhutto's regime is a clear sign of the moderate mindset of Pakistani people, and a living testimony to Jinnah's apt vision. Later on, they were the first ones to hijack the nation's ideology and impose their version of religion on our moderate way of life."
Endnote:
[1] The News, Pakistan, August 11, 2009. The article has been lightly edited for clarity.
