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A Master Narrative for the History of Pakistan: Tracing the origins of an ideological agenda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2018

ALI USMAN QASMI
ALI USMAN QASMI*
Affiliation:
School of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Law, Lahore University of Management Sciences Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The demand for the creation of Pakistan was based on a historical narrative built around the centrality of the Muslim community in India and its distinctiveness in terms of religious beliefs, cultural traits, and historical traditions. A particular understanding of the past was, in other words, central to the idea of Pakistan. As a result, soon after independence in 1947, a group of eminent historians got together to set up the All Pakistan History Conference. It received official support and patronage as the new state was eager to shape a historical narrative that could strengthen the argument for a distinct Muslim identity. This article looks at the development of this historiography in Pakistan. Unlike existing studies on this topic, which simply point out the ‘flaws’ in the history textbooks used in Pakistan, I will argue that the dominant historical narrative to be found in these textbooks—or even in many scholarly works produced in Pakistan—is a form of master narrative that has a longer history that dates back to the colonial period. Drawing upon such sources as historical texts produced in Pakistan, recently declassified documents of the Cabinet Division, and proceedings of the All Pakistan History Conference, I will delineate the features of this master narrative, the intellectual history of ideas that shaped it from the colonial to the post-colonial period, and the political exegesis whereby it gained structural dominance in Pakistan that was replicated for intellectual, ideological, and statist projects.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 53 , Issue 4 , July 2019 , pp. 1066 - 1105
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

The research for this article has been generously supported by the Faculty Initiative Fund (FIF) of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and the Newton International Fellowship's alumni funds provided by the British Academy and the Royal Society. I am grateful to Ateeb Gul for his careful reading and editing of the manuscript.

References

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16 Ibid., pp. 60–3.

17 Hardy, Peter, ‘Modern Muslim Historical Writing on Medieval Muslim India’, in Philips, C. H. (ed.), Historians of India, Pakistan and Ceylon (London: Oxford University Press, 1961), p. 296Google Scholar.

18 Chakrabarty, ‘The Birth of Academic Historical Writing in India’, p. 528.

19 Ibid., p. 523.

20 Ibid., p. 527.

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25 Bajwa's thesis offers a comprehensive survey of historical works produced during the 1940s. Based on the predominant discourse about the Muslim past and produced by the League supporters (which included academic historians like Ishtiaq Husain Qureshi), these works incorporated the theme of the distinctiveness of Muslims to justify the historical basis for the creation of Pakistan. It was, in other words, a specific reading of history which emphasized conflict with Hindus and the invocation of Muslim supremacy rather than a denial of history, which provided the historical—in addition to geographical, cultural, economic, and religious—rationale for the creation of Pakistan. For details, cf. Bajwa, ‘The Genealogy of Pakistan's Nationalist Historiography’, pp. 93–108.

26 Wheeler, R. E. M., 5000 Years of Pakistan: An Archaeological Outline (Karachi: Royal Book Company, 1992Google Scholar; first published in 1950), p. 11.

27 Ikram, S. M. and Spear, T. G. P., The Cultural Heritage of Pakistan (London: Oxford University Press, 1955)Google Scholar.

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29 Qureshi also referred to the disproportionate significance given to the brief period of Sikh rule in the region. Considerable supervised research was being conducted in the universities on the Sikh period, lamented Qureshi, even though the period was marked by destruction of mosques and widespread violence. Qureshi, Muhammad Abdullah, ‘Nisab-i-Tarikh aur Tarmim ki Zarurat’, in Ali, Dr Mubarak, Tarikh aur Nisabi Kutub (Lahore: Tarikh Publications, 2016), pp. 172–6Google Scholar.

30 For a history of the Pakistan Historical Society and its contributions, cf. Dr S. Moinul Haq, ‘Historical Studies in Pakistan with Special Reference to the Role of Pakistan History Society (A Brief Survey)’, Paper presented at the National Conference on History and Culture, Islamabad, 3–5 July 1980. Since its inception in 1950, and within a span of 30 years, the Society published about 70 monographs and held 17 annual conferences. The Society's monthly journal continues to be published to this day.

31 Haq, Dr S. Moinul (ed.), The Proceedings of the All Pakistan History Conference: First Session Held at Karachi, 1951 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, circa 1952), p. 7Google Scholar. The issue of rectifying historical biases and prejudices was repeatedly taken up during the 1950s. In his address, Iskandar Mirza, too, talked about the need ‘to re-evaluate the history of Muslims in Indo-Pakistan sub-continent and rescue it from inaccuracies and prejudices which have developed around it either through ignorance on our part or by the design of others’. Haq, Dr S. Moinul (ed.), The Proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (Sixth Session) Held at Karachi under the Auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society 1956 (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1959), p. 29Google Scholar.

32 Society, Pakistan Historical, A History of the Freedom Movement (Being the Story of Muslim Struggle for the Freedom of Hind-Pakistan) 1707–1947. Vol. I: 1707–1831 (Delhi: Renaissance Publishing House, 1984; first published in 1957), p. viiGoogle Scholar.

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34 Haq, S. Moinul, ‘Preface’, in Pakistan Historical Society, A History of the Freedom Movement. Vol. IV: 1936–1947. Parts I and II (Delhi: Renaissance Publishing House, 1984; first published 1970), p. vGoogle Scholar. The introduction for Volume I was written by I. H. Qureshi and was an earlier version of a similar narrative which appeared in a more systematic manner in his book The Muslim Community of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent, which is discussed later in this article. Qureshi blamed Akbar's policies of religious eclecticism for weakening the bonds of solidarity among Muslims based on adherence to Islam. The result was that Muslim political authority was not anchored in Islam, thus weakening the bonds of religious solidarity that were required for effective governance of the empire. Since the series was focused on the freedom movement, the reference to the Mughal dynasty was cursory. Despite the obvious ideological bias of the project, the chapters in this volume, especially on the various regions comprising Pakistan, were written in a scholarly manner that cited a wide array of Persian sources.

35 Pakistan History Board, A Short History of Hind-Pakistan (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1960), p. ivGoogle Scholar.

36 Ibid., p. 71.

37 Ibid., p. 108.

38 Muhammad Ali Jinnah, ‘Presidential address by Muhammad Ali Jinnah to the Muslim League Lahore, 1940’, Columbia University: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_jinnah_lahore_1940.html, [accessed 31 August 2018].

39 Pakistan History Board, A Short History of Hind-Pakistan, p. 182.

40 Ibid., p. 220.

41 Ibid., pp. 241–2.

42 Ibid., p. 245.

43 Ibid., p. 253.

44 Ibid., p. 411.

45 For an excellent descriptive overview of the life and works of Ikram and Qureshi—along with Aziz Ahmed—cf. Huma Ghaffar, ‘Pakistan men Tarikh Nigari ka Tajziyati Mutala‘a (1947 ta 1975): Khasusan ba-hawala Aziz Ahmed, S. M. Ikram aur I. H. Qureshi’, PhD thesis, University of Karachi, 2007. For details of the life and works of I. H. Qureshi, cf. Nasib Akhtar, ‘Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi ke Tarikhi, Siyasi aur Ta‘limi Afkar’, PhD thesis, University of Karachi, 1989.

46 Qureshi, I. H., Aspects of the History, Culture and Religions of Pakistan: A Series of Lectures by Dr. Ishtiaq Husain Qureshi (Bangkok, Thailand: Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, 1963), p. 15Google Scholar. (Emphasis added.)

47 Qureshi, I. H., ‘Presidential Address’, in Haq, Dr S. Moinul (ed.), The Proceedings of the Pakistan History Conference (Eighth Session) Held at Peshawar under the Auspices of the Pakistan Historical Society (Karachi: Pakistan Historical Society, 1961), pp. 23–4Google Scholar. In later writing, he cited the statement of a leader from Ghana: ‘We created Ghana,’ said a political leader of that country, ‘now the university should create Ghanaians.’ Qureshi, I. H., Education in Pakistan: An Inquiry into Objectives and Achievements (Karachi: Bureau of Composition, Compilation and Translation, University of Karachi, 1999), p. 124Google Scholar.

48 Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi Yadgari Mujalla (Karachi: Dr Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi Academy, 1986), p. 30.

49 Ibid.

50 Chandra, Satish, Historiography, Religion and State in Medieval India (New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications, 2001), pp. 47–8Google Scholar.

51 Qureshi, I. H., The Muslim Community of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent (610–1947) (New Delhi: Renaissance Publishing House, 1998Google Scholar; first published 1962), pp. 89–90.

52 Ibid., pp. 91–2.

53 Ibid., p. 92.

54 Ibid., p. 112.

55 Ibid., p. 137.

56 Ibid., p. 144.

57 Ibid., pp. 147–8.

58 Ibid. Such movements as Bhakti and ideas such as Wahdat-ul-Wujud (Unity of Being) and the potential blurring of boundaries because of lack of understanding among common Muslims has been studied in greater detail by Qureshi: see Qureshi, I. H., Ulema in Politics: A Study in the Political Activities of the Ulema in the South-Asian Subcontinent from 1556 to 1947 (New Delhi: Renaissance Publishing House, 1985)Google Scholar.

59 Qureshi, The Muslim Community of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent, p. 179.

60 Ibid., p. 181.

61 The process of textbook production was also centralized in Pakistan during Ayub Khan's regime. Previously, the Education Department, continuing the policy established during the British period, could select textbooks prepared by scholars and published by private publishers. After the establishment of the West Pakistan Textbook Board in 1962 (later renamed the Punjab Textbook Board in 1971), the process was changed. The textbook board could appoint a committee of experts to write a textbook in accordance with the syllabus set by the appropriate board or ask for manuscripts to be submitted through open bidding. Ahmad, Raja Rashid (ed.), Nisabi Kutub: Tadvin se Taba‘at Tak (Lahore: Punjab Textbook Board, 1974), p. 67Google Scholar. There have been numerous changes since then; the most important and recent has come with the passage of the 2010 Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan whereby education has been devolved to the provinces.

62 ‘Compilation of Books on (i) the need for a strong centre and (ii) the history of Muslims in East Pakistan’, National Documentation Centre (Pakistan), (CF/35/65), p. 6.

63 Ibid.

64 Ibid., p. 10.

65 Ibid., p. 7.

66 Ibid., p. 12.

67 Ibid.

68 Ibid., p. 14.

69 Qureshi, I. H. (ed.), A Short History of Pakistan (Karachi: Karachi University Press, 1992Google Scholar; originally published 1967), p. i.

70 Ibid.

71 Ibid., pp. i–ii.

72 A. H. Dani, ‘Book One: Pre-Muslim Period’, in ibid., pp. 1–2.

73 Ibid., p. 3.

74 Ibid., pp. 4–5.

75 Ibid., pp. 193–4.

76 Ibid., pp. 201–2.

77 Mahmood, Raja Rasheed, Nazariya-i-Pakistan aur Nisabi Kutub (Lahore: Punjab Textbook Board, December 1971), p. 20Google Scholar.

78 Ibid., p. 24.

79 Ibid., p. 25.

80 Ibid., pp. 25–6.

81 Ibid., pp. 26–7.

82 Ibid., p. 31.

83 Ibid., pp. 32–3.

84 See, for instance, Qureshi, I. H., Perspectives of Islam and Pakistan (Karachi: Ma‘aref Limited, 1979), pp. 166–88Google Scholar; Qureshi, I. H., Education in Pakistan: An Inquiry into Objectives and Achievements (Karachi: Ma‘aref Limited, 1975), pp. 122–44Google Scholar.

85 Qureshi, I. H., Pakistan ka Islami Tashakhkhus (Lahore: Nazariya-i-Pakistan Trust, 2013), pp. 48–52Google Scholar.

86 Ibid., p. 52.

87 C. M. Naim has written a detailed piece on the origin of the text, its variations, and its recurrence at different periods of turmoil in the political fortunes of South Asian Muslims. For details, cf. C. M. Naim, ‘“Prophecies” in South Asian Muslim Political Discourse: The Poems of Shah Ni'matullah Wali’, Economic and Political Weekly, 46.28 (2011).

88 The main proponent of such a slogan in recent times is Zaid Hamid who is a self-professed defence analyst and political commentator with an extreme hatred of Hindus and Jews. Based in Pakistan, Hamid has a sizeable following because of his frequent appearances on popular talk shows. He refers to a Hadith (saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad) in which the Prophet prophesied the Muslim conquest of India. That this has already happened in the past is not accepted by Hamid who comes up with a different explanation to argue for the continued validity of this prophecy.

89 Aziz, The Murder of History, p. 102. For a detailed overview of the various reforms proposed in recent years to change the curriculum of Pakistani textbooks, cf. Nayyar, A. H., A Missed Opportunity: Continuing Flaws in the New Curriculum and Textbooks After Reforms (Islamabad: Jinnah Institute, 2013)Google Scholar. In this 66-page document, Nayyar gives an overview of the new education policy approved in 2006 based on which textbooks were prepared in 2012. He has briefly traced the history of curriculum reform in Pakistan since early 2000s and the continuing problems of ideological impositions, especially in textbooks dealing with history.

90 Mohammad-Arif, ‘Textbooks, Nationalism and History Writing’, p. 150.