Rudyard Kipling, in his era, was celebrated for his jingoistic and racially charged narratives, winning accolades like the Nobel Prize in Literature.
His rhetoric of the ‘White Man’s Burden,’ while archaic and repudiated today, somehow finds subtle echoes in our contemporary society - not in color, but in ethnicity. We’re trapped in a cycle of ethnic nationalism, where the dialogue is often hijacked by what the Baloch want, what the Pakhtun demand, and so forth. This relentless focus on ethnic divides undermines the overarching identity that binds us - being Pakistani
As if each problem is the exclusive burden of one group or another. It’s a narrative that fractures, that carves deeper chasms between us, muddling our collective identity.
This isn’t just misleading; it’s dangerous. When the media spotlights an issue as the plight of a specific ethnicity, it’s as if they’re telling the rest of us,
“This isn’t your battle.” But here’s the catch – it is. These aren’t isolated stories; they’re chapters of our shared national saga. This skewed storytelling risks not only alienating us from each other but also blinds us to the truth: that the fabric of Pakistan is woven from these very threads of shared struggle and unity.
In the chess game of Pakistan’s politics, ethnic division has become a pawn, a winning strategy in the quest for power. Politicians, shrewd in their play, often stir the pot of ethnic nationalism, knowing well it’s a recipe that attracts votes. Rallying people against a common ‘other’ seems far simpler than weaving the diverse tapestry of our nation into a unified front.
This tactic, though politically savvy, is fraying the very fabric of our nationhood, leaving us not stronger together, but weaker in our scattered pieces. Our collective identity, now seems like a tapestry with its threads coming loose, each one representing a fragment of our once united nation.
This prevailing narrative of division, while loud, misses the panoramic view – that these divides are a weight shouldered by Pakistan in its entirety. The struggles of the Baloch community, as urgent and profound as they are, ripple far beyond their immediate surroundings.
These ripples are felt in every nook of our nation, from the pulsating heart of Karachi to the tranquil valleys of Gilgit. In the anatomy of our country, when one limb aches, the whole body resonates with that pain. It’s a shared discomfort, a collective malady that reminds us of our interconnected fate and the shared journey we are on as Pakistani.
We would do well to remember that diversity does not need to be a thorn in our side, it very well might be our unsung hero. It’s not just about cobbling together for survival; it’s about willingly merging together in forming a cohesive and succesful society.
The cost of being Pakistani is a shared one, irrespective of ethnic background. It’s a cost that perhaps needs reevaluation, but it remains a collective problem. We celebrate our independence under the same flag, we share the same national anthem, and hence, we must bear the same responsibilities and challenges.
The narrative needs to shift from isolating ethnic issues to embracing national challenges.
Take, for example, the shadow of terrorism that has darkened our land, leaving scars that run deep through the heart of Pakistan.
It was never boxed into a Pashtun-only narrative. Instead, it emerged, rightly, as a national crisis, a tempest that called for every hand on deck. This broader lens, seeing it as a collective storm to weather, rallied resources and resolve from every corner of our nation,
It’s this kind of panoramic vision we need to adopt for all our challenges, a perspective that sees beyond the confines of ethnicity, recognizing that when one part of Pakistan bleeds, the whole nation feels the pain.
Our focus should be on strengthening democratic values and institutions that protect the rights and voices of all Pakistanis. Only then can we hope to address not just the symptoms but the root causes of our national challenges. The goal is to create a Pakistan where every citizen, regardless of their ethnic background, feels represented, heard, and valued.