Ethnicities

ETHNIC DIVIDES IN

PAKISTAN

(JM)

Definition

Before we talk about ethnic devides we need to know what is ethnicity .

Ethnicity is defined as:

“ The common characteristic of a people, especially a group sharing a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like.”

So, an ethnic group is a group of people who have a common characteristic in terms of language,region, culture, ansestors , religion etc.

What are ethnic divides? Knowing that ethnicity forms a group

of people using a common chracteristic. it is quite clear that various such groups may not get along.

The act of treating someone differently based on thier ethnicity is called an ethnic divide.

It can be because one ethnic group is not treated par to others.

One example is the sepration of Bengladesh (west Pakistan) in the year 1971.

The bengalis seprated because they felt neglected, this is an ethnic divide based on culture or region. The picture shows one of the many rallys of the Bengali Language Movement from the 1950s.

Ethnic divides now

Ethnic divides are not the problem of the past.

Losing West Pakistan was a big tradegy but the disparities that caused it are still prevailing in our society.

Ethnicity is a natural process. A country is made of its history; its invaders and locals. People from different parts of the world settle in that area and bring thier own culture with them.

But ethnic divides are not natural. They are the result of non-copration, pride, and intolerance. Such hatred divides a country and should be eliminated.

Lets analyze the various divisons present in Pakistan.

HINDUS

ETHNIC GROUPS

RELIGION BASED LANGUAGE/CULTURE BASED

AHMADI'S

SUNNIS

SHIA'S

PUNJABIPUSHTO BALOCHISINDHIMUSLIMS NON MUSLIMS

CHRISTAINS

JEWS

CASTE BASED

RAJPUT JATT SHEIKH MUGHAL

SHIA'S

Population:-5 to 20% of the total population are Shia's.

-Estimted to be 40 million in the year 2015.

Beliefs: -Shia's are muslims. The only sepration is on the matter of Caliphs. They think the Caliph should have been chosen by God. They believe Hazrat Ali (RA) was the one who deserved the honour first.-This a 18th century Ottoman levha, (calligraphic panel), which depicts the Shi'i phrase 'Ali is the vicegerent of God' in obverse and reverse, creating an exact mirror image.

History:-It is unknown when the Shia community first established itself in what is now the state of Pakistan or in South Asia.-Historians assume they came as refugees.

RELIGIOUS

SUNNI'S Population:

-75% of the pakistani muslims are sunni's.

Beliefs: -Sunni's believe that new Caliph should be elected from among those capable of the job.-Hence they are okay with the fact that Hazrat Abu Bakr(RA) was the first Caliph.

Furthur divisions:

RELIGIOUS

SUNNI SECT POPULATION

AHLE HADITH 4%

DEOBANI 20%

BRELVI 50%

ISMALI 2%

AHMADI'S Population:

-There are approximately 4 million Ahmadi Muslims in the country. -This equates to 2.2% of the population.

Beliefs:-Ahmadis believe in Muhammad(pbuh) as the best law bearing prophet and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the Christ of Muslims.-This means that they dont believe in the finality of Prophethood of Muhammad(pbuh).

The amendment:-In the year 1974, the government of Pakistan amended the Constitution of Pakistan to define a Muslim "as a person who believes in finality of Prophet Muhammad" and technically Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims.

RELIGIOUS

Non-muslims in Pakistan After discussing the muslim sects, it is

important to discuss the non-muslim minorities of Pakistan.

Hindus:-2.5 to 4.5 million in total. Which makes approximately 1.6% to 1.9% of total population.-Most hindus live in Sindh while a few live in the other provinces.-They mostly speak Sindhi, some also speak English or Punjabi.

Christains:-2.5 million which makes about 1.6% of the total population.-Most of them speak Urdu, Punjabi and English. -The picture is of the Sacred Heart Cathedrel in Lahore.

Jews:-There is a small minority of jews in Pakistan too.

SINHDI

Population:About 35,700,000.

Language:- Sindhi

Location:-Most of them live in urban areas like Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Mirpur Khas. Hyderabad is the largest centre of Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan with 100,000-150,000 people

Culture:-Sindhi culture is highly influenced by Sufi doctrines and principles. Some of the popular cultural icons are Raja Dahir, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Jhulelal, Sachal Sarmast and Shambumal Tulsiani.

CULTURAL

SINHDI

Religion: -Hindus constituted about 6.5% of the total population of Sindh province.-This group can be regarded as concurrently following Hinduism and Sikhism.-Many Sindhis are coverted muslims.

History:-Sindh was one of the earliest regions to be influenced by Islam after 632 AD. -Before this period, it was heavily Hindu, and Buddhist. -After 632 AD, it was part of the Islamic empires of the Abbasids and Umayyids.

CULTURAL

PUSHTO Population:

-about 30,699,037 (Not included Pashtun Afghan refugees)-constitute the second-largest ethnic group of Pakistan.

Language:-Pushto:main language-Dari and Urdu: secondary languages

Culture:-Pashtun culture is mostly based on Pashtunwali(self governing tribal system) and the usage of the Pashto language. -Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to Alexander's defeat of the Persian Empire in 330 BC, possibly survived in the form of traditional dances.- literary styles and music reflect influence from the Persian tradition and regional musical instruments fused with localised variants and interpretation. -Pashtun culture is a unique blend of native customs with some influences from South and Western Asia.

CULTURAL

PUSHTO

Religion: Islam

History:-Pashtuns are predominantly an Eastern Iranian people.-A variety of ancient groups with eponyms similar to Pakhtun have been hypothesized as possible ancestors of modern Pashtuns. The Greek historian Herodotus mentioned a people called Pactyans who were living in the same area as early as the 1st millennium BC.

Location:-West of the Indus River , which includes Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and part of Balochistan.

CULTURAL

PUNJABI

Population:- approx 93,500,000

Language:-Punjabi, Urdu and English.

Location:-Mostly in the Province of Punjab.

Culture:-The culture of Punjab derives its basis from the institution of Sufi saints.-The fairs and festivals of Punjab reflect the entire gamut of its folk life and cultural traditions.-The crafts in the Punjab are of two types: the crafts produced in the rural areas and the royal crafts.

CULTURAL

PUNJABI Religion:

-Islam,mainly.

History:-Punjab was home to a developed civilization in 5th to 4th millennium BC: The ancient Indus Valley Civilization.-The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as King Porus and he fought a famous Battle of the Hydaspes against Alexander. -Centuries later, areas of the Punjab region were ruled by local kings followed by the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Mughals, and others.-When the Muslim Umayyad army led by Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 AD, by defeating Raja Dahir. Some of the Muslims are said to have settled in the region and adopted the local culture.

CULTURAL

BALOCHI

Population: approx 6,900,000

Language: Mainly Balochi. But regional languages are also spoken.

Culture:-The Balochi generally live in remote mountainous and desert regions, which have protected them from invasion and allowed them to form a distinct cultural identity.-Balochi customs and traditions are conducted according to codes imposed by tribal laws.-The tradition of a Baloch mother singing lullabies to her children has played an important role in the transfer of knowledge from generation to generation since ancient times. -Balochi dresses are loose with decent threadwork.

CULTURAL

BALOCHI Religion:

-Predominantly Sunni Islam

History:-the original homeland of the Balochi tribes was likely to the east or southeast of the central Caspian region. -The Baloch began migrating towards the east in the late Sasanian period.

Location:-Mainly Balochistan

CULTURAL

CASTS IN PAKISTAN Jutt:

-Live in northern areas-Agricultural community, are brave and loyal.

Rajputs:-Name means ‘Son Of King’.-Descendants of warrior dynasties of India.-Have roots in Rajisthan.

Sheikh:-Meaning in arabic:’ elder of tribe’.-Come from Persia(Iran), Central Asia and Arab.

Mughal:-They are the ones who were able to flee during downfall of Mughal empire.-They consider themselves brave and royal.

TERRITORIAL

ETHNIC CONFLICTS

LANGUAGE/CULTURE BASED

SECTERIANISM

After introduction to all main ethnic groups of Pakistan it is important to categorize the conflicts these groups have.

Secterianism

Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to attacks against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's sect, usually a religious group.

Targets in Pakistan include the Sunni, Shia and the small Ahmadi, Hindu and Christian religious groups.

4,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Shia-Sunni sectarian fighting in Pakistan between 1987–2007.

Since 2008 "thousands of Shia" have been killed by Sunni extremists.

2011 and 2012 Pakistan minority groups Hindus, Ahmadi, and Christians "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution in the country".

These attacks are powered by the pride and intolerance of one sect for the other. Such behaviour is not encouraged in Islam or in the constitution.

RELIGIOUS

Secterianism

DATE LOCATION CASUALTIES SUMMARY

16th Feb 2013 QUETTA 113 Sunni (Lashkar-e-Jhangvi) took responsibility

18th Feb 2013 LAHORE 2 Unknown attackers killed Shias.

3rd Mar 2013 KARACHI 45 unknown militants put bomb outside Shia mosque

26th July 2013 PARACHINAR 60 Sunni(Ansarul mujahideenhas) took responsibility

Following is the summary of the sectarian attacks amoung muslims of Pakistan during just 3 months of 2013

Many other ocassions of targeted killings and bombings occured too.

RELIGIOUS

Secterianism

Mass anti-Christian violence occurred in the 2009 Gojra riots and in the 2013 Joseph Colony riot and the 2013 Gujranwala riot.

Anti-Shia violence includes the February 2012 Kohistan Shia Massacre, the August 2012 Mansehra Shia Massacre and the particularly deadly January 2013 and February 2013 Quetta bombings.

The Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan was targeted in the similarly deadly May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore

The New York Times noted on that occasion that "Minority sects like the Ahmadis and the Shiites and have come under increasing pressure as religious extremism has taken hold, fomented by sectarian groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, formerly state-sponsored organizations."

RELIGIOUS

Territorial Conflict Issues like distribution of economic resources through

NFC(National Finance Commission), water-sharing problem between provinces and dominant position of one ethnic group at the power structure created a sense of alienation among deprived ethnic identities.

The 1956 constitution remained unable to resolve the problem of provincial autonomy, because of Punjabi domination.

The 1962 constitution gave a presidential form of government. Which meant a sense of alienation among the people of both wings.

Particularly Bengalis were not happy with the policies of central ruling authority.

The constitution of 1973 had a federal and concurrent list leaving the residuary powers to provinces. Concurrent list has been abolished by the Pakistan Peoples Party government.

Territorial Conflict Ethnic groups come into conflict when a particular group

becomes successful to have authority at the helm of the affairs and formulates policies in the best interests of their own specific group by ignoring other ethnic groups.

For Example,During Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto era Sindhis became successful to have more facilities than Urdu speaking Mohajirs in the province of Sindh. These moves created tussle between Sindhis and Mohajirs.

Solution:-Political stability, peace, harmony and unity can be achieved through removal of sense of deprivation among various ethnic groups.-Economic equilibrium.-Just distribution of power.-No discrimination

Language Conflict Language is like the unified, seprate identity of a group.

In fact, language was the key point in the alienation of Bengalis.

They insisted on the recognition of Bengali as the national language along with Urdu.

Thier demand was ignored and they felt neglected.

The linguistic groups, Sindhi, Mohajirs, Punjabis, Pathans, Baloch, and Gujrati have been involved in conflicting situation with each other on various occasions.

In 1972 Sindhis retaliated the dominance of Urdu and Sindhi was declared as the official language of Sindh.

The Mohajirs demonstrated against this and the Government through issued an ordinance in favour of Urdu.

Conclusion Inter –ethnic group conflict in Pakistan, has destabilized the

political system and undermine foundations of the state.

The things like inter-tribal conflict in the tribal areas, the Sindhi and non-Sindhi violent conflict in Sindh, Shia-Sunni crueland regressive activities have become a norm of Pakistani society.

The key is to not only promote unity but treat everyone equally.

No discrimination of any kind should be done to a group.

When everyone feels like they are being heard, conflicts dont arise.

THANK YOU