kablooee87
9th December 2006, 16:46
Telling the truth, for a change
According to a report, Pakistani textbooks used in the mainstream system of education will be purged of anti-India content and students will be taught that other than religion there are several other causes that led to the creation of Pakistan. This is good and an important positive change that needs to be welcomed, primarily because it removes the distorted and skewed 'history' that is taught to Pakistani students in the mainstream education system. Of course, it will draw the inevitable howls of protest from those who see themselves as the guardians and keepers of Pakistan's national and state ideology. What is interesting and encouraging however is that one of the main players in this -- the state itself -- is now initiating the shift from teaching a history that was filled with prejudice, bias and half-truths to one that accurately reflects what actually happened and equally importantly comes close to the thinking and views of the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal.
It needs to be borne in mind that neither of these two great men wanted the homeland for Muslims that they envisaged to be a theocratic state where the clergy would hold sway. However, that is precisely what many in the country would have others believe, thanks in large part to a powerful establishment cabal (comprising elements of the bureaucracy, military and society) who hijacked the two-nation theory and presented the people of the country with an enemy that would always be working towards its (Pakistan's) disintegration and undoing. India and Hindus particularly were presented as the 'other', something that the Muslims of Pakistan (which ignored the fact that three per cent of Pakistan's population has been non-Muslim) were to be always on their guard against. This is feeding people lies and untruths and this was done -- the masters of propaganda and ideology knew -- from the time of one's schooling through textbooks. India was hence presented as a mortal enemy of Pakistan, with the treacherous and greedy Hindu 'baniya' as its human face. Students were also told that the history of the region that makes up Pakistan began with the advent of Islam in 712 and leap-frogged many a century to 1947 to Partition. The rich cultural and historical pre-Islamic background of the region, especially the fact that parts of it was for hundreds of years a main stronghold of Buddhism, was conveniently ignored. Also overlooked -- dismissed mostly in two or three paras in most Pakistan Studies textbooks -- was the break-up of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh, which were attributed (wrongly, of course) more to the stubbornness of the East Pakistanis rather than to the centre's failed policies and of West Pakistan's refusal to share power with the eastern wing.
Of course, this is not at all to say that India hasn't been a bad overbearing neighbour in the past. We have fought four wars with it and there are many people in India (especially followers of Hindutva) who would like all of Pakistan to be absorbed into India or become a confederation of sorts. Also, there are more Indian claims of being a secular nation than meets the eye and there is strong evidence to suggest that minorities in general are not treated well there. But all of this should not be used as a pretext to demonise a whole country. India is heterodox and not every Indian is a Hindu or even a baniya (a most offensive stereotype) who wants to see Pakistan break up. The fact is that most are either indifferent and have better things to worry about or that they want to have peaceful coexistence with all their neighbours. Of course, what the people want or believe in is not always reflected in the thinking and actions of governments. And as for specific grouses such as mistreatment of minorities, it happens in Pakistan as well, perhaps to an equal if not greater degree. So, the change in the textbooks is very welcome because if properly implemented it will reverse some of the indoctrination of the past and present generation of students. And to give credit where credit is due, one must appreciate the role played by the president in this.
________________________________________________
An editorial from The News.
Thoughts?
According to a report, Pakistani textbooks used in the mainstream system of education will be purged of anti-India content and students will be taught that other than religion there are several other causes that led to the creation of Pakistan. This is good and an important positive change that needs to be welcomed, primarily because it removes the distorted and skewed 'history' that is taught to Pakistani students in the mainstream education system. Of course, it will draw the inevitable howls of protest from those who see themselves as the guardians and keepers of Pakistan's national and state ideology. What is interesting and encouraging however is that one of the main players in this -- the state itself -- is now initiating the shift from teaching a history that was filled with prejudice, bias and half-truths to one that accurately reflects what actually happened and equally importantly comes close to the thinking and views of the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal.
It needs to be borne in mind that neither of these two great men wanted the homeland for Muslims that they envisaged to be a theocratic state where the clergy would hold sway. However, that is precisely what many in the country would have others believe, thanks in large part to a powerful establishment cabal (comprising elements of the bureaucracy, military and society) who hijacked the two-nation theory and presented the people of the country with an enemy that would always be working towards its (Pakistan's) disintegration and undoing. India and Hindus particularly were presented as the 'other', something that the Muslims of Pakistan (which ignored the fact that three per cent of Pakistan's population has been non-Muslim) were to be always on their guard against. This is feeding people lies and untruths and this was done -- the masters of propaganda and ideology knew -- from the time of one's schooling through textbooks. India was hence presented as a mortal enemy of Pakistan, with the treacherous and greedy Hindu 'baniya' as its human face. Students were also told that the history of the region that makes up Pakistan began with the advent of Islam in 712 and leap-frogged many a century to 1947 to Partition. The rich cultural and historical pre-Islamic background of the region, especially the fact that parts of it was for hundreds of years a main stronghold of Buddhism, was conveniently ignored. Also overlooked -- dismissed mostly in two or three paras in most Pakistan Studies textbooks -- was the break-up of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh, which were attributed (wrongly, of course) more to the stubbornness of the East Pakistanis rather than to the centre's failed policies and of West Pakistan's refusal to share power with the eastern wing.
Of course, this is not at all to say that India hasn't been a bad overbearing neighbour in the past. We have fought four wars with it and there are many people in India (especially followers of Hindutva) who would like all of Pakistan to be absorbed into India or become a confederation of sorts. Also, there are more Indian claims of being a secular nation than meets the eye and there is strong evidence to suggest that minorities in general are not treated well there. But all of this should not be used as a pretext to demonise a whole country. India is heterodox and not every Indian is a Hindu or even a baniya (a most offensive stereotype) who wants to see Pakistan break up. The fact is that most are either indifferent and have better things to worry about or that they want to have peaceful coexistence with all their neighbours. Of course, what the people want or believe in is not always reflected in the thinking and actions of governments. And as for specific grouses such as mistreatment of minorities, it happens in Pakistan as well, perhaps to an equal if not greater degree. So, the change in the textbooks is very welcome because if properly implemented it will reverse some of the indoctrination of the past and present generation of students. And to give credit where credit is due, one must appreciate the role played by the president in this.
________________________________________________
An editorial from The News.
Thoughts?