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In Search of Statehood

The scope of the state now goes beyond traditional activities.

By Dr. Rajkumar Singh | December 2021


In modern concept, the term ‘state’ is defined as a human association aimed to provide security, human services, justice, and basic needs of the society which are man-made and can be improved gradually by diagnosing and rectifying shortcomings over the years and decades. The state named Pakistan, came into existence on 14 August 1947, as a result of the division of the Indian sub-continent in two dominions - India and Pakistan. It was the result of a long struggle waged by Indian Muslims who wished to gain the state they lost due to British colonisation and traced back to a Muslim League resolution of 23 March 1940, which committed itself to the two-nation theory and also adopted the Lahore Resolution, which called for establishment of Pakistan as a separate state and with it, the Muslim League’s earlier demand of a separate electorate and special weightages to the final full-fledged demand for Pakistan was set aside. At the time, making Pakistan a separate homeland for Muslims was like a dream to be realized. Many pious wishes and intentions were put to the test with this system as Mohammed Ali Jinnah said, while delivering the Presidential Address in 1937, ‘We wish our people to develop to the fullest of our spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our ideals and according to the genius of our people’.

Basics of state structure
These hopes and aspirations of the founding fathers of Pakistan evaporated gradually in more than seven decades and people are now in a mood that rarely comes in the life of a nation. They are looking forward starry eyed, to a new direction, a new era, a life. Although, it took experience of both military rule and democratic elections and even break-up of the country in 1971, but certainly the state went in the wrong direction, in the trap of the people or group which erected a parallel system of their own, and seized the original state founded to fulfil peoples’ long cherished desires and basic needs to lead a life of peace, dignity and respect. The system or people in power never tried to develop Pakistan as a nation but mixed the physical, political and legal entity into an intricate interaction among all the forces. As a result, rather than guiding them, the state of Pakistan began to be guided by these premature forces in a somewhat different way. Moving on a misguided path, it failed to develop its potential which makes a state strong enough to face the challenges of time. Its original dream to be an extraordinary state, -a homeland for Indian Muslims and an ideological as well as a political leader of the Islamic world with freedom from the bigotry and intolerance of India’s Hindu community, failed to get any weightage in the new system.


Constitutions of modern Pakistan
The first Constitution of Pakistan passed in 1956, was totally based on the “Objectives Resolution”. It essentially established Pakistan as a democratic parliamentary federal republic, with Islam as the state religion but was unfortunately suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958. He replaced it with another Constitution implemented in early 1962. It was an Islamic Constitution which stated that sovereignty over the entire universe belonged to Almighty Allah. Several provisions were made in it, keeping in view the unity and integrity of the nation by accepting demands of the Eastern wing of the country. Apart from this, the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam were to be fully observed in Pakistan. In this Constitution many extraordinary powers were given to the President. It was termed by many as the Ayub Constitution providing a government of the president, for the president and by the president. The 1962 Constitution was succeeded with the third complete and comprehensive constitution adopted in 1973, which was suspended in 1977 by Zia-ul-Haq who was also responsible for turning the face of Pakistan’s politics and society. The Constitution of 1973 was the first of its kind framed by the elected representatives of Pakistan and established a parliamentary democracy with executive powers concentrated in the office of the Prime Minister and the formal President. Pakistan was to be known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan with introduction of checks and balances, separation of powers, and provincial as well as federal system. The provision for the Constitution’s amendment was also made very strict and was possible only with two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. Among 21 amendments made till 2015, the eighth (1985) and seventeenth (2004) remained the most controversial and important because these two had changed the very nature of the Constitution from parliamentary to semi-presidential. However, these attempts were corrected with the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment in 2010, restoring a parliamentary system which also said that any attempt to subvert, abrogate, or suspend the Constitution was an act of high treason.

Where it went wrong?
The transfer of political powers in August 1947, went in the hands of those who never fought for the independence of the country and normally were either retired officials or who had been brought into public life under British patronage. This created a wide gap between the ruler and the ruled in the newly formed state while the public or society of the nation was bewilderingly patchy. In present-day Pakistan, there are classes within classes, castes within castes, social groups, ethnic groups, linguistic groups, urban modern educated elite, rural, feudal masses, opulent industrialists, rich feudal lords, and the seedy hangers-on. There are also the fundamentalists with an arch conservative and orthodox outlook, and the secular, democratic enlightened and liberal sections of society with a modernist view of man and society. As on the eve of Partition and thereafter, all Sikhs and high-caste Hindus left Pakistan, cities and villages became totally Muslim. It created a situation favourable for Islamic folk culture with a low level of religious education and a fertile land for religious fundamentalism which adhered to dogmatic tradition along with orthodoxy and rejected the concept of modern society in general. This group of society began to receive guidance as well as strength from the adherents of traditional religious faiths and over the years and decades, its sphere of influence expanded rapidly to surpass or control the political group of the country. Especially, in the era of military rules ranging from Zia-ul-Haq to Pervez Musharraf, religious fundamentalism climaxed in the country, getting direct or indirect support of many people and agencies who liked an upper hand in politics and administration. The new form of Islam which posed a threat to peace and stability in a large part of the globe, created an ideology for Pakistani identity, which was never supported by the founding fathers of the nation. Their motive force for Pakistan formed on the basis of Aligarh-educated middle class Muslims of north India. They were identified with the ideas of Syed Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Iqbal, along with the leaders of the Muslim League including Mohammad Ali Jinnah. They all thought sincerely about the application of Islamic principles, but they certainly never thought of creating a kind of “golden age” in Islam.

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The writer is professor and Head of the Department of Political Science as well as Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at the Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University in Madhepura, Bihar. He can be reached at rajkumarsinghpg@gmail.com

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