Oftentimes, solutions to the most enigmatic problems come from right within the midst of all the commotion. The land that I am from is one of the most peculiar places in the world; a place where I had been exposed to sensitive issues relating to identity, race, belonging, culture and religion from a very young age. I have much to owe to the land I associate myself with. A place where I saw such disarray, polarisation, hatred and, ironically, hope. It is the society of which I am a product, an indisputable fact that is going to remain with me for a lifetime. Therefore, I am forever indebted to it and its people. With this in mind, I dare articulate everything that I have witnessed thus far, and hopefully provide insight into a path to resolution.
To understand our problems today, we need to pay heed to our history because we need to understand where we’ve come from to know where we are headed. The Indian sub-continent is, without a doubt, a unique place in the world. It is land that drew multiple incursions from outsiders throughout history, owing largely to its resource rich topography and fertile lands. The Greeks in the form of Alexander the Great, the Arabs in the form of Muhammad ibn Qasim, the Central Asians in the form of Babur are some amongst countless races that have set foot on this land and have called it home. In many ways, the sub-continent has been for at least a millennium what the United States is today: a land of opportunity. Economically we can make sense of this by considering the following statistic: the GDP of India as a proportion of the world’s GDP form the period 1 A.D to 1700 A.D is estimated to have been 29.8% on average, whereas the GDP of the U.S as a proportion to the world’s is around 24.5% today. Therefore, there was immense economic opportunity in this part of the world; as a result of which a similar influx of people was witnessed in India for the past two thousand years, as we see people flocking to western economies today. The Indian sub-continent has served as a refuge for people fleeing persecution, such as the Zoroastrians during the Arab conquest of Persia, as a lucrative destination for countless migrants seeking a better life, or simply a heavenly abode for passers-by. All of these peoples brought along with them their religions, genetics, languages and cultural values. I love a term that was used by Justice Markandey Katju, who, in one of his speeches, described the Indian sub-continent as the ‘world’s oldest migrant nation’. Interestingly enough, this is one of reasons why the caste system is so amplified here; not in a hierarchical sense, but as a matter of association and identity because the history of each caste relates to origin of those particular people. My ancestors, for example, the Kambojas, were Indo-Iranian Saka nomads who migrated to Punjab in North India around a thousand years ago and have called it home ever since. Hence, we have a lot to attribute to the diverse history of our land, both our strengths and weaknesses, but one thing is clear: The Indian identity, as a result of its mesmerising history, is amorphous in nature. No one has more claim over this land based solely on religious or cultural attributes.
The concept of a nation is a convoluted one. When do a group of people call themselves a nation? Are cultural norms more important than linguistics? Or maybe religion is the most important factor? In our current time, a nation of people is deemed akin to a country’s populous; everyone who is a citizen of a country is part of that nation. This concept works well ethnically homogeneous areas, but its foundation is questioned in places of immense diversity. We have witnessed a number of countries that have been formed primarily on the premise of religion, including our own. Some have been formed merely to reward people for their loyalty, the examples of which are Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Countries and, hence, nations have been carved out of thin air. It never ceases to amuse me how the North African map literally looks like a toddler having a go at drawing straight lines on a piece of paper. The truth is, before the advent of nationalism, the civilised world was very inter-connected, with the silk road serving as its pulmonary artery. Since there was effectively a complete freedom of movement, the people around the world interacted with each other. They traded, migrated and inter-married. No two-people laying at the peripheries of each other were so disjointed as they are today in our current world where nationalism is rife. After all, what is a concept of a ‘country’, other than being a mere administrative region? What is a ‘border’, other than being a line in the sand?
Ironically, the conceptualiser of this very country, Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, despised this blind nationalism. He famously said:
| “In Taza Khudaon Mein Bara Sub Se Watan Hai
Jo Pairhan Iss Ka Hai, Woh Mazhab Ka Kafan Hai” |
“Country, is the biggest among these new gods!
What is its shirt, is the shroud of Religion” |
But, I’m not writing this article as an idealist, we need to find solutions that fit the world we live in today. If we look around, we find countless examples of people, who Identify themselves as one nation, often on linguistic basis, and who find themselves on opposite sides of a border. The best example that of the Tuareg people of North Africa. They were the ancient navigators of the Sahara, guiding merchants through its treacherous terrain. Currently, they find themselves in at least 4 four different countries in the continent. Stretching all the way from the shores of the Mediterranean in Libya, down to Timbuktu in Mali. Therefore, it is no anomaly that similar people, who identify themselves as one, may be found in different administrative regions, ‘countries’.
It is about time the people of the sub-continent overcome this overwhelming sense of nationalism that has been engrained in our way of thinking and our mentality. This is the first and most the profound step we can take towards lasting peace. The importance of a country should only be limited to the rights and the quality of life it provides to its people. It is nothing more; if it transcends these bounds, it merely an excuse to divide people. Too many innocent people have died and are still suffering to foster and even extend these borders. It’s about time we realise the importance that they truly deserve. Acknowledge that they exist and that they are here to stay; more as a requirement of the world we live in rather than a divisive tool. It is then that we can move forward, once again interact freely, and benefit from each other. The sort of relationship that India and Pakistan need to have should be akin to what Jinnah desired for the two, the sort of relationship that the U.S and Canada have today. It has been 70 years and the clock is still ticking; when will we regain our senses? There is still a Delhi gate in the ancient city of Lahore and a Lahore gate in old Delhi- I yearn for time when they will be used once again.
