The Problem of Nation-Building and the Federal Paradox of Pakistan: A Root-Cause Examination

Abstract

The process of state-building requires the creation and concentration of authority and emphasis on the role of government in the social, political and economic discourse whereas nation-building, especially, in states with several subnational groups, requires dispersal of power and an emphasis on inculcating responsiveness in the political process. Furthermore, the federal form of government is considered an effective tool to address the heterogeneity and diversification excessively found in the social fabric of plural societies. Various scholars have examined the problems and challenges faced by the process of nation-building during the early history of Pakistan nevertheless they did not pay due attention to the pre-1947 attempts by the Punjabis to attain an independent Dominion status, efforts by the Hindu and Muslim Bengalis to retain a United Bengal, resistance in the North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) to join Pakistan and reluctance of the Balochis to merge their territories into Pakistan; all of these instances establish that the ruling elite in Pakistan, since the very beginning, had to move rationally, with delicate care, wisdom and caution, to effectively address the multifaceted challenge of national integration. Based on this background, this study analyses the problems of federalism and regional autonomy in Pakistan and their impact on the political development and nation-building since 1947. It concludes that successive installation of authoritarian and suppressive regimes at the centre and their subsequent application of force to preferably achieve the state-building failed to bring the desired results in the past, hence, currently, somewhat moderate application of the coercive apparatus of the state to handle or suppress the subnational tendencies is the need of the hour.