http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=...24-8-2009_pg3_3
As Muslims we are always loath to discuss our history except as hagiography. Mr Singhâs book just might stimulate some objective and perhaps even an informative discussion within Pakistan about things like the Cabinet Mission Plan and Mr Jinnahâs point of view about a united India. History is not about changing the past but rather learning more about ourselves and why we are where we are.
For most Pakistanis, it all starts with Muhammad bin Qasim and the conquest of Sindh in the early eighth century, skips through and around the Muslim domination of India and then jumps to the nineteenth century and the foundation of MAO College at Aligarh by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. It then jumps another sixty-five years to the Lahore Resolution of 1940. In the middle, the Ali Brothers and the Khilafat Movement get a passing reference. The rest revolves around Jinnah as the founder of Pakistan with Allama Iqbal lurking somewhere in the middle as the ideologue of Pakistan. It ends effectively with the death of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan.
Much of Pakistani history as taught in schools is essentially a bundle of platitudes about the âTwo-Nation Theoryâ and excessive exaltation of the likes of Jinnah, Iqbal and a few other luminaries. Yes, there are notable exceptions like Ayesha Jalal, Hasan-Askari Rizvi, the recently deceased KK Aziz and perhaps a few others that have written objectively about the history of Pakistan.
As somebody who interacts frequently with young people that are intelligent and supposedly well educated, I am always struck by their complete lack of any substantial knowledge about the history of Pakistan.
As Muslims we are always loath to discuss our history except as hagiography. Mr Singhâs book just might stimulate some objective and perhaps even an informative discussion within Pakistan about things like the Cabinet Mission Plan and Mr Jinnahâs point of view about a united India. History is not about changing the past but rather learning more about ourselves and why we are where we are.
For most Pakistanis, it all starts with Muhammad bin Qasim and the conquest of Sindh in the early eighth century, skips through and around the Muslim domination of India and then jumps to the nineteenth century and the foundation of MAO College at Aligarh by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. It then jumps another sixty-five years to the Lahore Resolution of 1940. In the middle, the Ali Brothers and the Khilafat Movement get a passing reference. The rest revolves around Jinnah as the founder of Pakistan with Allama Iqbal lurking somewhere in the middle as the ideologue of Pakistan. It ends effectively with the death of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first prime minister of Pakistan.
Much of Pakistani history as taught in schools is essentially a bundle of platitudes about the âTwo-Nation Theoryâ and excessive exaltation of the likes of Jinnah, Iqbal and a few other luminaries. Yes, there are notable exceptions like Ayesha Jalal, Hasan-Askari Rizvi, the recently deceased KK Aziz and perhaps a few others that have written objectively about the history of Pakistan.
As somebody who interacts frequently with young people that are intelligent and supposedly well educated, I am always struck by their complete lack of any substantial knowledge about the history of Pakistan.