Ethnicity in Pakistan, Defines the Ethnic Composition

Ethnicity in Pakistan

Nation can be defined as, “A part or division of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by a common descent, language, religion, race, share a real or imagined common history, culture or ethnic origin”. Pakistan is a Nation State: sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and ethnic entity.

The Muslims of South Asia believe that they are a nation in the modern sense of the word. The basis of their nationhood is neither territorial, racial, linguistic nor ethnic; rather they are a nation because they belong to the same faith, Islam. They further want their state to strengthen the bonds of unity among Muslims.

Pakistani ideology is based on the fact that the Muslims are a separate nation, having their own civilization, their own customs, their own culture, their own religion and a totally different way of life from Hindus. Muslims cannot be merged in any other nation because their philosophy of life is based on the principles of Islam. So, Muslims of India found it extremely difficult to spend their lives according to the principles of Islam in the United India. They were forced to demand a separate homeland to keep their religious as well as national identity.

The people of Pakistan are largely a mixture of Indo-Iranian lineage. Although the official religion of Islam is basically egalitarian, cultural and social concepts of status and caste are still prevalent. The major ethnic groups of Pakistan in numerical size include: Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Seraikis, Muhajirs, Balochis, Hindkowans, Chitralis and other smaller groups. Each group is further divided into numerous subunits.

Before coming to the ethnic problems in Pakistan, it will be helpful to define ethnicity. Etymologically speaking the word 'ethnic' is derived from the Greek word 'ethnikos'; which referred to

• Non-Christian 'pagans'

• Major population groups...