Pakistani history has, for a long time, been hijacked by the so called "Ashraf" caste of people. These are the folks who claim Arab/Turk/Persian ancestry, and therefore make it their mission to make all of Pakistan embrace their identity and revere them as "truer" Muslims.
I want you to all ponder how effective their propaganda has been. Think about it. Muhammad Bin Qasim is called the first Pakistani. Ashraf lineages are exalted and praised as the ideal standard, whereas native lineages are mostly frowned upon in comparison. Languages like Pashto, Punjabi, etc are tossed out in favour of Urdu. I'm sure you're all also very well aware with these people saying that only they have the right to do certain things (e.g wear green shawls), or that they deserve special respect. And I'm sure you can also all think of people who have embraced these ideas (as some of you older members would remember, even I embraced some of these ideas).
The time has come to cut the crap and end this. Muhammad Bin Qasim did not bleed for Pakistan. The Indo-Pashtun Lodis are our people, not the Turkic Mughals who came to overthrow them. Raja Jayapala ruled over Gandhara and held sway over Kabul for much time too, why do we forget about him? Why don't our history books focus on pre-Islamic dynasties the Rai dynasty? Urdu is no better than Punjabi, nor is a Syed any better than a Jat.
It's not like these so-called Islamic rulers were that Islamic anyway. Many of them were just classist as well as racist scum. For example, the Ummayads literally discouraged non-Arabs converting to Islam. The only people from among these empires that should be praised are the sons of the soil who rose within them despite the challenges that they faced.
The time has come to change, we must focus upon our people. Pakistan being made for Muslims doesn't mean that we are suddenly Ummayads, we are still people from the Indus. Always have been, and always will be. This "Ashraf" caste's propaganda needs to be tossed in the bin, and they too must embrace their Indus roots.
Honorable Sir,
I have studied in Pakistan until graduation from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Punjab University Lahore. Never did I ever come across the narrative that Mohammed bin Qasim was the first Pakistani. Even from 1967 to 1977 when I was working in Pakistan for Esso, I did not come across anyone declaring the above.
Since early childhood, we were told that Allama Iqbal was the first person to come up with the Two-Nation theory in his 1930 presidential address to the Muslim League but no mention of Pakistan. Pakistan’s name was first coined in a pamphlet published by a Cambridge Law student Chaudhry Rahmat Ali in 1933.
“Now or Never; Are we to Live or Perish Forever?"
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Now_or_Never;_Are_We_to_Live_or_Perish_Forever?
I can only refer to Punjab because that is the region that I am familiar with. I am a Syed, the only thing I can say for certain is that my father was referred to ‘Shahji’ or Shah sahib only as a mark of respect but no one considered him as “Superior”. In fact, the most respected person in the 5 neighboring villages (Chaks) was a certain Malik sahib who was Awan but he owned about 375 acres of arable land (15 murabba). During my school & college days, we had Mians, Awans, Cheemas, Ghummans, Gondals, Bajwas, Tarars & Sheikhs, etc as fellow students; each one considered his caste to be superior and mostly married within his castes.
These tribes are the real sons of the soil and I have not come across anyone who considers them inferior. Only the castes that were considered inferior before conversion to Islam such as Barbers, Butchers, Tailors, Mirasies (singers), dancers, sweepers & kammies (migratory laborers) are considered inferior even now. This is because of the deep-rooted cultural prejudices.
Looking at the people holding political powers in Punjab during my time; these were the Tiwanas of Mitha Tiwana, Noons of Noonpur Bhalwal, Daulatna from Luddan Vehari, Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani of Kot Addu, Malik Amir Mohamed Khan of Kalabagh, Ch. Zahur Elahi of Gujarat, Malik Ghulam Mohammed of Lahore, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan of Khangarh and Sir Sikander Hayat from Wah.
In fact the only prominent politicians from the Syed family were the Amjad Ali & Babar Ali of Lahore (Their Father Maratab Ali shah had made a fortune during the British Raj) and Nawab Muzzier Ali Qizilbash. Syeds as ‘Pirs’ are indeed found in virtually every town of Punjab especially in the south around Multan, but these were happy living like lords and not concerned with political power until the ZA Bhutto’s time when the Gilani's, Qureshi's etc suddenly burst on the scene.
I am not aware who declared that “Mohamed bin Qasim was the first Pakistani; it may have been during the bigot Zia’s time but this is a historically incorrect hoax probably spread during the Islamization drive of the Zia regime (?).
I am amazed to read ‘Enough is enough’ and fail to comprehend the real reason behind such furor. Additionally, how did “Urdu” come into it?
Despite having several non–Muslim Urdu poets and writers and the fact that Urdu was understood in most regions of the northern subcontinent; Urdu has been associated with the Muslims since the late Mughal period. British encouraged Urdu/Hindustani as a replacement of Persian, the official language of the Mughals (eve the records of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh were in Persian). The only reason for adopting Urdu was that no province would have accepted either Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Sindhi or Bengali as the national language of Pakistan. Admittedly, this choice was one of the reasons for the alienation of the Bengalis. However, in the 1973 constitution representatives from KPK (then NWFP), Punjab, & Baluchistan freely adopted Urdu as the official language of their respective province while Sindhi was chosen by Sindh. Why blame the foreign origin Ashraaf for thrusting Urdu on you, blame the political leaders if you must.
There is no bar against the promotion of the regional languages. IMHO, uniformity is too boring. Pakistan has a rich culture and all the local languages (including Seraiki, Potohari & Hindko) along with the local dresses & music should be encouraged to the full. However, the country also needs a medium of communication/language that is understood in all parts of the country and Urdu is the correct choice.
Besides, which language would you like to be the national language of Pakistan? Persian, Arabic, as well as English, are not from this region. Urdu at least evolved within the subcontinent.
