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South
Asian Politics
Pakistan's Policy of Deceit by Saad Anis An odious practice has been the norm in our country ever since her inception: the presentation of a distorted version of events to the people. Circumstances are deeply tainted with propaganda and lies are fed to the masses. The picture painted is always such as to vindicate the stance of our country, no matter how unjust and incongruous it may have been in reality. Today, the history courses that are taught in educational institutions throughout Pakistan are replete with half-truths and, in some cases, blatant fibs. Innumerable examples can be quoted in this regard. Take the Indo-Pak war of 1965 as an instance. Even today, almost four decades after the altercation, a large majority of our countrymen still believes, in accordance with the propaganda that has been fed to it, that India was the provocateur in the conflict. One can still vividly recall the many textual lessons recounting how, one night, our devious enemy slipped into our territory unprovoked, with the treacherous aim of destroying our homeland. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What all such texts fail to mention is the fact that in August, 1965, two military operations GIBRALTAR and GRANDSLAM were launched by the Pakistan government into Indian-held Kashmir. According to these operations, armed militants infiltrated across the ceasefire line (now LOC), incited a revolt and enforced by the Pakistan army, made a drive for Srinagar. It was in reply to these clandestine incursions that India felt itself vulnerable, and thus launched an offensive for Lahore. It was an act of retaliation, not one of pre-emption. Sadly, we are only told the latter half of the whole affair. In the same spirit of deceit, the Dhaka Debacle, the incident of the dismemberment of East Pakistan, has been completely truncated from our institutionalised version of history. If the issue is brought up, which is rare, one is silenced by the usual rant of it all being a huge conspiracy hatched by the ever-evil Indians. While it is true that India played a major role in the Dhaka tragedy, one cannot overlook the fact that the separation of East Pakistan was not an overnight incident, but one which was brought about by decades of West Pakistani dictatorial policies, and subsequent Bengali deprivation. What we are not taught in schools is how Bengali dissent was suppressed when the language issue arose in 1948, or how the substantial Hindu population of East Pakistan was unthinkingly alienated by the Objectives Resolution in 1949. The mention of the step-motherly treatment consistently meted out to the East is conveniently forgotten. In 1963, more than half of the population of Pakistan comprised Bengalis, whereas the army contained a paltry six percent Bengali personnel. A similar incongruity was seen in the civil services. By 1969, the per capita income of the West was 61 percent higher than that of the East. The famous dictum that "the defence of the East lies in the West" may have been militarily correct, but was a political disaster. Instead of highlighting the mistakes made and learning from them, subsequent administrations have embarked upon a futile tirade against Indian interference. No one has had the moral courage to point out that for the West, East Pakistan was a mere colony. The advocates of the instruction of a doctored account of history to our people argue that it is imperative to maintain national morale. They point out that as a nation, we already have so much adversity to contend with, that presenting a true account of history would be synonymous to consigning the public spirits to the doldrums. It is thus essential for the maintenance of a buoyant spirit of patriotism, they assert, that a biased account of contentious issues is portrayed for the greater good of the country. An argument could scarcely be hollower. The proponents of this custom do not realise that by keeping the public in the dark, they are endorsing not prudent patriotism, but violent jingoism. As a result of the misinformation crammed into their minds, our people have rigid and erroneous opinions on serious issues. Instead of being objective and logical, they are irrational and ignorant. Such an attitude is not surprising, considering the flagrant storytelling prevalent in our educational circles today. Predictably, this approach backfires. Whenever the government tries to adopt a rational policy on any issue, there is a vituperative public backlash because the people, owing to what they have been told all along, believe that they are being dealt a raw deal. The Kashmir issue is an apt example. Today, the people of Pakistan will not settle for anything less than the whole of Kashmir because they have been lied to by the government. They think that the accession of Kashmir to India was illegal, as the majority of the people therein are Muslims. Once again, what most people are unaware of is the fact that according to the rules of partition of the Indian subcontinent, the fate of princely states was to be ascertained solely by the rulers. The populace of the state did not have a say in it. Thus the Maharaja Hari Singh's accession to India was perfectly legal on that account. In fact, by exploiting the same rule, Pakistan initially succeeded in obtaining the secession of Junagadh, a state with a Muslim ruler but a Hindu majority population. Similarly, the Indian army is portrayed as the only perpetrator of inhuman atrocities in the Valley. Nevertheless, the fact is that the militant organisations fighting in Kashmir have also been involved in numerous incidences of violence against the local populace. Demands of conscriptions from the locals and harsh retaliation upon refusal has become commonplace. However, the government does not report such incidences to the public, for fear that support for the proxy war in Kashmir might wane. History is documented for nations to learn from. However, by colouring it to our expediency, we are nurturing a self-righteous and misinformed population. Rest assured, this policy of deceit will continue to harm the very national interest that it avowedly protects. About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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