Creation of New Provinces on Ethnic and Linguistic Basis Weakens the National Integration Essay for CSS and PMS Aspirants | CSS Essays | PMS Essays | Essays by Sir Syed Kazim Ali
Hamza Obaid has attempted this essay on the given pattern, which Sir Syed Kazim Ali teaches his students, who have consistently been qualifying their CSS and PMS essays. The essay is uploaded to help other competitive aspirants learn and practice how to write a comprehensive outline; how to write bullets in an outline; how to write the introductory paragraph; how to connect sentences and paragraphs; how to write a topic sentence; how to put evidence within the paragraphs.
Outline
1- Introduction
- ✓ The beauty of a federation in its diverse religious and ethnolinguistic culture
- ✓ A prosperous federation a wild goose chase in the absence of a devolved administrative structure
- ✓ The United States of America (USA) proven to be a knight in shining armour in this regard as it shows how multi-cultural regions can co-exist and prosper in this modern world
- ✓ Pakistan-being an ally of the USA since its independence- not learnt a single lesson about the development of a decentralized federating system
- ✓ The demand of new provinces not only brought more chaos in the country over distribution of indigenous resources but also paved way for politicians to manipulate the masses
- ✓ The protest also shredded the founding ideology of one nation, one body into pieces
- ✓ High time for the government to take some timely steps, such as to strengthen the local government structure and promote inter-culture programs and exhibitions
2- Importance of national integration for a country
3- Pakistan under the radar- A glance at the contemporary situation
4- How can the creation of new provinces on ethno-linguistic basis weaken the national integration in Pakistan?
- ✓ Creating more chaos among the provinces over the proper distribution of resources aggravates national disintegration.
- Case in point: Sindh and Punjab tussle over the distribution of water and economic resources adding fuel to the fire
- ✓ Providing an opportunity to certain political leaders to propagate their ethnic politics divides people on tribal and lingual basis.
- Case in point: Creation of Saraiki province in Punjab would certainly trigger Hazara community in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KPK) deteriorating integration
- ✓ Shattering the ideology of the creation of country on oneness makes people follow ethno-linguistic philosophy.
- Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah said, “We are now all Pakistanis, not Balochis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis, and so on. And as Pakistanis, we must feel, behave, and act, and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else.”
- ✓ Emerging new ethnic and linguistic groups dilute national integration.
- Case in Point: The emergence of ethnic and linguistic groups, such as the Hazara Democratic Party and Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party in Balochistan raising alarms for separation
- ✓ Rising conflicts over national issues weaken the united image of the country internationally.
- Case in point: Conflict between the federal government and the government of Balochistan over Reko Diq certainly causes internal rift as well as mudding the country’s image internationally
- ✓ Amending the constitution or passing the bill for a new province causes bad blood between the existing and new regions.
- Case in point- The creation of a secretariat in south Punjab and the raised eyebrows of Central Punjab over it exacerbated the country’s harmony
- ✓ Showing belligerence by politicians’ over-representation in legislative assemblies causes a rift among leaders and their followers.
- Case in point: Federal Administrative Tribal Area (FATA) mergence in KPK causes a split between the leaders of both regions, over-representation in the legislative assembly
5-How can Pakistan tackle this issue efficiently and sagaciously?
- ✓ To empower the local government structure
- ✓ To promote diversity and co-existence at the national level
- ✓ To distribute resources equally among all the stakeholders
- ✓ To create divisions on an administrative basis
6- Critical Analysis
7- Conclusion
The beauty of a federation lies in its diverse religious and ethnolinguistic culture. However, developing a prosperous federation is a wild goose chase without a devolved administrative structure. Therefore, devolution of power based on administration requirements is necessary for a country’s social, political, and economic progress. The United States of America (USA) has proven to be a knight in shining armour in this regard, as it shows how multi-cultural regions can co-exist and prosper in this modern world with the help of a proper administrative system. On the other hand, Pakistan-being an ally of the USA since its independence- has not learnt a single lesson about developing a decentralized federating system. The country has developed a highly centralized system, curbing the rights of many for some; consequently, the demand for new provinces on the basis ethnolinguistic instead of administrative basis gradually has risen their head in the country, which has proven to be a bullet in the heart of the national integration. Nonetheless, the demand has brought more chaos in the country over the distribution of indigenous resources and paved the way for politicians to manipulate the masses against others according to their will. Moreover, it has also shredded the founding ideology of one nation, one body, into pieces. Nevertheless, all hope is not lost, as even the darkest clouds have a silver lining. The same can be said in this case if it is tackled efficiently and sagaciously. Hence, it is high time for the government to take some timely steps, such as strengthening the local government structure, promoting inter-culture programs and exhibitions, and dividing the regions on an administrative basis rather than ethno-lingual. This essay sheds light on how creating new provinces on an ethnic-lingual basis would weaken national integration and how the country can tackle it sagaciously.
National integration- awareness of a common identity among the citizens of a country provides an anchor to the wandering ship of a country. It develops a bond of togetherness between people irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, and gender, and a country with a strong sense of oneness among individuals uplifts its social indicators through cooperation. Moreover, an integrated society promotes dissent as the community is more tolerant towards other opinion and culture, and people accepts others’ view with open arms rather than being critical of them. Furthermore, the evil of terrorism can be curbed through communication throughout the whole country. Thus, national integration plays a significant role in the progress and prosperity of a country, and the absence of unity makes a country feeble in every field.
National integration has proven to be an important pillar for the progress of a country. However, Pakistan, a federation since its independence, has developed a highly centralized over a period of time. The fall of Dhaka is enough to understand how centralization of power proves to be a dagger in the heart of national integration. Nonetheless, the country has not learned its lesson, and currently, the people of Pakistan are still in disarray and are against each other due to the non-equivalent distribution of resources. For instance, Sindh and Balochistan blame Punjab for their crumbling state, and Punjab claims the lion’s share due to the reason that more than half of the country’s population settled in the region. Hence, in modern Pakistan, people divide themselves on the basis of language, ethnicity, and tribes instead of developing a sense of oneness.
The current situation in Pakistan paints a gloomy picture on the canvas of integration. However, it is important to discuss how the division or creation of new provinces in the country on an ethnic-lingual basis can further weaken national unity. To begin with, it would create an environment of animosity between the newly created and already existing provinces over the distribution of indigenous resources, such as water, energy, and finance. Instead of creating an environment of brotherhood, it leads towards bloodshed, strikes, and disintegration of society. A glaring example in this regard is the tussle between Sindh and Punjab over the distribution of Indus water. Sindh blames Punjab for water theft, which certainly creates bad blood between the two provinces. Moreover, the distribution of economic resources adds fuel to the fire and aggravates national disintegration. Hence, the creation of new provinces on an ethnic basis would definitely create more chaos and enmity among people.
Besides creating animosity among the masses, the creation of provinces on an ethno-linguistic basis provides an opportunity to politicians to exploit the community for their vested interests. The political leaders demand more divisions in the region to maintain their monopoly. For example, the demand of Saraiki province in southern Punjab has led the leaders of the Hazara community in KPK to manipulate the people of the Hazara community to raise their voices for their separate province, so they can develop their hegemony in the region. Therefore, making new provinces on an ethno-linguistic basis provides a platform for politicians to divide people on an ethnic or linguistic basis and make them dance to their tunes.
Additionally, the creation of new provinces on an ethno-linguistic basis is against the very ideology of Pakistan. Pakistan s ideology is based on the vision of “One nation, one body.” Therefore, to divide the country on a cultural or linguistic basis is against the creation of Pakistan. As aptly said by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, “ We are now all Pakistanis, not Balochis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis, and so on. And as Pakistanis, we must feel, behave, and act, and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else.” Hence, division can be done on administrative needs rather than ethnic basis that would shred the ideology of the country into pieces.
On the one hand, it shatters the very ideology of Pakistan, and on the other hand, new extremist groups appear on the horizon and raise their voice for separation. The emergence of several ethno-lingual groups further dilutes national integration. This can be seen in the province of Balochistan, where different political parties, such as the Hazara Democratic Party and Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, are exploiting people on an ethnic basis to achieve their own motives. It not only gives people an anti-state agenda but also makes people go against each other, which disturbs the social fabric of society. Therefore, for a united and progressive society, division on an ethnic basis must not be accepted at any level.
Adding salt to the wounds, rising conflicts over national issues between the provinces weaken the united image of a country on the global canvas. Furthermore, the creation of new provinces on an ethno-lingual basis would add fuel to the fire in this cause. For instance, the controversy over Reko Diq- one of the largest copper and gold mines in the world- between the federal and provincial governments of Balochistan over a share of the contract has mudded the image of the country internationally. Therefore, the need of the hour is to maintain an environment of brotherhood for the prosperity of the country.
Furthermore, in order to make a new province, the existing province has to pass the bill, which certainly causes bad blood between the members of the legislation. Some are in support of separation, and some are against it, and it would definitely become a reason for a rift between people and their representatives. For example, the Creation of a secretariat in south Punjab has led to the fury of many people in central Punjab, eventually disrupting national harmony. The creation of new provinces on ethno-lingual creates a sense of partition among the people. Hence, people start to grow, ultimately leading to social chaos.
Last but not least, the making of new provinces over ethnicity creates a power vacuum in the whole region. The newly created province demands more autonomy and authority; consequently, the tensions between the region aggravated. Moreover, the leaders of the provinces show belligerence towards each other over-representation in the legislative assembly. For instance, Federal Administrative Tribal Area (FATA) merger in KPK causes a split between the leaders of both regions’ over-representation in the legislative assembly. Therefore, the creation of new province results in national disharmony, chaos, and hostility among the masses.
Although the country is currently covered by clouds of despair, there is always silver in the darkest of clouds. Therefore, by taking some efficient and sagacious steps, national integration can be improved; additionally, the administrative demands of the masses can also be fulfilled. First, harmony between people can be amplified by improving the local government structure. Local government hears everyone’s grievances at the root level and is responsible for solving them. Moreover, local government representatives belong to one’s area; therefore, everyone considers themselves a part of the country rather than being left alone. Hence, improving local government structure must be the priority to put the debate of separate provinces and improve integration.
Second, for integration of society, diversity must be tolerated and appreciated at local and regional levels. In order to do this, cultural exchange programs at the intra-region level must be started. Moreover, students from different provinces must be given admission to different universities to create an environment of brotherhood and oneness. Festivals of different cultures must be celebrated nationally. Furthermore, tourism in different regions must be encouraged and promoted to build chains of trust among people. Therefore, by promoting of one’s culture nationally, national integration can be enhanced, and the demand for separation can be minimized.
Third, the distribution of resources among all the provinces is a must to attain national integration. Unequal distribution of resources leads to feelings of discontent and deception. Therefore, equity-based distribution is a must for harmony. Distribution according to the population of a region is a way forward to put an end to the dilemma of new provinces. Hence, the government must treat all provinces equally to create an environment of trust.
Finally, the creation of provinces on ethno-linguistic creates chaos; however, creation can be done by administrative needs. New divisions or regions can be created to ensure better service for people. Moreover, more grants can give to deprived areas for their development. It would put an end to the debate of new provinces on an ethnic basis; people would be more united than ever. Therefore, administrative needs must be taken into account before any division of the country for better management.
Critically, the demand for new provinces is not wrong; however, demand on an ethnic basis is wrong. It creates divisions among people and makes them enemies of one another. Moreover, the division of the society on an ethno-linguistic basis muds the image of the country internationally and can lead to civil war in a country like Sri Lanka. People would feel that they are not part of the state because they are not treated as national. Nonetheless, division on administrative needs must be encouraged for the development of all regions in the country. Therefore, the creation of new provinces must not be frowned upon in a country for the betterment of the country.
In a nutshell, the creation of new provinces on ethno-linguistic basis always weakens the national integration. It would lead towards disharmony and hostility among the people of different tribes and languages. Moreover, the emergence of anti-state leaders would be more common, and different groups start to hamper national unity through different campaigns and ideologies. However, all is not lost if the government takes some sagacious and efficient steps. Improving local government structure, promoting diversity, and the proper distribution of resources is a must to make Pakistan peaceful and prosperous. Hence, the creation of new provinces on administrative needs must not be frowned upon; however, creation on an ethnic basis must be discouraged for the upliftment of the country.
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