Politics of Identity: Ethnic Nationalism and the State in Pakistan

Abstract

"All the problems of politics, of social organization, and of education have been falsified through and through because one mistook the most harmful men for great men - because one learned to despise 'little' things, which means the basic concerns of life itself." --Nietzshe. 1 One of the serious challenges that the state of Pakistan has been confronted with since its creation in 1947 is the self-assertion of various ethnic groups. Out of the initial five ethnic groups - Bengalis, Punjabis, Pukhtun, Sindhis and Baloch - four have actively contested the legitimacy of the administrative structure of the state, with one, the Bengalis, succeeding in breaking away and creating their own state, Bangladesh.