That these exercises have remained fruitless suggests that they were constructed in disregard of the specific facts and realities of the country. Lately, a ‘national narrative’ is being constructed which replicates the erstwhile ideology. This, unfortunately, has been the experience of our country in which, since independence, the ‘Ideology of Pakistan’ was designated to serve as the grand narrative. Today, we live in a world of nation states, almost all of whom claim to have an ideology which they use to seek allegiance of their citizens they succeed in doing so if material facts and the socio-political conditions corroborate with the ideological claims, otherwise ideologies remain in the realm of imagination and fantasy and forcing such fantasies on the people prove counterproductive they create cleavages in society and distance the state from society.Īlthough Jinnah declared that Pakistan would not be a theocracy, Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed believes that subsequent governments failed to develop a national narrative or ideology to reflect the Quaid’s ideals. The sustenance of ideologies also depends on how appropriately their architects constructed them, not as they subjectively wished, but as the objective representation of their socio-political conditions demanded. The merit of an ideology lies in how best it represents its society, its ethos, its aspirations and perceived goals. Ideologies are human constructs, and nations evolve them in response to their material interest, and in the light of their historical collective experiences.

Ideologies are not pregiven nor are they ordained externally.

Often expressed in the idiom of ‘ideology’, the concept of nationhood owes its validity to its capacity to identify, address and successfully respond to the aggregated needs of society, thus creating a feeling of commonness among the people. The uneasy relations between a powerful centre and weak provinces, conflict between authoritarian regimes and democratic aspirations, the civil-military dichotomy, and such other elements continue to adversely affect the cause of national integration.īut the most important and all-encompassing is the crisis of nation-building, and the country’s failure in constructing its very idea of nationhood. EVER since its inception, Pakistan has undergone multifarious crises, resulting mainly from its unresolved contradictions.

Theocrat evangelist age of wonders 3