Partition, Migration and a ‘New Class’ in Pakistan: 1947-1958

Abstract

In 1947 Pakistan was carved out of India. The creation of Pakistan had a long invisible history and short and fast paced visible history. Both these historical forces helped the separatist Muslim leadership in India to realise Pakistan. After the creation of Pakistan, the Muslim refugees went to their cherish homeland in large numbers. Most of them were socially forward and economically stable. This class helped the new state to have a strong foundational base in all the state controlled and private sectors including bureaucracy and military. But the Punjabi ethnicity native to Pakistan, which is also Muslim, started to develop a sense of despair and difference towards them, though in crucial military and bureaucracy they played an equally dominating role in tandem. This reality started to evolve in the early 1950s and up to the first military takeover in 1958. It continued thereafter, but variegated regional and ethnic issues started to begin. The ethnic fissures threatening the unity and integrity of Pakistan in the current times have deep-rooted origins in its formative years, meriting an in-depth analysis of its ethno-political history. The aim of this paper is to analyse the course of first ten years of Pakistan in order to understand its ethno-political dynamics. By looking into its history with the help of secondary sources available on Pakistan, this paper attempts to facilitate greater understanding of Pakistan as a state and thereby indicating avenues to address its strife.