Transnational Ideologies, Violent Conflict, and Pashtun Social Identity (original) (raw)
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Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ)
The invasion of Afghanistan by the former USSR in 1979 led to violent conflict in the country with severe implications for all neighbouring countries along with Pakistan. Within Pakistan, the most affected people are the Pashtuns bordering Afghanistan. The armed conflict, which started after the USSR invasion, continues to this day. Among other aspects, this conflict has severely affected the social and cultural values of Pashtun society. Due to the continued militancy and extremism in the region, the historical Pashtun social institutions and norms like Jirga, Melmastia (hospitality), and Badal (revenge) has undergone drastic changes alongside profound effects Pashtu literature. This paper attempts to answer the question as to what changes did occur in Pashtun socio-cultural institutions and literature because of continuous militancy during the last several decades. For this research, the researchers used qualitative research methods and used both primary and secondary data. The pr...
NATIONAL IDENTITIES, 2023
Using an extended constructivist position and the case study of Pukhtuns in Swat, Pakistan, this study outlines the interplay between violent conflict (between Muslim Militants and Pakistani state military) and National identity and its markers. The conflict is peculiar; (1) because of the use of Islam by Muslim militants which is an identity marker for Pakistani national identity and Pukhtun ethnic identity, (2) the case of Swat, an ex-princely state integrated only in 1969 in Pakistan with a history of religious violent mobilizations. Further, as Pakistani state has been facing problems with the process of national integration of its multiple ethnicities, the case of national identity becomes significant to be explored The study argues that the impacts of conflict and violence on national identity are complex and multi-dimensional. National identity is neither lost nor reaffirmed, yet as a result of the violent conflict. The article explores the impacts of violent conflict for religion (Islam), State institutions (military), discourses (of pride, sacrifice, and complains) and national symbols (holidays) as markers of National Identity in Pakistan through a fieldwork in Swat from November 2016 to May 2017 and later in November 2021.
The multiple self: interfaces between Pashtun nationalism and religious conflict on the frontier
Rubina Saigol, 'The multiple self: interfaces between Pashtun nationalism and religious conflict on the frontier', South Asian History and Culture, Routledge , 2012
The aim of this article is twofold: first, to examine the veracity of the scholarly and journalistic tendency to equate Pashtun nationalism with Talibanization and second, to explore whether there exists an entity called ‘Pashtun nationalism’ or, if it is, like most other nationalisms, an imagined and mythical construct that defies definition. Herein, the tension between the three identities – Muslim, Pashtun and Pakistani – never at total ease with one another historically, has risen to the point where these aspects of the self compete for primacy.
Pakistan’s “Tribal” Pashtuns, Their “Violent” Representation, and the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
SAGE Open, 2019
The tribal Pashtuns of Pakistan, based in the Afghanistan–Pakistan border region, have historically been portrayed as “violent” and “warrior-like,” both in the colonial and contemporary literature. However, a brief review of archival literature suggests that oriental representation of tribal Pashtuns is based on various generalizations that were formed and propagated during the British military expeditions against the tribal Pashtuns. Moreover, these generalizations and stereotypes against the tribal Pashtuns have persisted since Pakistan’s independence in 1947. Recent developments in Pakistan’s Pashtun tribal belt, with various tribes convening Jirga meetings, condemning and countering militant activities and protesting against the state’s injustices explain the importance and desire for peace among the tribal Pashtuns. Finally, a brief analysis of the recently started Pashtun Tahafuz (protection) movement (PTM), an indigenous peace and human rights movement involving both men and women, and its nonviolent nature also reinforces the importance of peace for the tribal Pashtuns.
An Analysis of Various Factors having Direct or Indirect Impacts on Pashtun Nationalism
2020
Every society of the world is stereotype due to the various groups that exist inside the country. Same is the case with Pakistan which consists of various sub-national groups, among them one is the Pashtun ethnic group (society) which always tilted towards religion. Stereotype societies have sometimesgerms of truth but in partial. The main issue is that the importance of the survival of a specific peculiarity connected with a community is voluntarily forgotten in favour of legends mimicry. The scholars admit the presence of religious intolerance among the Pashtun community but the scholars also challenge that although the Pashtun have been hugging religion since fourteen hundred years but has never been overpowered by extremism that exists to this day. It also proves that the main objectives of religious extremism and militancy were to curtail the culture and freedom of its traditions. There are serious grievances of Pashtun community regarding the state policy for this region. The ...
Global Regional Review
The Pakhtun culture had been flourishing between 484 - 425 BC, in the era of Herodotus and Alexander the Great. Herodotus, the Greek historian, for the first time, used the word Pactyans, for people who were living in parts of Persian Satrapy, Arachosia between 1000 - 1 BC. The hymns’ collection from an ancient Indian Sanskrit Ved used the word Pakthas for a tribe, who were inhabitants of eastern parts of Afghanistan. Presently, the terms Afghan and Pakhtun were synonyms till the Durand Line divided Afghanistan and Pakhtuns living in Pakistan. For these people the code of conduct remained Pakhtunwali; it is the pre-Islamic way of life and honour code based upon peace and tranquillity. It presents an ethnic self-portrait which defines the Pakhtuns as an ethnic group having not only a distinct culture, history and language but also a behaviour.
Resistance in disguise and the re-construction of identity: a case of the Pashtuns in Pakistan, 2020
This ethnographic encounter explores the historical, cultural, and political erasure faced by the Pashtuns in the formal educational institutions of Pakistan. Besides this erasure, Pashtuns are seen as a suspect community in the metanarrative and state discourse of Pakistan. This study aims to provide an insight into ways that a group of Pashtuns resist the popular hegemonic narrative of the state and provide an alternative narrative using spaces which this study calls “informal spaces.” Qualitative research methods, including indepth interviews, participant observation, and informal discussions are used to collect data in the informal spaces that how the Pashtuns encounter the assimilationist project of the state. Findings show that the Pashtuns are stereotyped and suspected irrespective of their class, regional and tribal affiliation. Their historical and political figures are erased in the formal textbooks, and their language and cultural attire are synonymously and interchangeably equated with the Taliban and terrorists in popular media. Facing this marginalization and stigmatization in the metanarrative, a group of the Pashtuns resist the popular image somewhat James Scott terms as “resistance in disguise.” This study suggests that, for the nation-building project, the state must follow an inclusive and democratic approach that includes the historical, cultural, and political existence of the Pashtuns.
Global Regional Review (GRR), 2016
The Pakhtun culture had been flourishing between 484-425 BC, in the era of Herodotus and Alexander the Great. Herodotus, the Greek historian, for the first time, used the word Pactyans, for people who were living in parts of Persian Satrapy, Arachosia between 1000-1 BC. The hymns' collection from an ancient Indian Sanskrit Ved used the word Pakthas for a tribe, who were inhabitants of eastern parts of Afghanistan. Presently, the terms Afghan and Pakhtun were synonyms till the Durand Line divided Afghanistan and Pakhtuns living in Pakistan. For these people the code of conduct remained Pakhtunwali; it is the pre-Islamic way of life and honour code based upon peace and tranquillity. It presents an ethnic self-portrait which defines the Pakhtuns as an ethnic group having not only a distinct culture, history and language but also a behaviour.
International Journal Of Pukhtunkhwa, 2021
This article differentiates radicalization from the Pakhtuns 'cultural violence. This study investigated the inherent Pakhtuns' violent cultural traits and the present-day radicalization in Pakhtun society. The study is qualitative. The data was collected through in-depth interviews the purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents. The data revealed that the Pakhtuns' cultural violence has a different contextual explanation as compared to present-day radicalization. The current radical trends such as bomb blasts and human slaughtering had not been part of Pakhtun culture. These radical trends have been diffused to Pakhtun society in the last three decades. It is immensely important to counter-radicalization through different lenses to differentiate it from Pakhtuns' cultural violence.