A question of identity: The Pakistani Southasian (original) (raw)

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18 Jul 2005, 11:52 am

Some months back I was asked to open a photographic exhibition at the Shakir Ali Museum in Lahore. In my brief address I referred to the rich Southasian culture of which Pakistan is a part. A gentleman from the audience took exception to my remarks and later wrote to me to the effect that I had disclaimed the two-nation theory, and that the Pakistani Islamic culture was distinct from the Indian Hindu culture. For many months I have pondered the question. So important is the issue, a public answer might just be in order.

Let me at the outset declare that no one can question my Pakistani credentials, nor those of my family, which included stalwarts of the Pakistan Movement. On the issue of Pakistan's culture being purely Islamic, I cannot hazard a definition of what constitutes 'culture'. The overwhelming view now is that ethnicity and culture are what nations and societies use to define themselves. As an individual I am extremely proud of being a Pakistani and a Muslim.

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