Background
The
Muhajir movement is generally associated with the people of the country that
arrived or migrated from the northern parts of India, at the times of the
partition, to the south-eastern province of Pakistan. The bulk of these
migrants settled in Karachi and became a dominant part of the population in the
region. From the outset of the establishment of Pakistan, these citizens of
Karachi and Sindh have always been referred to as the Muhajirs in the land.
This had always created a sense of discrimination in these citizens of the
country. The Muhajir movement thus originated in the 1970’s with the rhetoric
of securing the interests of the Muhajirs in the province of Sindh and
specifically in Karachi[1]. In this assignment is
shall include militarization of this movement and the development of the
movement. First of all, the reason behind the late occurring of this movement
as Pakistan was established in 1947 but this particular movement emerged in the
1970’s. Then I will add the role of this movement in the contemporary times of
the country and in the end a future prediction will be made so that the role of
the movement in the future can be understood.
After Independence
Right
after independence, the government machinery was very weak and there were a
small amount of educated and competent people that were capable of running the
administration and carrying out the higher level bureaucracy. The Muhajirs or
the immigrants coming into the country were very much educated in the sense
that they knew the administrative cycles of running the countries government.
Till the 1970’s, these people were in the government’s administration and they
were satisfied with their position in the country in spite of the
discrimination they faced from the start. This satisfaction was the prime
reason behind the silence of this community in the sense that there was no such
concept of a Muhajir movement for the securing of socio-political rights at
that time. These citizens maintained a very pragmatic and liberal approach
towards the country and contributed heavily towards the development in different
parts of Karachi.
The Rise and
Development of the Movement: The Contention
In the outset, these
citizens who were labelled as Muhajirs were very peaceful and accepting of the
fact that they were a part of Pakistan. But then what were those critical developments
which led them to initiate and take part in such a movement that challenges the
national integrity of the region[2]. Some of the reasons
developments are explained below:
1. The
regime changes that took place in the Pakistan in the late 20th
century affected the overall structure of the government and the bureaucracy.
In the times of the dictator Ayub Khan, as he was from the NWFP, the induction
of Pakhtuns started to increase in the ranks of the government and the
bureaucracy. The same happened when Bhutto came in power; the Sindhis were
given priority over the others and this was to the dissatisfaction of the
Muhajirs as the land of Karachi was built and developed by them and watching a
paradigm shift in the control of the city was certainly not acceptable for them[3].
2. The
Regime of Zia-ul-haq was another reason for the rise of this movement as the
leader radicalized the religious institutions of the country thereby creating a
very conservative ideology in the country that was readily opposed by the
Muhajir citizens. They felt that the
religious groups that were being supported by the Zia regime would exploit them
and this was to their immense dissatisfaction. Thus, the Muhajir movement then
became a reality than no one could deny but at the time it still lacked
political leadership.
3. The
emergence of MQM in 1984 and the Leader named Altaf Hussain gave the Muhajir
community a political representation in the ranks of the political
administration. This gave the movement an identity that the Muhajir community
was readily dissatisfied with the activities of the government and it wanted to
secure its socio-political rights. This changed the primordial nature of the
movement into an instrumentalist one. This meant that MQM started using the community
of Muhajirs as a tool to secure power and authority in Sindh and especially in
Karachi[4]. As a result, the MQM had
a terrorist or military wing that started to use violence as a tool to scare
people and with this element of fear they used to even shut down the entire
city of Karachi at times. Many politicians including prominent ones from PTI
and Jamat e Islami were killed and murdered by this militant muhajir group which
wanted to create chaos and anarchy not just in Karachi but the entire country.
By
the backing of a Party like MQM and the indifference of the government and
administration towards the Muhajir community, the movement gained strength and
popularity in the ranks of the Muhajirs. Thus, giving rise to an ethic armed movement
in the country[5].
The Demise of the
Movement
The
Muhajir movement that was directed towards achieving some socio-political goal
at once was very strong and had prominence among the people but slowly and
gradually the effect it had on the political administration of the province and
the country started decreasing and in the contemporary times it has almost
vanished in the region. Nevertheless, there are signs of the ideology that
still prevail but the overall impact that this movement had on the politics of
Pakistan as an ethnic movement has appreciably lessened. There are different
reasons behind the demise or fall of this movement which shall be discussed in
this assignment.
1. The
resurgence of the Muhajir community in the government as well as private sector
started. This meant that the air of deprivation was slowly but gradually moving
away from the atmospheres of the community. They started to establish their
business and also started to dominate the jobs in the city of Karachi and later
on they have now spread in the other parts of the country. I personally know
some karachites who are in this university and also some of them work in
Islamabad and Rawalpindi on good Positions. The point that I am trying to make
is that these people now don’t have to face deprivation anymore because of the
ever-growing opportunities in the country and that they do not need a separate
province or land to justify or secure their interests in this country. This
contributed to the weakening of the movement.
2. The
actions of the MQM and Altaf Hussain started to become very hostile towards the
nation and the overall image of the Muhajirs was degraded. The use of Muhajirs
for securing political objectives was a tactic used by Altaf Hussain. This
rhetoric was weakened when speeches were carried out against the ideology of
Pakistan and sometimes a very stupid narrative was projected. The proof of
Indian link with the MQM was the major factor that questioned the loyalty of
the Muhajir community and then they had to move them self away from the party
lines and show that they were not in support of such Anti-Pakistan statements.
3. The
operation in the region of Sindh and especially in Karachi by the rangers was another
factor that suppressed the movement. The rangers took charge of the city’s
security and dealt with all the mongers and people clashing with the government
and stupendously with each other too[6].
Conclusion
I
would conclude by stating the fact that the Muhajir movement was never based on
the discrimination that they had faced in the country because if this would
have been the case then the movement would have been started way before its
actual propagation. The movement totally revolved around the economic
deprivation of the Muhajirs in the country. As soon as they became deprived
economically, they felt the need of such a movement and it became stronger and
stronger till they achieved this economic freedom. In the contemporary times
this has appreciably decreased because of the fact Muhajirs are now free from
the shackles of any governmental organization holding them back, which happened
in the late 20th century. In the future there is very little chance
that this movement would regains its momentum and the general idea is that the
Muhajirs will somehow or another be merged in the nation and they will become
an inseparable part of the country who will play a big role in the country’s
development and prosperity.
[1] Paracha,
Nadeem F. 2014. "The evolution of Mohajir politics and identity." DAWN,
April 20.
[2] Shah,
Mehtab Ali. 1998. "The emergence of the Muhajir Quami movement (MQM) in
Pakistan and its implications for regional security." The Commonwealth
Journal of International Affairs.
[3] Richards,
j.j. 1994. "Mohajir subnationalism and the Mohajir Qaumi Movement in Sindh
Province, Pakistan." Doctoral Thesis.
[4]
Malik, Iftikhar H. 1997. "The Rise of the
Muhajir Qaumi Movement and Ethnic Politics in Sindh." State and Civil
Society in Pakistan .
[5]
Muhammad Feroz Iftikhar. 2017. "LEGALLY
MUHAJIR." Institute of Business Administration Karachi.
Iftikhar,
Muhammad Feroz. 2017. "LEGALLY MUHAJIR." Institute of Business
Administration Karachi.
Malik, Iftikhar H. 1997. "The Rise of the
Muhajir Qaumi Movement and Ethnic Politics in Sindh." State and Civil
Society in Pakistan .
Paracha, Nadeem F. 2014. "The evolution of
Mohajir politics and identity." DAWN, April 20.
Richards, j.j. 1994. "Mohajir subnationalism and
the Mohajir Qaumi Movement in Sindh Province, Pakistan." Doctoral
Thesis.
Shah, Mehtab Ali. 1998. "The emergence of the
Muhajir Quami movement (MQM) in Pakistan and its implications for regional
security." The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.
Tirmizi, Farooq. 2016. "The MQM is dying because
Muhajirs don’t need it anymore." Express Tribune.
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