Unanswered question of independence
May 8, 2021
Was the independence of Pakistan from the British Raj in 1947 an act of de-colonization or merely a communal event? And is it any comfort or consolation to be robbed of your rights and resources by people of your own faith, colour and language than by foreign colonials before independence? In other words, is native colonialism less painful than foreign colonialism?
The question acquires importance because our inability or unwillingness to answer it has often led to confusion and conflicts in policies working at cross purposes and wasting precious time and resources which has kept the country at stand-still, while every other Asian country has been overtaking Pakistan.