Abstracts
Theme: Peace and People’s Rights
Panel: Linking our Past to the Future
Session: The concept of 'other'
 Learning from the Past and Building a Future
Rupinder Pal*
Abstract
The powerful empire of the British came to an end 58 years ago. For the millions of people of this region the much-awaited independence brought pain, grief, and sorrow along with it. Not only was a country divided into two, but also the most painful aspect of this division was the migration of communities, and that too in a very barbaric way. This horrible experience has left a lasting effect on the minds of people because of which they have started considering each other as enemies. My paper will explore all those factors were responsible for creating hatred between these two neighbouring countries. Politicians and historians distorted the history for their own petty interests. The generation who saw riots at the time of partition narrated the happenings to the next generation in a horrible manner leaving a feeling of mistrust and hatred. Wars and unsettled disputes put fuel on the fire. In the name of nationalism, syllabus was framed and taught in such a way that made the situation grimmer. Partially or fully government controlled print and electronic media played a very negative role.
The paper will also focus on the issues that can and have already defeated all these negative forces. Today, we all are facing the challenges of the New Millennium. No scope exists for such narrow nationalism that wants to eliminate the ' other'. Today's generation who has neither seen nor heard any stories of partition will contribute a great deal to a harmonious atmosphere. A survey will be conducted in this regard to know more about the ways and means that can help in promoting friendship and a feeling of oneness. The aim of the paper is to inculcate a feeling of tolerance and sincerity amongst the people of both the countries and to spread a message of love, trust and peace.
* Dr. Rupinder Pal has been teaching Punjabi Literature for the lest 15 years in BBKDAV College for Women in Amritsar (pb.) India.
Quit India! Explaining Mass Deportations of Bangladeshi Immigrants
Willem van Schendel*
Abstract
In 2003, Indian police in Delhi and Kolkata created ‘deportation cells’ and began rounding up labourers suspected of being Bangladeshis. They put these people on trains to the Bangladesh border where Indian border guards tried to drive them into Bangladesh. Bangladeshi border guards and villagers blocked the way and beat the deportees back with sticks and gunfire, arguing that they were Indian citizens being ‘pushed out.’ Groups of hundreds of deportees were then trapped in the no man’s land for days and several were injured in shootings.
This paper addresses the reasons for this extraordinary treatment of individuals whom both India and Bangladesh deny citizenship. Why does India resort to capture, detention and deportation? And why does Bangladesh disown its migrants to India? The paper examines a complicated history of state formation in South Asia that has left definitions of citizenship and belonging much more open than in other parts of the world. Even today it is not always clear who is a citizen of India or Bangladesh. Three competing narratives of border crossing/belonging underlie the long-term territorial strategies of these states regarding unauthorised migration of Bangladeshis to India. Mass deportation is one of several draconian but ineffective measures (border fencing, detection, identification) employed by India to stop the Bangladeshi diaspora in the face of diplomatic stalemate. An end to mass deportations of hapless migrants can result only from a serious rethinking of the territorial policies of India and Bangladesh and the narratives underlying them.
* Willem van Schendel is a Prof. of History at the Amsterdam University, Amsterdam.
The Emergence of Mohajir Ethnicity
Harris Khalique*
The paper will attempt to look at the social, cultural and economic reasons for the concoction of Mohajirs as an ethnic group. The phenomenon is quite interesting to track and perhaps the only example of its kind in Pakistan and the whole subcontinent. We see a racially, and somewhat linguistically, diverse population coming together and claiming a right to an ethnic identity. The paper will try to look at the fluidity of the concept of ethnic identity, the class politics within, and its relativity within the politics of rights and entitlements in Pakistan. It is not a study of Muttehida Qaumi Movement (MQM), previously known as Mohajir Qaumi Movement, its genesis, and political and organizational growth, but an exploration of the issue of Mohajir ethnic identity, which is the raison detre of MQM's emergence and politics.
* Harris Khalique is currently heading the Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO). He studied social development at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and engineering at N.E.D. University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi. He has worked in Pakistan and in Europe. He is a bilingual poet. His work in Urdu and English has appeared in newspapers, magazines and journals in Pakistan, India, the US and the UK and is included in an anthology of fifty years of Pakistani English writing published by Oxford University Press.
The Concept of Other: Historical Perspective of Hindu-Muslim Relations
Mubarak Ali*
Societies are consisted of different racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic elements; therefore, there is no such thing as a monolith society based on one consolidated unit. These elements divide it into different communities and units, creating in them a different sense of identity. Historically, relations between the Hindus and the Muslims in the Indian subcontinent never remained constant. They continued to change in response to political, social and economic development. We find that during the rule of the Muslim dynasties in India, two elements played an important role in determining the policy and attitude towards the Hindu community: the rulers and the ulema. The paper discusses the role of these two in creating the concept of ‘other’ in the Muslim community of India.
* Dr. Mubarak Ali is a noted historian of Pakistan. He was former Chairman of Department of History, University of Sindh, and ex-Director Goethe Institute, Lahore. He edits a journal of History titled ‘Tareeq’.
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