Ethnicity in Pakistan

1. Ethnicity in Pakistan
Name: Muhammad Farooq
Roll no: 014
Presented To: Sir Tariq Nadeem Khan
Pakistan Studies

2. Definition
Before we talk about ethnic devides we
need to know what is ethnicity .
Ethnicity is defined as:
• “ The common characteristic of a
people, especially a group sharing a common
and distinctive culture, religion, language, or
the like.”
•So, an ethnic group is a group of people who
have a common characteristic in terms of
language,region, culture, ansestors , religion
etc.

3. What are ethnic divides?
• Knowing that ethnicity forms a groupof people using a common
chracteristic. it is quite clear that various such
groups maynot get along.
• The act of treating someone differently based
on thier ethnicity is called an ethnic divide.
• It can be because one ethnic group is not treated par to others.
• One example is the sepration of Bengladesh (west Pakistan) in
the year 1971.
• The bengalis seprated because they felt neglected, this
is an ethnic divide based on culture or region. The picture shows
one
of the many rallys of the Bengali Language Movement from the
1950s.

4. Ethnic divides now
• Ethnic divides are not the problem of the past.
• Losing West Pakistan was a big tradegy but the
disparities that caused it are still prevailing in our
society.
• Ethnicity is a natural process. A country is made
of its history; its invaders and locals. People from
differentparts of the world settle in that area
and bring thier own culture with them.
• But ethnic divides are not natural. They are the
result of non- copration, pride, and intolerance.
Such hatred divides a country and should be
eliminated.
• Lets analyze the various divisons present in
Pakistan.

5. HINDUS
ETHNICGROUPS
RELIGION BASED LANGUAGE/CULTURE BASED
AHMADI'S
SHIA'S
PUNJABI
PUSHTO BALOCHI
SINDHI
MUSLIMS NON MUSLIMS
CASTE BASED
CHRISTAINS
SUNNIS
JEWS
RAJPUT JA
TT SHEIKH MUGHAL

6. SHIA'S
 Population:
-5 to 20% of
the total population are Shia's.
-Estimted to be 40 million in the year 2015.
 Beliefs:
-Shia's are muslims. The only sepration is on the matter of Caliphs. They think
the Caliph should have been chosen by God. They believe Hazrat Ali (RA) was
the one who deserved the honour first.
-This a 18th century Ottoman levha, (calligraphic panel), which depicts the Shi'i
phrase 'Ali is the vicegerent of God' in obverse and reverse, creating an exact
mirror image.
 History:
-It is unknown when the Shia community first established itself in what is now
the state of Pakistan or in SouthAsia.
-Historians assume they came as refugees.
RELIGIOUS

7. AHMADI'S RELIGIOUS
 Population:
-There are approximately 4 millionAhmadi Muslims in the country.
-This equates to 2.2% of the population.
 Beliefs:
-Ahmadis believe in Muhammad(pbuh)as the best law bearing
prophet and Mirza GhulamAhmad as the Christ of Muslims.
-This means that they dont believe in the finality of Prophethood
of Muhammad(pbuh).
 The amendment:
-In the year 1974, the government of Pakistan amended
the Constitution of Pakistan to define a Muslim "as a person
who believes in finality of Prophet Muhammad" and technically
Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims.

8. • RELIGIOUS
SUNNI'S
 Population:
75% of the pakistani muslims are sunni's.
 Beliefs:
-Hence they are okay with the fact that Hazrat
Abu Bakr(RA) was the first Caliph.

9. Further Divion:
SUNNI SECT POPULATION
AHLE HADITH 4%
DEOBANI 20%
BRELVI 50%
ISMALI 2%

10. Non-muslims in Pakistan
After discussing the muslim sects, it
is importantto discuss the non-muslim
minorities of Pakistan.
• Hindus:
• -2.5 to 4.5 million in total.Which makes approximately1.6% to
• 1.9% of totalpopulation.
• -Most hindus live in Sindh while a few live in the other provinces.
• -They mostly speak Sindhi, some also speak English or Punjabi.
• Christains:
• -2.5 million which makes about 1.6% of the totalpopulation.
• -Most of them speak Urdu, Punjabiand English.
• -The picture is of the Sacred Heart Cathedrel in Lahore.
• Jews:
• -There is a small minority of jews in Pakistan too.

11. SINHDI
 Population:
About 35,700,000.
 Language:
- Sindhi
 Location:
-Most of them live in urban areas like Karachi, Hyderabad,
Sukkur,and Mirpur Khas. Hyderabad is the largest centre of
Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan with 100,000-150,000people
 Culture:
-Sindhi culture is highly influenced by Sufi doctrines
and principles. Some of the popular cultural icons are
Raja Dahir,ShahAbdul Latif Bhitai, Lal Shahbaz
Qalandar, Jhulelal, Sachal Sarmast and Shambumal Tulsiani.
CULTURAL

12. SINHDI
 Religion:
-Hindus constituted about 6.5% of the
total population of Sindh province.
-This group can be regarded as concurrently following
Hinduism and Sikhism.
-Many Sindhis are coverted muslims.
 History:
-Sindh was one of the earliest regions to be influenced by
Islam after 632 AD.
-Before this period, it was heavily Hindu, and Buddhist.
-After 632AD, it was part of the Islamic empires of
the Abbasids and Umayyids.
CULTURAL

13. PUSHTO
 Population:
-about 30,699,037 (Not included Pashtun
Afghan refugees)
-constitute the second-largest ethnic group of
Pakistan.
 Language:
-Pushto:main language
-Dari and Urdu: secondary languages
 Culture:
-Pashtun culture is mostly based on Pashtunwali(self governing tribal
system) and the usage of the Pashto language.
-Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to Alexander's defeat of the
Persian Empire in 330 BC, possibly survived in the form of traditional
dances.
- literary styles and music reflect influence from the Persian tradition
and regional musical instruments fused with localised variants and
interpretation.
-Pashtun culture is a unique blend of native customs with some
influences from South and WesternAsia.
CULTURAL

14. PUSHTO
 Religion: Islam
 History:
-Pashtuns are predominantly an Eastern Iranian people.
-A variety of ancient groups with eponyms similar to Pakhtun have been
hypothesized as possible ancestors of modern Pashtuns. The Greek historian
Herodotus mentioned a people called Pactyans who were living in the same
area as early as the 1st millennium BC.
 Location:
-West of the Indus River , which includes Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa,
FederallyAdministeredTribalAreas (FATA) and
part of Balochistan.
CULTURAL

15. PUNJABI
 Population:
- approx 93,500,000
 Language:
-Punjabi, Urdu and English.
 Location:
-Mostly in the Province of Punjab.
 Culture:
-The culture of Punjab derives its basis from the institution of
Sufi saints.
-The fairs and festivals of Punjab reflect the entire gamut of
its folk life and cultural traditions.
-The crafts in the Punjab are of two types: the crafts produced in
the rural areas and the royal crafts.
CULTURAL

16.  Religion:
-Islam,mainly.
 History:
-Punjab was home to a developed civilization in 5th to 4th
millennium BC: The ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
-The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as
King Porus and he fought a famous Battle of the
Hydaspes againstAlexander.
-Centuries later, areas of the Punjab region were ruled by
local kings followed by the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Mughals,
and others.
-When the Muslim Umayyad army led by Muhammad bin Qasim
conquered Sindh in 71
1 AD, by defeating Raja Dahir. Some of the
Muslims are said to have settled in the region and adopted the
local culture.
PUNJABI
CULTURAL

17. BALOCHI
 Population: approx 6,900,000
 Language: Mainly Balochi. But
spoken.
regional languages are also
 Culture:
-The Balochi generally live in remote mountainous and
desert regions, which have protectedthem from invasion
and allowed them to form a distinct cultural identity.
-Balochi customs and traditions are conductedaccording to
codes imposed by tribal laws.
-The tradition of a Baloch mother singing lullabies to her
children has played an important role in the transfer of
knowledge from generation to generation since ancient
times.
-Balochi dresses are loose with decent threadwork.
CULTURAL

19. CASTS IN
PAKISTAN
• Jutt:
• -Live in northern areas
• -Agricultural community, are brave and loyal.
• Rajputs:
• -Name means ‘Son Of King’.
• -Descendants of warrior dynasties of India.
• -Have roots in Rajisthan.
• Sheikh:
• -Meaning in arabic:’ elder of tribe’.
• -Come from Persia(Iran), Central Asia and Arab.
• Mughal:
• -They are the ones who were able to flee during
downfall of Mughal empire.
• -They consider themselves brave and royal.

20. TERRITORIAL
ETHNIC CONFLICTS
LANGUAGE/CULTURE BASED
SECTERIANISM
 After introduction to all main ethnic groups of Pakistan it is
important to categorize the conflicts these groups have.

21. Secterianism
RELIGIOUS
 Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to attacks against people and
places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's
sect, usually a religious group.
 Targets in Pakistan include the Sunni, Shia and the small Ahmadi,
Hindu and Christian religious groups.
 4,000 people are estimated to have been killed in
Sunni
sectarianfighting in Pakistan between 1987–2007.
Shia-
 Since 2008 "thousands of Shia" have been killed by Sunni
extremists.
 2011 and 2012 Pakistan minority groups Hindus, Ahmadi, and
Christians "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution in the
country".
 These attacks are powered by the pride and intolerance of one sect
for the other. Such behaviour is not encouraged in Islam or in the
constitution.

22. Secterianism
 Following is the summary of the sectarianattacks amoung
muslims of Pakistan during just 3 months of 2013
 Many other ocassions of targeted killings and bombings occured too.
RELIGIOUS
DATE LOCATION CASUALTIES SUMMARY
16th Feb 2013​ QUETTA 113​ Sunni (Lashkar-e-
Jhangvi) took responsibility
18th Feb 2013​ LAHORE 2​ Unknown attackers killed Shias.​
3rd Mar 2013​ KARACHI​ 45​ unknown militantsput​
bomb outside Shia mosque​
26th July 2013​ PARACHINAR​ 60​ Sunni(Ansarul mujahideenhas)took respo
nsibility​

23. Territorial Conflict
• Issues like distribution of economic resources through NFC(National Finance Commission), water-
sharing problem between provinces and dominant position of one ethnic group at the power
structure created a sense of alienation among deprived ethnic identities.
• The 1956 constitution remained unable to resolve the problem
of provincial autonomy,because of Punjabi domination.
• The 1962 constitution gavea presidential form of government. Which meant a sense of alienation
among the people of both wings.
• Particularly Bengalis were not happy with the policies of central
• ruling authority.
• The constitution of 1973 had a federal and concurrent list
leaving the residuary powers to provinces. Concurrent list has been abolished by the Pakistan Peo
ples Party government.

24. Territorial Conflict
• Ethnic groups come into conflict when a particular group becomes successfulto have
authority at the helm of the affairs and formulates policies in the best interestsof their
own specific group by ignoring other ethnic groups.
• For Example,During Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto era Sindhis became successful to have more
facilities than Urdu speaking Mohajirs in the province of Sindh. These moves created
tussle between Sindhis and Mohajirs.
• Solution:
• -Political stability,peace, harmony and unity can be achieved through removal of
sense of deprivation among various ethnic groups.
• -Economicequilibrium.
• -Just distribution of power.
• -No discrimination

25. Language Conflict
• Languageis like the unified, seprate identity of a group.
• In fact, language was the key point in the alienation of Bengalis.
• They insisted on the recognition of Bengali as the national
• languagealong with Urdu.
• Thier demand was ignored and they felt neglected.
• The linguistic groups, Sindhi, Mohajirs, Punjabis, Pathans, Baloch, and Gujrati have been involved in
conflicting situation with each other on various occasions.
• In 1972 Sindhis retaliated the dominance of Urdu and Sindhi
• was declared as the official languageof Sindh.
• The Mohajirs demonstrated against this and the Government through issued an ordinance in favour of
Urdu.

26. Conclusion
• Inter –ethnic group conflict in Pakistan, has destabilized the
• political system and undermine foundations of the state.
• The things like inter-tribal conflict in the tribal areas, the Sindhi and non-Sindhi
violent conflict in Sindh, Shia-Sunni crueland regressive activities have become a
norm of Pakistani society.
• The key is to not only promote unity but treat everyone equally.
• No discrimination of any kind should be done to a group.
• When everyone feels like they are being heard, conflicts dont arise.