In last week’s column, I discussed how certain Pakistani historians challenged the ‘reactionary’ national narrative constructed by the state after 1971, when the country’s eastern wing violently broke away to become Bangladesh.

The post-1971 narrative amplified Political Islam, weaving it into what was officially branded as the “Pakistan Ideology” in 1978. Though some historians began dismantling this construct in the 1980s, it took another three decades for their efforts to bear fruit.

Today, the state has not only softened its stance towards these counter-narratives, but is actively borrowing elements from them to fashion a brand-new national identity. This emerging narrative seeks to reposition Pakistan as a moderate, organic continuation of the ancient civilisations that flourished along the Indus River for over 5,000 years.

Works of scholars such as K.K. Aziz, Sibte Hassan, Ayesha Jalal, Mubarak Ali, Muhammad Waseem, Aitzaz Ahsan and, later, Abdul Hameed Nayyar, Rubina Saigol, Pervez Hoodbhoy, M. Qasim Zaman, Manan Ahmed Asif and Ali Usman Qasmi, are instrumental in providing the intellectual material for this quiet shift.

For decades, Pakistani historians who challenged the state’s narrative faced censorship, exile, isolation and financial ruin. Yet, the perspectives they championed are now quietly shaping the country’s evolving identity

For decades, Pakistani historians who challenged the state’s narrative faced censorship, exile, isolation and financial ruin. Yet, the perspectives they championed are now quietly shaping the country’s evolving identity

By the mid-2000s, counter-narratives became easier to evolve, but doing so in the 1980s and 1990s was a rather dangerous pursuit. In this column, I will explore this, alongside a now largely forgotten historian who........

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