Pakistan has, throughout its history, been desperate to create an identity for itself. Its history books have been modified every time a dictator has assumed power. Its current history does not commence from ancient civilizations, including the Indus Valley civilization, which existed in what is now Pakistan, but from the invasion of Sindh by Muhammad Bin Qasim, an Arab military commander in the service of the Umayyad Caliphate in 711 AD. ‘Fifty Years of Pakistan’, published by the Federal Bureau of Pakistan in 1998 de clares Muhammad Qasim as the ‘first Pakistani.’

There has b e en a conscious attempt to avoid linking Pakistan’s history to that of India. Its other history too has been equally distorted. Some examples listed by Pakistan’s newspaper, Dawn, in an article of 15 August 2014, highlight this fact. The fifth-grade history textbook of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa states on the 1965 war, “The Pakistan Army conquered several areas of India, and when India was at the verge of being defeated, she ran to the United Nations to beg for a cease-fire.

Magnanimously, thereafter, Pakistan returned all conquered territories to India.” On the 1971 war, its history books mention, “after 1965 war India conspired with the Hindus of Bengal and succeeded in spreading hate amongst the Bengalis about West Pakistan and finally attacked East Pakistan in December 71, thus causing the breakup of East and West Pakistan.” Written when Pakistan was ruled by a military dictator, the intent was to cover its defeat and surrender of 93,000 prisoners to India. A class five social studies book states, “India is our traditional enemy and we should always keep ourselves ready to defend our b elove d countr y from Indian aggression.”

The Pakistani army is considered as the saviour of the state. For the Pakistani public, India seeks the break-up of Pakistan and is responsible for all its ills, including freedom movements in its western provinces and protests in POJK. On Kashmir, its history books mention that “Maharaja Hari Singh started a brutal campaign to drive out Muslims from........

© The Statesman