The Four Nationality Thesis: a Conceptual History of a Forgotten Idea
In: Journal of Sindhi StudiesSearch for other papers by Shayan Rajani in
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Abstract
This article historicizes the ethnicity idea, which has anachronistically come to shape academic understanding of Sindh and Pakistan across a broad period of history. Instead, the Four-Nationality Thesis, and other ideas, animated politics in Pakistan’s earlier decades. The Four Nationality Thesis, which drew on global leftist thought, conceived Pakistan as a set of nationalities, corresponding to its provinces, which were conceived to be distinct, culturally, linguistically, historically, and territorially. It provided the conceptual framework for a federalist politics against the unitary state of Pakistan. When the Sindh government made Sindhi the sole official provincial language in 1972, the ensuing conflict highlighted the conceptual limitations of the nationality idea, and its territorialization of culture. In short, this article argues that the history of concepts is necessary to understand politics in Sindh and Pakistan.
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The Four Nationality Thesis: a Conceptual History of a Forgotten Idea
In: Journal of Sindhi StudiesSearch for other papers by Shayan Rajani in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
This article historicizes the ethnicity idea, which has anachronistically come to shape academic understanding of Sindh and Pakistan across a broad period of history. Instead, the Four-Nationality Thesis, and other ideas, animated politics in Pakistan’s earlier decades. The Four Nationality Thesis, which drew on global leftist thought, conceived Pakistan as a set of nationalities, corresponding to its provinces, which were conceived to be distinct, culturally, linguistically, historically, and territorially. It provided the conceptual framework for a federalist politics against the unitary state of Pakistan. When the Sindh government made Sindhi the sole official provincial language in 1972, the ensuing conflict highlighted the conceptual limitations of the nationality idea, and its territorialization of culture. In short, this article argues that the history of concepts is necessary to understand politics in Sindh and Pakistan.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1692 | 236 | 23 |
| Full Text Views | 29 | 4 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 60 | 1 | 0 |
