Paper short abstract:

Political life in Sindh since 1947 has witnessed the growth in support for, often competing, so-called ethnic nationalisms. This paper looks at identity politics in the context of Pakistan from the perspective of Sindhi nationalism, considering legacies of the colonial past alongside the changing realities of the post-independence decades.

Paper long abstract:

It could be argued that tension between the centre and the provinces was programmed into Pakistan's DNA at the time of the new state's creation. Certainly in the decades since independence, identity politics have proved to be a more-or-less permanent feature of Pakistan's political landscape, extending from the early example of East Pakistan, to more recent developments in Baluchistan. The province of Sindh too has experienced its share of this kind of political dispute, its relationship with the centre and other parts of the country characterised over the years by bouts of tension, whether in relation to the provincial government or at a more popular level, even when this resistance has been overlooked or downplayed. A commonly-recognised crunch point came in 1983 when the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), which had widespread popular support in Sindh, challenged General Zia's Punjabi-dominated military regime. But Sindh's difficulties with the centre date back much further than this - to before independence when a pattern of relations was established that continues to affect centre-province relations to the present day, and then to the early nation-building years after 1947. This paper accordingly looks at identity politics in the context of Pakistan from the perspective of Sindhi nationalism, considering legacies of the colonial past alongside the changing realities of the post-independence decades.