Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, told Jawahar
Lal Nehru that Pakistan was not economically viable and would come begging to
rejoin India within six months. "Administratively it was the difference
between putting up a permanent building, a Nissen hut or a tent. As far as
Pakistan is concerned we are putting a tent.”
There is a compelling logic to that conclusion. Pakistan was
not an existing political entity, but a conceptually new country, an idea, two
territories on either side of a hostile country, with extraordinary cultural
diversity. It had a handful of industrial units, no military equipment, and no government
structure. From a security perspective, as the British Commander in Chief, Claude
Auchinleck noted, Pakistan lacked strategic depth, with no natural barriers with
India.
A skill vacuum was created by the exodus of Hindu and Sikh professionals
after the partition. The coffers were empty. India did not release its portion
of funds until Gandhi went on a fast to exert pressure. The military equipment
sent was damaged, uniforms had mismatched shoes, and crates contained scrap
wood and stationary instead of equipment. The first government offices in Karachi were tents
with furniture made of crates.
Indian statesman, Vallabhai Patel, echoed Nehru and Abul
Kalam Azad, saying “A year or two’s experience of Pakistan will cure the
Muslims of their fever... and they will return to us."
Pakistan was created by mass mobilisation, and much of its
continued existence has been due to the contribution of people rather than
successful governance.
Between August 1947 and September 17, 1948, hours before
Indian forces took control of Hyderabad State, the Nizam of Hyderabad engaged
an Australian pilot, Sydney Cotton, to secretly fly in several vital supplies,
gold and cash. Adamjee Dawood responded to an SOS by Jinnah in January 1948
with a blank cheque, and persuaded the Gujrati Muslim business community to
migrate to Pakistan and establish industries. Mirza Ispahani and Adamjee Dawood
created Orient Airways in 1946, which became Pakistan International Airlines, soon
to become a premier global airline and aviation mentor.
Fakhruddin Valika established the first Textile Mill in 1947.
The Teli family launched Pakistan's
first bottled drink, Pakola, green like the flag, on August 14, 1950.
Dr. Mahbub ul Haq shaped Pakistan's development policy in the 1960s leading to
a rapid economic growth that surprised the pundits and was emulated by South
Korea. Huge dams were built, rockets sent into space and long-grain Pakistani
Basmati rice gained worldwide recognition.
The public-private cooperation of the sixties became private
enterprise as successive governments remained preoccupied by their own internal,
contentious conversations. People came
to see government policies, usually established to please some international overseer
or the other, as an interference in the business of everyday life, to be bypassed
where possible.
Pakistan has a flourishing informal economy. Ordinary people,
unable to open bank accounts, save in local neighbourhood groups called committees. When government falls short, private
transport, schools and hospitals spring up in every locality and private
ambulances fill emergency needs. When housing for the poor is ignored, basti
dwellings appear. Barbers and cobblers set up shop on pavements. Small workshops,
catering, tailoring and hand carts keep the economy afloat, fulfilling the daily
needs of people.
Athletes win international medals and make sporting history.
Musicians, poets, artists, film makers, stand-up comics, innovators and
businessmen gain international recognition, all due to private investments rather
than state support. Pakistan‘s grassroots solar energy revolution, open criticism
of those in power on social media or fighting enemy aggression with humorous memes,
reflect a positive energy that is difficult to ignore. The attitude of ‘koi
masla nahi’, (it’s not a problem) and finding a jugaar (resourceful) solution
to any problem, keeps society functioning and contributes to the buoyancy and
good humour of its people.
Less acknowledged is the quiet resistance to radicalization,
and the refusal to be oppressed for too long. Pakistan continues to surprise
the world as it refuses to fit neatly into the label of a failed state. Journalist
Owen Bennett-Jones wrote in 2011 “Western academics are now debating whether
the country is in fact more stable than many people think.” Pakistan may have
failed governments, but has a populace that always finds ways to succeed.
Durriya Kazi
August 22,
2026
Karachi
Comments
Post a Comment