Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Curious if there has been an attempt within Pakistan among its "liberals" and secularists to construct a secular narrative supporting Pakistan's existence?

Maybe stressing on its "mleCCha" proximity angle, and on how it was "insufficiently Hindu" even before 700CE?

@omarali50 ?

https://twitter.com/FrankBullit67/status/1159175240703991813

@omarali50 The way I see it -

Pakistan was conceived from the start as the homeland for South Asian Muslims

Though some of its founders like Qaid e Azam were not overtly religious, their political reasoning was anything but secular

But then it so happened that India has just as many Muslims as Pakistan, and the situation has been managed by the Indian state without a great deal of trouble, excepting Kashmir

Whereas Pakistan lost half its population to Bengali nationalism within 25 years of its formation

So the Indian "secular" narrative has stood the test of time (though the right wing within India hates it). It has not totally collapsed yet.

Whereas Pakistan's narrative has taken serious jolts

Now India has the option of either continuing with secular narrative, or giving that secular narrative a strongly Hindu tilt

Both are viable options

But Pakistan's original narrative doesn't show signs of validation

As long as India manages its large minority population, it is a living proof of the weakness of Pakistan's narrative

So if Pakistan has to construct a new raison d'être that is independent of India's fortunes, that narrative has to be secular

Wondering if any section of Pak's liberal intelligentsia has worked on that seriously

Maybe stress on how Pak culture is closer to that of Central Asia and Europe than South Asia? I don't know how far that can go. But worth a try from a Pak standpoint

Their only option

Note that whatever I have mentioned here is - Me putting myself in the shoes of a Pakistan liberal

Personally I don't believe such a narrative will fly unless it is predicated on religion

Take out religion. And Pak becomes a lot closer to India in many ways

So the argument for Akhand Bharat is strong and can only be countered by a fairly hardline version of two-nation theory

But I don't see the two-nation theory working out too well from Pak's POV

So wondering what the alternative narratives are (however unlikely they may be)