Ethnic Federalism in Pakistan: Federal Design, Construction of Ethno-Linguistic Identity & Group Conflict
Published - Jun 6, 2014Pakistan offers a striking example of the relationship between federal structures on the one hand and management of inter-ethnic diversity on the other. This article explores linkages between ethnicity-based federations that serve to accommodate longstanding political demands on the basis of identity recognition, and the homogenization of new groups around ethnic identity for political visibility, competition and gain. The article demonstrates these linkages through a historical case study of the Sindhi-Muhajir conflict in the province of Sindh in Pakistan. It argues that where the minority “migrant” group (like the Muhajirs) has been historically dominant and in control of important political and economic resources at the expense of the majority “indigenous” ethnic group (like the Sindhis), the coincidence of political power and ethnic identity through federalization in favor of the latter without safeguards for the former creates pressures for the minority group to politically mobilize around issues of ethno-linguistic and sub-territorial differentiation. This “minorities-within-minorities” phenomenon underscores the need for foregrounding socio-cultural and economic protections for minority groups in ethnic federations like Pakistan.
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Khan, M. S. (2014). Ethnic Federalism in Pakistan: Federal Design, Construction of Ethno-Linguistic Identity, and Group Conflict. Harvard Journal on Racial & Ethnic Justice.