Beyond the Name

 

  Noor Muhammad Form Gojal

Email: gulmitwala@gmail.com

No doubt "Northern Areas" is a misnomer. It, in no way, is linked to our history, our culture and our aspirations. The name should be changed. Changing the name of that region would have far reaching implications for its political and, thus, socio-economic future.


It is heartening; however, to observe that there is no consensus on what should the region be called. The intelligentsia of that region, seemingly, was completely divided. Some preferred to call it Gilgit-Baltistan, some called it "Karakorum", some insisted that it should be called Balawaristan and still others had colourfully foolish names in their pockets.

Sohni Des, Gulistan, Gilgistan, Shumalistan were some of the more innovative ventures of some of our creative folks. I am sure that given a chance we would have been able to get more than a million names for that tiny region of ours. We are confused even about what we want to call our "motherland".

Isn't it ironic, then, that some of us think that we are a "nation", that too historically!!


No we are not a nation. We want to be a nation. Rightly so. Nature has put us in a geographic situation that interlinks us more than any other connection could have. We have to live in the mountains. We have to prosper. We have to educate our people. We have to defeat poverty. We have to enjoy the eternal beauty of that region. We want to be a nation. Our languages, our common history and our cultural connections would be part of the solution but they are not going to make us a "nation".


I don't have a problem with the name of the nation. The symbolic importance of a name can not be undermined but we must not forget that just a noun is not going to make us a nation. The process of nation building has to be structured in such a way that our separate pluralist identities are not compromised. Painting the whole northern areas in one color is not going to be the panacea. We will have to know, respect and promote our regional cultures, traditions, beliefs, customs and priorities in order to attract people towards a common reality.


It would really be unfortunate if some of us think that a mere change in the name would rectify all errors automatically. The restoration of regional pride and fostering commonality would have to be a well thought, planned and executed process. At times I find people with really short term myopia with no real sense of the political and socio-economic mechanisms that can strengthen the sense of belongingness. We take the loyalty of the diverse population, with varying priorities, for granted.


Similarly highly ambitious plans of some nationalists also help distortion of the realities of our time. For instance some think that they would be able to snatch/ claim some parts of China, (like Tibet), parts of Pakistan (Kohistan, Chitral), parts of Afghanistan (Wakhan) and parts of Kashmir (Ladakh). These people, most probably don't realize that a tiny state or province with such expansionist intentions would be an easy target for nuclear power like China, Pakistan, Russia and India. Our geographic location puts us at the centre of all these states (of which we want to get tiny parts)!!


The sovereign status of such a state is almost impossible because we would be dependent on these same potentially rival, powerful, states for the survival of our people.


Even assuming that we would be able to exist, survive and flourish by aligning with one or two of these powers dangerously jeopardize our desire for self governance, autonomy and sovereignty. We, most probably, would be functioning as a proxy state with the chords of our life in hands that are not our own.


My suggestion, thus, for all my brothers and sisters who are sincerely worried about the political future of this richly gifted region of ours is to think out of their boxes. It is important for us to be rational in our approach towards solutions. Personal priorities, party loyalty, familial bigotry and dreamy ambitiousness would only lead us towards short term solutions and even if we are able to gain our short term objectives we or the coming generations would soon be confronted with even more chronic issues.


One must feel pride for the political awakening that has unleashed in the land of the black mountains. However, mere symbolic excitement and jubilation are not the solution.


The name, if changed, would not be the end. It would be the beginning of fathoming even more intriguing, real and core questions pertaining to our political ideologues and our action schemes. Whether we are ready for such a change or not is a question that we should start asking ourselves.