Ethnic Diversity, Federal Structure and the Question of Baloch Nationalism in Post-Colonial Pakistan

Abstract

A state can respond to diversity within its borders in many different ways, it can either seek to eliminate or manage with this diversity. Pakistan is a highly diverse and plural society in terms of its ethnic, linguistic and religious composition and in this context, some scholars categorize Pakistan among ethnically and linguistically complex states of the world. Federalism was stipulated as one of the premises for the creation of Pakistan in the Lahore Resolution of 1940. However, federalism as a foundation of shared sovereignty has not been promoted to establish Pakistan as a federal state. In reality, the unitarian character of the state has prevailed, during the rule of the democratic and military regimes though with varied degree. As a result, Pakistan remained authoritarian and centripetal despite having the apparent federal features in its political system, which the successive constitutions retained. This article seeks to outline the dynamics of the federalist politics in Pakistan, as successive constitutional arrangements were put in place to deal with ethnic pluralism. The paper also describes Pakistan’s federal system and suggests that aggressive centralization or quasi-federalism, with its authoritarian nature, has promoted regionalism and centrifugal tendencies, that results in a conflicting relationship between the Pakistani state and Balochistan.