Gulf of ethnic differences
By Qaisar Sultan
What makes fractionalization a fact of life in the countries with ethnic and religious diversity? The other question we may ask is: How far does ethnic fissure impinge on the peace and tranquility and progress of the country. The answer to the first question is simply lies in one word “Injustice”; it may be perceived or real. First of all there are separate identities of people that go as far as thousand years or few hundred years. There are clans, tribes, set of culture with distinct habits, language and traditions; the rest of social attitudes come with those backgrounds. The language barriers create some structural difficulties in ethnic relations and most of the time encourages disassociation. The dominant language or the official language comes in the way of acceptance. In so many countries, such as Turkey and Iraq, Kurds complained that their language was ignored; and thereby their children are not taught the culture and language. Bengalis in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, felt cheated when Pakistani official language was Urdu. The fact is that those who are not proficient in official language has clear disadvantage. One of the most powerful factors is religion of people; as we have seen in Iraq and Serbia. It is also important to understand that at a given time in the history of people, people start seeing the subtle differences and blow them out of proportion. Usually, during the tough economic times the ethnic differences intensify based on the distributional struggle; sometimes the impression of detestation due to the inequity becomes violent. When there is little to go around and the meek resources are squandered in corruption, the infighting begins. If the minority forgets and forgives, the majority attempts to take as much as the situation allows. The second factor is the intense feelings of one or the other group claim on the resources create strong ethnic identities. Now, those groups that have power dictate the terms of social harmony and try to control the resources and power. One of the most intriguing issues for the social scientists is to study and understand the claims of indigenous people on power and resources. But most European and other regions have experienced something very different.Read More »Gulf of ethnic differences