Role of Media and National Unity in Pakistan

A nation is a group of individuals belonging to different caste, region, religion, linguistic group or culture. The unification of this diverse entity on the basis of some ideology is called national unity. Common values, patriotism and ideology can serve as source for national cohesion. National unity develops the awareness of giving precedence to national interest over personal interest. The politics, democracy, situation of law and order in a country also influences the national unity. For the purpose of unity there must be communication between the individuals which definitely requires some medium. This highlights the importance of mass media in the development of national unity as media has the major role in making public opinion.

The creation of Pakistan was based on a strong religious ideology. The Muslims of sub-continent feared the dominance of Hindu majority which could have imposed a threat to their identity. They struggled for a state based on Islamic principles so that Muslims can have a representation at national level. This ideology was the soul of Pakistan movement and resulted in the partition of sub-continent into two ideologically different states though culture was utmost identical. A multi-ethnic nation with a number of linguistic groups, diverse culture and people following different religions emerged. Promoting these differences can lead to internal conflicts so Qaid-e-Azam also used to stress on promotion of national integration instead, advising the people to feel and act like a Pakistani with pride, while leaving provincial and lingual identities behind.

During the Pakistan movement print media played a significant role in promoting the ideology of Pakistan. Zamindaar, Nawa-e-Waqt, Jang and Dawn and were considered the ambassadors of Muslims of the sub-continent. These newspapers were upfront in their stance for a separate homeland and the owners of the newspapers considered journalism as a mission to serve the people rather than a profession. They had earned the trust of the people and influenced their opinions. After independence these media groups started operating in the nascent state. Similar to all beginnings, their spirits were high and the intentions were good regarding the development and progress of Pakistan, because the painstaking process of gaining a state after mass sacrifices was fresh in the minds. As the agonies connect the people and amenities divide them, with the passage of time the media that had played a responsible and exemplary role during Pakistan movement, started to deviate from its path.

After independence, the only force binding the nation was Islam but there was no proper application of Islamic principles in the state, giving rise to a number of ethnic, lingual and regional nationalities. The country formed in the name of Islam continued to have the major part of Bristish constitution for a long time. In 1956, the first constitution was formed which gave the country the label of Islamic Republic. Other changes were also made but not significant enough to develop a feeling of national integration among the nation. Religion has been and is still a major influence in the national integration of Pakistan and thus effects the political policies as well. But religion alone can never serve as a source of national cohesion, if the conditions of democracy, law and order, economy and social development are deteriorating. The leadership of the country has foremost responsibility in this regard.

To prevail the sense of national integration among the citizens, the most important initiative to be taken is giving the public opportunity of partaking in national development and progress. An identity as nation is very essential in this regard to determine a direction and a destination for the confused folks. This thing cannot be imposed superficially but evolves as a result of continuous hard work of amending the system to abolish root evils. The inconsistent democratic situations in the country due to military take overs, the conditions of law and order, and the prevailing nepotism culture among provinces or ethnic groups is a threat to national unity in Pakistan. Social and economic conditions of the country add fuel to the fire.

Educational system of Pakistan with heterogeneous curriculum also splits the already diverse nation into further classes. The illiterate major rural population of country ones due to lack of educational resources comprise the. The English mode of education develops a sense of superiority among the individuals who majorly comprise the bureaucracy and governing class, which though less in number have major role in policy making. The Urdu mediums having an inferiority complex and sense of deprivation that gives rise to identity crisis based on difference in national language and official language. Lastly the group that just focuses religious studies have its own attributes and is mainly regarded as extremist group. State has not been successful in providing uniform quality education leading to chaos among society. This makes the acceptance of each other as a nation even tougher.

The main task of media is to inform and spread awareness which is vital for progressive democracy. To ensure the correct use of a person’s right to vote, media must provide them with correct and credible information timely. The success of a political party is also based upon the policy making of the media strategists. All the perception of the political figure in the minds of public is created by media. Media can propagates ideas into the society through propaganda mechanism under the influence of political pressure or financer’s policy. A media functioning this way is the major threat to the integration of a nation.

The ideal role media should play is to serve as a linkage between the government and the public. It should highlight the problems in society and compel the government and the public to devise methods to eliminate these shortcomings. As the role of media in electing the democratic government cannot be neglected, it also has a major role in sustaining the government. It serves as a check point on the elected government. An ideal media should not accept the influence of the government, should report impartially and free from biases keeping national interest above anything else.

The print media of Pakistan played its role very responsibly in the beginnings shortly after the emergence of state. All the newspapers had a strict criticism policy for the wrongdoings of the government. With the passage of time the struggle for survival in the market and aberration from passion into profession raised questions over the transparency of media. Also during the military dictatorship eras a number of sanctions and laws were imposed to control the media. The information that reached the public was censored and biased. Newspapers sometimes could not openly express their outlook used hidden means. A major example in this regard is the headline that was given by Nawa-e-Waqt when Ayub Khan won against Fatima Jinnah. Nawa-e-Waqt that regards itself as custodian of ideology of Pakistan was supporting Fatima Jinnah gave the news as: Chief Election commission has declared the win of Ayub Khan.

Another factor can be observed that during the times of crisis, whether the wars of 1965, 1971 and 1999 or the martial, laws print media did its job of keeping national interest on the priority, in the best way. The articles and the news stories boosted the morale of the nation. The whole nation setting the internal conflicts aside came stood together and faced the hardships for the sake of their existence as a nation. The phenomenon of national integration can only be observed during the crisis in Pakistani nation. Another such example of national integration is depicted during the 1998 nuclear attacks when the nation stood as a whole for its honour, defence and sovereignty. The major newspapers also invited public to express their opinion devoting several pages to it, and message was clear and similar “to give a strict response to Indian threat”.

During the times when lingual discrimination was surfacing, a major cause in East Pakistan separation, there was an event when the students of University of Dhaka were having a rally to which police ultimately opened fire. Five were dead and hundreds injured making it among the rare incidents of history having the sacrifice of life for lingual integration. The newspapers had a tricky task to criticise the event without labelling the involved characters rebellious as it could worsen the situation posing a threat to national integration. Even though media played its role responsibly at that time there were several other factors which made separation inevitable.

During the time of Ayub Khan the enforcement of laws on press started to begin. The first event was taking over the Progressive Paper Limited which published The Pakistan Times, Imroz and the weekly Lail o Nahar famous publications of that time. Afterwards Ayub Khan kept on imposing laws on Press to which several writers and writings became victims. A famous Urdu fiction writer Qurat ul Ain Haider left Pakistan in 1960 as her novel Aag ka Darya met controversy and went to India. In this era Press and Publication Ordinance (1960) and National Press Trust (1964) were ntroduced to control the press.

During Zia ul Haq’s regime newspapers were pre-censored to prevent criticism on the government showing the public “All is well”. Newspapers frustrated by this situation started leaving blank space at the positions of censored news. It further enraged the militant ruler but you cannot chain the human intellect and thoughts even though you can try to stop him from expressing, he will ultimately find a way. One famous event was the blank editorial space left in Dawn by editor, Altaf Hussain, on Qaid’s birthday in 1953 to speak more eloquently than words.

As Radio Pakistan and PTV was under the control of Government directly, the public had more confidence on the press in terms of freedom of expression as these were controlled by major media companies. This shows the interest of public in knowing the reality, fondness for impartial reorting and awareness about the surrounding Major writers also wrote books, stories and articles to promote national harmony and highlights the shortfalls of the society playing the role of spreading awareness. Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Saadat Hassan Manto, Qudsia Bano, Khadija Mastoor, Ishfaq Ahmed and Naseem Hijazi are among some famous writers who promoted Urdu Literature partaking in the promotion of the culture paving way towards self-identification. Urdu magazines for female and Childern had also great influence as there is an entire generation grown up reading Ishtiaq Ahmed and Ibn e Safi. Auraaq, Funoon, Nuqoosh, Seep were some famous periodicals of that time much awaited by the people and the published literary work was discussed in gathering and tea houses.

By the end of 1999 Musharaf took over and the country had another military governance. Even though later on Pervaiz Musharaf took on the stance of freedom of press but till the end of 19th century Pakistani media had faced strict laws still maintaining a reputation. It was tough time for the press through which it survived but it was the peak time of Pakistani Printing and Publishing press which declined after the electronic media became popular.

Does commercialism poses a threat to the freedom of expression of media or its transparency is a major question. In my opinion, media and printing press should be commercialised as it is essential for their sustainability and survival, but wherever this poses threat to your professionalism and moral values one should prioritize the latter as a life without dignity is not worth living. Commercialising the media giving the writers and publishers freedom under the moral and ethical values can add to economy along with the educational progress. There should be laws for media but based on moral and ethical values instead of protecting powerful and political lords jeopardizing the nation.