Outrageous state, sectarianized citizens: Deconstructing the ‘Textbook Controversy’ in the Northern Areas, Pakistan

Authors

Nosheen Ali, Aga Khan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Department

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Abstract

This paper examines the ‘textbook controversy’ (2000-2005) that arose when the Pakistan state introduced new, overtly Sunni textbooks in the Northern Areas, and the local Shia population began to agitate for a more balanced curriculum. The conflict reached an acute stage during 2004-2005, as violent confrontations took place between Shia and Sunni communities, and a constant curfew paralyzed daily life in Gilgit for eleven months. I argue that the Shia mobilization against textbook Islam was not just a form of “sectarian” outrage; rather, it symbolized a broader political claim to inclusion in a context of long-standing regional subordination and religious suppression. The politics of sectarian emotions in the Northern Areas must therefore be understood in relation to the regulatory processes of state-making, which are the very source and embodiment of ‘sectarianism’ and ‘outrage’ in the region.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Publication (Name of Journal)

South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal

Recommended Citation

Ali, N. (2008). Outrageous state, sectarianized citizens: Deconstructing the “Textbook Controversy” in the Northern Areas, Pakistan. South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 2, 1–21.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.