Master Narrative

This chapter is about the master narrative of Pakistan based on metaphors and symbols belonging to the Indo-Muslim civilization. The master narrative is a big story that encompasses small stories. In Pakistan, it is steeped in conflict: Hindu-Muslim dichotomy turned into India-Pakistan rivalry, Sunni-based Islamization in conflict with Shia jurisprudence and anti-Americanism in general. The narrative focuses on construction of the Hindu demon as the "other". It analyzes the conspiracy theory as the dominant worldview. The chapter argues that Pakistan lacks historical consciousness, territorial imagination, and linguistic suppleness. The dichotomy between modernists and traditionalists has persisted all along. The chapter brings out the alternative narratives based on ethnicity at one end and Islamic agenda at the other. A battle of cultures ensued between the ruling elite and provinces such as East Pakistan and Sindh.