Humeira Iqtidar of the University of Cambridge, UK, in her presentation Radical Times: Students in the Political Mobilization of Lahore explained the changes in the political role of religious groups in Pakistan, examining the theoretical dichotomy between the modern-secular and the traditional-fundamentalist. She argued that the late 1960s were a formative phase in the politics of Pakistan, both in the 'left' and 'right' leaning groups as developments in the political and social agenda credited to both were actually highlighted and demarcated sharply during this period.
Humeira maintained that students were both the articulators and the constituency of competing political ideologies. Collectively, they played a critical role during this period as a bridge between the various sections of society. Her paper argued that the current politics of Islamist groups like the Jamat-e-Islami can be best understood with reference to the changes that occurred in the organization during that critical period in its student body, Jamiat Tulaba/Talibat. Alliances, strategies, and the stances of both the 'left' and the 'right' went through a definitive phase during this period. Students involved in politics at this stage articulated and radicalized these differences. Many of these students then played a key role in shaping the policies and visions of their respective groups over the following decades. Lahore was an important center of these activities, and the research focuses on Lahore for a more detailed understanding. Humaira built her analysis bringing together the scattered record of the period from magazines, memoirs, official records, newspapers and academic articles, as well as interviews she conducted. She asserted that the ‘Left' and the religious groups were not completely antagonistic toward each other. She emphasized that social and political mobility increased in Pakistan in the late 1960's.
Syed Jamaludin Naqvi, Chairman of Forum for Democracy in Pakistan, in his presentation Rising after Slumber: State of Students Politics in Pakistan said that the role of the sub-continent's students in the struggle for independence from the British Empire is already well known . After presenting a comprehensive historical analysis of students' movement in Pakistan, he said that Pakistani students exhibited a great revolutionary zeal in opposing Pakistan's decision to join the Cold War military blocs, and mobilized people to stand up for national rights. They played a key role in making education affordable and universal in the country. In the 1960s and 70s, the students spearheaded the struggle for democracy and anti-terrorism/extremism in Pakistan. The decades of 1980s and 1990s saw a great change in international politics with the end of Cold War. He maintained that the ideology of the new world order is vague and unclear. Only some of its features like globalization are manifest to everyone. A definitive picture is certainly not there. The youth is trying to find out what the world has become and how it can be made a better place.
The third panelist Sarfaraz Khan, from Peshawar University, in his presentation Growth and Decay of Student Politics in the NWFP was of the view that the emergence, growth and decay of student politics in NWFP is associated with the quality of education. He examined the student politics in azad (free) schools of Ghaffar Khan during the colonial period; in Anglo Muslim schools, and the emergence of Muslim, nationalistic student, and later of democratic student federations. He emphasized the role of the state and held it responsible for bringing violence into student politics, especially in NWFP. He recalled how the present Minister of Youth was involved in the killing of fellow students. He reviewed the relationship of students with political parties and their role in national politics; the violence on campuses during the period of dictatorships, and the role of students in social change.
Khawaja Masood, former Principal Gordon College, chaired the session. The discussant, Aneela Babar from the Centre of Cross Cultural Research, Sydney, reviewed the presentations. She felt the presentations were a rich narration of urban sociology and raised the issue of class effectively.
Reported by Saima Ali
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