Reclaiming Pashtun Identity: The role of informal spaces in developing an alternative narrative

Abstract

This essay focuses on the “regime of truth” that has historically been constructed in public education institutions that support the state assimilationist nation-building project which marginalizes Pashtun ethnic identity, culture, history, and political existence. In popular media, Pashtun are also presented as a “suspect community” and “potential terrorists.” In response, some Pashtun have created informal spaces such as study circles, gatherings where they develop alternatives to the official state narrative found in textbooks used in formal education. By focusing on Pashtun history, culture and politics, they consciously and academically resist the image of the Pashtun as “suspect community.” Drawing on what James C. Scott calls “weapons of the weak,” this essay examines the selection and use of these informal spaces as a mode of resistance. The research on which it is based uses anthropological methods, such as participant observation, informal discussions, and unstructured interviews, to examine the construction of narratives that challenge official accounts of Pashtun identity. The essay concludes by comparing these Pashtun informal spaces with different forms of resistance found among other ethnic groups in Pakistan.