Power and Ethnic Identities

Abstract

Politics or governance is one of the five classic social institutions and it needs to be understood well if a holistic understanding of any community is to achieved. Politics is considered essential for any society’s proper functioning; political organization of society is multitier and multifaceted. It is basically that group of actions linked with either taking decisions with the group’s consent involved or other practices of power relations among people including sharing of capitals and positions. Student politics is one dimension of the complex political phenomenon within the larger society. The significant aspect of this research is the linkage of ethnicity to the student unionization. Students of Quaid-i-Azam university have six ethnic councils or student sub-unions, representing Sindhi (Mehran council), Pakhtun (Pakhtun council), Punjabi (Punjab council), Balochi (Baloch council), Seraiki (Seraiki council), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB council). Giglit Baltistan council does not depict ethnic tone to its name but the students of GB speak Shina, Balti, Brushiski, Khwar and such regional languages. Students from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) tried to make their council too but rest of the student councils resisted its formation. These ethnic student councils resist the influence of student wings of religious and national political parties, one of the major example is Jamat-i-Islami’s student wing Islami Jamiat Talba that face strong resistance by the ethnic student councils. Although; Imamia Student Federation (a sectarian party) exist latently without engaging into active student politics and have members from all ethnic student councils. This research is truly focused to know about the student politics existing in the form of councils in Quaid-i-Azam University. It was aimed mainly to find out the consequences being faced and what are root causes working behind them. The research done was qualitative in nature. The total sample size of the research was 20 participants. With the participants, formal and informal talks as well as in-depth interviews were held. A number of different languages are being spoken here so the medium used to talk was Urdu for the common understanding of all. The result found is based on the negligence of administration that has given free hand to students. It has somehow become responsible for the formation of councils and their actions being seen in the premises of institution. But this factor is not solely the reason behind problems but the others like personal issues, case of any girl’s involvement or influence of the background, are also listed in the causes. From this, it can be concluded that although there are several challenges coming out as a result of this system, ranging from micro to macro level. But the need of a proper student body prevails. Although. Quaid-i-Azam Students Federation or QSF is constituted as a representative of all students but it is fed its administration from the existing ethnic student councils that make it a fragile body. A formal and institutionalized student union is highly needed to provide students a fairer training for their political conscious nurture.