The nature of the state in Pakistan (1947-1970), Part-1

Summary

The lecture discusses the nature of the state in Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, focusing on the military-bureaucratic state and its role in shaping Pakistan's socio-political landscape. It examines class structures in West and East Pakistan, highlighting differences between the feudal aristocracy in the West and the emerging capitalist class in the East. The lecture also delves into post-colonial state dynamics, drawing on Karl Marx’s analysis of the state and Hamza Alavi’s theory of overdeveloped states, where a powerful military and bureaucracy guide the state's efforts to nurture capitalism amid weak bourgeoisie and landed classes.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The lecture discusses the nature of the state in Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, focusing on the military and bureaucratic aspects.
• 👥 The class structure in West Pakistan was dominated by a large landowning class and traditional aristocracy, in contrast to East Pakistan which had a primarily peasant class.
• 🌏 The military and bureaucracy in Pakistan were heavily influenced by the British Raj, with a strong presence of Punjabis and Pathans, and very few Bengalis.
• 🏭 West Pakistan had little industry, while East Pakistan had an emerging capitalist class, but not a fully developed industrial one.
• 🌾 In East Pakistan, the class structure was different, with small zamindars and a significant peasant class, and a disconnect between the business class and the general population.
• 📚 Karl Marx's analysis of the state is mentioned, emphasizing that the state represents the interests of the dominant class in society, which in capitalist societies is the bourgeoisie.
• 🌎 Post-colonial societies like Pakistan have an overdeveloped state that is not directly representing any one class but is tasked with developing capitalism.
• 👮‍♂️ The military and bureaucracy in Pakistan are very strong and play a significant role in managing the state to ensure capitalist development.
• 🔄 The state in Pakistan is described as relatively independent, with no single class dictating terms, and it mediates between different interests.
• 💡 The lecture highlights the contradictions within the state and society in Pakistan, which contributed to the eventual dissolution of East Pakistan.

Q & A

What is the focus of the lecture?

The lecture focuses on the nature of the state in Pakistan during the period from 1947 to 1971, specifically addressing the formation of the military-bureaucratic state and its relationship with the ruling classes.

What was the class structure in West Pakistan like?

In West Pakistan, there was a large landowning aristocracy with individuals owning vast amounts of land. Many people working for them were virtually bonded laborers with limited freedoms. The traditional feudal aristocracy dominated this structure.

How was the class structure in East Pakistan different from West Pakistan?

East Pakistan had smaller landowners compared to West Pakistan, and most large landlords were Hindus who left after partition. The class structure was more peasant-based, with fewer large estates or industrial capitalists, and the emerging bourgeoisie was disconnected from the local Bengali population.

What was the role of the military and bureaucracy in Pakistan after independence?

The military and bureaucracy, which were largely composed of West Pakistanis, were highly developed and disciplined, inherited from British colonial rule. However, there were few Bengalis in these institutions, which led to a divide between East and West Pakistan.

What did Karl Marx suggest about the state in a capitalist society?

Karl Marx suggested that the state in a capitalist society represents the interests of the dominant class, which in this case would be the capitalist class. The state protects private property and serves the capitalist class's interests.

How does Karl Marx's analysis apply to Pakistan's state development?

Marx's analysis is applied to Pakistan by highlighting how the state, though initially feudal, evolved to protect emerging capitalist interests. However, in Pakistan, capitalism was not fully developed, and the military-bureaucratic state played a central role in managing the state's affairs.

What is the 'overdeveloped state' according to Hamza Alavi?

Hamza Alavi describes the 'overdeveloped state' as one where the military and bureaucracy are extremely strong and relatively independent from the dominant classes. This state is responsible for promoting capitalist development, but no one class can fully control it.

What role did the military-bureaucratic state play in Pakistan?

The military-bureaucratic state in Pakistan played a central role in managing and promoting capitalist development while balancing the interests of various weak classes, such as the landlords and bourgeoisie.

What was the relationship between East Pakistani bourgeoisie and the local Bengali population?

The East Pakistani bourgeoisie, often non-Bengali and Urdu-speaking, were disconnected from the local Bengali culture and population. They did not consider themselves Bengalis and were culturally and socially distinct from the majority Bengali population.

What contradictions arose between the state and society in Pakistan during this period?

Contradictions arose from the state's efforts to promote capitalist development, which often led to tensions between the state's priorities and the societal structure, particularly between the military-bureaucratic state and the underrepresented Bengali population in East Pakistan.

Outlines

00:00

📜 The Nature of the State in Pakistan (1947-1971)

This paragraph introduces the lecture's focus on the nature of the state in Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, covering the formation of the military-bureaucratic state. It discusses the class structures in West and East Pakistan, emphasizing how large landowners and aristocracy dominated West Pakistan while East Pakistan had a more fragmented, less powerful class structure. The differences in social dynamics and the state's role are also introduced, highlighting how these tensions contributed to the eventual dissolution of East Pakistan.

05:02

🏞️ Class Structure in East Pakistan

This section contrasts the class structures of West and East Pakistan. While West Pakistan had powerful, large landowners and aristocracy, East Pakistan had smaller landowners and shopkeepers, mostly Muslim, who formed a petty bourgeoisie. Unlike the West, these elites were disconnected from Bengali culture and society. The paragraph emphasizes the cultural divide and the economic underdevelopment in East Pakistan, where there was no strong industrial capitalist class, making the region's elites distinct from those in the West.

10:04

🏰 The Role of the State in Capitalism (Marxist Perspective)

Here, the lecturer delves into Karl Marx's analysis of the state, describing how in capitalist societies, the state serves the interests of the dominant class—in this case, the bourgeoisie. The paragraph explains how the state upholds the interests of the capitalist class, protecting private property and market interests, rather than representing the broader population. The narrative links this analysis to the evolving capitalist structures in Pakistan and the historical context of feudalism's decline and capitalism's rise.

15:04

🌍 Post-Colonial States and Pakistan’s Bureaucratic-Military State

This paragraph explores the nature of post-colonial states, particularly in Pakistan, based on Hamza Alavi’s theory. Alavi suggests that in post-colonial societies, capitalism is still developing, and the state, controlled by a strong military and bureaucracy, becomes crucial in managing and nurturing emerging capitalist structures. The military-bureaucratic state is independent of the landed or capitalist classes, playing a pivotal role in shaping the economy while ensuring that all class interests are managed.

Keywords

💡Military-Bureaucratic State

A political system where the military and bureaucracy hold dominant control over the government and society. In Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, the military and bureaucracy became the central authorities, overshadowing civilian governance and society. The lecture explains how this system developed in the post-colonial context and nurtured capitalist development, but was independent from any specific class.

💡Feudal Aristocracy

A social class of large landowners who held significant power and influence in West Pakistan. The aristocracy controlled vast lands and operated in a semi-autonomous manner, with laborers working in conditions close to bondage. This class played a major role in shaping the political and economic structure of Pakistan, contrasting sharply with the smaller landholdings and weaker aristocracy in East Pakistan.

💡Class Structure

The hierarchical organization of society based on economic and social roles. In the lecture, class structures in West and East Pakistan are compared. In West Pakistan, a large landowning aristocracy and a growing capitalist class dominated, while East Pakistan had smaller landholders and a petty bourgeoisie disconnected from the masses, contributing to tensions between the two regions.

💡Capitalist Class

A social class that controls the means of production and is focused on the accumulation of capital. In the lecture, the capitalist class in Pakistan is described as 'emerging' and underdeveloped, especially in East Pakistan. The military-bureaucratic state in Pakistan supported the growth of capitalism, but the capitalist class was still weak and reliant on the state for protection and growth.

💡Postcolonial Societies

Countries that gained independence after the end of colonial rule, often facing complex political, social, and economic challenges. Pakistan is described as a postcolonial society where capitalism had not fully developed, and the state needed to protect various interests, including the weak bourgeoisie and landowners. This concept helps explain the unique development trajectory of Pakistan after 1947.

💡Hamza Alavi

A Pakistani political scientist who developed the theory of the 'overdeveloped state' in postcolonial societies. His work is referenced in the lecture to explain how Pakistan's military and bureaucracy, institutions strengthened during colonial rule, became overdeveloped and dominated the political system after independence. Alavi's theory is used to frame the nature of Pakistan's state in this period.

💡Bourgeoisie

The capitalist class that controls production and wealth in a society. In the video, Karl Marx's definition of the bourgeoisie is used to explain the relationship between the state and the capitalist class. In Pakistan, this class was weak and relied on the state for support, with the military-bureaucratic state managing their interests while also promoting capitalist development.

💡Peasantry

The class of small farmers or laborers who work the land. In East Pakistan, the majority of the population came from the peasantry, in contrast to the larger landowners in West Pakistan. The lecture highlights the cultural and social disconnection between the emerging capitalist class in East Pakistan and the predominantly peasant society, which contributed to social and political tensions.

💡Metropolitan Bourgeoisie

A class of business owners or traders whose interests are tied to global capitalism, often working in collaboration with foreign markets. The lecture explains that in postcolonial Pakistan, this class was involved in industries like coal mining and relied on exporting goods to Western markets. Their economic interests were more aligned with global capital than with the local economy, leading to dependency on foreign powers.

💡Contradictions within the State

Internal tensions and conflicts between different groups or interests within a state. The lecture discusses how the contradictions between the state and society, as well as within the state itself (between the military, bureaucracy, and various social classes), contributed to the eventual dissolution of Pakistan’s unity in 1971, leading to the secession of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh.

Highlights

The lecture covers the nature of the military-bureaucratic state in Pakistan between 1947 and 1971, focusing on how the state was formed and its contradictions.

West Pakistan had a powerful landowning class, a traditional aristocracy owning large estates, in contrast to East Pakistan's smaller zamindars.

The aristocracy in West Pakistan controlled vast amounts of land and maintained feudal-like systems with laborers working in near-bonded conditions.

The Pakistani military was heavily composed of Punjabis and Pashtuns from West Pakistan, with minimal Bengali representation, reflecting colonial-era army recruitment practices.

East Pakistan's capitalist class was weak and primarily composed of petty bourgeoisie traders who had little connection with Bengali culture.

The cultural differences between East and West Pakistan were significant, with East Pakistan maintaining a distinct Bengali culture despite being part of Pakistan.

Karl Marx's theory of the state is discussed, emphasizing that the state represents the interests of the dominant class in society, which in Pakistan was the bourgeoisie.

Hamza Alavi's theory on postcolonial states is introduced, arguing that these states have an overdeveloped bureaucracy and military to manage a weak capitalist class.

In postcolonial societies like Pakistan, the state is not fully aligned with any single class, but serves the interests of all major groups, including landlords and capitalists.

The military and bureaucracy in Pakistan held significant power, operating independently from the dominant classes and promoting capitalist development.

The concept of an 'overdeveloped state' is explained, where the military and bureaucracy play a central role in shaping and supporting capitalism in the absence of a fully developed capitalist class.

The relationship between the Pakistani state and society was fraught with contradictions, which eventually contributed to the dissolution of East Pakistan.

The weak industrial base in West Pakistan limited the emergence of a full-fledged capitalist class, further entrenching the power of the military-bureaucratic state.

The petty bourgeoisie in East Pakistan, primarily non-Bengali traders, were disconnected from the general Bengali population, exacerbating societal divisions.

The military and bureaucracy in Pakistan, trained under British colonial rule, maintained a disciplined and professional structure, but were dominated by West Pakistanis.

The lecture provides a Marxist analysis of state power in Pakistan, showing how the military and bureaucracy acted as intermediaries between various class interests to promote capitalism.

Transcripts

greetings students

today we begin with the ninth

lecture in the series and that's

on a state in pakistan

the nature of the state in pakistan

during

the pakistan period 47

to 71. the nature of the state and

pakistan

what we'll try to cover today is

basically understanding the military

bureaucratic state

and how that was formed what were

the imperatives of the state what was

the state trying to do

and the relationship of the state

with the ruling classes in pakistan

and eventually we'll also talk about how

a state created certain contradictions

between society and the state and

contradictions within the state

that ultimately led to the dissolution

of pakistani east pakistan

attention so to begin with

let's start with the class structure in

west pakistan

and the class structure in east pakistan

in west pakistan you do have

a large land owning class

the traditional aristocracy it's very

different from

even the large landowners in bangladesh

now

we're talking about large land owners

owning thousands over thousands of acres

of land

and having people work for them

who in many instances were virtually

working as bonded laborers

with very little or limited freedoms

large land owners ran their own rules

and their own laws dead large land

owners the traditional feudal

aristocracy in pakistan

you also have muslim migrants coming in

in south asia in the india the indian

subcontinent

the muslim creating communities with the

mermans

the bahras the ismailis the khojas

and they generally were settled

in bombay in gujarat

and in kolkata bombay is mumbai now

pakistan itself or rather west pakistan

itself

had very little industries so it was

this trading class

that then emigrated towards pakistan

three of them in east pakistan and the

east pakistanis were primarily

non-bengalis

and they became the new

emerging capitalist class

i used the word emerging because they

still didn't constitute

an industrial capitalist class because

as we said

west pakistan had virtually very little

industry

now in terms of the military and the

bureaucracy

during the british raj there was a

strong

muslim presence in the army along with

hindus and the and

the six but the muslim presence in the

british army was from the north west

and from punjab so punjabis and

pushed to speaking pathans they

comprised

they were muslims and they became part

of the pakistan army

very few bengalis especially very few

bengali muslims

were in the british army so the pakistan

army primarily consisted of

west pakistanis also

the civil bureaucracy under the british

raj

primarily were hindus

some sikhs and the few muslims that were

there

were either punjabi or speaking and so

when they

immigrated to pakistan you have a

colonial civil bureaucracy

extremely disciplined extremely

professional

because they were trained by the english

but

that did not include bengalis

so you have the bureaucracy and the

military

which were very developed extremely

disciplined

that helped in the british rule of

colonial india

but who were gone bengalis and primarily

was pakistan-based the class structure

in east pakistan was very different

whatever sabindars we had and these were

frankly small zamindars compared to the

feudal lords in

in in west pakistan but even the

samindas we had

they left because they were primarily

hindus

so muslims it was primarily

small peasants or even some large

peasants

very few big

zamindaria states you did not have the

big industrial capitalist class or even

the big capitalist class

and that trading capitalist class as you

have in west pakistan

you have muslim shopkeepers and small

traders

we refer to as the petty bourgeoisie

the petty bourgeoisie

the big businesses in east pakistan

but for the most part they themselves

never considered themselves as bengalis

they spoke urdu and were totally

disconnected

from the general population and from the

bengali culture and people

had no connection the bengali muslims

did vote for pakistan because they

expected as we talked about it in last

class

expected advancement in

east

[Music]

just a petty pakistan but yet

in east pakistan strong

connections with the peasantry they were

primarily first generation coming in

from the peasantry

from rural areas and they were very

steeped in bengali culture

which transcended hindu and muslim

elements

to their the singing that they list the

songs that they listened to

the folklore that they enjoyed the books

that the

beauties that they read

provided a very strong cultural

umbrella in its park style that was

distinctly

bengali and were upheld at the penny

bourgeoisie

let's get into a little bit on what a

state

means and one of the best

analysis of the state is by karl

marx and i think it's important

that you read up in the references we

provide

you read up a little bit on what karl

marx had to say

hallmarks was talking about the

development of capitalism

in western europe and he was saying

that generally the state in any society

represents the class interests

that predominated in that society

see in a capitalist state

as you have emerging in western europe

by the 1700s and definitely very

strongly in the 1800s

uh starting even before that you have a

situation

see in the what preceded capitalism was

feudalism

where it was feudal lords it was kings

it was the feudal system where

serfs were tied to the land

bonded to the land it was serfs

that were the press class and it was for

the lords

in some ways the old form of fiddler

fetal aristocracy

in in in india too that dominated

in capitals of that except we have a new

capitalist class

converge what marx says

that when the capital's class

emerges and when industries

owned by the capitalists starts

controlling the world

market the state that they create

is there to protect the interest

of that specific capitalist class and so

the laws that they

make it protects the capitalist class it

protects private property

it does not protect protect the old

federal system

it does not protect the

workers in a capitalist system it

protects those

who own property and those who are at

the help and so he says and i read it

from the communist manifesto the

bourgeoisie has at last

since the establishment of modern

industry

and of the world market conquered for

itself

in the modern representative state

exclusive political sway so the

bourgeoisie has political

the executive of the modern state those

who run the state

the government or the bureaucracy and

the bureaucracy

is but a committee for managing the

human affairs

of the whole bourgeoisie state

rules for the bourgeois

interests kepler's interest

now

what we see in pakistan

and not just in pakistan in many of the

post-colonial societies

and what is postcolonial means that

means after

the end of colonial power so it would be

india pakistan

and you know burma and others uh

in west in in east africa

tanzania uganda and others

also the french those who controlled

those colonies that were controlled by

the french so for example

uh in the in in east in southeast asia

vietnam cambodia and others

also in west africa some of the

countries that the french

controlled those would be

post political societies once the

colonial powers left

and what you have then that hamza alavi

this famous pakistani political

scientist

pointed out that in these post-colonial

societies

capitalism has yet not fully developed

and in these postcolonial societies you

don't have a fully

fledged mature capitalist class

what you have is a landed class

what you have is some local traders

indigenous bourgeoisie some local

businesses small

businesses you have that and you have

the metropolitan bourgeoisie which means

those business houses that are connected

with global capitalism

so for example uh

you have uh maybe a cold one

and the coal mine all the coal is being

exported

to england so those who own the

the indigenous the people the

capitalists in india who own the coal

mines are in pakistan if you own coal

mines

then you are connected more to the

english

because that's what you're selling to

rather than here or if you're a big

importer bringing in

manufactured goods then

you even though you might be pakistani

you are referred to as a

metropolitan bourgeoisie because your

interests are aligned with people who

are exporting

those manufactured goods from there and

what hamza

alavi says is that all these forces are

relatively weak

capitalism hasn't yet emerged

fully and they need protection so they

need a state

that can protect their interest and

hamza levy says

that during the colonial era

to ensure a strong rule by colonial

powers

the english the british for example in

india the french and other places

they needed a strong military and a

strong bureaucracy

so what has happened in pakistan a lot

of you would say

as in other states that

the military and the bureaucracy

are extremely strong extremely well

developed they know what to do

they have served the interests of the

british they have served the interest of

capitalist colonial powers so they know

what to do

you have the capitalist class being weak

so the state

is taken over by the military and the

bureaucracy

they run the state in support

of capitalism so they are

managing the state to ensure

that there is capitalist development

that can follow

and they are nurturing

the capitalist the weak bourgeoisie

the metropolitan bourgeoisie the

national bourgeoisie the indigenous

country

and because the landed classes there is

doctors is always important

they are also trying to then

ensure that their interest is if they're

all being met

so what you have is what is referred to

as

an overdeveloped state

in post-colonial societies a state

that is not representing directly

any one class the state

is trying to develop capitalism so the

mission

of the state is the development of

capitalism in pakistan

and the military bureaucratic

bureaucratic state

is relatively independent no one class

can dictate terms to the state

so the landlords can't say you have to

do this you have to do that

the bureaucracy and the military is far

more powerful

so that's what you have in the

postcolonial state

in pakistan a strong military

bureaucratic state

promoting capitalism yes but none

of the classes are strong enough

to exercise authority that the state

represents all of their interests

intermediates between them

but they are the strongest group so

let's stop there for

take a break and then we come back

in a few minutes to get to the next

[Music]

phase