Zalmay Azad
One of the gravest mistakes made in Pakistan’s post-independence history has been the severing of our ties with the very land that bore us. In our blind obsession with defining ourselves through external affiliations — whether Arabian, Turkic, or Central Asian — we abandoned the deep, indigenous cultural and civilizational roots that gave this land its identity. This fracture has left us confused, insecure, and perpetually adrift. It is time — and it falls upon our military leadership in particular — to recognize that no country can progress while alienated from its own soil and history.
There is no harm in diversity. In fact, diversity — when acknowledged and celebrated — brings unity, cohesion, and national resilience. The world’s great nations thrive not by denying their varied cultural roots but by taking pride in them. A nation proud of its history is deeply rooted, connected to its land, and possesses an unshakable sense of belonging. In Pakistan, we have failed to cultivate this spirit because for decades we have pretended that our history began in 1947. It did not.
This land is the cradle of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, home to millennia of poets, mystics, warriors, and scholars. From Mohenjo-Daro to Taxila, from Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai to Khushal Khan Khattak, our soil is drenched in cultural wealth. The tragedy is that successive regimes — both civil and military — allowed, and at times encouraged, a historical amnesia that disconnected Pakistanis from their ancient inheritance. This disconnection has bred identity crises, social fragmentation, and a hollow nationalism, fragile and easy to exploit.
During a recent debate on why Pakistan has lagged behind India, I said — half in jest, yet entirely serious — that the day our Punjabi brothers gather the courage to rename Allama Iqbal International Airport as Baba Bulle Shah International, Pakistan will have finally begun its journey of self discovery. This is not about one man’s name; it is about what it symbolizes.
The embrace of Baba Bulle Shah, a towering Punjabi Sufi mystic, is an act of historical reclamation. It acknowledges that our people are the sons of this land first, and that we carry within us centuries of indigenous wisdom, art, and culture. It is not a denial of Islam or the Two-Nation theory, but an affirmation that Islam in this land was enriched by men like Bulle Shah, Shah Latif, and Rahman Baba — not by those who sought to uproot us from our soil.
Our military leadership, tasked not just with defense but national cohesion, must lead this intellectual and cultural correction. Pakistan’s unity will not be forged by suppressing diversity or denying historical truth. It will come when every ethnic, linguistic, and regional group feels it owns this land and its history — and is proud of it. When Punjabis embrace Bulle Shah and Waris Shah, when Sindhis celebrate Shah Latif, when Balochis own Mir Gul Khan Nasir, and when Pashtuns reclaim Khushal Khan Khattak, only then will a truly united, confident Pakistan emerge.
India, for all its contradictions, has endured and advanced because it never severed ties with its civilizational roots. Even as a modern republic, it continues to draw strength from its ancient traditions — from yoga and Ayurveda to the Mahabharata and its rich cultural tapestry.
This continuity is what gives nations resilience and identity. Pakistan, in stark contrast, was built on a rejection rather than an affirmation. It defined itself by what it was not, rather than by the richness of what it was. That model has utterly failed. A state narrative shackled to a single traumatic event in 1947 is neither sustainable nor capable of inspiring future generations. It breeds perpetual insecurity, cultural amnesia, and a hollow national identity. The land we inhabit is the cradle of the Indus and Gandhara civilizations — among the world’s oldest and richest. It is a civilizational inheritance we have criminally neglected. It is time to reclaim it, to teach our younger generations to take pride in it, and to build a Pakistani identity rooted in strength, continuity, and historical depth — not perpetual grievance and denial. Reclaiming our identity is not a matter of cultural symbolism — it is a strategic necessity. Nations severed from their roots are nations stripped of resilience, easily destabilized, manipulated, and turned against themselves. This is precisely what we witness today: a fractured polity, inflamed ethnic resentments, and a generation of youth alienated from their own soil, with no sense of belonging or ownership.
The recent Iran-Israel conflict offers a powerful lesson. Despite their internal grievances against the ruling elite, the Iranian people rallied behind their homeland, refusing to be divided by foreign powers. Their unshakable connection to their land shielded them from the chaos their enemies sought to unleash. Pakistan must learn from this. A nation disconnected from its past has no future. It is time to reclaim our history, embrace our identity, and anchor our people to their soil before others exploit these very fractures to dismantle us.
Renaming Lahore’s airport would be a powerful national signal — not for its own sake, but as a trigger for a wider cultural realignment. It would encourage other provinces and communities to honor their heroes, languages, and traditions, fostering a sense of belonging rooted in the land, not imported constructs. Such gestures cultivate patriotism far deeper and enduring than slogans or artificial national holidays.
Moreover, this cultural reclamation can serve as a powerful antidote to regional hostilities. By embracing figures like Bulle Shah — revered on both sides of the Punjab border — we remind ourselves and our neighbors of the shared humanity and rich interwoven history that predates partition. It shifts the national psyche from an insecure, reactive posture to one of confidence, dignity, and strategic maturity.
To the military leadership: you have preserved the state through countless sacrifices. Now is the time to safeguard the soul of the nation. A Pakistan unmoored from its land and history will remain brittle and perpetually divided. Lead this cultural renaissance. Encourage the provinces to honor their poets, scholars, and mystics. Celebrate regional languages. Document and protect ancient sites. Integrate our diverse historical narratives into school curricula. These are not threats to national unity — they are its guarantee.
It is time to bury the fear that diversity weakens nations. It does not. Weak states fear diversity; strong ones thrive on it. Our identity as Pakistanis must not be a rejection of our thousands of years of history. We are the sons of this land — of the Indus, of the mountains, the deserts, and the plains. Our ancestors walked this soil, spoke these languages, wrote these verses, and dreamed of futures for their children here.
Only a nation proud of its past can command a future. This, more than any economic package or foreign alliance, will secure Pakistan’s place in the world.