Pakistan
is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and predominantly
a Muslim society. Ninety-seven per cent of the140
million people in Pakistan are Muslims.
The population is made up of different ethnic groups,
such as dominant Punjabis,
Siraikis,
Sindhis,
Pakhtuns,
Baloch,
Brahvis, Kashmiris,
Hazaras, Urdu-speaking
immigrants from India or Mohajirs,
Gojars, Kohistanis, Chitralis,
and a dozen or so Dardic
languages-speaking lingo-ethnic groups.
The official language is English,
and most of the urban people can understand and speak
Urdu as well. However, Urdu is the mother tongue of
only seven per cent of the population. The other main
languages are
Sindhi, Punjabi,
Pushto,
Balochi,
Siraiki,
and Brahvi.
More than half the working population is involved
in agriculture
and live in rural areas. Manufacturing, mining, and
service industries are the other large employers in
the urban sectors. Many people go abroad in search
of work.
Race as such plays little part in defining
regional or group identity in Pakistan, and no ideal
racial type is accepted by all Pakistanis. However,
ethno-lingual processes over the centuries have helped
developed nationalities and ethno-lingual groups who
have a deep sense of identity, psychological make-up,
commonality of language and area and belonging to
certain regions of Pakistan. The population is a complex
mixture of indigenous
peoples, many racial types having been introduced
by successive waves of migrations from the northwest,
as well as by internal migrations across the subcontinent
of India.
Aryans,
Persians,
Greeks,
Pathans
(Pashtuns), and Mughals
came from the northwest and spread across the Indo-Gangetic
Plain, while the Arabs
conquered Sindh. All left their mark on the population
and culture of the land. During the long period of
Muslim rule, immigrants from the Middle East were
brought in and installed as members of the ruling
oligarchy. It became prestigious to claim descent
from them, and many members of the landed gentry and
of upper-class families are either actually or putatively
descended from such immigrants.
In
1947,
when Pakistan and India became independent, there
was another massive migration, of a different character,
when millions of Muslim refugees were uprooted from
different parts of India and settled in Pakistan;
an equal number of Hindus were uprooted from Pakistan
and driven across to India. This development further
complicated the racial mixture of the population of
the various regions of Pakistan, especially with the
induction of Urdu-sepaking Moahjirs.
By
the early 1990s Pakistan's population was divided
into five ethnic groups, defined broadly. The Punjabis
constitute the majority, with more than 55 percent
of the population; the Sindhis account for another
20 percent, the Pathans and the mujahirs for about
10 percent each, and the Balochs for about 5 percent.
There are sub-tribal groups within each of these five
categories. The Aryans, Rajputs,
and Jats—all
Punjabis—regard themselves as ethnically distinct.
Some groups overlap the five categories. Some groups,
such as the Brahvis in Sindh and the Siraikis in Punjab,
are also ethnically distinct.
The ancient civilizations of Moen-Jo-Daro
and Harrappa
were making clay pots and bricks in the region
of modern Pakistan in 5,000 BC. Amazingly, the foot-driven
potter’s wheel of that period is still in popular
use today. Potters
and metal workers tend to draw on ancient artifacts
for their inspiration. Jewellery especially reflects
an ancient art, which reached perfection during the
Moghul period, in ornately engraved gold
chokers,
bracelets, and earrings. Many tribal and mountain
women pierce the outer ridges of their ears, so they
can wear several hoops and studs. Basketry, woodwork,
and carpet-making
are still widely practised crafts.
