Divide and Rule, Careful Strategy of the SEA DOGS

 

Munaza Kazmi

Even today after more than Seven decades, it is hard to look back without horror at the savagery of once the magnificent, the richest and the most beautiful land, the Golden Sparrow’s vivisection, when rioting, rape and murder scarred this peaceful land, millions were uprooted from their homes, also billions of rupees worth of property were damaged and destroyed and the worse friendships destroyed, families ruined, geography hacked, history misread, tradition denied, and hearts torn apart. The greatest loss of love and humanity.

Divide et impera – divide and rule – has been written into the history books as an icon of military and political strategy. In simple terms, it refers to the attempt to fracture a large, unified opposition, rendering the fragments too weak to overpower their collective enemy. 

It’s led men from Julius Caesar to Napoleon to success in conquering nations and controlling populations. 

Caesar used the technique in his conquest of Gaul, exacerbating the divisions among the Gallic tribes by letting slip the fact that some rulers were accepting aid for cooperating with him. 

Distrust prevented alliances that might have been strong enough in manpower and training to defeat the Roman army – and Gaul fell.

British imperialists liked to model themselves on Rome. Hence, liked drawing lines on maps of other countries; they had done it in the Middle East after World War 1 and they did it again in Sub-Continent. The greatest division, and one that has changed the region forever.

The creation and continuation of antagonism between Hindu-Muslim was the most significant accomplishment of British imperial policy: the colonial project of “divide et impera” (divide and rule) fomented religious antagonisms to facilitate continued imperial rule and reached its tragic conclusion in 1947. 

However, I should say it never ended in 1947 as within months we started fighting on issue of Jammu and Kashmir, where the ratio of military personnel to civilians is the highest in the world. Many still die during gun battles, civilians caught in the crossfire. 

The consequences of which affect this region till today since it was pre-planned strategy of those sea dogs, to make this Golden Land to turn into dust by continuous war and terror.

The British came under the disguise of traders; East India Company a single business operation, based in one London office complex, managed to dismantle the Mighty Mughal Empire as masters of the vast subcontinent. First, they took our King, our riches, our precious Kohinoor and then our peace.

Till today we fight and maybe fighting continue for the end of our lives, why? because they not only made lines dividing geography butlines on our hearts. With time we are becoming more hostile, intolerant and unsympathetic. Why we cannot sit and do table talk, why compassion cannot house in our hearts?

Because colonial mindsets persevere in more ways than we recognize, but when we experience division – as Hindus and Muslims, or Indians and Pakistanis, or any other ethnic group with those we perceive as our ‘natural’ enemies – we should stop and ask ourselves who that division benefits.

However, the recent past witnessed some bounties of love, when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan took the historic decision of opening the Khartarpur corridor and allowed visa-free entry to the Sikh pilgrim, besides another major step taken was the inauguration of Hassanabdal railway station for providing further facilitation to our Sikh fellows, where Imran showcased the world that Pakistan look forward for peace and good relations hence won hearts of several people. 

He madethe historian to write his name in golden letters as the “Leader of Peace”.

I believe if such steps could be replicated on the other side we could make this region once again as strong, as rich and powerful as the times of Akbar the Great and return the Golden Sparrow its glittering magnificence.

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Munaza Kazmi holds MPhil in Management Sciences (Bahria University Islamabad, 2020). She’s a travel writer, an author, & co-author of scientific contributions in national & international publications. Her main areas of research include tourism & quality management.

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