The Politics of Identity: Ethno-Political Identity in Local Political Structure with Emphasis on the Role of Ethnic Groups

Although the world is called a global village in present age, yet the political system based on ethnicity is still persisting in certain forms. From the time immemorial, humans have either inherited identity or are bound to adopt one. Language and religion based ethnic identities are the dominant issues in the history and evolution of multi-ethnic countries of former Soviet States, Eastern Europe, Africa and South Asia. This article argues that when the culture of a group residing within a particular locality is secure in a neighbouring jurisdiction, the issue at stake is not necessarily the survival of a unique culture but the political, economical and cultural needs of particular individuals. A primary concern in the political systems of multiethnic countries is the fear of domination or exploitation of some ethnic groups and assimilation by the other ethnic group. The problem is real and exists only because with the emergence of the modern secular nation states, the ethnical considerations have been removed from public policy making by these states. Pakistan is among such countries which comprise of different ethnic nationalities. The inter-ethnic political competition has been in fashion from the very  M.Phil Candidate, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Generated by Foxit PDF Creator © Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com For evaluation only.