Article Critique# 2

Iqtidar ul Hassan
LEAD 8002-001
Dr. Steven Leonice Nelson
University of Memphis
9/29/2016

Butt, A. (2016). Nationalistic Narratives in Pakistani Textbooks. Washington DC,

USIP
Butt, 2016 has explores the dynamics of curriculum preparation in order maintain
a chauvinistic national narrative. Ahsan Butt is assistant professor at Schar School of
Policy and Government at George Masson University. His area of expertise is South Asia,
and Ethnicity and Nationalism. Butt, 2016 has reviewed history textbooks and the
mechanism of curriculum policy to find out the tone of nationalistic narratives and the
forces which shape the contents of the curriculum. He has seen the dynamics of curricular
policy making in Pakistan through historical and political perspective. Butt, 2016 has
concluded that political and bureaucratic pressure groups and a successful curriculum
radicalization that took place during 1980s is still a force determining the direction of
curricular policy in Pakistan.
According to Butt, 2016, History books in Pakistan are not scientific, they are
biased against out-groups and they promote a sanguinary attitude toward other
nationalities. Nationalistic narratives in Pakistan are based on us and them, based on
geography, creed, religion, caste, race, and language. These narratives have been derived
from a historical interpretation of the existence of the nation of Pakistan. These
nationalistic narratives took hold in the era of military ruler Zia-ul-Haq (1977-88) who
was aided by religious parties, particularly Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). During Parvez
Musharrafs regime (1998-2007), his enlightened moderation reforms were doomed to
fail because of Jamaat-i-Islami lobby in the bureaucracy. Political parties lead textbook
reforms in Pakistan. After the eighteenth constitutional amendment, the subject of
education has been given to provinces, which has made the take further complicated.

As a whole, Butt, 2016 has covered all the dimensions of the dynamics of
nationalistic narratives in Pakistans History textbooks. He did not sufficiently support
with literature and data his assertion that Jamaat-i-Islami has a foothold in the Pakistani
bureaucracy. Butt, 2016 has concluded that Musharrafs enlightened moderation reforms
were failed due to bureaucracy, he did not mention any political activity against those
reforms. Butt, 2016 did not explain sufficiently how eighteenth amendment has
complicated the task of curriculum reforms.