ORIENTALISM AND PAKISTAN

Abstract

The assumptions and practices associated with Orientalism were essential elements in the domination of colonial and post-colonial societies. Despite the long history of struggles against such oppression, no one else provided as thorough a critique of Orientalism as Edward Said. The purpose of this paper is to explore the major aspects of that critique and to apply the relevant parts of them to Pakistan. Orientalism consisted of cultural deployment to fulfill its purposes. That consisted of clear differentiation between the West and the Orient (i.e., the others) through a valorization regime as well as modes of representation. The understanding of the Orient that emerged reflected the unequal relationship between the observers and the observed. Orientalism also accomplished its purpose through the development of a discourse, which shaped the observers’ understanding of reality. From the contributions of many Orientalists some dogmas emerged. The accumulated strength of the Orientalist archive influenced even as incisive a thinker as Karl Marx. It has considerable power in contemporary setting, as the two case studies of Orientalism in action in Pakistan reveal. The paper concludes by providing further clarification of Said’s views, identifying his critics, and spelling out the kind of changes that might be appropriate in Pakistan if Said’s views were really taken seriously.