%0 Journal Article
%T Outrageous State, Sectarianized Citizens:Deconstructing the ¡®Textbook Controversy¡¯ in the Northern Areas, Pakistan
%A Nosheen Ali
%J South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal
%D 2008
%I Centre d¡¯Etudes de l¡¯Inde et de l¡¯Asie du Sud
%X This paper examines the ¡®textbook controversy¡¯ (2000-2005) that arose when the Pakistan state introduced new, overtly Sunni textbooks in the Northern Areas, and the local Shia population began to agitate for a more balanced curriculum. The conflict reached an acute stage during 2004-2005, as violent confrontations took place between Shia and Sunni communities, and a constant curfew paralyzed daily life in Gilgit for eleven months. I argue that the Shia mobilization against textbook Islam was not just a form of ¡°sectarian¡± outrage; rather, it symbolized a broader political claim to inclusion in a context of long-standing regional subordination and religious suppression. The politics of sectarian emotions in the Northern Areas must therefore be understood in relation to the regulatory processes of state-making, which are the very source and embodiment of ¡®sectarianism¡¯ and ¡®outrage¡¯ in the region.
%K Sectarianism
%K Citizenship
%K State-formation
%K Education
%K Islam
%K Minorities
%K Northern areas
%U http://samaj.revues.org/1172