'Mughal Mania' under Zia ul-Haq

Abstract

As the first nation created as a religious asylum, Pakistan has a short but tormented history of fifty-four years, half of which was controlled by a military regime. Founded in the name of 'Islam in danger' by Muhammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948), Pakistan officially elected Islam as the religion of the state in 1973, during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928-1979), the first popularly elected Prime minister of the country. Bhutto was arrested and hanged by general Zia ul-Haq (1928-1988). While the Islamization rhetoric of Bhutto was characterized by its mixture of socialism, nationalism and populism, the discourse of Zia ul-Haq appeared to be of a much more straightforward military-Islamist type. In opposition to his rule, a counter-discourse developed in which Mughal heritage was revived.