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P AKISTAN 14

up to the 1947 partition of India, which was then a colony of Great Britain that included modern-day Pakistan, many Indian Muslims longed for their own land where they could practice their religion. Today, the principles of Islam govern nearly all aspects of life in Pakistan, including festivals, food, clothing, schools, and attitudes toward women. At the same time, this does not mean all Pakistani Muslims worship and act in exactly the same way. Both of Islam’s main branches, Sunni and Shia, have strong followings in the country. The presence of a common religion in Pakistan has not prevent- ed fighting between different tribes and ethnic groups within the country, however. Pakistan contains several major ethnic groups, who speak a variety of languages. And although the founders of modern Pakistan had high ideals, from the beginning political divi- sions, corruption, and widespread poverty have dogged the nation. In addition, for 25 years after its formation, the country suffered from a major geographical division—West Pakistan and East Pakistan were separated by 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of Indian territory. This separation made the country very unstable and even- tually resulted in East Pakistan declaring independence as Bangladesh in 1971. Today, instability still accompanies some of Pakistan’s foreign relations. The country historically has had close cultural and reli- gious ties with its immediate neighbor, Afghanistan. Pakistan has had to shelter many Afghan refugees of war, and was one of the few

Words to Understand in This Chapter

ethnic— relating to a group of people with a common national, cultural, or racial background. Sikhs— followers of Sikhism, a religion influenced by both Hinduism and Islam.