Daily Times

Man has been intractable for he is an intelligent concoction of different forces. He has been putting efforts to modulate his survival in the best possible way. This creates a sense of competition in human beings, which further nurtures in the soil of diversity of mankind and environment. Man’s history witnesses that the kings and leaders had been scheming appropriate moves to control huge human diversity in order to strengthen the social fabric. Managing the diversity, therefore, always remained a big challenge.

Regional diversity is the beauty of planet. From race to ethnicity and from colour to creed, demographical distribution of the world is multifold in terms of languages spoken, cultures practiced and beliefs possessed. Diversity, if not managed in a controlled way, becomes mother of unnecessary social distortion that may undermine the foundations of national cohesion in the long-run. Regional diversity incorporates mixed variances: social, economic, cultural and religious.

Diversity, at the same time, propagates refined ideas if it is based on tolerance, acceptance of good and giving up of bad. Being hard to be managed, it bears conceivable fruits if handled wisely. A society with ability of respecting the differences, adopting progressive attitudes and eliminating ethnocentric beliefs can stand out as a model society because diversity is the real beauty of nature.

If distribution of national resources and economic opportunities amongst all states of a country has loopholes, the diversity can even kill the mainstream sentiment of nationalism

Let us peep into Pakistan’s regional diversity! The inhabitants of Pakistan’s five provinces speak sixty-seven regional languages. They have diverse cultures and practise different rituals. Belonging to assorted social groups, the natives of Pakistan have developed different styles, attitudes and approaches. Differences in economic conditions further become challenging and inculcate unconscious divisions amongst the people across the country. It poses a major threat to national unity.

The biggest show of regional diversity can be seen in India where sixteen hundred plus dialects are spoken and more than ninety thousand newspapers are published across twenty-nine territories. These statistics may imply India’s regional strength, but the modern world seems to take up the gauntlet to managing man’s fate based on regional differences. The fruits of democracy are not available for all and sundry. A few states are about to bury under the loads of poverty and malnutrition. Religious diversity has caused protests throughout the country. It seems the government of India has failed in managing country’s extensive diversity.

The case of the United States is equally interesting. The advocate of human rights is facing the nuisances of regional diversity too. The challenges of poverty, urbanization, social barriers, gender equality and fair treatment remain under policy work and portray an intriguing situation in specific areas.

Intramural and extramural economic diversities are yet a tough nut to crack when it comes to manage disparity. Intramural economic diversity comes into force within the boundaries of a country, whereas extramural economic diversity remains functional across borders. The flow of capital from one place to another and the trade amongst countries are in some way the results of economic diversity. Major economic powers of the world are busy in getting control of the developing economies to acquire massive consumer markets.

If distribution of national resources and economic opportunities amongst all states of a country has loopholes, the diversity can even kill the mainstream sentiment of nationalism. Baluchistan’s claim for acquiring more economic benefits and South Punjab’s demand for a separate province have emerged from unattended economic diversity.

As globalization has further accelerated the wheel of diversity, managing it in an effective way has become a global challenge. A multinational organization wants to devise new ways of thinking by employing cross-cultural workforce. As per Glassdoor statistics, sixty-nine percent of the job seekers urge to work with diverse human resource. These companies, at the same time, are conscious of the risks of undermanaged diversity.

Religious diversity gives birth to sectarianism that betrays the followers from the right path of religious ideologies. Take the example of New Zealand, where the community exhibited inflexibility towards accepting the Muslims as their revered citizens; rather they attacked them based on their ideological diversity. Islamophobia is yet another breed of sociopolitical diversity.

Where harmony is the protagonist, diversity acts as the antagonist of the social story of the world. Societal, religious and economic modifications tend to mar harmony. Diversity of the viewpoints of the leaders and statesmen swallowed Napoleon’s France, Hitler’s Germany, and Queen Victoria’s Britain. Speaking of Pakistan’s political diversity, more than 150 political parties come up with their power shows and, once the elections are concluded, no party comes up with majority seats to formulate the government.

Diversity is at the core of the system of world. Only fair play could prove instrumental in keeping the diversity in right direction at a steady pace. In Pakistan’s case, the Ministry of Inter Provincial Cooperation could head the way forward. Diversity Management could be taught at university levels to prepare the brains. Formulation of the Ministry of Diversity could be considered.

The writer is a Researcher and Journalist