'Pak-Sarzameen’ and ‘Hatikvah’: Unveiling the Politico-ideological Parallels

Abstract

National anthems as the representative symbols of nations are replete with ideological assumptions and beliefs of nations. This paper aims to investigate the startling politico-ideological points of similarity between the national anthems of Pakistan titled Pak-Sarzameen and Israel titled Hatikvah. The two countries are selected due to the existence of several uncanny parallels that are present in the independence movements, establishments, foundational beliefs, and religiously grounded current policies of both. Employing the insights of Teun A. van Dijk’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis and keeping his discursive strategies at the foundation of analysis, the ideological commonalities in both the national anthems are unveiled. The strategies utilized include topicalization, lack of binary opposition, euphemism, impression formation, hyperbolism, emphasis (on land and prayer) and juxtaposition of past, present and future. The findings of the present paper reveal several politico-ideological commonalities between the national anthems including rigid religious ideology, political decisions grounded on religious norms, lack of polarization between Us and Them, euphemistic expressions to build positive national image, hyperbolic lexicon to construct an impression of grandeur, prayer for their future prosperity, hope for future achievements, and ideology of adoration for their land. The findings will prove to be insightful for linguists, discourse analysts and scholars of international relations and political sciences.