democractically, they have the right to call their land whatever the hell they want.
Furthermore the issue of hindko speaking people assumes that no other province has sizable minorities of another ethnicity. So its pretty illogical to use that argument when three other provinces have names associated with the dominant ethnicity. It doesnt matter if some of those provinces were arguably named before the ethnicity got its name, you could argue that it is now associated with the ethnic group, and therefore other minority sects feel sad, so lets change Punjab's name shall we?
And the whole we-came-here-first thing is lame beyond words. It doesnt matter who came first.
Finally, I fail to see what the national implication of this is, and if there is none, I fail to see why the federal govt has a say in it.
Thank you on all counts. I know what people will say: NWFP has so many problems why dwell on a name issue? Well basically it comes down to identity and being part of Pakistan. When my Pakhtun Grandfather voted for Pakistan, he believed in the idea of Pakistan - A muslim homeland with a place for Pakhtuns in its' colorful ethnic mosaic. He never saw himself living in NWFP - A purely Imperial British creation. Since independence (and further adding fuel to the fire) cities like Montgomery, Lyallpur were changed to reflect the more Muslim and indegenious names, why not NWFP? Simply because SOME people fear secession or others harp on unneccssary and illogical "minority" rights arguments.
Bottom line is that NWFP has to go, as it continues to abrasively serve as a colonial vestige of no useful merit.