e need to take more proactive steps to resolve the grievances and sense of desperation among minorities
BARCELONA: Intolerance towards minorities and other groups is a burgeoning menace among other challenges that face our society. The swords of being falsely accused of blasphemy and coerced conversions have hung over the lives of many. A section of religious figures opine that minorities are ‘second-class citizens’. They cannot be equally involved in policymaking of the state. A renowned religious scholar, who once delivered lectures on a private television channel, considers non-Muslims of the country as “protected minorities”. According to him, constitutionally, minorities cannot have equal rights and are liable to pay jizya (poll tax). The self-proclaimed philosophy of such figures is against the teachings of Islam and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, outlined his vision of Pakistan in his August 11, 1947 address to the Constituent Assembly. Mr Jinnah’s speech was actually the Magna Carta of Pakistan, in which he spoke of an impartial government, religious freedom and equality for all. Unfortunately, this speech was completely ignored by successive regimes. Recently, the Sindh government’s decision to include the Quaid’s August 11 speech in school syllabus and the adoption of the resolution by the National Assembly as the country’s road map for the future, are creditable steps when it comes to the protection of minorities’ rights. These steps, besides spreading awareness among the masses, can help our nation face and fight the mindset of intolerance, which is prevalent among many people in one form or another. We need to take more proactive steps to resolve the grievances and sense of desperation among minorities.
M Hassan Nagri
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2015.
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