The poisoned petals of Pakistan

French Revolution may descend into orgy of beheadings but its accepted and celebrated by all liberals.


Nadir Hassan January 08, 2011

Even if we agree that violence is never an ideal solution, there are times when it can be understood, if not condoned. The French Revolution may have descended into an orgy of beheadings and intrigue, but its ideals can be accepted and celebrated by all liberals. That’s what is so perplexing about the assassination of Salmaan Taseer.

Here you have a gunman who was a mere bodyguard. He wasn’t seeking the overthrow of the state; he didn’t want to spur a revolution that would displace the existing system. All Mumtaz Qadri wanted was to preserve the status quo. He considered it so important that the blasphemy laws that are already in place not have a single comma or period removed, that he was willing to kill for it.

The lawyers who greeted Qadri with congratulatory petals, who treated him like a proud family would a new bride, cannot be compared to the lawyers marching for the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry. I say this because I supported the latter aim while having nothing but scorn for the former. The lawyers’ movement’s demands were truly revolutionary for Pakistan: they asked, nay demanded, that a military dictator allow a judiciary that would operate independent of executive control. The mob that was present outside the court when Qadri arrived simply wanted to preserve the right of the majority to use any tool at their disposal, including murder, to control the country.

That militant outfits and even relatively mainstream religious groups and political outfits have been ambivalent, and in some cases even supportive, of Taseer’s assassination is not a surprise. If we are looking to change minds, these are not people that can ever be won over. We have to convince what used to be known as the silent majority but who, in the wake of the murder, have vocalised their approval of the assassination.

In the days following the assassination, it is only natural to feel despondent and to give up all hope for the country. I have often come close to succumbing to that temptation myself. But this battle can be fought and even, if not in our lifetimes, won. Here’s how it can be done.

First, you have that tiny and oft-derided sub-species: the intelligentsia. Its role is small and vital. At a time when much of the country is either indifferent or supportive of retrograde laws, we need activists, columnists and thinkers keeping the debate flickering. If such voices are silenced, or choose to stay mute out of self-preservation, victory has already been conceded to the other side.

A parallel, and far more burdensome, struggle is required to change the very fabric of the Pakistani state. Right now, we have an education system that is more concerned with indoctrination than enlightenment, and a clergy that has eschewed Islam as it used to be practiced in Pakistan to adopt the alien Saudi one. Their ranks need to be slowly infiltrated. This might seem like a utopian solution that could only be proposed by a columnist at an elite English-language newspaper. But anyone doubting it can be achieved need only consider how quickly Pakistan became a state that condoned murder in the name of religion. That transformation took 20 years of dedicated propaganda and activism. A similar effort can lead to an equally rapid turn-around.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th,  2011.

COMMENTS (4)

Yasser Khan | 13 years ago | Reply //At a time when much of the country is either indifferent or supportive of retrograde laws, we need activists, columnists and thinkers keeping the debate flickering. If such voices are silenced, or choose to stay mute out of self-preservation, victory has already been conceded to the other side// very well said and written piece.
NM Khan | 13 years ago | Reply It sounds simplistic, I know, but I think your columns should be into Urdu and published in the Urdu Express. It's important to get such views as large an audience as possible.
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