Peaceful Pakistan: the counternarrative

A collaboration between Punjab Government and ISPR, “Peaceful Pakistan” aims at hewing national narrative of tolerance

The most striking motif of Nazi Germany was Adolf Hitler. He filled the history books for he sat at the pinnacle of a diabolical narrative machine that legitimised the Holocaust. His narrative was powerful and deluded the Germans into embracing the notion of their racial superiority. The consequences were staggering to say the least as the German invasion of Poland set off a chain of events culminating in World War II. The deadliest conflict in human history killed an estimated 80 million people. One man, Joseph Goebbels, the Reich Minster for Propaganda, stood by Hitler in infecting the German populace with virulent antisemitism and delusions of German transcendence. His propaganda ministry shaped the popular narrative by controlling the mediums of film, radio, newspapers and arts. He produced tailored content to rationalise antisemitism, fortify Hitler’s infallibility and omnipotence and build the morale of the German army pitted against the rest of the world. Power of narrative.

Goebbels was a master at using commercial advertising techniques in the political arena, including the use of catchy slogans and subliminal cues. He introduced the use of red ink, large characters for propaganda posters with mystifying headers urging the readers to read into the fine print and imbibe the meaning. He crafted and nurtured a narrative that blinded the Germans into manic prostration and embrace Hitler’s psychosis. Leaders of North Korea have also been past masters in building personality cults by disseminating carefully fashioned narratives through all the mediums of public engagement. The DPRK constitution incorporates the ideas of Kim Il-Sung as guiding principles for the state. This helped in both sanctifying and legitimising the family’s hereditary succession. There is even widespread belief that Kim Il-Sung created the world and controlled the weather. Leading publications publish around 300 articles every month feeding into the apotheosis of the Kim dynasty. Children are taught in school that they are fed, clothed and nurtured in all aspects by the grace of the leader. Power of narrative. Pakistan, too, has had a history of using tinkered curriculum in tandem with media to shape a national security discourse that legitimised Jihad and fanaticism. General Zia midwifed extremism by spawning Jihadi incubators across Pakistan. Power of narrative. The phenomenal growth of Da’ish, among other things, is also a consequence of the power of narrative.

Pakistan today fights a war of survival. Is Operation Zarb-e-Azb enough? No, it is not. The battle has to be waged, both on the ground and in the hearts. The ongoing operation will clear Fata of the savages for sure but not of the purveyors of extremism nestled in the urban landscape. The convoluted beliefs of the silent thousands will not be challenged. The pervasiveness of extremism in our society is the nadir of decades of social engineering initiated by Zia. The counternarrative that marginalises the fanatic, puncturing the extremist ideology is conspicuously missing. The State seems ambivalent in taking on the urban extensions of the Taliban. The government can draw inspiration from the movement of restoration of the judiciary wherein the media played a vital role in galvanising the lawyers and civil society to turn a banished CJ into a hero. Power of narrative.

The Punjab government has launched a bold initiative called Peaceful Pakistan, overseen by Dr Umar Saif, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board. A collaboration between the Punjab Government and the ISPR, the initiative is manned by a very youthful and passionate team including graphic designers, content writers and social media managers. Peaceful Pakistan aims at creatively hewing a national narrative of tolerance and peaceful coexistence with minorities. It also highlights the achievements of Pakistanis in different sectors to promote a positive image of Pakistan. The narrative is woven around content including short films, animations and infographics employing humour and history to craft a counternarrative targeting the young urbanites of Pakistan. Using Facebook and Twitter, Peaceful Pakistan has, since its birth in 2015, expanded its reach phenomenally to around 40 million people across Pakistan. One of its successful campaigns promoting coexistence revolved around the word “Pakistan” and how Pakistan is home to diverse creeds and cultures. Peaceful Pakistan is one undertaking that has to be replicated wholeheartedly in every province. We are in dire need of a national discourse that shuns extremist ideologies as irreligious and weaves a counternarrative employing the mosque, media and madrassa. Fanaticism and xenophobia are deeply embedded in the bowels of our society and it will take a concerted effort by the state, civil society, academia and media to devise a powerful counternarrative underpinned by citations from scripture and Islamic history to both cleanse the confusion and empower the moderates to peacefully engage the Right with the message of tolerance.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2016.

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