Busting a move: PU students defy racial profiling through attan

The Pakhtun participants were joined by Baloch students’ council, among others

LAHORE: Showing cultural acceptance as a form of protest, different student organisations performed the attan, a dance of the Pakhtuns, at Liberty Chowk. It was a demonstration against the attack on a Pakhtun culture day event at the Punjab University.

Different student bodies, including the Democratic Students’ Alliance (DSA), the Pakhtun Education Development Movement (PEDM) and the Baloch Council, among others, organised an attan ki shaam as a show of solidarity.

According to the organisers, the students performing the attan wanted to highlight a larger social problem: the racial profiling of Pakhtuns as criminals or as people linked with terrorism. “We want to show that we are peace-loving people and our culture is much more than what is being portrayed by some elements,” said a youngster while instructing the drum beater.

Ramas Sohail of the DSA said Pakhtuns were being targeting and labeled negatively. He said racial profiling of these people in Pakistan was a worrisome trend. “We are here today to demonstrate solidarity with the Pakhtuns through the attan.” He said Pakistan was inhabited by different ethnic groups and there was a need to celebrate cultural diversity. He said reconciliation between different groups of people in the country could only be done through accepting ethnic diversity.

Jasim Baloch, a student of the Punjab University and member of the Baloch Council, said he wanted to show the colourful culture of the Pakhtuns.

Referring to the violent incident at the Punjab University, he said, “We want demonstrate that Baloch students were there to express solidarity to our brothers (the Pakhtuns), who were attacked. We want the people to know that this cultural activity was not harmful.”

Students performed the Attan to drum beats at Liberty Chowk and commuters stopped to see the dance.

On March 21, a similar event at PU was allegedly attacked by the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) and left around a dozen students injured. Police used force to disperse the students and the varsity is still coming to terms with the aftereffects. The PU administration has restricted all activities organised by different student bodies.

On Friday, The Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) held, what its opponents called, a rally within the premises of Punjab University after Friday prayers, while a contingent of police and varsity security was deployed to keep matters in check.

After Friday prayers, a large number of students from the IJT gathered and walked past various departments of the PU, including Hailey College of Commerce, Law College and Centre for High Energy Physics among others. However, the participants were neither carrying any banners, placards nor did they chant any slogans.

According to the Pakhtun Education Development Movement (PEDM), the rally was a clear violation of the PU’s rules and an evidence of collusion between the administration and the IJT. “The rally was being led by the members of the IJT whom we have identified and nominated in the March 21 attack. Even the chief security officer of the university was videotaped by escorting one of the students of the Old Campus in his personal vehicle,” the spokesperson for the PEDM alleged.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2017.