Sunday, May 1, 2011

Pakistan : A Failed Islamic Experiment - 2nd View

When you talk about Pakistan, as an Indian a question simply arrives:  What do you do with a problem like Pakistan?. There are 8 steps proposed by the author need to be taken at least from Indian perspective.

I. Cause economic pain to Defence forces / related entities:
II. Offer to pay this mercenary nation for better behaviour
III. Reach out to the suffering masses
IV. Denuclearize this rabid state
V. Increase focus on fissures within Pakistan
VI. Resolve Kashmir
VII. Threaten to break all diplomatic relations
VIII. Provide a face to India’s Pakistan initiative

For (super funny) history as read by most Pakistani citizens, the two news article summary is here. Concise history of Pakistan Part– I and Part– II ; I will analyze the situation in another perspective.

Ideas did not face organized opposition till monotheistic invaders arrived into India. Since Indian Dharmas were not much organized, the blood shed and violence conflict existed in less proportions. There was fight between Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism but to a less violent level. With the passing time, the institutions of organized religions like Islam and Christianity have removed discriminatory practices a little bit but are naturally more suppressive to the new ideas contrary to unorganized religions.

Today, while observing the alliance of secular parties to minority and right wing party to religious causes, we can easily say that it is purely based on the mutual benefit and leaves no space for a common man today. This seems scalable in the world with conservatives that are in majority that includes traditional rigid individuals and zero brain using, yet tolerant citizen.

Conservatives wants to maintain the ties and traditions of the past and ignoring the evil of increasing religiosity of a moderate society. And all the support of military dictators were such people who believed them to be secular from the 'face' value. Suddenly the world changes for them after 9/11 and every bearded face of Muslim becomes a terrorist for them. Then packed with new baggage of information and conspiracy theories, a jerk reaction of Islamophobia is developed by conservatives of west towards conservatives of Afghan-Pak. Brothers in war against communist become thirsty of blood of each other.

On confronting the conservatives with any long-term social or economic problem, and they have only one response: it would go away if only we insisted on our assumptions more aggressively. This denial of reality runs deep. The armchair theorists refuse to face - the need to take sides in an imperfect world. I preferred to take sides with liberals that are imperialistic in the nature than conservatives.

So how to tackle this religious minority ? And again our lab rat nation of Pakistan comes in the scene. Nadeem F Paracha puts a brilliant theory of Radical fatigue in Smokers’s Corner: Whenever an extreme finds itself cornered and desperate, it becomes even more extreme, almost to the point of being nihilistic. Consequently, such an extreme starts facing a paradox. The brighter it burns or the louder it crackles, the quicker it starts to consume itself, until it is no more.

Liberals have been most attacked, mostly by fellow religious leaders and mobs, for voicing their secular opinions or for presenting any other perspectives than state and Mullahs. And increasing religiosity of middle class Pakistani breeds an even more dangerous form of terrorist than the ignorant, brainwashed madrassa students who do not know any better. This middle class religious jehadi is materialistic in worldy sense yet deeply regressive in tolerance level. And all this happened while it was coveted in the hindsight of the liberal and freedom of speech by mainstream parties.

Failure of Pakistan is not utterly fault of Wahabi schools. Pakistanis seem to prefer Islamic or tribal legal codes, it is not because they love stoning women to death but because the modern institutions of the police and judiciary inherited from the British are shockingly corrupt, not to mention profoundly ill-suited to a poor country.

And, same phenomenon is happening in Hindutva brand of Hinduism. Remember that when all the minorities are finished, majority will find minorities amongst themselves to prey upon.Without the ability to think, education starts to resemble indoctrination. state-sanctioned propaganda. But, the trivial point comes when the whole opinion of majority shifts to the right. What then ?

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