Daily Times

Violence is an act of physical aggression, provoked or unprovoked, committed by an individual who is termed an offender or violator. Violence militates against the regular tenor of society, refutes societal norms and values and undermines societal organisation. Consequently, a disorganised form called social disorder is triggered in a society. Violence may take place at an individual or a group level. At the societal level, the consequent social disorder may beckon chaos.

The obverse face of violence is tolerance. Tolerance can be defined in terms of accommodating divergent or opposing points of view. In other words, the acceptance of a disagreement is tolerance. An increase in the incidents of violence means that the level of tolerance is flagging in society. Tolerance is lessened in a society that is more inclined to fanaticism. Fathoming the level of tolerance is possible by measuring the intensity of fanaticism. The higher the level of fanaticism, the lower is the level of tolerance.

An individual may attain the form of a fanatic owing to religious, political and social beliefs (and practices). It is not that a type of religion or a political system or a society is predisposed to make an individual a fanatic. It is how an individual perceives religion, politics and society. In other words, fanaticism is a state of mind that makes a person think in an extremist (and a narrow-minded) way. With an increase in the intensity of fanaticism, the level of intolerance increases proportionately. In short, it is perception that makes one individual a fanatic while it spares the other. A fanatic displays intolerance by violating the prevailing norms and values of society, and creating social disorder expressed in violent terms.

Currently, Pakistani society is beset with intolerance. Certain incidents are taking place that are indicative of the fact that the intensity of violence is increasing while there is a proportional decrease in the intensity of tolerance. The range and types of violence indicate that intolerance is endemic. One of the indicators of this is that the members of society do not oppose violent incidents. Instead, they remain hushed up. Perhaps the majority considers violence the right way to mete out justice called vigilantism. Except human rights groups, not many people discourage violence in society. Thus not only an individual but the whole society is responsible for the escalation of violent trends. Violence can be tracked to the religious, political and social domains.

In the religious domain, fanaticism in the form of religious hysteria is expressed in several forms of violence. For instance, former Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer spoke against the blasphemy law and lost his life to one of his bodyguards, Police Constable Mumtaz Qadri, who turned up as an offender. Similarly, the target killing of the followers of an opposite sect is another manifestation. One of the causes of the birth of religious hysteria is the misinterpretation of religious beliefs and teachings. The strategic placement of Pakistan in the region is the bane of its existence, as Pakistan has been paying the price of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in sectarian terms.

In the political domain, fanaticism in the form of political madness seeks expression in several ways of violence. For instance, the target killing of the political workers of the opposite party is happening in Karachi. Dead bodies are recovered packed in sacks. The police in Karachi are underperforming because of two reasons: first, many policemen were inducted into the service on a political basis, and second, the police are afraid of the target killers’ supporters who happen to be politicians. Ethnicity has attained a new proportion, actuating killings in Karachi. There exist no-go areas and even no-go hospitals, which cannot be visited by the members of another ethnicity. One of the causes of the origin of political madness is the prolonged spells of dictatorship, while another cause is that ignorant voters elect rascals and gangsters as their leaders.

In the societal domain, fanaticism in the form of social frenzy is articulated in several ways of violence. For instance, launching protest demonstrations or observing strikes is considered a way to vent one’s feelings and demands. It is supposed that nobody will listen, hence, it is better to adopt violent ways of protest. Nevertheless, a non-violent protest may end up in violence when the state machinery maltreats the protestors, leaving several wounded. The recent police brutality inflicted on unarmed protestors who were agitating against unscheduled and prolonged electricity outages in Faisalabad is an example in this regard. In this way, the state also takes an active part in promoting violence in society. Sporadic incidents of conflict between reporters of the media and lawyers or doctors have also been reported. Likewise, domestic violence is also common where a husband brutally thrashes his wife, or chops off her limbs or nose or even kills her. The husband might be a drug addict or a person who owing to his short tempered nature is intolerant of criticism and hence inflicts punishment on his wife. These incidents indicate that not only society but also the law enforcing agencies have got brutalised. One of the causes of the beginning of social frenzy is prevalent illiteracy in society while another is that the institution of the family is becoming dysfunctional and consequently, rendering the character and personality building system of individuals faulty. Resultantly, people generally do not know how to voice their concerns.

In fact, no society in the world is free of violence, as incidents of violence happen in every society irrespective of the belief system of its members about nationalism, religion, ideology, or politics. It is both the persistence of violence and the level of immunity to violence that matter in a society. Incidentally, both these factors are thriving in Pakistani society. The solution to violence lies in identifying the causes and formulating a proportionate solution.

The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo.com