Daily Times

A nation’s social landscape at a given time in its history is not necessarily the index of her lasting basis of going about the business of life. It would be incorrect to shortlist an incident or a small series of incidents to draw any useful conclusions about how future events might unfold, going on to chisel responses. With a free mind, it would be prudent to see a particular patch in a country’s history with reference to the whole range of factors and the resultant socio-psychological stew at that time before making sense out of anything. This appeal to reason should not be taken as a suggestion to condone wrongdoings and suffering thus caused to the victims by the surge of events. Criminality or nobility of the occurrence notwithstanding, it is useful to analyse major happenings to determine the possible turn of events at strategic level, and to do the necessary repair work or refurbishing, at the tactical level.

We are in the middle of a powerful tornado of militancy, forced perversion of our social, moral and religious values, and a kind of frenzy to undo our country .We are trying frantically to break free of our thousands of years-old magnificent heritage, chasing a mirage created by sick-minded preachers of hate, homicide and nostalgic hallucinations. This destructive storm is ripping the roof off our society, demolishing cherished structures of humanity, and sending everybody scurrying off to save his own skin only, which is a terribly creepy reaction. Astonishingly, there are those among us who consider this tragic upheaval an opportunity to make hay regardless of the cries for help by drowning people around them. These are the scum of society and criminals against humanity; and there is a whole mixed bunch of these carnivores among us.

We have been swept by an inexorable rise of inhumanity, spiteful religiousness and erosion of untainted compassion towards fellow beings. Their victims have been the weak and the vulnerable in our society whose defenselessness evokes aggression by the bands of armed and duped foot soldiers of various cults, interests and prejudices. Women and children, the unprivileged lower classes of society, exposed religious minorities, weaker sects and nearly abandoned sections of the population like the Hazaras, Kailash, Ismailis, Parsis and a number of others. Among the hungry wolves running tight circles around our nation, extremists lead the deadly pack. There appears to be no fear of law and its retribution, as the acts of commission are so brazen and the perpetrators so free to roam the streets. In some cases, they are treated as some kind of heroes, ghazis or conquering gladiators. At times one could suspect a glint of adoration in the eyes of the frenzied crowd cheering these villains, somewhat like the gleeful sadism drenching an ancient Roman arena. Such bloodlust was unthinkable only a few years ago but then holy madness in our society was not so common either. Fear of God, care for the powerless and tenderness towards the unprotected were still there. We were still human but not quite so now.

Our media is generally sensational and tends to arouse reflex reactions, which may be eruptive, judgmental, condemnatory or simply full of disgust. It therefore follows that in a loaded frame of reference like this one, what is sensational is not necessarily sensible, what is eruptive or judgmental is not really rational, and what is condemnatory is not generally well weighed. With this premise, we may now proceed to see how within the span of a few years we have drastically reduced ourselves on the scales of humanity as reported widely in the press. Some of us may have witnessed actual incidents when we collectively fell from grace but most others learnt them second hand and may have squirmed in dismay.

Indignation is not enough, as it cannot defend the victims. Solemn declarations, loud talk and oratory do not ensure the writ of the government. The talk has to be walked. For that life has to be risked, danger faced with grit and a steely determination to prove one’s substance and ability to prevail. Then also, it has to be matched with a vision beyond the immediate and poise of extraordinary quality. Nation building is a task cut out for the courageous like Mandela, Mahathir, Jinnah or Nehru, and not a marzipan for the money sucking leeches from the sleazy underworld.

Barricaded Islamabad looks so weird with a maze of check posts and bunkers on every other bend. These bristling eyesores intrude into the citizens’ prized privacy and simple leisure in the name of necessity. They not only disrupt the flow of traffic but also distort the normalcy of life and the texture of our society. It unhelpfully shows us in a state of siege and fear. Islamabad is not the caves of Tora Bora or ruined Mogadishu, nor is Pakistan the desolate Sahara Desert. Ours is an extremely gifted and vibrant country and Islamabad is a lush green, picturesque and highly livable capital city. Then why is the ambience so glum, tentative and sinister? Why is everyone on tenterhooks? It could be because of the pervasive criminality, incompetence, greed and absence of method. But that is not all that there is to it.

There is in fact much more to it than what meets the eye. The main rot resides in the fearful fact that the writ of the state has been very seriously compromised and allowed to run aground through drift and deviousness since at least the last two decades. Moral and constitutional responsibilities have been conveniently abdicated to others or given the boot. Appalling apathy of the successive power elites towards the people’s needs and sufferings have led them to become selective and partisan among their own citizens. Pockets of the less privileged seem to have been abandoned to the vultures. Put together, this is an alarming state of affairs and can lead to anarchy, civil strife, internal implosion and external intervention if left to run its course.

We already had the pride of place among the community of the culpable after the notorious gang rape of Mukhtaran Mai in 2002 by the medieval elements of the Mianwali-Muzaffargarh belt. That valiant victim is still waiting for the law to punish that heinous crime. Despite shattering humiliation, she had the sterling strength of character to stand up against the tribal tyranny and entrenched brutality. However, the loudest keepers of our public morality, paragons of the rule of law and the sole dispensers of divine reprimand, merely sulked and hissed in toothless disdain. The reprehensible record of our moral meltdown is long and unenviable. Torching of Christian homes in Gojra, bombing and armed attacks on Shia, Ahmadi and Christian places of worship and processions, targeted killings of prominent members of minorities, exodus of Hindus from Sindh and non-locals from Balochistan, ethnic cleansing of peaceful and productive Hazaras (over 7,000 killed since 1989), gruesome firing squad-like executions of Shias in Mastung and Gilgit-Baltistan are but a few indications of our awful decomposition. Besides unabated honour killings, we also have a bag full of other crimes against humanity like conversion of Hindu girls under duress, recent jailing of the mentally impaired juvenile Rimsha, double murder of a young couple in Chakwal and then hoisting the dead bodies in a public square.

We could not be so insensitive and monstrous; it is not who we are. Our society has been purposely criminalised, grip of the law intentionally loosened, and delivery of justice impeded at every step. The overarching writ of the state has been wilfully dissipated to pave the way for massive plunder and widespread anarchy. The architects of this inspired anarchy might well remember that once set in motion, the entire South Asia will be destabilised. The ferment will extend from Central Asia to Myanmar, beyond the compass of any power to manage. We must move out of this induced insanity, regain our national composure and decontaminate our society if we are to optimise our huge potential for global peace and progress.

The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army and can be reached at clay.potter@hotmail.com