Lahore, the capital of the biggest province of the country, received the bullet-riddled body of one of its most illustrious sons in the chilling midnight of January 4. It is the first time that the provincial capital has been mourning the martyrdom of a political stalwart, a committed political worker, an heir of a great literary tradition and a true Lahori. Salmaan Taseer was not only governor of the province; he was larger than that.
He was a successful businessman, a communications and media magnate who was very active in the social, cultural and economic life of the provincial capital. His assassination by a religious fanatic must have shaken, besides the enlightened and progressive forces of the country, the social and business classes of the affluent Punjab.
Ironically, Lahore, once a literary, educational and cultural centre of the subcontinent, has gradually been turned into a hub of obscurantist forces. First, Jamaat-e-Islami and its students’ wing, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), got control over the educational institutions of the city with the support of the fascist rule of General Ziaul Haq and made the educational institutions zombie-producing plants indoctrinated with fascism. Second, two religious, ideological centres came into existence on both sides of the capital, Muridke in the north and Raiwind in the south. Influenced by Zia’s Islamism, ideologically motivated emerging affluent groups provided moral, political and financial support to the religious zealots, jihadis and educated fascists.
We find these zealots in every sphere of our life: in the mainstream political parties, in the civil-military bureaucracy, in security institutions, in academia, and in the media. The result is that a substantial number of lawyers, in another important city of the province, Rawalpindi, showered rose petals on the daylight assassin, exposing the falseness of their sloganeering for the ‘rule of law’ and ‘independent judiciary’ during the lawyers’ movement. A large part of the ‘educated class’, the lawyers, has exposed itself: neither do they believe in the rule of law nor in the principle of justice. The lawyers’ movement now seems like a farce. Sadly, we also saw ‘celebrations’, particularly in the cities of Punjab, on the assassination of a high-profile politician by the fanatics and fascists.
Historically, the emerging social and economic classes have always tilted towards the powers-that-be and their philosophy of exclusion, religious, cultural and ethnic homogeneity and jingoism. The Nazis described diversity as a ‘disaster’. Both Mussolini and Hitler declared that women have only one role and that is child bearing. The fascism of Italy and Germany resulted in war and destruction. In the near past, the emergence of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India and its counterpart religious organisations in Pakistan have put the peace and probable prosperity of the people of both countries in jeopardy.
The government of Punjab largely represents the interests of the affluent urban middle class of the province. It kept denying the presence of the Punjabi Taliban or other militant organisations in the Punjab province. But the irony is that the Taliban have infiltrated even the security institutions of the province. The provincial government, either because of political expediency, conviction, or the Sharifs’ links with the Saudi royalty, sought the support of particular sectarian militants during the by-election for a seat of the Punjab Assembly and indirectly endorsed their acts of violence. Attacks on Christian communities in the vicinity of the provincial capital and lack of action against the culprits are other glaring examples.
Unfortunately, the land of Sufis and saints has been turned into a killing field and that too under the patronage of the state institutions and the governments, and with the collaboration and moral, political and financial support of the educated urban nouveau riche. The state agencies’ and religious zealots’ control over the media has turned their agenda into a ‘media agenda’, which is gradually becoming a ‘public agenda’ that we see in the shape of rallies for the assassin, endorsing the heinous crime.
The conservative social and business class of the Punjab must realise that a political, business, media stalwart, who was one of them, has become the victim of those whom you support so religiously. Baloch, Sindhis and Pashtuns are used to receiving the bodies of their leaders and near and dear ones. Our Punjabi brethren are passing through this painful experience for the first time. It must be an eye-opener and a moment to ponder for the Punjab-dominated establishment, ruling elite, judiciary and lawyers’ community, business community, progressive-revolutionary groups, media stars and torpid intellectuals. They must feel the heat.
The writer is executive director of Society for Alternative Media and Research. He can be reached at [email protected]