In the modern age, the existential conundrum of belonging and identity hasplagued many of us, especially those who are struggling to live a meaningful life.
Hundreds of thousands of us whose basic rights are denied are facing this existential conundrum; who and what we are,where we belong to, where we want to go to, and where we stand in the society in whichnothing, but power and paisa superimpose everything.
This crisis of being is inducing sense of alienation among common folk. On one hand it is weakening their relationship with their immediate surrounding and, of course, with the state itself and on the other hand it’s making them unable to have defining choices about the future.
Whether they are men, women or from a religious minority, many million are forced to live a life, dull, and with a withering sense of belonging.Every real or imposed identity has become meaningless to them as they find difficult to associate themselves with any known identity.
Till 1947, it happened to be a pluralistic society with shared values and emotions.Everyone, with a strong sense of belonging, was knitted in an intricate web of relationship. People used to participate in one another’slife. Muslims and non-Muslims had a long history of communal differences,but they never came to conflict with each other because of the fact that they belonged to each other, and that sense of belonging had taught them the art of peaceful coexistence. Then, the communities had evolved a social support system from within, and an individual could enjoy meaningful and well-defined relationships not only with the other members of his community but the whole society. Thus, the life was a pretty smooth sailing, without any existential fuss.
The partition jolted the very foundation of the society to the point it would never come to the state of normalcy
The partition jolted the very foundation of the societyto the point it would never come to the state of normalcy. Even though, our societal nerves were flexible enough to absorb such a disaster, and helped us to keep living a relatively coherent and peaceful life.
Then was then and now is now. What we see today is a society marked with increasing intolerance and religious bigotry mixed with little traces of the bygone openness. Instead of becoming more civilized, courtesy to self-imposed righteousness, the whole society has become more and more rude, self-centred, and indifferent to the rest of the world. This is a path of self-destruction that best suits to those who rule over us.
Comprising of uniformed elite and its traditional allies; feudal, mullahs and civil bureaucracy, the so-called ruling nexus has sucked the juice of life from the veins of the society and virtually has transformed it into a wasteland for a common man.
Going through the perpetual autocracy, the state is showing ineptness to appreciate and accommodate the dissenting notes, diversity of thoughts, and the civil liberties that make a society more tolerant and open to all.
The more it is bending towards rigidity, the more disillusionment along with existential struggle is taking its roots in the minds.
A long history of overt and covert wars, multifaceted terrorism couple with the religious bigotry, inequality among different strata of society, inaccessibility to justice, and corrupt practices by the powerful are the main causes that have deprived a common man from the sense of belonging and make life meaningless to him.
Alienation in a society occurs when a person becomes detached from his environment, and the people around him. He even becomes careless to his own self. That individual rejects the whole norms of society. Karl Marx describes it as a consequence of living in a society of stratified social classes.
The sense of being an integral part of a society provides a sense of belonging, identity, emotional adherence and well-being.17th century English poet John Donne says:
“No man is an island entire to itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”
In the societies like ours, living among people with varied motives, and interests is a hell. Being a Pakistani means to be a reluctant part of a society divided into many conflicting groups. Each of them operates like a mafia. If you are not loyal to any of them, you are marginalised in your own society. If you belong to a religious minority or think differently, you have to live an insecure life, always feeling yourself a potential target of ‘unknown people’.
As a common man, you have no role in nation building, but to cast your vote for the people who have no concern with your well-being, you have no voice to be heard and you have the rights that are subjectto be snatched away whenever needed.
As far as economic well-being is concerned, the so called ‘trickle-down effect’ suggests that you and your children have to be contented on a few drops of opportunities. And, if you manage somehow to escape from the wasteland, you will be labelled as a terrorist or an apologist of terrorists.
Those who shaped our destiny long ago, have thrown us into the quagmire of existential questions. And, of course, these questions have no easy answers.
The writer is a fiction writer based in Rawalpindi