South Asia Citizens Web

I share the frustration of those progressives who worry about the incredibly insular worldview of many ordinary Pakistanis. But I find the desperation and even nihilism of at least a segment of progressives rather incongruous, because surely the point is not only to harp on about our ‘America’ problem, but to try and address it. We have a problem, yes, but it existed back in the day when our now ex-leftists were also happy and willing to decry the excesses of American imperialism, while the mullahs were celebrating the alliance with ahl-i-kitab against the godless communists. The problem continues to exist today and is likely to do so in the future, regardless of whether conservatives remain true to their currently favourite pastime of America-bashing.

Speaking to NDTV, just ahead of the launch of his memoirs on the Fatwa years, Mr Rushdie says the ban on ’Satanic Verses’ that India was the first country in the world to ban the book and that set the tone. Since then, the State has failed to protect artistes or free speech. From attacks on art galleries to recent sedition cases against cartoonists, Mr Rushdie says India is no longer Nehru’s country. Nehru was a liberal, he says, who always argued against government censorship.

How can we expect our society to become tolerant when our textbooks are filled with venomous content? How can we expect our children to become progressive when we expose them to violent literature, and at such an early age? By using words such as “Hindus can never become true friends for Muslims” and using adjectives such as goondah for Hindus and fanatic clergymen for Christians, how are we possibly trying to teach our youth to be more compassionate or embrace different religious philosophies?

The News on Sunday
A dangerously free man
The recent and drastic phase of anti-Shia violence coincides with the release of Malik Mohammad Ishaq. A peek into the life of this “good Taliban” the Pakistani state nurtured in the last three decades
by Arif Jamal
In recent months, killings of Shia Muslims in Pakistan have touched new heights. The killers, ostensibly from the jihadist Deobandi groups, have invented new methods. Buses are stopped on the highways and sects of passengers are (…)