A few days back, travelling on Jail Road, Lahore I read, written in bright white at the dark rear screen of a car: “Violence is a solution to every problem.” I was shocked, and what amplified my shock was the sketch of an ominous looking Kalashnikov accompanying the statement. To me, this statement reflected the violence that has gotten embedded in the psyche of our nation.
In case of Pakistan, the history of violence travels back to the trauma of Partition. It is a common psychological truth that violence suffered by the predecessors reflects itself in the attitude of the subsequent generations. But this is not where the violence ended. The history of Pakistan has been beleaguered by military rules.
Martial laws have conditioned us to think in terms of weapons. Too much exhibition of firearms and glorification of wars has encouraged our youth to identify themselves with the people who can do miracles with the shot of a gun or swirl of a pistol.
Moreover, Militant organisations promoted in Zia-ul-Haq’s period have had ripple effects on later generations in terms of weaponising society and leading to the entrenchment of militant mindsets. Furthermore, the continuous bomb blasts, suicide attacks and sectarian and ethnic conflicts in contemporary times have desensitised the entire nation to an extent that violence and bloodshed seems like a commonplace phenomenon.
That it has become such a commonplace and widespread phenomenon is evident from the fact that even our leaders position themselves in confrontational terms as is evident from their public appearances and hawkish back-and-forth on various forums.
No effective antidote to violence is being presented by our education system. The universities across the country are doing nothing significant in promoting disciplines related to violence, conflict and peace. National Defence University, Islamabad, is probably the only university in Pakistan hosting a Department of Peace & Conflict Studies. The organisations conducting research on violence, conflict and peace in Pakistan are almost non- existent.
Human Security Project: Pakistan Conflict Monitor, a project dedicated to the cause, has this disappointing statement running on the home page of their website: “The Conflict Monitors are no longer being updated.” (http://www.conflictmonitors.org, Accessed on Dec 4, 2011, 8:05 pm). Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), an independent, non- governmental think tank, is the only worth mentioning project doing really appreciable work. Given the momentum and severity of violence we face today, this effort is insufficient.
To save the nation form the malady of violence, the following strategies are recommended:
Firstly, a bureau of peace studies should be established under the government patronage.
Secondly, Departments of Peace, Conflict and Violence studies should be opened at university level throughout the country. A new understanding of the concept of violence is required now because the configuration of the term has undergone radical transformations in post 9/11 era.
Thirdly, HEC, Pakistan should fund research in this area, both for indigenous and oversees Pakistani scholars. Lastly, political leaders should not pose as aggressive role models, at least in their public talks and dialogues.
WAQAR AZEEM
Lahore