Differentiate, discriminate, decimate

Still not able to entertain other thoughts without accepting them

Indian society is often criticised for its strong belief in the caste system; the higher classes being the most respectable ones while the lowest of classes being termed as the untouchables. The whole world probably criticises this caste system that exists in India; I remember being taught about it in school. However, amidst all that, we fail to see the equally strong, unspoken standards of discrimination that are rampant in our own society. It seems almost hypocritical that we criticise another society of a flaw that they at least openly expose while we guard our dark secret. You see, in our country, we don’t only discriminate on the basis of caste. The standards of discrimination vary.

Firstly, of course, there is the undeniable caste system. We do believe that some castes are superior to others. As much as we say we promote equality and that the caste system is no longer strong in our society, the sad truth is that this is an extremely strong criterion for discrimination in our society. Cases where a girl was not allowed to marry a boy because he wasn’t from the same caste as her aren’t unheard of in our modern day Pakistan.

As much as we say we promote equality and that the caste system is no longer strong in our society, the sad truth is that this is an extremely strong criterion for discrimination in our society.

However, the discrimination tends to get more serious as other standards materialise. Religion is perhaps the most common basis for discrimination in our country. It’s almost as if our society looks for excuses to be able to create Diasporas. Why do we try so hard to find excuses to be able to discriminate? From a very early age, we are taught about the supremacy of the state religion ie Islam and in that process, the fact that other religions are to be equally respected gets ignored. A while back, a huge issue was created when a certain school started teaching comparative religion. It saddens me to realise that we are a society that is not willing to be able to entertain other thoughts without accepting them. We’ve restricted the extent to which we want to acquire knowledge; beyond that point we wish to know no more. I don’t see why we’ve created these barriers for ourselves. I remember studying about many other religions in great detail back in school; why has this idea become so hard for us to accept now? As a child, I celebrated Christmas, Eid and Holi. Each was exciting in its own way. Why have these festivals become celebrations of ‘others’ in modern day Pakistan? It’s sad that while I grew up learning about different religions and cultures, the new generation has been growing up learning about how blasphemy laws in the country have led to individuals being murdered. When did we transition into such an intolerant society?

Why is it that we complain so much about how we are discriminated against in the West? Why was it so painful for us when nobody was willing to speak up against the atrocities being committed against the Muslims of Gaza?

The discrimination continues becoming worse. It seems as if we ran out of reasons to discriminate on the basis of separate religions so we devised a new way to discriminate; on the basis of sects within our own religion. Every other person represents a different sect these days. Sadly, the minorities are made to suffer. Sectarian violence has been fueled by our very own society. The self appointed guardians of Islam have somewhat made the whole society believe that they can choose who gets to be called a Muslim and who doesn’t. Sadly, the masses follow these orders blindly. Minorities are marginalised and the foundations of our society are further weakened. We continue discriminating.

Why is it that we complain so much about how we are discriminated against in the West? Why was it so painful for us when nobody was willing to speak up against the atrocities being committed against the Muslims of Gaza? Why do we pretend to have a strong sense of unity with the global Muslim community when we fail to stand as a united community in our own country? Why is it that we get offended when Pakistani’s get discriminated against in the west when we divide ourselves on a number of different platforms? In order to earn respect from the whole world, we must first learn to respect ourselves; all of us, irrespective of our caste, religion or sect. We need to be one single nation in a state. At present, we are multiple nations in a state as a result of which we find ourselves stuck amidst all this chaos.