Moon-sighting this time
The moon-sighting logjam has brought another one of those issues to the fore where the government struggles against regressive attitudes of the religious right. The Ruet-e-Hilal Committee has almost always been controversial. It’s not just that its findings have little credibility; the northern parts of the country continue to follow countries far, far away to observe Ramzan, Eid, etc. It’s also that its setup has been rejected by others within the conservative lobby; to the point that some are calling for legislation to streamline the body.
Unfortunately the government just does not have the will, or even the ability, to confront this attitude. Moon-sighting is the perfect example. Committees like Ruet-e-Helal became redundant even before the 21st century began because advances in information technology and astronomy. Even Saudi Arabia, the exporter of the most conservative brand of religion in the world, leverages IT to regulate the lunar calendar. There is never any confusion there, like in our country, about the moon being sighted, etc. And there are never any instances of half the country following one calendar and the other half following another country’s schedule.
The matter is not restricted to merely moon-sighting, of course. The government seems lost whenever the extreme right of centre raises controversy, even if troublemakers are employees of the government. It is clearly unable to do anything about provocation that routinely flows from the Council of Islamic Ideology. And it has repeatedly chosen not to confront elements like lal masjid, no matter how much they deliberately hurt public sentiment. In turning a blind eye, the government not only encourages extremely regressive tendencies, but also places a premium on them. It is time that the ruling party takes serious note of such tendencies. The crucial narrative – that was supposed to be part and parcel of the war against terrorism – was meant not just to counter terrorists, but also free people from extremism. Had the government not been so behind the curve on that front, these tendencies might well have been on the mend by now.
Why do we have organizations which only creat confusion and misunderstandings. For days there are comments about beating a wife 'lightly' – another of an absurd committee. They are there for decades but failed for the purpose they were created for.
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