Not once upon a time but here and now this relates to a land that you and I know well. A land created for the Muslim minority of the subcontinent where freedoms jugular is slit by knives that you and I helped sharpen. It is a land that would not have been possible or even thinkable in a society which did not allow for freedom of speech.
This land, Pakistan, was what most things inspiring hope are: an ideal and more importantly an argument. Today, we are losing our soul and the argument that Pakistan was meant to be. Equally worse, certain arguments can now not be made in Pakistan without causing deadly violence to the lives and bodies of those who dare speak up. Mr. Taseers death represents a blow to the forces of democracy and argument and debate against the pervasive violence and extremism.
A Governor is dead because he chose to voice his opinion on a subject most others were too scared to touch upon. The law of blasphemy in Pakistan is a readily available tool to target the religious minorities; it is an instrument ripe for abuse. Mr. Taseers alleged crime was to criticise a law that has wrecked many lives. Without rhyme or reason that criticism translated into him being labeled as someone condoning blasphemy. All of a sudden, it did not matter whether or not you knew what Mr. Taseer had actually said. Even the clarifications offered by Mr.
Taseer did not matter. What mattered was the willfully ignorant noise around you vilifying an outspoken individual and many simply chose to join in that noise. Mumtaz Qadris act was scripted by many voices, both silent and screaming. The voices of the mob murdered the sanctity of one mans voice. The level of popularity of an argument should never be the criteria for allowing or stifling it. Freedom for the thought that we hate is the true test of freedom of speech and expression.
We as a nation never had a freedom of speech record to be proud of but one usually associates oppression with the State and not the people around you. All that has changed over the years and has become disturbingly clear of late. Owing to our continuous and miserable failure to reflect on our actions/practices as a society we have developed what I see as the Islamised Pakistani variant of the Nazi mindset: we are the victims of an innumerable number of conspiracies, our beliefs/values are threatened and (most importantly) no dissent whether through thoughts, words or actions is to be tolerated.
Once you subscribe to this mind-set then the next step is to come up with a list of absolutes which cannot be questioned. The space available for discourse is defined through negatives rather positives; we over time, on an ad-hoc basis, define what can NOT be said. We never agree upon or reach a consensus on what can be said. From among us, various groups will emerge (as they already are) and consume not just the space previously available for debate but will also consume us.
The survival here is not of the fittest in terms of depth of argument but of the mightiest and the most bigoted. So go on, plough ahead with all your might and surprise yourself. Prove to yourself and those around you that you are the most bigoted among all those you know. Laud a murderer and justify a murder because a man dared disagree with what you believe to be the absolute truth. If you cant respect freedom of speech, you do not have to because others will join you and now you have the power to suppress speech. Finally, we have the power to do something.
Our bitter, petty, powerless souls which at some sick level envied Hitlers Nazi Germany and its brutality can now have something to show for its yearnings. Before we even realised, we have become what the suicide bombers wrecking our way of life wanted us to become. Yes, they have not died in vain. Many among us, like each one of them, now believe that the laws of a God one believes in are to be enforced not by the State you live in but by each individual. But where will we stop?
This mindset will close the space around us. One day, everyone who supported or condoned Mr. Taseers murder could be asked by the righteous ones: why did you not go further? Why not pick up arms? There are people around us who believe that supporting education and work-place participation for women, meeting a woman outside of wedlock and watching television are sins. If we support the idea that one man has the power to take anothers life because the perceived commands of a God were violated then there is no stopping this madness.
A shriek from a wife or a wail from a child will not save any lives when men like Qadri start doing the rounds in the neighborhood to enforce Gods law. And if you condone his actions now, what on Earth will you argue to disagree later? To paraphrase Ms. Roy: this is us. In Pakistan. Heaven help us make it through the night.
The writer is a Barrister of Lincolns Inn and practices in Lahore. He has a special interest in Anti-trust / Competition law. He can be reached at [email protected]
