(Talk
delivered at Dhaka on June 01-02, 2001)
INTRODUCTION
I
believe I reflect the sentiments of almost all people assembled here for
this Conference
when I say that its importance
can hardly be over-estimated by the South Asian family - regardless of
individual perceptions, predilections or persuasions. It is ‘timely’;
because, unless all concerned who have a horror of fundamentalism start
uniting and
mobilizing their resources to fight this scourge they will find that it
is only a matter of time before they too are engulfed in its onward march.
During
the discussions many will be using the terms fundamentalism, militancy,
religious bigotry, religious dogmatism, and the like with precision - related
to the
context of what the speaker wishes to project - or in other cases, loosely
and imprecisely.
Therefore, at the outset, this writer would like
to give out his understanding of what constitutes the essence of fundamentalism
or any of the connected
terms that have just been mentioned. Simply put, in its broadest sense,
fundamentalism
can be described for the purposes of this discussion as any system or group
that seeks to impose its own values and beliefs on other people through
coercion or violence. Any system or regime that demands absolute conformity
in thought,
conduct, mode of dress and the like and that which continues to enforce
its tenets through violence or the whip to the exclusion of all other beliefs,
values or modes of conduct is fundamentally abhorrent to human dignity
and
progress.
It
is easy to create fervour through militant or militaristic propaganda and
fanaticise a population
through coercion as has
been demonstrated in
almost
all societies through the ages. History is replete with many such examples.
It is not necessary to go very much back in time. The twentieth century
- just left behind - provides many illustrations. Take the case of the
Nazis in Germany,
from the middle of the twentieth century. Did they not start off in the
same manner as most fundamentalist dispensations of today? They brought
discipline,
dogma and militarisation into their creed and ended up by herding the
German populace into a mental straitjacket that could not tolerate any ideas
other
than those propagated by Nazi ideology. Did not the same thing happen
during the ‘cultural revolution’ in China where even an indoctrinated
communist society, already inured to a monolithic creed, was horrified
by the excesses of the rampaging cadres that were let loose upon them. Iran
went through
a similar turbulence.
I
dare say, and many would agree with me, that the process of ‘talibanisation’ of
society that is sought to be imposed in parts of South Asia has many
similarities with what happened on those earlier occasions. Here talibanisation
is being
used as a generic term for the 21st Century to distinguish it from
what went before because, in its own way, and in spite of the similarities
it is a new
phenomenon, unique in many respects.
WOMEN AS THE PRIME SUFFERERS
Such
fundamentalist groupings, irrespective of hue, generally reserve their harshest
brutalities for the weakest segments of
their societies, the women. The women of Afghanistan who suffered the
most in the war-ravaged countryside are being brutally crushed as never before.
It may not be long before the same treatment is extended to the liberated
segments of Pakistan society - a far cry from the dream of Pakistan's
founding
father. It has taken the military and the mullahs just fifty years to
turn his legacy on its head. Here is what Mr. Jinnah had to say on the status
of women:
" No nation can rise to the height of glory unless your women are side by
side with you; we are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity
that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners.
There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women
have to live." (Emphasis added).
Pakistan's founding
father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in a speech in 1944.
As
reported in the press (The Statesman, July 30, 2000) the recent arrest
and imprisonment
of an American grandmother - Mary
MacMakin,
72, who
spent 24 years
as an aid worker and set up the Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
Support for Afghanistan (PARSA) in 1996 - signaled the start of a new wave
of repression
by the Islamic regime. She blames the development on the Taliban's
heavy casualties in its annual summer offensive in the north. "Its put them in a bad mood
and they are taking it out on women".
The mobilisation of religious orthodoxy for giving
battle to an entrenched ideology (communism), in a country under occupation
(Afghanistan),
makes an interesting case study in itself. Of greater interest
at the present
time is
the study of the chilling transformation that was engineered in
the purely 'defensive' mobilisation of the religious orthodoxy (for vacating
aggression)
to one of 'offensive' religious fundamentalism with pan-Islamic
overtones,
capable of conducting terrorism on a global scale. Religious mobilisation
by itself, however, could not have succeeded in repelling aggression
without massive
military and financial assistance. Circumstances have since changed.
Global alignments have changed. Foes have turned into friends;
if not in South Asia,
at least in several other parts of the world.
The
silent majority of the people in Pakistan have been watching with dismay
the gradual erosion of their liberties. The educated
elite hope
that world
opinion will come to their rescue should things really get out
of hand. These are vain hopes, of people unable to bestir themselves
to oppose
the creeping
talibanisation overtaking their land. They too have had ample
warning.
Should they fail to mobilise themselves to defeat the jehadis,
while they are able
to, they might have to meet the fate of the women of Afghanistan.
The monsters being nurtured for cross border terrorism could
well turn
upon them one fine
day. It has happened before, it can happen again.
It would be facile for the world at large to dismiss the hydra/headed
monster being spawned in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a regional problem
affecting India,
South Asia, and the Central Asian Republics and some other neighbouring
countries. While it is a major problem for the neighbours the
global dimension of the
problem is equally important.
THE USE OF CRIMINALS FOR CROSS BORDER TERRORISM
An
even deadlier menace is emerging from Afghanistan and Pakistan, namely, criminals
committed for heinous offences
are being
promised their freedom should they undertake killings across the border.
Not infrequently their targets turn out to be defenseless women and children,
victims of indiscriminate bombings in the market place. It calls for
not only international condemnation in the strongest terms, but suo motu
action
by the International Criminal Court, Interpol and other concerned international
agencies.
At the moment the activity is mostly directed against
India and a few other countries where the jehadis are active. If it remains
unchecked, it is
only a matter of time before these criminals are let loose on civilised
society anywhere. It needs to be understood that criminals who have committed
heinous
crimes generally have psychopathic tendencies. Letting loose such individuals
amongst law-abiding citizens should be deemed a crime against humanity.
The
guilt for such crimes rests with heads of organisations that use them
for such ends as well as the heads of the concerned governments. They are
as
guilty
as the criminals committing the outrages. Their prosecution should be
authorised by the concerned international courts and international warrants
for their
arrest issued accordingly. It is one thing if underground 'criminal'
organisations indulge in such activities. It is an entirely different matter
if 'states'
permit them as state policy. Should the international community not address
the issue urgently the world may well witness an increase of this phenomenon
- worldwide.
THE MYTH AND THE REALITY OF TALIBAN TYPE JEHAD
While Kashmir continues to be a convenient
casus belli, the religious significance is deeper, not only for India, but
for the world as well.
The fundamentalist
variety of Islam, except on the fringes, was not a natural phenomenon
in the modern era on the subcontinent. It became a religious ploy
that suited interested
groups in Pakistan, a sure-fire remedy for keeping them in business.
The difference being that the rabidity at the fringes could become
the norm should the world
not act decisively. The combine in power, with military support from
China, could soon be in a position to raise the nuclear ante at the
subcontinental or global levels.
The Kashmir valley was not a territorial prize per
se. For the first set of raiders in 1947 the real prize was loot and rape.
For their
successors the
prize is the quality referred to as 'Kashmiriyat'. A unique blend
of sufi mysticism, religious tolerance and a liberal, joyous outlook on
life that would be anathema
to religious fundamentalists anywhere. They cannot accept 'a heaven
on earth' with gurgling springs, laughing belles, haunting melodies
and
joie de vivre
that over the centuries symbolised the beautiful Vale of Kashmir.
A religious harmony that was a living challenge to their fundamentalism.
For the
A-P fundamentalists it became their poisoned chalice. Were it to
be allowed to continue to blossom,
its heady fragrance of a tolerant, humanising creed would imperil
their hold. The two are incompatible. Kashmiriyat had to be destroyed,
whatever the cost.
Kashmir is the red herring. Even there, demographic swamping in
Pakistan occupied Kashmir and the so-called Northern Areas (Gilgit, Baltistan)
directly administered
from Islamabad has considerably altered the demographic dynamic.
Not
to mention the ethnic cleansing that has been engineered through
terrorist acts across
the border.
" Is the world seriously expecting India to countenance with equanimity
the talibanisation of the Vale of Kashmir"! Three supplementary questions
suggest themselves: “Has the talibanisation of Afghanistan brought peace
and prosperity to Afghanistan or the region”? Next, “Has the creeping
talibanisation of the Pakistan Army brought peace and prosperity to Pakistan
or the region? And lastly, “Will the hypothetical talibanisation
of the Vale of Kashmir bring prosperity to Kashmir or the region?
THE PREDICAMENT OF THE NON-MILITANT PAKISTANIS
Historians writing about the French Revolution make
the point that the disoriented people of France - nearly 27 million of them
- allowed Robespierre and his small band of followers to actually coerce
them through terror into accepting his dictatorship. What followed is well
known. Over a quarter million people were sent to jail and about forty thousand
guillotined after mock trials. When the people finally mustered the will
to stand up it was found that at the outset the hard core had consisted of
just a handful of people, precisely twenty-two. The people of Pakistan and,
for that matter, law abiding citizens everywhere who see a gradual erosion
of their freedoms under jehad type dispensations must realise that they alone
are the guardians of their liberty. If they do not organise themselves to
resist terror when it 'first' starts manifesting itself they too could go
under one day.
In fact there are not many places left in the world, besides India, where the
ordinary Pakistani is welcome. Who is to blame for this state of affairs? The
military, the mullahs or the average Pakistani citizen for not standing up!
Unless the people of Pakistan themselves decide to throw off their yoke the
world could well decide to leave them to their fate.
The
diplomatic isolation, which is a recent phenomenon, could become a permanent
fixture should the
military-mullah combine continue
to brandish its new found
nuclear might. It is not adding to their stature. Only making the world aware
of the need for concerted global action. Even a statesman of the stature
of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore was apprehensive on account of the growing
fanaticism.
After referring to the travel possibilities of Pakistan’s “Muslim” nuclear
weapon, Mr. Lee is reported to have said in an interview published recently
in The Washington Times:
“ Rational people don’t worry me. China is rational, so is India,
America, Europe and the rest of the world. But not the Islamic fundamentalist
elements. I am very worried because this fanaticism is growing in Indonesia which
is next door to us”. (The Hindu, May 20, 2001).
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew does not hold a brief for India,
China or anyone else in the world. The remarks of the elder statesman from
a country situated close
to
South Asia should be taken seriously by South Asian society. In the global
consciousness Bangladesh is not yet linked to fundamentalism. Hence the
world in general looks benignly at Bangladesh. Should there be a rise of
fundamentalist
elements in Bangladesh as well it would be many decades before Bangladesh
got back into the global mainstream.
The world of the 21st century cannot countenance
the barbaric practices of earlier eras of human history where women were
trampled under foot as
a matter
of course. It cannot remain a mute witness to institutionalised savagery
on any segment of the population. In cases where it is undertaken as
a policy sanctified by religion or any other dispensation of a similar
nature it has
to be fought by the global community as a whole. Inhuman practices
from the dark ages enforced upon hapless citizens through brutality and terror
demand
that the perpetrators of these misdeeds on women and children be themselves
brought to book. A distinguished writer had this to say on the subject:
" Please do not try to find points of contact with barbarism".
India International Centre Quarterly,
Spring 2000, p.31
Instead of 'trying to find points of contact with
barbarism' the answer would lie in demanding compliance with global norms
for the
treatment
of women
before any aid is dispensed in the region. Aid would become conditional
to educational
institutions being set up for women with the help of global agencies
in demarcated compounds. Aid sent to tyrannical regimes of this
nature first invariably
fattens the tyrants and only leftovers are made available to the
remainder.
This is not simply a matter concerning any given
country where fanatical elements have seized power through violence. Whatever
the initial
justification, it
ceases to have relevance where the medieval codes have to be
continuously enforced through coercive action - with the greatest
vehemence
against women. If given
the freedom to choose, the majority of the women under the
Taliban
dispensation would unhesitatingly be glad to remove the yoke.
Put
more succinctly: "the crisis facing the subcontinent and points north,
west and east is no longer limited to the question of territorial adjustments.
It has assumed the larger ideological dimension of militant Islam versus liberal
Islam". The absence of any real democracy, proliferation
of small arms, and easy access to drug money have all played
their part in keeping the region
on the boil. Up till now the brunt has been largely borne
by India because Pakistan was able to convince the Western
world that the problem related
to Kashmir and nothing else. It took full fifty years for
the rest of the world
to come to the same conclusion as the Government of India,
that Kashmir provided a convenient camouflage for the larger
game plan. By the time the realisation
came the elements pushing the fundamentalist creed had been
immeasurably strengthened. When the West saw the light of
day it was almost too late.
It would be facile, and possibly tragic to call the
struggle that will follow as a 'clash of civilisations'. It is certainly
not
the case.
To give a civilisational
veneer to the indoctrinated fanatics spilling out of the
madrasas in Pakistan and elsewhere or those who mastermind
the terror
would not
only be a travesty
of fact but a monumental error of judgment. Should the
highly imaginative theory going by that name gain currency it could
deal a body blow
to Islam, not only
in South Asia, in many other parts of the world as well.
India is perhaps the only country that can prevent
that tragic outcome. Regardless of its differences with its
hostile neighbour
to its west
it is home to nearly
130 million Muslims and any number of illegal migrants
who keep pouring across the borders in search of a better
life.
Without
saying so
openly many Pakistanis,
not wedded to militancy, do privately admit that India
remains the only real bulwark against the terminal madness
engulfing
their state.
Thus
while the
world puts into effect the tough measures to contain
the menace emanating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region,
India's efforts
- besides toughening
its stance
against terrorism - should be directed towards strengthening
liberal Islam in India and the subcontinent.
It is not simply a coincidence that for over fifty
years the brunt of the menace of terrorism has been borne by
the few
million people
of the
beautiful
Kashmir
Valley. It continues to remain the focus of the jehadis.
The reason has been alluded to earlier in the paper.
The Valley,
in a manner
of speaking,
was
a shining example of the Sufi spirit in India. The
militant beast comes not to
ravish the beauty, but to destroy it. The tragic tale
unfolds poignantly in the Akshara Theatre, New Delhi
documentary,
The Kashmir Story
and docudrama, The Sufi Way. If the beauty perishes
Kashmir perishes. Should
the beauty
remain
the beast is slain.
INDO-ISLAMIC
SYNTHESIS
Those
at the helm of affairs in India have also to realise that Islam, although
a transplant, helped to create
one of the most
magnificent Islamic heritages of the past thousand
years. Beyond the killings and suppression of the adherents of the older
Indian faiths lay the synthesis
of a unique blend that led to a cultural efflorescence,
the parallel to which would be difficult to find except in the European renaissance.
Hence, an
essential element of the fight against Islamic
militants which India, the Central Asian Republics and other countries facing
this threat may have been
neglecting - by concentrating solely on the military
dimension - is the need to strengthen liberal elements at the grass roots.
India has to take the
lead in preventing the jehadisation of Islam.
The vast majority of ordinary Muslims do not wish
to see their religion degraded in this fashion. They have failed to organise
themselves
against the fanatical
fringes in their respective countries, simply
because the latter happen to have embraced terror. The excerpt that follows
sums
up the situation admirably:
" Yet, for all the cruelty and obscurantism associated with religion, hidden
within the great traditions of faith are precious resources for the future welfare
of humanity and these are too important to be abandoned to the extremists"(Emphasis
added).
Marcus Braybrooke, IIC
Quarterly,
Spring, 2000.
Extremism can only be established through extreme
violence visited upon innocent, law-abiding
people. Once established it can be perpetuated only through
mindless
savagery. Exactly what is being witnessed
in Afghanistan; and that which is sought to be imposed
on parts of Kashmir. But the world has just
started emerging
from one dark tunnel of this nature. Thirty
years ago the experiment of extremism was
tried out in
Iran, although the case of Iran was very
different. Nonetheless,
after decades of suffering the people have
had enough of the draconian enforcement codes.
They
have started mustering the courage to start
protesting. They have
a long road ahead.
Nobody, however, doubts that a moderate
and tolerant regime, which is the natural
state
for any civilised
society, will eventually be established
in Iran. Do
the people of Pakistan, who still haven't
gone under as a country, wish to again
enter the
dark tunnel. The difference would be that
this particular
tunnel
might have a blocked exit. The Iranians
have started seeing the light. Iranian
reformers
have started openly accusing their government
of past
excesses:
" Your management of the judiciary in the past several months has not only
created hopelessness among the people, but it is also leading to a future full
of anxiety and apprehension". (Emphasis
added). {The Pro-reform Islamic Iran Participation
Front (IIPF), in an open letter to the
Judiciary. (Times
of India, July 17, 2000)}
The people of Pakistan, mainly on account
of apathy and inertia, are entering the
region of darkness.
India might no longer be interested in
pulling them
out at the other end. The words that
follow have been spoken by a Pakistani:
"perhaps does not realise that a sovereign Pakistan will go more
swiftly to its doom than a Pakistan restrained by its external obligations".
Khaled Ahmed, Lahore based journalist,
writing in The Pioneer, July 15, 2000.
FUTURE PROJECTIONS
The moderate leader of Iran, President Khatami, in
a moment of eloquence, spoke of a 'Dialogue of the Civilisations'. It was
widely reported in the world press after the interview to an American television
chain. Wise words from a wise leader, aware of the difficulties that will
have to be surmounted in mitigating the hardships to his people, resulting
from past excesses. The even greater difficulty of prising loose from the
vice-like grip of the self-anointed repositories of the ultimate wisdom,
the draconian powers still wielded by them. The question is not only relevant
for Islam but for the world that has achieved scientific breakthroughs
of a type that could not have been even remotely guessed at by the founders
of the great religions of the world.
Therefore, should the moderate and the liberal elements
amongst the people of the region practicing Islam succeed in overcoming their
more obscurantist
counterparts whose practice of the great religion begins and ends with
the whip the prospect for global harmony would be immensely strengthened.
Should the powers who are in a position to influence
events in the region temporarily sink their differences to neutralise the
menace emanating from
it so that not
even a residual strain remains the world of the 21st century would start
looking a different place. Were a condition of stability to prevail the
advantages
that would accrue to almost every country are inconceivable at the present
juncture.
First and foremost, like the days of yore, Marco
Polo type of journeys along the Silk Route would be possible, to and fro,
across the vast Central
Asian
expanse for people from the north, south, east and west. A family from
Vietnam could plan to drive to Helsinki, a Chinese family to London,
a Swedish family
to Goa. The possibilities for easier travel across the Eurasian landmass
are endless. The economic benefits unsurpassable. Fifty years down
the road national
boundaries would only be delineated on maps. The kabuliwallah of the
subcontinental folklore of an earlier era would again roam freely in
the bazaars of Bombay,
Calcutta and even Shanghai. The Ladakhi would be able to cross Tibet
in peace and reach Korea, if he wished to do so.
The Central Asian Republics could become a loose
confederation along the lines of the European Union, sharing their oil and
water for the
benefit
of the region
as a whole. Pipelines could be laid from anywhere to anywhere, following
alignments that were economically and ecologically the best options,
bringing prosperity
in their wake from the Caspian Sea to Colombo.
The 'Demilitarisation of the Himalayas as an Ecological
Imperative' could commence within the next two to three years. The proposal
put
forward
by the Ecology
Monitors Society in November 1998 at an international conference
held at New Delhi could then be progressed with greater confidence.
Each
one of these aspects which might appear to be unachievable now takes on
a different
hue once the true measure of a demilitarised,
'de-fundamentalised'
South Asian society are viewed from the perspective outlined
above.
By just
excising the cancer from Afghanistan and Pakistan – a seemingly
tall order just yet - a dozen other trouble spots will subside.
The vista that could
then open out for Central and South Asia would be truly magnificent.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Religion
is being used as a tool for the most irreligious mayhem in the world. The
problem will have to be dealt
with globally at several
levels. People who underestimate the potential of the menace being introduced
into the global blood stream should recall how a mere handful of terrorists
without the means of mass destruction available to them in the 1970s
and 80s were able to create havoc in some of the most advanced societies
in the
world. In the present case the state itself becomes the master terrorist.
Compared to that earlier period the evil being spawned now is several
orders of magnitude more horrid than what went before. When the jehadis get
hold
of low yield suitcase nuclear devices - and it is only a matter of time
before they do - the world will realise the folly of its inaction when the
evil
could have been nipped in the bud.
The Great Game is over. It has nearly gotten out
of the hands of the powers that be. In the era of weapons of mass destruction
almost all the big games
are over. Only foolish people, die-hard diplomats from an earlier period,
or the uniformed fraternity can really think of playing games on a global
scale.
It is time to take stock.
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