secularism part II
shahan a friend from aitchison days emailed me his take on the previous post.thought i'd share his thoughts. oh and i have no arguments with what he's written.
Jerry – getting bored I ventured into your blogs and am impressed with the intellectual masturbation you are engaged in. I agree that fundamentalism is one of the key issues Pakistan has to address if it is to move forward in any sustainable fashion. The way I think about this issue – and let me know if you disagree – fundamentalism is a consequence of illiteracy and economic disparity amongst the classes.
In a country where 70-65% of the population has no access to any formal education, the social psychology has to be driven by conditioned sentiments rather than rationale. I strongly believe that our nation has been subjected to a lot of social conditioning in its formidable phase. I am alluding to the orchestrated history our text books convey, the historic “heroes” we are told about through our curriculum and the subtle attempts by state controlled media (at least for the majority of Pakistan’s history) to link patriotism with religion. All these tools employed by the state may have been necessary given the military needs of the nation, but it has left Pakistan with a problem of mass fundamentalism that worries all of us.
Another reason for this fundamentalism is the huge economic disparity between the masses and the social elite. It is only a natural human reaction to try and find reasons to dismiss a thing you desire but can’t have. Religious fundamentalism is an outcome of the frustration and jealousy the masses harbor towards the more privileged class. I am even tempted to qualify this fanaticism as a distraction masses have embraced to forget their more immediate needs and problems that they feel helpless about.
I understand that in your blog you alluded to economic growth as a tool to curb this menace plaguing our country. But I further qualify that we must ensure a better distribution of this economic prosperity amongst the masses.
\r\nA more robust middle class and improving poverty statistics coupled with a more liberal education (text books / madrassas / media) will be a good start to sustain the economic growth our country needs and deserves.------------------------------------------------------------
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posted by Jerry shah at 11:31 PM
5 Comments:
just to add some grain to the chaff on fundamentalist politics in pakistan --> to legitimize absence of any sort of equitable economic growth, the state had to resort to a religious discourse but it has not been able to hijack it. consequently, right now, the only legitimate and legal voice of political opposition to Musharraf comes from the religious lobby what with their demands that he doff his uniform etc.i don't know (need to study this more) but i think most case studies and literature suggests that allowing democratic participation of religious politics generally tends to undermine the fundo part of the agenda because the non-secular parties in the end have to garner votes and have to deliver.
on jarrar's suggestion that economic development needs to be the vanguard: pakistan's problematic status quo seems to stem from the fact that its political and economic development occurred separately (as opposed to the european experience etc. where colonisation didn't hand over a custom made political set up) so the curative value of just economic development is questionable specially when you take into account that equitable distribution can't really come about without some sort of political plan/government ideology.
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