by YASSER LATIF HAMDANI
Police have registered cases of blasphemy and terrorism against unidentified men for smashing idols at a Hindu temple in Gharo Town of Thatta District in Pakistan’s Sindh State
Lately, all one watches on TV, reads in print and on social media and hears in private gatherings is about Panama Papers.
We love a good tamasha — a spectacle — and cannot live without one for long. Panama seems to be the new tamasha in town and with the formation of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) and growing calls for the prime minister’s resignation, the tamasha is all set to turn into a full blown circus.
Our penchant for tamashas would be forgivable if there were not many more urgent issues that ought to be discussed. One such issue, staring us in the face, is the growing blood lust of the mob in the country. By the mob, one does not mean the mafia or organised crime. The mob is all of us, the entire Pakistani nation, together, out to lynch anyone it feels has fallen out of line with the mainstream’s idea of a good Pakistani.
Even though our constitution purports to give Non-Muslim Pakistanis equal rights, the reality is that ours is a majoritarian and, therefore, a fascist society that reinforces the idea that this country is for Muslims only. And that Non-Muslims should just put up and shut up. One can go on writing article after article about Mr Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his ideas of an inclusive, liberal, and democratic state, but then one realizes that with his death we ensured that any such fanciful notions were also buried.
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(Thanks to Razi Azmi)