Kashmir & The Bogey of Islamophobia
In the bible for international relations gurus & social scientists, “Clash of Civilisations”, Samuel Huntington argues that cultural & religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in post-cold war era. Arab spring, ably exasperated by instability due to ill-conceived US interventions in Middle East (Iraq & Syria), has led to mass migration and resultant mixing of civilizational identities in an enclosed geographical space. Further, power of technology has been harnessed for vigorous pursuit of proselytist religions thereby engulfing the entire world. With Newton’s Third Law being as applicable to society as physics, extremist imposition by religious fanatics has led to an equally extreme counter reaction. This has left many states in the lurch specially where cultural values clash with religious identities. Pakistan being a loose amalgamation of varied cultures is one such state.
Pakistan : Confused at Birth
Jinnah’s “Two Nation Theory” primarily promised a better political, economic and social entity to Muslims of the Subcontinent. Through subtle machinations, Islam was thrust upon various disparate cultures in erstwhile Pakistan as the panacea of Nationhood. It was deemed a given that century old cultures with distinct traditions, languages and values could be transformed into a synchronous identity under the Islamic banner. However, even after decades have passed & Pakistan halved, a “better” world for Muslims has still to be realised specially when viewed in contrast with a rising India. Herein also lies the underlying subtext of the “Kashmir Conundrum”. If Kashmir, a Muslim majority region, succeeds within a secular India, then the entire basis of the “Two Nation Theory” and consequently justification for creation of Pakistan would collapse. Jinnah’s alarmist prophecy of a Hindu dominated nation which will trample the minority shall be unhinged if Kashmir transforms into as a peaceful & prosperous region within the Union of India. It is imperative for Pakistan’s national identity that the Kashmir Problem simmers in perpetuity. Increasing religious radicalisation of Kashmir and suppression of indigenous Sufi philosophy is thus necessary for Pakistan to amalgamate Kashmir into a theocratic state wherein culture is subservient to religion.
Islamophobia as a Unifying Factor
Validity of Jinnah & Zia-Ul-Haq’s proposition that Islam shall unify disparate cultures of Pakistan has failed with Baluchis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Hazaras as well as Punjabi linguists up in arms against the State. These social entities are unwilling to sacrifice traditions & values handed down over generations at the altar of an artificially engineered form of Islam proliferated in order to retain power within an elite class of Army, politicians & Mullahs. Globally, in sync with domestic ideology, Pakistan has been leading promoter of the “Ummah” where it views Islam as a geo-political identity. Being founder member of the OIC, Pakistan hoped that influence and wealth of the Arab world shall be shared amongst this Islamic identity. However, hope of a supreme political identity or an “Ummah” comprising of all Muslim nations failed because International Relations is based on national interests and not ideologies. Moreover, the idea of an equal standing for all muslims within the Umma meant disruption of the racial hierarchy which perched Arabs at the top followed by Persians. Asian Muslims, especially those originating from the subcontinent, are treated as recent convertees and belonging to an inferior race. Sub continental Muslims, inherited the demeaning sobriquet of “Mawali or Mawal” amongst the Arab which in present context means a rogue but originated from the concept of non-Arab Muslims attaching themselves as client- servants to Arab families in order to hasten their assimilation into Arab tribal culture. Given this history of racial discrimination, it is hardly surprising that custodians of Islam’s holiest sites and beholder of the language in which the Holy Quran is written, would endanger their national interests by aligning with an inferior race and state like Pakistan purely on basis of religion. Thus, Islam as a sole factor for national & global integration failed to gain traction for Pakistan.
There is, therefore, a national necessity for Pakistan to reinvent a theme which invigorates nationalism without endangering existing power structures. Taking a cue from Zia-Ul-Haq, the Pakistan Army through Imran Khan is creating an atmosphere of fear which it hopes to utilise in order to subdue separatist forces. Imran Khan seeks to be crowned as the Champion of Muslims worldwide by “fighting” against the growing trend of Islamophobia. Events around the world like in France & UK which have differing causative factors and contexts are being touted as existential threats to the religion. Impassioned speeches in UN, midnight tweets and promises to counter Islamophobia through dedicated TV channels and social media means are aimed at distracting the domestic population from failures in Naya Pakistan.
Kashmir and Islamophobia
India comprises of even more disparate cultures and identities than Pakistan. However, unlike Pakistan, India prides itself as a celebration of uniqueness. The often-repeated slogan of “Unity in Diversity” is reflective of India which as a system not only accepts but also cherishes different religions, customs & languages. In contrast, Pakistan has adopted a system of commonality in religion and language supporting an autocratic governance model. This is because Pakistan views itself as a monolith with a singular identity and if it accepts diversity as a social norm, the raison d’etre for partition would be lost. It is essential for Pakistan that in order to amalgamate Kashmir, all elements of the unique Kashmiri identity or Kashmiriyat are suppressed. Emergence of ISIS flags, banning of theatres & arts as well as shunning modern education is being engineered in order to portray the moderate Sufi culture of Kashmir as antithesis to Islam. Bogey of Islamophobia & allegations of injustice on the basis of religion are being provoked in Kashmir to maintain instability thereby justifying the theory that Muslims are insecure within India and the only alternate is integration within a monolith Pakistan which shall act as a bulwark against any threat to Muslim identity. Indigenous cultures will have to be sacrificed in order to form a united Islamic entity which can stand against these threats. In the future, there is bound to be enhanced rhetoric against Islamophobia and an existential threat to the religion shall be build up specially in Kashmir. The population shall be extolled to give up their traditions and culture while being encourage to amalgamate within a greater geo-pol theocratic entity which shall safeguard their religious beliefs. It is upto the Kashmiri society & intelligentsia to recognise these ulterior motives and align the youth to their unique culture which is under threat, not by India, but by a desperate Pakistan.
