| December 3, 2002 | Tuesday | Ramazan 27,1423 |
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Friday controversy
Rights of the disabled
GIVEN the fresh stirrings of revivalism that we are witnessing in our own country, it may sound a little presumptuous to comment on the exploitation of religious sentiment that is taking place across the border ahead of Gujarat state elections. But there are important considerations why the recent outpouring of vitriol in India should be seen as disturbing. Given the large size of the minorities in India, secularism and communal harmony cannot be abstract concepts: Indian democracy cannot work except in a secular ethos. The fact that, besides the state leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the prime minister and his home minister have also chosen to make inflammatory statements is an added reason for concern.
Without referring to the genocidal carnage in Gujarat that killed over 2,000 Muslims, both Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr Lal Krishan Advani have chosen to step up their fire-breathing rhetoric against Pakistan as part of their party’s campaign to sway the Hindu vote in the state and ensure a BJP victory in the face of a strong challenge from the Congress party. Mr Advani has said a full-fledged “fourth war” with Pakistan would be preferable to recurring “terror attacks”; Mr Vajpayee added his own bit on Sunday, saying that Pakistan wanted to destabilize India’s economy. A hard-line stance against Pakistan is presumably considered a suitable gimmick to galvanize the Hindu vote in favour of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has been directly blamed by an Indian inquiry commission for abetting the anti-Muslim riots in the state. One poster reportedly being pasted all over Gujarat asks people to chose between Modi and Musharraf. Thus, Pakistan has been injected as an issue in the state’s electoral contest.
Knowing that such utterances are being made in aid of Mr Modi makes little difference to the wider implications and effect of the approach. They immediately draw a riposte from Pakistani officials, aggravate the war of words between the two countries, and further spoil the regional atmosphere. It is tragic that this should happen at this time when a new government has just taken over in Islamabad, providing a window of opportunity for making another effort to move ahead towards a dialogue. The possibility that a Saarc summit might be held with the Indian prime minister participating is also steadily receding because of the current verbal exchanges. Extremism breeds extremism, and it is unfortunate that nothing that the Indian leaders say or do helps strengthen the hands of those in Pakistan who stand for peace and normalization. Gujarat goes to the polls on December 12, and the elections would be over in a day. The India-Pakistan relationship is too important and too sensitive to be turned into an electoral football to help the fortunes of the BJP, which has lost every state, municipal and even panchayat election held in the last four-and-a-half years. Instead of making irresponsible and sweeping remarks about Pakistan, the BJP’s central leadership should worry about the likely consequences of the ‘victory day’ that Mr Modi plans to organize on December 6 to mark the barbarous demolition of the Babri Mosque 10 years ago.
PRIME MINISTER Zafarullah Jamali would do well not to rush into declaring Friday as the weekly holiday. Talking to reporters after a meeting with two of the MMA’s top leaders, the prime minister said he would “soon” issue an order revoking former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision on the subject in February 1997. This means, for the third time in 25 years and the second time in less than six years, the country is being made to go back and forth on the weekly off. This will send all the wrong signals to the world with regard to the nation’s political maturity, irrespective of change of government.
Evidently, the decision is more political than administrative or economic. Making Friday a weekly holiday is not a religious issue; the decision has very obvious economic and financial implications. Advanced countries are closed on Saturday and Sunday. If Pakistan shuts down on Friday, this means that a banking or business transaction not made on Thursday must wait until Monday. This reduces the working of the international financial market for Pakistan to less than four days a week, taking into account the squeeze of the time difference between Pakistan and the developed world, including Japan, on Thursday. Not all religious elements agree that Friday must necessarily be the weekly off day. So it would be much better if, instead of going along with the politically motivated suggestion of religious parties, the government tried to develop a consensus by consulting the non-political ulema, financial experts, and the business community. It should then be presented to the National Assembly for a vote. It is the decision taken by the people’s representatives that must prevail. Mr Jamali’s rather hasty pronouncement on the subject seems motivated less by national interests and more by a desire not to offend the MMA. This is not how a decision on a matter of profound economic, financial and business interest to the nation is to be taken, no matter what the political compulsion of the moment.
THE international day for disabled persons being observed today comes as a reminder that not enough is being done in this country to address what the UN calls “the silent crisis”. This is the deplorable state of the 13 or so million people in Pakistan who are disabled as a result of mental, physical or sensory impairment. Apart from the fact that their lives and activities are restricted by their physical and mental handicaps, they also have to suffer discrimination rooted in social prejudice. It is a pity that its repeated promises notwithstanding, the government has failed to adopt measures to integrate the disabled into the mainstream by facilitating their participation in public life. Neither have programmes for their training and employment been launched on a significant scale.
There are basically three essential aspects of the problem which call for attention. First, steps need to be taken to help the disabled to cope with their impairment so that they can lead as normal and self-sufficient a life as possible. This may call for the establishment of schools for the visually impaired, training programmes for the mentally handicapped, institutions to produce low-cost prosthesis, wheel chairs, and aids for the physically disabled. Secondly, an all-out effort must be made to induct the disabled into the decision-making process. This would facilitate the formulation of policies which are sensitive to the needs of the disabled, since their presence in policy-making circles would provide a valuable input.
Thirdly, it is important to integrate the disabled into society so that they are accepted as dignified, equal and self-reliant citizens of the state. While the media can play a significant role in creating awareness about the disabled, their induction in public positions would be helpful in improving their image. Indeed, they can contribute more meaningfully to society, given the fact that the disabled are usually endowed with better skills and abilities in some areas — nature’s way of compensating them for the loss of one or the other faculty.