Hindu fundamentalism

ALMOST anything is digestible in the heat of the moment. When Mumbai came under attack, most of Pakistan mourned as well. And why not, for who other than Pakistanis have been most brutalised by terrorism in the 21st century? We understand the pain, the trauma, the scarring of a collective psyche. When Indian leaders resorted to bellicosity, and when the media in that country went hysterical, most Pakistanis said let it be, they need to express their grief. Extreme anguish and irrationality can go hand in hand, and that is perfectly understandable even at a remove. But the dust has settled now and it is time to talk sense. It should be clear to the world that Islamabad has tackled the ostensible ‘Pakistan connection’ to the carnage in Mumbai with considerable maturity. Unlike India, it has refrained from war-mongering and upping the ante in a tense situation. The press too has acted with commendable wisdom for the most part. But make no mistake. If it comes to war, which many people in India seem to prefer, there will be no victory for New Delhi. What we will have on our hands is mutually assured destruction.

Only madmen can advocate conflicts involving nuclear weapons. But that is precisely what the head of the Hindu-fundamentalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh seemed to be doing on Friday when he said that India should be ready for a nuclear war. Granted he said that such a showdown would be the last resort, but the fact that this hothead can even entertain such a possibility is simply mind-blowing. Pakistan and India attack each other with nuclear weapons? Who will be left to proclaim victory? No one. The RSS chief also likes to see the world in black and white, in terms of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Such sweeping statements, with no specific focus, only contribute to mass hysteria and can never add to the comprehension of complex problems. The head of the RSS is as ignorant and sinful as the most rabid mullah that can be found anywhere across the length and breadth of Pakistan. There is no differentiating between the two, other than their stated ‘religion’.

The ‘Islamic fundamentalist’ is a well-known commodity. This is so largely because of the transnational nature of militant Islam. The terrorist driven by what he sees as his Muslim identity is equally at ease killing passengers in a train station in Europe or Eid shoppers in Pakistan. The Hindu fundamentalist, on the other hand, works within the geographical boundaries of his own country and as such does not attract attention worldwide. The pogrom in Gujarat, the targeting of Christian missionaries in India’s tribal regions, all go unnoticed in the western world because India is a major trading partner. That’s what it comes down to, essentially. Money.

Protests in Greece

THE week-long student protests in Greece have left many baffled. Ostensibly, the death of a 15-year-old schoolboy, Alexis Grigoropoulos, caused by a policeman’s bullet on Dec 6 brought enraged teens and youths in their twenties on to the streets. Hundreds of banks, shops and cars have been destroyed in the ensuing protests, causing losses estimated at two billion euros. The police have fired so many rounds of tear gas, 4,600 according to estimates, to disperse the protesters that they are running out of supplies. But more than the death of a 15-year-old in disputed circumstances, what is alarming leaders across Europe is that the Greek riots may be the first round of violence caused by the global economic meltdown. Greece’s 240-billion-euro economy has not been able to accommodate its young. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates that 22 per cent of those aged between 15 and 24 are unemployed; some economists put the rate as high as 30 per cent. The problem is not new: according to an economist quoted in The Independent a quarter of people under 25 live in poverty, a figure that has been increasing for a decade. However, with the global economy spiralling downwards, the job prospects of youths, even those with coveted university degrees, will only become bleaker. So it is not a surprise that the youth have turned on the state, attacking the police and denouncing the Greek government led by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. The problem is the protests are compounding the problems of the Greek economy, ratcheting up the risk investors perceive.

For now the New Democracy party’s slim one-seat majority in the 300-member parliament does not appear to be at risk. While Prime Minister Karamanlis has been criticised for his slow reaction, the Greek system vests in him the right to call new elections, an unlikely choice for someone who won re-election in September 2007. However, other European states with similar youth unemployment rates, such as France, Italy and Spain, will be worried. Smaller-scale sympathy protests and attacks have already occurred in Berlin, Copenhagen and Moscow. And with the EU slipping towards a recession, dragged down by the economies of Germany, Italy, France and the UK, the worry that economically disillusioned youth will take to the streets across Europe will grow. Worrying too is the possibility that if the recession turns out to be of a once-in-a-generation, or even once-in-a-lifetime, magnitude it may expose fault lines over race and immigration.

Police under siege

PERHAPS the time has come to abandon disbelief and assess the contradictions that plague our security culture. A recent report about Sindh’s police department paying through the nose to cater to the personal safety concerns of President Asif Ali Zardari not only takes the proverbial cake, but gives a new meaning to the term ‘top heavy’. An enormous portion of the department’s resources is being used to safeguard Karachi’s Bilawal House and Zardari House in Nawabshah. The president and his many ministers have thousands of police officers for their protection. In September, some 5,000 officers of Karachi’s sanctioned police strength of 29,000 were on personal security duties, with 43 police guards shielding the Sindh home minister. All this is aside from the heavy police deployment for VIP movements. The phenomenon of intizam duty — to man VVIP presence in the city – also debuted in September.

Needless to say, this does little else than overburden an already gasping force. Citizens also claim that proceedings at police stations come to a virtual standstill as SHOs are involved in this ‘duty’. In the time of a government that has long upheld the abandonment of VIP culture, official statistics remain startling — VVIP movements devour close to 2,200 police officials. Regrettably, the worst victims of this culture — little more than a syndrome of self-importance — are not just an indigent, overtaxed police corps but also the citizenry that bears the tax load and has to face lack of staff at police posts or police apathy. There is no reason why an expensive force such as the Rangers cannot be deployed for VIP movements as it does not have stations to tend to and has little contact or responsibility towards citizens. Secondly, and at the risk of stating the obvious, almost all police stations in the metropolis are on their last leg as there continues to be a dearth of mobiles for both patrolling and emergencies, area-specific helplines and paucity of personnel. Justice begins at a police station and it is time that lawmakers funnel funds and formulate policies to empower these crucial points of contact.

The media and Mumbai

THE Mumbai attacks have seen the media, especially the electronic media, in both countries conduct itself in an irresponsible fashion.

Hours after the attack began, the Indian media started showing Bollywood-style films about the perpetrators of the carnage allegedly in Pakistan. Just as quickly the Pakistani media went into complete denial.

Both responses were exaggerated and irresponsible. The Indian media could not have made any credible film on actors within Pakistan and the Pakistani media could not be sure that there was no Pakistani connection. The Indian media ignored the possibility of the fallout of such hysterical coverage, for after all it could play into the hands of Pakistan-haters in India who do not want peace. Had troops been moved the western border of Pakistan would have gone to the Taliban and India would have faced the intensity of the ‘Islamic’ threat. That would have been tremendously dangerous for India.

As for Pakistan, the media did not show sufficient sensitivity for the dead and wounded in Mumbai. That is a moral failing. Then, to make matters worse, the whole history of the creation of the jihadi outfit in Pakistan was not even mentioned. This is not just insensitive; it is dysfunctional. Nobody outside Pakistan buys the argument that Pakistan is not a base for terrorist outfits which have been around since the Afghan war days and were fed on American money and allegedly supported by the security agencies.

Very often they do not even deny their involvement in what they still call jihad and have even accepted responsibility for some actions in India. With this history, it is obvious why westerners and Indians blame Pakistan even before the evidence is fully in. The Pakistani media need not react against this. Instead it should see to it that it does everything in its power to change public opinion in a way that our governments can fight terrorists and dismantle terrorist outfits in the country.

But what have sections of the Pakistani media been doing? After having denied that there could be any evidence regarding the involvement of elements in Pakistan, they attack the civilian government’s attempt to arrest suspects from an extremist group. Anchor persons, among them some respected for their stance on issues like the removal of the chief justice and the rule of law, dismiss the government’s actions as a consequence of external pressure. Even respected columnists can be criticised on this score.

This is exactly what the media had been doing with reference to the Taliban’s attacks on Pakistan’s cities until the Taliban started owning them. The attacks increased at such a pace that some people started debating whether the war in Fata and Swat was Pakistan’s war after all. And yet, such is the confusion among Pakistanis that even now most people think it is America’s war and not ours. With Nato vehicles being burned and disparate groups of people defying the state, the reality is that the state is losing its sovereignty over parts of Pakistan. Still respected members of the media are in a state of denial that this is Pakistan’s war.

Why this inability to see the truth? I believe there are many reasons. Firstly, there is much hatred against the United States and India. America is hated for its unjust support for Israel, the totally uncalled for war in Afghanistan and criminal aggression in Iraq. India is hated for its suppression of the movement for self-determination in Kashmir and recent reports on the discrimination against Indian Muslims. Secondly, there is much in Pakistani textbooks and the media against India. Some of this matter is wrong and fabricated while some is correct. There is nothing in the textbooks against America but there is no shortage of anti-American stories and conspiracy theories doing the rounds. Indeed, there are conspiracy theories in which Indians, Americans and Jews feature prominently and people believe them. And, lastly, there is the blindness induced by nationalism (or shall we call it chauvinism?) which makes the media so hawkish.

These factors combine to prevent our anchorpersons and columnists from understanding that they should acknowledge the truth before moving on to suggest cures. And much can be done against the Taliban who attack our cities and other groups who presumably still operate across the border. The media can strengthen the government as no other organisation or force can but the media so far chooses not to, oblivious of the great danger in which it is placing Pakistan.

Let it be understood, if the government still does not act against terrorists the United States will make a pariah of us which India will welcome. That such an eventuality is neither in India’s nor in America’s interest the two countries will only understand when they find the Taliban staring down at them. Pakistan is needed as a stable, democratic and peaceful force in South Asia to undo past evil. This can only happen if the media allows the government to suppress the extremists.

The government also needs the help of the media to confront the army and intelligence agencies which act as parallel governments in Pakistan. They have always had an anti-India bias of the kind which has prevented them from appreciating that it is peace which is in the interest of Pakistan and not war. I do not know what the army thinks in this crisis though so far there is reason to believe that it has been supportive of the government in its efforts against the Taliban. Even if the army remains supportive while extremists are suppressed within Pakistan, help from the media will be welcome as ordinary soldiers are as influenced by the ubiquitous media as other people.

The government too should make the media’s job easier by presenting proof against those they arrest and take action against. If this involves confessing to past blunders let it be so. The public mistrusts the government because officials lie but if they start telling the truth the trust deficit can come to an end. Governments on both sides have been pretty balanced and responsible so far. Now the media on both sides has to control itself in the interest of peace in South Asia.

Making music together

THE sovereign independent republic of the West-Eastern Divan, as I like to call it, began as an unpredictable experiment in 1999. Over the years, it has grown into an example of how Middle Eastern society could function under the best of circumstances.

Our musicians have gone through the painful process of learning to express themselves while simultaneously listening to the narrative of their counterparts. I cannot imagine a better way of implementing the first and most fundamental article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, that they are endowed with reason and conscience, and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Unfortunately, today in the Middle East not all human beings are granted the same freedom and equality in dignity and rights. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is a musical organisation, not a political one, but for the approximately six-week duration of its annual existence it is able to provide its members with one basic need — and that is equality. It is a realistic utopia.

The same two young people who might encounter each other at a checkpoint in the roles of border guard and citizen under occupation sit next to one another in this orchestra, playing the same music.

Music, unlike any other art or discipline, requires the ability to express oneself with absolute commitment and passion while listening carefully and sensitively to another voice which may even contradict one’s own statement. This is the essence of musical counterpoint and a limitless source of inspiration to us in our extra-musical dialogues.

Without the music, our conversations could not possibly be as productive and enriching as they are; the circumstances on the ground in the Middle East create too much inequality, and the prerequisite for any dialogue is equality. Without equality one cannot speak of dialogue, but only of soliloquy, which produces an excellent dramatic effect in the theatre but causes irreparable damage in daily life.

Before a Beethoven symphony we are all equal. Whether we come from Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Turkey or Syria, we must approach the music with the same humility, curiosity, knowledge, and passion.

Music makes it possible for all the Israeli members of the orchestra to support an Egyptian oboist’s solo, and for all the Arab members of the orchestra to support an Israeli flautist’s solo, because music engenders a true and effortless spirit of creativity and brotherhood. I carry the title of United Nations messenger of peace, which I believe gives me both the right and the responsibility to work towards abolishing ignorance.

The writer is a pianist and conductor. He joins members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in the General Assembly Hall of the UN in New York on Monday to perform Schubert’s Trout Quintet to mark the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.

— The Guardian, London

OTHER VOICES - Indian Press

Solidarity show

The Statesman

IF a single signal was sent out from parliament on Thursday it was that just about everyone had realised that the upsurge of anger at the way politicians have been conducting themselves would render intolerable any of the customary uproar when the terror strike in Mumbai was debated. For once there was a positive response to the speaker’s caution that the institution was under the scanner. It was a rare show of solidarity: the impassioned condemnation of the killings and the call to turn the screws so that Pakistan delivers on its promises created the impression that this time around India was unlikely to permit internal differences to dilute its posture.

It, unfortunately, would be premature to assume that MPs, across the board, have decided to mend their ways. Only the days ahead will establish whether they have the political will to sustain that standard of debate, or will again fall prey to the temptation to misuse the forum to merely slam each other. Still, even if only a brief interlude, that return to the institution’s original ways was elevating. The quality of presentations obviously did vary but members should realise that — maybe under ‘duress’ — they do have a capacity to make a strong case without taking recourse to strong language and demonstrative action. The overall decorum actually enhanced their criticism of the uncoordinated functioning of the intelligence and security services, as well as the dissatisfaction that only a couple of political heads had rolled while officials, in and out of uniform, were not being held accountable for their blunders.

The tenor of the debate would actually add to the pressure on the government to thoroughly overhaul the various mechanisms that provide internal security. If the former home minister was criticised the new incumbent received some kudos for his initial actions that included a rare admission of governmental lapses. A number of proposals and promises were made in the home minister’s formal statement, the intervention of the external affairs minister, as well as Dr Manmohan Singh’s concluding observations. That these were generally endorsed translates into their having no excuses for inept implementation. The government now has a real test on its hands, for after having given it the mandate the nation will feel terribly betrayed if in the days ahead there is reason to suspect that the ministers were only keen on winning the ‘parliamentary skirmish’, not the larger campaign against terror. A campaign that will demand sustained action [and] hard decisions…. — (Dec 13)