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The
barbaric murder of Jagdeesh Kumar, accused of blasphemy by some of his
workmates at a garment factory in Karachi, brings out in sharp focus once again
the exposed and vulnerable situation of non-Muslims in a Pakistan still
wedded to the legacy of General Zia-ul-Haq.
When the police finally intervened, the body of the 22-year-old victim had
been mutilated and disfigured beyond recognition: among other things the eyes
had been gouged out. The reports published indicate that he was a quiet man,
from a poverty-stricken Hindu family belonging to some obscure village in the
Sindh desert. People with such a depressed and vulnerable background come to
factories to eek out a miserable living, not to engage in religious
controversies. In the days and weeks ahead, we will learn that some petty
personal quarrel or irrational hatred of a Hindu was the real reason for his
murder.
What happened in Karachi was reminiscent of the lynching of
African-Americans by white racists in the southern states of the US as late as the early 20th century.
Until those laws were changed, black men and women were killed for the
flimsiest of reasons. I remember one story when a white shopkeeper took out
his gun and shot dead an old black man, who for years had been delivering
merchandise to him, when an altercation took place between that man and a
white man who had come to the shop for the first time. The white shopkeeper
sided with a complete stranger, because the race laws had conditioned him to
react in that way.
Anyone who follows the news from Pakistan and reads the reports published
regularly by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan would find that violence and brutality
against non-Muslims increased exponentially after the blasphemy law was
imposed in 1982 and reformulated in 1986. The connection between law and
social behaviour is a well-established fact and, quite simply, bad,
intolerant and violence-inducing laws produce malevolent behaviour among
members of society. Let me quote both the relevant texts on blasphemy in Pakistan:
In 1982, Section 295-B was inserted in the Pakistan Penal Code. It reads: "Defiling,
etc., of The Holy Quran: Whoever wilfully defiles, damages or desecrates a
copy of the Holy Quran or of an extract therefrom, or uses it in any
derogatory manner or for any unlawful purpose, shall be punishable with
imprisonment for life."
In 1986, Section 295-C was added. It stated: "Use of derogatory remarks,
etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet: Whoever by words, either spoken or
written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or
insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or
imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."
Those who are familiar with legal expressions and jargon will have no
difficulty in understanding that the wordings of the two laws furnish an easy
excuse for accusing a person of blasphemy. What can be a matter of at most a
spirited discussion on religion and religious icons among educated people can
easily be interpreted by illiterates as blasphemy if they discuss religion.
More important, perhaps, is to figure out what purpose these laws are
supposed to help realise. If the purpose is to make people, presumably
non-Muslims, respect Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), then such an
intention is premised on a singularly flawed psychological theory and
approach.
Fear induces submission and despondency, not respect. In situations when fear
and threats surround the lives of people, they resort to dissimulation and
become hypocrites: thinking and believing one thing but saying and doing
something else. On the other hand, respect and admiration for someone or some
belief is gained voluntarily. It has to come from the heart and cannot be
extracted under duress.
There are many non-Muslims who have written laudatory texts on Islam and the
life of the Holy Prophet. Recently Karen Armstrong has written his biography
which is highly sympathetic. She must have done this by studying his life and
finding him praiseworthy. Fear would never have induced such writing.
On the other hand, if the purpose of the blasphemy laws is to terrorise
non-Muslims to either convert to Islam or force them out of the country, then
the question is: is such an objective compatible with the Constitution of Pakistan which guarantees that minorities shall
live in peace and security in Pakistan?
One can argue that even if the intention of adopting the blasphemy laws was
to establish respect for Islam and the Prophet and not to terrorise
non-Muslims, the overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence abundantly shows
that the unintended consequences of the law have been just the opposite. Time
and again some Christian or Hindu accused of blasphemy has either been
mercilessly killed by a fanatic or a bunch of such people – without
ever being punished for breaking the law and committing murder – or
subjected to a draconian legal process in which the lower courts almost
invariably found him guilty; but the higher courts either acquitted him or
commuted his punishment to a lighter sentence.
Now, when a civilian, democratic government is in power, it is time to begin
a discussion on the Hudood and blasphemy laws. We must realise that as long
as people have different religions and beliefs they are bound to discuss and
debate them. In such circumstances the role of the government should be to
provide people with a sound education so that they can develop the
sensibilities to respect each others' identity and convictions while engaging
in debate and controversy.
It was very encouraging to read columns in the Pakistani English-language
press against this latest manifestation of mob frenzy. It is important that
our colleagues in the Urdu media also come out strongly against such brazen
acts of inhumanity. Some petitions condemning Jagdeesh Kumar's murder have
also been put up on the Internet for signatures. All this is indicative of
another type of Pakistan.
The writer is a professor of political science and a visiting senior research
fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Email: isasia@nus.edu.sg
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