Before the faithful can enter the long marbled pathway to the legendary Sufi shrine of Data Durbar in Lahore at Bhati Gate, he/she is frisked three times. The final frisking is annoyingly done by a security person sitting on the floor who expertly feels for any suicide belt worn below the waist. These precautions are necessary. On July 1, 2010, two suicide bombers blew themselves up and killed 50 people and injured hundreds. The attack at the shrine was one of the many that have taken place in Pakistan in the past few years and raised serious doubts about the survival of a country on the brink.
Although the number of attacks on these shrines has come down since then, the ideological war going on within Pakistan’s Islamic society between the followers of mystic Sufis and the relatively strict Salafis and Wahhabis has intensified.
Ignoring political turbulence and the challenge that the higher judiciary has posed to his government, President Asif Ali Zardari made a dramatic visit to the Ajmer Sharif shrine in India. This visit was not only meant to give strength to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s attempt to lend impetus to Indo-Pakistan ties and kick-start trade between the two countries, it was also meant to send a message to India and the western world that his government was keen on de-radicalising Pakistani society. Patronising the Sufi faith or Barelvi school is one way of doing it.
While people in Pakistan have grave doubts whether the sectarian violence will end by engaging in such symbolism, what is really clear is that the country is involved in a difficult battle to save its soul. This has become a major existential challenge. Questions are being raised on Pakistan’s extremely aggressive TV news channels about the very purpose of partition from India and whether the objectives behind carving out a country on the basis of religion have been met.
"Why has India done better than us?" is a question born out of anger and envy that is heard at street corners, in drawing rooms and news studios. Answers to this question range from India’s commitment to democracy and secularism to policies of economic self-reliance.
Such intensive introspection is reshaping the way the people of this country are interpreting their past and present and trying to see how they can manage their future. The most important outcome of this reflection is the intense hatred people have developed for the United States of America. Drone attacks that undermine Pakistan’s sovereignty and the recent killings of Pakistani soldiers have inflamed these passions. Former cricketer and leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf party Imran Khan is one of those politicians who are riding high on the anti-American plank.
Courtesy: Hardnews, May
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