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VIEW: Terrorism fertility in the Pashtun belt — I —Kahar Zalmay
No changes whatsoever in the curriculum will yield any positive results if the same indoctrinated teachers stick to their blinkered ways of teaching
The Pashtun belt in Pakistan and across the fence has been a fertile ground for terrorism for more than three decades. Some might call this assertion a generalisation and blame it on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in which the Afghans generally and the Pashtuns especially became sandwiched between the US and the Soviet Union. It is widely believed that the Pashtuns are on the wrong side of history, inhabiting a place of strategic importance that has witnessed onslaughts from all major forces in recent history. However, it does not constitute a plausible excuse that terrorism is solely an externally imposed phenomenon. It also has an indigenous face.
We should not forget that the major players in the civil war after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan were Pashtuns like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ustad Sayyaf and Mujaddadi who turned beautiful Kabul into rubble with their infighting. Later, the Taliban, who were ethnically Pashtun, emerged on the scene and excelled their predecessors in wreaking havoc. Apart from their despicable attitude towards women, the destruction of two Buddha statues in Bamyan is an unforgivable act by the Taliban. The machinations and influence of the deep state, as the atrocities of the Uzbeks and Tajiks, cannot be condoned.
On this side of the Pashtun belt, militant leaders like Nek Muhammad, Baitullah Mehsud, Maulana Fazlullah and Hakeemullah Mehsud, to name a few, are Pashtun. The leadership of religious-political parties, Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F and S), is also Pashtun. The point here is not to single out the Pashtuns and declare the rest of Pakistanis as a very enlightened lot — they have their own lashkars of holy warriors — but we Pashtuns need introspection and need to seek answers to the question: why has our land become a breeding ground for terrorism? Is it geography, our love for militant Islam, our tribal culture or our trigger-happy temperament that brings us this ‘distinction’?
I hear commentators who mostly attribute this problem to lack of education, poverty, post-9/11 developments and the military operations in Swat and the tribal areas. These factors might somehow have contributed but it is time to look at it from a different perspective as well.
What we call education in Pakistan is in fact information and indoctrination. It does not enlighten students but fills their heads with sickening hatred, a flawed superiority complex based on the glorified past, a confused and split personality, bigotry and a directionless future. The students are taught to live with a state of mind that does not relate to the demands and challenges of the real world. The real world requires peaceful co-existence, universal love, celebration of cultural diversity, harmony of faiths and freedom of choice and expression.
Some readers might not agree with me but my own assessment and some research suggest that most suicide bombers come from schools and not madrassas. The madrassa students have clear objectives: to become a religious scholar and obtain the position of an imam in some mosque. Their objective is achievable and their direction is clear. It is the opposite with our school and college students. They have exposure to the media, and the more they begin to know the real world the more they fail to relate to it. What they are fed in history and Pakistan studies classes does not resonate with the real world. The concepts are false and based on a twisted interpretation of history. We need to get rid of such a mentality by launching a massive de-indoctrination process in our education system. Our primary target should be the teachers who perpetuate such regimentation of impressionable minds. No changes whatsoever in the curriculum will yield any positive results if the same indoctrinated teachers stick to their blinkered ways of teaching.
A recent research study conducted by prestigious American universities found no link between poverty and terrorism. The study of 6,000 people suggested that poorer Pakistanis were actually less likely to support extremist groups than more affluent, better educated people.
Poverty is not a new phenomenon in the Pashtun belt. Diminishing agricultural land, very few industrial units and the failure of the state to create jobs have pushed millions of Pashtuns below the poverty line. Poverty is not a unique feature of Pashtun society; there are other parts of the world steeped in poverty but we have not witnessed the growth of terrorism there. Poverty in India, Africa and China, etc, is not pushing youngsters to blow themselves up and kill innocent people.
Non-local experts on terrorism generally ignore or basically fail to understand the important role Pashtun culture plays in promoting extremism. A Pashtun lives in a closed culture that is religiously conservative too. A male chauvinistic culture that gives no freedom of expression or dissent pushes youngsters to become reactionaries. When faced with real life challenges, the Pashtuns respond emotionally rather than rationally. Another damaging aspect of this culture is a social acceptance of bullies. Everyone, from teachers to the mullah, uncles to fathers, acts like bullies and instils a sense of fear, thereby creating an overwhelming sense of paranoia among Pashtun children.
(To be continued)
The writer can be reached at kaharzalmay@yahoo.com
No changes whatsoever in the curriculum will yield any positive results if the same indoctrinated teachers stick to their blinkered ways of teaching
The Pashtun belt in Pakistan and across the fence has been a fertile ground for terrorism for more than three decades. Some might call this assertion a generalisation and blame it on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in which the Afghans generally and the Pashtuns especially became sandwiched between the US and the Soviet Union. It is widely believed that the Pashtuns are on the wrong side of history, inhabiting a place of strategic importance that has witnessed onslaughts from all major forces in recent history. However, it does not constitute a plausible excuse that terrorism is solely an externally imposed phenomenon. It also has an indigenous face.
We should not forget that the major players in the civil war after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan were Pashtuns like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ustad Sayyaf and Mujaddadi who turned beautiful Kabul into rubble with their infighting. Later, the Taliban, who were ethnically Pashtun, emerged on the scene and excelled their predecessors in wreaking havoc. Apart from their despicable attitude towards women, the destruction of two Buddha statues in Bamyan is an unforgivable act by the Taliban. The machinations and influence of the deep state, as the atrocities of the Uzbeks and Tajiks, cannot be condoned.
On this side of the Pashtun belt, militant leaders like Nek Muhammad, Baitullah Mehsud, Maulana Fazlullah and Hakeemullah Mehsud, to name a few, are Pashtun. The leadership of religious-political parties, Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F and S), is also Pashtun. The point here is not to single out the Pashtuns and declare the rest of Pakistanis as a very enlightened lot — they have their own lashkars of holy warriors — but we Pashtuns need introspection and need to seek answers to the question: why has our land become a breeding ground for terrorism? Is it geography, our love for militant Islam, our tribal culture or our trigger-happy temperament that brings us this ‘distinction’?
I hear commentators who mostly attribute this problem to lack of education, poverty, post-9/11 developments and the military operations in Swat and the tribal areas. These factors might somehow have contributed but it is time to look at it from a different perspective as well.
What we call education in Pakistan is in fact information and indoctrination. It does not enlighten students but fills their heads with sickening hatred, a flawed superiority complex based on the glorified past, a confused and split personality, bigotry and a directionless future. The students are taught to live with a state of mind that does not relate to the demands and challenges of the real world. The real world requires peaceful co-existence, universal love, celebration of cultural diversity, harmony of faiths and freedom of choice and expression.
Some readers might not agree with me but my own assessment and some research suggest that most suicide bombers come from schools and not madrassas. The madrassa students have clear objectives: to become a religious scholar and obtain the position of an imam in some mosque. Their objective is achievable and their direction is clear. It is the opposite with our school and college students. They have exposure to the media, and the more they begin to know the real world the more they fail to relate to it. What they are fed in history and Pakistan studies classes does not resonate with the real world. The concepts are false and based on a twisted interpretation of history. We need to get rid of such a mentality by launching a massive de-indoctrination process in our education system. Our primary target should be the teachers who perpetuate such regimentation of impressionable minds. No changes whatsoever in the curriculum will yield any positive results if the same indoctrinated teachers stick to their blinkered ways of teaching.
A recent research study conducted by prestigious American universities found no link between poverty and terrorism. The study of 6,000 people suggested that poorer Pakistanis were actually less likely to support extremist groups than more affluent, better educated people.
Poverty is not a new phenomenon in the Pashtun belt. Diminishing agricultural land, very few industrial units and the failure of the state to create jobs have pushed millions of Pashtuns below the poverty line. Poverty is not a unique feature of Pashtun society; there are other parts of the world steeped in poverty but we have not witnessed the growth of terrorism there. Poverty in India, Africa and China, etc, is not pushing youngsters to blow themselves up and kill innocent people.
Non-local experts on terrorism generally ignore or basically fail to understand the important role Pashtun culture plays in promoting extremism. A Pashtun lives in a closed culture that is religiously conservative too. A male chauvinistic culture that gives no freedom of expression or dissent pushes youngsters to become reactionaries. When faced with real life challenges, the Pashtuns respond emotionally rather than rationally. Another damaging aspect of this culture is a social acceptance of bullies. Everyone, from teachers to the mullah, uncles to fathers, acts like bullies and instils a sense of fear, thereby creating an overwhelming sense of paranoia among Pashtun children.
(To be continued)
The writer can be reached at kaharzalmay@yahoo.com
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