One of the things dominating social media news cycle in Pakistan over the past few days has been LUMS canceling the ‘Unsilencing Balochistan’ event after giving in to “government pressure”. While the situation isn’t unique to Pakistan, it’s concerning when the state begins pressurizing its people to not be critical of things they feel it has done wrong. Isn’t this an infringement of basic rights?
Academic institutions are supposed to foster an environment of openness and freedom. Instead, LUMS has displayed to its students how to act cowardly and acquiesce every time you are pressured by someone who tells you what you can and cannot do. That, my friends, is a sad people-pleasing life to live if one has to give in to “pressure” every time someone, or rather vaguely, the government is not feeling your actions.
Here are a few take-aways that we can all learn from all the brouhaha that has been the center of attention for many “Indian-paid, Zionist” supporters of the dating spot of Pakistan. We may learn a thing or two from these if we are to evolve into a society that we all aspire to be a functional part of, one day.
1. In an academic institution, ideas and political thought is tested with experimenting on students, some things will work and others will be a miss.
Students are impressionable folk and they will react to things the way you train them. Therefore, it is imperative that speech of all kind, in support of as well as critical to a regime be allowed for an academic debate.
2. Citizens must not blindly follow whatever they are told.
We aren’t brain-washed robots living in the matrix, are we? There will always be things that our government does that are questionable. It is unacceptable to stay quiet about them simply because the ‘army is the savior of the country and knows better’. It is your right and responsibility to ask questions of them for their actions.
3. Anti-state actions are very different from being critical of some of the many ridiculous measures the state has taken.
Don’t confuse the two. The Pakistani state needs to learn to take criticism and listen to the opposite side of the argument. With cancer, a surgery can remove tumor but never stop the disease from recurring. Similarly, the State may be able to stop criticism by stifling speech for the time being but the defiance will only return more stronger and organized the next time around. The Arab Spring should serve as a lesson for the State and citizens alike.
4. Be open. Voice your concerns, yet respect others and their rights.
When you voice your concerns in a civilized manner, you will force your government to buckle under pressure and concede to your demand. That’s the essence of a democratic state. See what you all did with Pakistan’s stance on the Yemen conflict? Now, pat yourselves on the back for having taken one step in the right direction. Remember, be civil and voice your concerns, governments are for you, not the other way around.
5. Trying to cover up a mess will only make things worse.
We all know that something is not right with the situation in Balochistan. We all know that our government is fighting off those that do not agree with it. What we all don’t know is who’s at fault for this situation.
When the government tries to shut down any sort of critical gathering that gives a perspective that is opposite to the propaganda that it has fed into the mainstream media for so long, that is when it feels like it’s the government who’s at fault.
Freedom is a word that’s thrown around a lot these days. With communication becoming digital and traditional territorial boundaries becoming blurred, people are now much more aware of their freedom. The government cannot do as it pleases because that’s not democracy. That’s a dictatorship.
In order for a functional, civilized society citizens and governments must work together, without secret moves, threats, clamping down on dissent or dharnas.