Policing colour

If there’s one thing we have excelled at over the years, it is creating a fuss over the minutest moments of joy expressed by our people, especially the young. Whether a movie that does not adhere to invisible lines of cultural propriety or a social media app used mostly by working-class youth or an event at a public university, our default reaction is to ban, block, discourage and censure. Education authorities, university administrations, even school management personnel have been especially gung-ho about policing young people’s behaviours. Oddly enough, the same enthusiasm is found in short supply when young people do indeed need to be policed – like in lynch mobs, drug use, hate speech, incel behaviour etc. The latest example of curbing harmless joy has been the HEC’s recent announcement regarding Holi celebrations at a university (while Quaid-e-Azam University was not named, the reference was to an event held by the student body there). The notification had rightly led to outrage online and has since been revoked but the fact that we are now upset at a students holding a festival of colour – even if related to another religion – points to the erosion of tolerance and diversity in Pakistani society. The notification had said that it was “sad to witness activities that portray a complete disconnect from our sociocultural values and an erosion of the country’s Islamic identity.” According to the HEC, “… cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity leads towards an inclusive and tolerant society … albeit it needs to be done so in a measured manner without going overboard” (sic).

One wonders what the quantification methodology must be used by our young so as not to go ‘overboard’ in practising cultural, ethnic and religious diversity. Such language can easily be taken as code to ban and restrict any event that is deemed to be culturally, ethnically or religiously ‘overboard’. That the HEC felt it necessary also to add that the event in question had "disadvantageously affected the country’s image” shows the shrinking space for minority communities – across the spectrum. The fact also that the HEC does not have the authority to issue such notifications, especially when there is so much wanting in higher education management in the country, also shows the priorities of those in the bureaucracy tasked to head these institutions. After facing severe backlash on social media and the involvement of at least three lawmakers, the HEC issued a clarification blaming the people for misinterpreting its earlier notification.

Students across the world participate in different cultural and religious events to have a better understanding of different cultures. Education institutions are the best spaces to discover the diversity that makes up a society – whether religious or ethnic. But we seem to be losing all sense of what its like to be an inclusive country with inclusive policies for all its citizens. That Pakistan has become an increasingly suffocating place for minority and vulnerable communities should not be news we are too familiar with. It should not be usual to see a social media podcaster question a non-Muslim Pakistani celebrity on conversion from her faith. It should not be usual for films to be banned on the whim of one or two religious parties. And it should certainly not be usual for a higher education institution to see a cultural festival as a threat to the country’s ‘image’ – especially when that same image stands tarnished each time there is a forced conversion of an underage Hindu girl. People wonder why young people want to leave Pakistan and settle in liberal democracies. Besides financial problems – the main issue – what are we offering in terms of critical thinking, or the freedom to experience simple joy? Letting the young think may be a task too much for the state, but can it at least allow them the space to perhaps hold a festival once a year?