Creeping silence

That academic freedom has always been under threat in Pakistan is old news. What is somewhat new is the frequency with which lecturers, professors, researchers, students, and even writers feel threatened now in both private and public-sector universities. These threats are of multiple nature and presumably emanate from various quarters. It is essential for our country as it moves from one crisis to the next that we encourage people everywhere – and especially young people – to think critically and come up with ways to tackle the problems that have darkened the lives of so many in the country. Social inequality is a problem that we simply cannot ignore for long. Nor can we ignore bigotry, ethnic division or other kinds of hate. Yet people who are able to effectively convey the meaning of critical thinking and dissent – in many nations, persons who stand at the centre of change and new patterns of thinking – are being weeded out of our universities and possibly the country. Just to name a few, we can cite names such as Pervez Hoodbhoy, Alamgir Wazir, Ammar Ali Jan, Junaid Hafeez, Mashal Khan, Mohammad Hanif, Sajid Soomro, Zaigham Abbas, and many others. Each one of these represents a different case but collectively they showcase the increasing intolerance in society, and stifling academic suffocation on campuses.

We have seen how Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy has spent almost all his life dedicating himself to the thankless job of trying to teach in a public-sector university in Pakistan. Apart from the usual challenges, Dr Hoodbhoy has also stood steadfast over the years regarding the lack of a proper approach when it comes to the country’s education policies. And now – per reports on social media – he finds his contract will not be renewed by FC College, where he was (till recently, it seems) employed. We have also seen how the much younger Prof Ammar Ali Jan has been hounded from not one, not two but three educational institutions. Jan, who holds a doctorate from Cambridge University in History, had returned to the country solely for the purpose of teaching at public-sector universities and encouraging young people to develop a capacity for critical thinking - a skill that our system specializes in killing. We have not even spared Mohammad Hanif, ace writer, journalist and one of the best we had to offer. If it’s not attempts to curtail his books, it’s about him being asked not to continue teaching at a university. Then we have the tragic case of Junaid Hafeez, a Fulbright scholar, who has been languishing in jail in solitary confinement since 2013 on blasphemy charges that he denies in totality. Mashal Khan was lynched after being brutally attacked by a group of students on his campus in Mardan in 2017. Sajid Soomro is a professor and Sindhi nationalist who has been voicing his concerns at the way Sindhi activists are being forcibly ‘disappeared’. Zaigham Abbas was also dismissed in March by the GC University in Lahore after serving as a contractual teacher for five years.

The fault it seems is in the fact that each of these people – and there are thankfully more of them – has tried to encourage students to think, to use their rationality, to go against established opinion and to come up with their own ideas. That seems to be an unforgivable crime in this country. If we keep removing such bright and highly qualified teachers and discourage students from asking questions, who will we be hiring in their place? This consistent attack of academic freedom comes in the midst of an increasingly stifled media and a global challenge of fake news in a ‘post-truth’ world. In the end, we may just be left with a deafening silence that consumes us all.