Intolerant Society

"Pakistan is a blessing and a gift from Allah Almighty" is what everyone out of us has grown up listening. There is no repudiating of the fact that indeed we are a blessed and a fortunate nation to be gifted with such a beautiful, resource rich and diverse piece of land. Whether it is the myriad nature of weathers or mountainous ranges to deserts, beauty is everywhere. However, despite being resource and talent rich country we are straggling the world by miles in almost every field. Whatever the reasons of our state of affair are, the fact remains we are way behind the world.

Lack of development and opportunities has given birth to a long list of evils, out of these, the most glaring one remains growing intolerance in the society. Somehow, intolerance is becoming our national psyche and behaviour, and thus warrants our immediate attention. But before recommending any therapeutic measures , it seems suitable, not only to explore the reasons behind this menace but also the impact it has made or is making on the society as a whole. Intolerance can be categorized as individual, religious, political, sectarian and national.

Birth of intolerance in any society is not an overnight phenomenon. Instead over the years a host of factors contribute towards its inception and fortification. Following factors may be attributed as contributing factors to frustration and intolerance in Pakistani society:-

• Lack of development and opportunities in the society.
• Joblessness, thus making youth frustrated and losing faith in the system.
• Radicalization of the society by using religion negatively by few with vested interests.
• Political extremism.
• Exploitation of sectarian fault lines by hostile intelligence agencies.
• Lack of education, leading to lack of respect for other’s views.
• Increased frustration and fake sense of ego and self-esteem propagated by social media.
• Lack of knowledge of religious teachings thus providing opportunities for religious exploitation by illiterate clerics.
• Lack of effective mechanism to promote provincial and sectarian harmony.

Staying in denial mode of intolerant society is just like a schizophrenic whom everyone except him considers sick. Over the period of time intolerance has prowled so deep in our society that we ourselves are unaware of the impacts it has made on our social and national fabric. Few of the glaring impacts of intolerance on society are as under:-

• Effects of intolerance on our society can be seen on daily basis on our roads where for no obvious reason people start fighting each other.
• Religious intolerance is evident from curbing and snubbing the rights of religious minorities.
• Our TV talk shows being aired across the world very well paint the state of affairs as to how intolerant nation we are. We as a society have gone so low that we have lost the ability to listen to opinion of the other person with patience.
• Sectarian intolerance is yet another aspect which has made our religious bond dainty. Everyone out of us thinks of only himself to be on right path.
• Short temperament is yet another outcome of intolerance in the society. Every individual seems fed up and lack the ability to bear his fellows. Manifestation of same can be seen in terms of fights and even murders on petty issues. 

    As I mentioned earlier, intolerance is not an overnight phenomenon, rather it takes years and years for national character to deteriorate and espouse this menace. Similarly, to purge the society of this evil, amalgamation of both short and long term measures is required. Few of the plausible recommendations are listed below:-

• Short term solution can only be adopted and applied at individual level, whereby till the time every individual will have to take on the responsibility to play his role in putting the things in right direction. Till the time we don't start respecting opinions, ideas and above all the other person, we can't bring a visible change.
• Long term solution will encompass bringing change in a systematic way. This will include, grooming at the homes, schools, universities, in short revisiting and rehashing complete education system.
• Our Mosques can potentially play the most vital role. Imam Masjid, if educated (both religiously and worldly) can bring gargantuan change. Our clerics need to promote religious harmony rather than hatred, bring people closer rather than disintegrating them on basis of sects and beliefs. We need to understand and implement the true concept of an Islamic society, where every individual has the right to spend his life according to his beliefs.
• Political elite undoubtedly has the prime responsibility to steer the nation in the right direction. Same can be done by setting personal examples, formulating and passing necessary laws to put things right.
• Federation being the hub and pivot of nationalism needs to promote provincial harmony. This includes taking necessary steps to thwart attempts of hostile powers to sabotage national unity and harmony.
• Youth of any country is the driving force which promises a bright future for any country. To keep the youth focused and motivated to play its part it is imperative to provide developmental opportunities so that they progress in their lives thus contributing in the development of the country. This will also minimize the brain drain from the country to western world.

We can't craft a cookie cutter solution for a convoluted problem like intolerance. Rather a exhaustive response mechanism, utilizing all available resources and addressing even minutest of details need to be triggered and articulated with national and individual resolve. This is the only way we can overcome the evil of intolerance. May Allah Almighty grant us the courage to play our role to best of our abilities in the betterment of our motherland and may we make Pakistan one of the greatest nations on earth. Aameen!