Pakistan: In the name of love

Editorial:Daily Times

St Valentine’s Day on February 14, the day marked for the celebration of love, was greeted with mixed emotions in Pakistan, a country in the throes of an ever-increasing environment of intolerance. Valentine’s Day originated in the commemoration of the Roman priest, St Valentine, who in 270 AD, suffered harrowing tortures for his tremendous contribution to the cause of the Christians who were being persecuted by the Roman Empire. The legend underwent different permatutions, but the basic premise of love remained consistent. The day is celebrated in many countries, and the exuberance of the sentiment proudly displayed is marked by the colour red, which has taken on the connotation of passion. This connotation further underlines the importance attached to the day, whose following is huge and not limited to any age, race or gender. Innumerable written messages, known as valentines — which went from handwritten to printed cards to e-cards over time — are given and received worldwide; an estimated (mindboggling) number of one billion such printed/electronic/handmade cards are exchanged in the US alone. The colour red is also the dominant hue for the balloons, candy, stuffed animals, gifts and even outfits worn on Valentine’s Day, thus setting a uniform tone for the day of love globally. In a country like Pakistan, where even the celebration of the most sublime of emotions is being categorised into the ‘good’ and the ‘bad, ‘Islamic’ or ‘western’, the alarming overtones of the radical Islamists and the orthodox communities seem to be gaining an unwanted resonance. Other than PEMRA issuing notices to all TV channels not to promote the ‘un-Islamic’ tradition of Valentine’s Day by showing any related content, there is also condemnation on social websites like twitter and facebook, bringing into ugly focus the growing narrow-mindedness of those who are hell bent on demarcating even the innocuous with a line of what is right and wrong, according to their own warped interpretation of what Islam stands for. How any festival that celebrates love affects anyone’s religious or cultural faith is the question put forth by the sane and tolerant voices of society. The entertainment-starved youth of a country that is witnessing a growing level of intolerance for all discourse that does not meet certain rigid criteria celebrate Valentine’s Day as an occasion where the cards/candy/gifts exchanged are symbols of the importance of their friendships and relationships. The Tanzeem-e-Islami organised an anti-Valentine’s Day campaign in Karachi, with banners touting it as a sign of behayai (shamelessness). This bears testimony to the simmering rigidity masquerading as religious piety in mainstream discourse. It is a matter of great concern to see a government organisation — PEMRA — and the cultural wing of a religious organisation acting as moral vigilantes of a nation that is already smarting under the effects of increasing extremism.