Pakistan: Unlearning hate

It may not be that easy to let go of all the hatred and intolerance for those whose way of thinking has over the years only been fed bigotry and a fear of the ‘other’. Children, however, are a different story. The answer to obscurantism in our society may then perhaps lie in what we teach our young – the books we use. After all, to a very considerable extent, it was exactly this – text – that was used to change mindsets in the 1980s as well. What is needed now is a reversal of sorts. In this context the latest initiative taken by the Sindh government must be welcomed. Sindh Education Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has set up an advisory committee on textbooks reform to review material taught at the primary level, and remove from it discriminatory matter promoting intolerance, extremism and violence. Instead fundamental human rights and democracy are to be promoted. While this is a positive step, it should not remain confined to one province alone. Post-18th Amendment it has been up to the provincial governments to set education policies. We only wish that a uniform policy on such curriculum reform could be followed nationwide. What we have seen in the recent past has been quite the opposite, with the teaching of comparative religion at a school in Punjab turned into a major issue by the government following a media campaign. There has been a complete refusal on the part of our governments to appreciate that learning about other religions – and communities – can only promote tolerance and understanding and poses no threat to faith or patriotism. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa meanwhile, a province that probably faces the most daunting challenges, the PTI government has undone certain reforms introduced by the previous setup; there has been talk of reintroducing ‘pro-jihad’ texts. This makes for a rather sorry situation when in practice KPK under the PTI should have been leading the way to bring a change for the better. Both the government – central and provincial – and civil society need to push for a unified national approach that promotes tolerant learning and education devoid of hate and fear. To take on the challenges of today’s Pakistan, the generations we are teaching must learn to embrace the immense cultural, lingual and religious diversity of our nation. There was once a time we were able to at least acknowledge this diversity. The violence we see today is more a product of closed minds. Would it not be better for the state to use books and knowledge to counter it than resorting to violence itself?