Extremism, killing Minorities
In my childhood, whenever a sweeper was seen on the way back from school, in the streets, bazaars, the friend who used to be with me would come close to me and inform me in the form of a whisper, “He is a Christian.” On asking how he knew, he would reply with a great surprise, “Don’t you know that sanitary is the profession of Christians?” These words were so deeply ingrained in my mind that whenever I saw a sanitary worker, my friend’s words would automatically fill my ears.
On August 11, 1947, when Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, addressed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan for the first time, the following words were also part of his speech:
“You are free, free to go to your churches, temples, mosques, or any other place. We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another.”
However, in today’s Pakistan, the importance of these words has faded away and that can be guaranteed by seeing the poor living conditions of Pakistan’s minorities. Christianity, which is the third largest minority in Pakistan, making up about 1.27% of the population, is facing great discrimination, limited jobs and educational opportunities, marginalization, and deprivation of basic human rights for so long. Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan clearly says that all citizens of Pakistan, regardless of their caste, religion, creed, or race will be provided with equal protection, education, and public facilities. However, the implementation of this article can hardly be seen like many other articles of Pakistan’s Constitution. They are just limited to the Constitution book of Pakistan.
Living in a free country, their lives are still limited. In 2018, the government of Pakistan increased the job quota for minorities from 2% to 5% which was a very positive sign. However, this 5% extension couldn’t be proved more beneficial and that can be estimated by one of the Supreme Court’s statements about 30,000 government jobs that were saved for minorities, are still vacant. The main reason can be their lack of awareness and education, so they remain ignorant of their rights. And if by some chance any Christian child goes to a school, he is treated as an “Achoot” and faces disgusting behavior from other classmates. It can be concluded that;
“Caste system, injected into us during the era of subcontinent
is still not leaving the soul of our bodies.”
In one of his interviews, Dr. Christy Munir, a Christian educationalist, says that in 1971, under Martial Law Regulation No. 118, all schools and colleges were nationalized, so those available education facilities for Christian students faded away. That’s so obvious if they don’t have an education then how they will be provided with jobs?
The only option they are left with is sanitation work which has become the dominant profession of Christians and passes from generation to generation. They are compelled to adopt this job because of a lack of opportunities. Doing this job, they don't just face humiliation from citizens but also lose lives. In 2007, MRC reported that from 1988 to 2007, over 70 sweepers died while performing gutter maintenance, all of them were non-Muslims. The reason for the deaths was a shortage of protective equipment.
Targeting minorities in Pakistan in the name of blasphemy has become so common. Extremists find it so easy to put a non-Muslim to death on the charge of blasphemy, and sometimes it happens due to personal disputes, which is retaliated by stoning to the charge of blasphemy. Perhaps, they are assured that no investigation would be sustained against them. A few days ago, an incident in Sargodha, the district of Punjab, in which an aged Pakistani Christian was also accused of disrespecting Islam and subjected to mob violence. Growing extremism is killing minorities in our country which is very alarming.
“Extremism is ingrained in our society to such an extent that without
assessing reality, we resort to killing.”
This is not the first case. In 2013, an attack in Peshawar church took the lives of around 80 people. In 2009, eight Christians were burnt alive by a mob in Punjab. Similarly, in 2021, a Sri Lankan manager was first beaten to death and then the mob set him on fire.
So, where does the error lie after all talks of uniformity and a constitution full of assurance for minorities? Why are we living at the peak of discrimination? Then why are our minorities not satisfied and feel unsafe while living in a free country?