On 29 and 30 October 2018, PIPS convened dialogue on social harmony, with public colleges’ teachers from northern Punjab. Spanning for eight sessions, it was led by learned scholars and analysts.
Meanwhile, PIPS’s director Muhammad Amir Rana, in an interaction with the participants, shared
Dr. Khalid Masud, Former Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), wondered why despite numerous efforts, both by state and society, to condemn and counter extremism, we are often back to square one. This, he owed, to exaggerated, out-of-context
As a result, many in Pakistani society do not understand how to co-exist and live in harmony with people different from them. In fact, he said,difference is rejected as inherently detrimental to the social fibre. This, he said, is wrong and suggested that the way out for Pakistan is to embrace pluralism.
Dr. Masud also stressed we are living in changing times: the world is co-inhabited by a multitude of people, believing in different faiths, following different rituals. It is therefore incumbent that such diversity be appreciated and accepted.
Harris Khalique, poet and political analyst, said the problems Pakistan face vis-à-vis extremism have three
Speaking of media, he said Pakistani media is quite diverse. One such variation is across language: While Urdu media, he said, tilts towards conservative views, the English press is more progressive. Yet, the total circulation of all English papers across the country is less than the circulation of leading newspaper in any populous district. Similarly, the type of media matters too: Generally, the written word is more cautious and therefore less likely to incite hatred or division. This is more difficult with the electronic channels, which are in the race to break news first.
At times, he said, even majority community behaves like minority; as a result, whenever there is any talk of advancing the rights of minorities, some in the majority reflexively narrated their own grievances. This context often hampers attempt to integrating non-Muslims in the society at large.
Now that the document is released, he said, it was the duty of the teachers to analyze it and and circulate it among the students. Khursheed Nadeem also narrative a brief journey of the country from its birth to the drafting of its Constitution all the way to Paigham-e-Pakistan.
At the same time, the society too has come under pressure to mould its structure along the predominant western civilization of the world. The fact, however, is that it took a due process of hundreds of years for the western society to reach where it is in this age. Pakistan is being denied that margin of time and process, and is expected to radically reshape itself, he said.
Dr. Raghib Naeemi, religious scholar, said the statement that “teachers can serve as role models for students” can only come to fruition if teachers consciously strive to be so. He said teachers should approach students as if one’s own children. Only then can they realize what is good for the students and what is bad for them.
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