Jaffar Khan Bazai
People residing in rural areas are more concerned about their culture, language and region. Being part of traditional society, they prioritize their cultural and religious identity more than anything else. Sometimes, the strong emotional bond weakens and a portion of society distances itself from its culture. History is evident that such people, who disown and forget their culture, either intentionally or unintentionally, would lose their basic identity. Hence, with the passage of time, one cannot exclude the possibility of complete disappearance of a culture from a community or region. Cognizant of the consequences of losing their identity, the Pashtun students in the Punjab University have tried their best to keep their culture alive at every possible occasion.
Organizing cultural events and providing other students a chance to experience the beauty of different cultures is also helpful for strong integration in a multicultural country like Pakistan. However, Pashtun students have constantly been facing hindrance by IJT in organizing peaceful activities at university campus. The shameful act by IJT in Punjab University is beyond understanding and needs to be condemned at every forum. The students belonging to backward areas already face such chaotic and unpleasant situation in their respective provinces, and decide to move to peaceful cities for better educational opportunities to institutions in order to quench the thirst of knowledge and live peacefully. But, unfortunately they all are confronting with same unfavorable situation.
The Punjab University, one of the largest and oldest varsities of south Asia, is making headlines not for academic achievements, but for sad incidents of confrontations between students’ organizations. The attacks on Pashtun and Baloch students by IJT are not new. These students are under attack for three years.
Everyone is aware of the history of violence by IJT at university campuses. IJT is the first ever students’ organization which initiated Kalashnikov culture in student politics. They started the idea of forcefully imposing their ideology on others. The leaders of IJT were the self-proclaimed authority in Punjab University before they started facing threatened by Pashtun students.
To counter the embarrassment of defeats, they have decided to introduce Pashtun student members of IJT to fight Pashtun members of Pashtun Educational Development Movement (PEDM). The students who were given this responsibility were known for their violent activities.
Pashtun and Baloch students in Islamic International University and Punjab University have faced hard time and more attacks in the tenure of IJT’s Pashtun leadership. The members of PEDM were labeled as RAW agents, nationalists, secular, communists, anti-Pakistanis and followers of Bacha khan and Gandhi so on and so forth. However, such propaganda could not make PEDM members to step back from their stance. When it didn’t work, member of IJT went on extreme level of propaganda and alleged Pashtun students of burning rooms with Quran and other Islamic literature. However university denied occurrence of fire incident through a press release.
Another propaganda technique was observed after March 21st appalling act, for the first time IJT introduced honorable Dr. Samiya Qazi, daughter of Qazi Hussain Ahmad, to counter the narrative and cash female sentiments both in a public and in media but failed badly. Like their political patron JI (Jamat-e-Islami), student wing of Jamat-e-Islami is also known for vandalism and misleading the nation by false narrative.
It’s time to rethink and reshape policy against IJT. IJT believes in supporting and appreciating violence and forcefully imposing their own version of Islam, which is a negative sign for those making efforts for a peaceful Pakistan. Let’s all work to preserve the great tradition of Pakistan and the Punjab province to host and welcome the people from multiple cultures and backgrounds while opposing bigots to dictate, decide and enforce their own ideology.
Writer is a student of Mass Communication in Punjab University
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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