Pakistan: Myth of redemptive violence

Mir Adnan Aziz

Man perfected and tempered by society is the best of all animals. He is also the most terrible when he lives without law, without justice. Aristotle.

Societal violence and crime are bred in a context of injustice, hopelessness and lack of opportunity. What we do not have is an overarching strategy to link these and many other assets to confront the despair and alienation that provide the ideal conditions for violence and crime to fester.

We live in a society where violent and corrupt acts are condoned. ‘Enemies’ are humiliated with raised clenched fists and gladiatorial posturing. It is where all institutions are but appendages of the state, not to say why but to endorse or keep mum about the acceptance of diktats. This in turn leads to a culture, which celebrates and extols the ‘heroic virtues’ of violence and corruption. It is, as if the common man lives in, what Wordsworth said was: “One great society alone on earth, the noble living and the noble dead.”

The recent times have witnessed the tragic murder of students, journalists, doctors, lawyers, security personnel and innocent civilians caught in the incessant hail of gunfire. Taking of human lives, the ultimate sacrilege has been adopted as a given right. The dawn of each day is etched with new names on the roster of senseless slaughter. Seeing so much of this; has made our society blood chillingly brutal and violent.

The root of the problem is that an ideology of moral relativism has been uncritically assimilated by successive generations, rendering many people incapable of judging right from wrong. This increasing moral naivete combines catastrophically with a popular ‘culture’ of violent, dysfunctional, intolerant societal values, quackery in the educational system, the brazen will to use force and the most significant aspect of all: total abdication of state authority. All this while the ruling elite tends adoringly to more ‘pressing power perpetuating plans’ rather than such ‘trivial’ matters.

Under these circumstances, it’s no mystery why we as a state and society have turned predatory. Until the agitating problems are addressed, there is no hope of stemming the tide of anarchy and total alienation.

Claimants of being the followers of the religion of peace, are we living up to our religious imperative? Hopelessly. There is something deeply irreligious about our adopted creeds, festering and eating us away like a malignant growth.. In the end what we have is a culture marred by greed, violence and shameful power perpetuating politics unbecoming of a country created by much sacrifice. We may disagree about the manifestations of our social morality deficit — but we can agree that we are capable of something much better.

Given that many of our social ills have grown more violent during recent times, those playing to certain galleries find it ‘tempting’ to blame religion. Easy and tempting but as with majority of all worldly temptations — morally wrong. It is increasingly obvious that those who ‘led’ us to our current state have heeded alien agendas, political ambition and expediency — citing faith when helpful, jettisoning it when inconvenient. However, facts on the ground should help people digest and take a firm and reasonable stand on this paradoxical issue of social ills sans accountability in Pakistan.

The essence of our governments is that they have been gross failures. Our present ‘enlightened’ stalwarts beyond perpetuating power, have neither protected the innocent nor deterred the violent. The recurrent spectacle of gruesome killings has cheapened human life and dignity without the redeeming grace, which comes from justice meted out swiftly, evenly and humanely. Whatever other description there may be for accountable governance, at its heart is a movement of hope and non-violence. It offers possibility of hope, a respectable way forward to people traumatized by crime.

The vigilant media has been brutalized and branded a biased party. This by ‘those’ in a daze by the truth that has dawned, because for them ‘truth’, to quote the infamous Nazi minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels, is ‘the greatest enemy of the state’. It is the media in particular and the community at large, which consistently rages against the ills and violence so prevalent in our society. In as much as it works towards the restoration of dignity of those affected, it is an essential part to bring to fore all that ails us and our ‘leaders’. Conflict resolution at a domestic level surely is the proper platform from which to build peace nationally.

What we as a society have taken to and is prevalent rampantly, is the myth of redemptive violence. This has been the choice of every major ‘social’ grouping of the 20th century be it socialist, capitalist, communist or Marxist. This concept enshrines the belief that war brings peace and might make right. We have made redemptive violence the acceptable way of resolving injustice.

At this point in time, if nations have had a grievance it is increasingly being resolved either by the threat or use of violence. Most of the destruction, mayhem and death is justified as right and for a ‘noble’ cause. The results of this redemptive violence have been horrendous. We have just emerged from the most bloodthirsty century in history, with hundreds of millions of innocent people killed and maimed in its name.

We have applied the same philosophy and approach to our domestic ‘conflict’, of today. ‘Beat them and beat them hard’, ‘lock them and throw away the key’ have been the catchphrases, with the naive hope that this violence would somehow redeem the situation and produce justice. It rarely, if ever does.

On the other hand governance with restorative justice is a movement of non-violence. It provides a mature humane response to complex situations of conflict and crime. It does not necessarily provide an ideal solution but as a process it respects the rights of those involved. It recognizes that violence is unacceptable and provides a non-violent but challenging and positive way of proceeding. It also appeals to the better side of human nature, not the destructive, vengeful dark side. It is a movement of hope.

The success of an independent judiciary, so critically important, is dependent on community ownership, acceptance and a passion for better forms of justice. Without these three things it will never succeed. What is now required is a genuine working and respectful partnership between the government, the judiciary and the community. Such a partnership involves mutual trust and recognition of the value these differing parties bring to the process. The move forward cannot be left in the hands of one organ alone. It has to be an honest collective effort to make the state machine run efficiently and smoothly.

The government must bring political will to bear and provide leadership and that is all. It is in the community that restorative justice will succeed or fail. It is people from the community who, when trained, become the best facilitators for a better society. It all comes down as a trickle-down effect. Our leadership has to lead by example. Even a child understands and does not learn well when behavior contradicts teaching.

We may not be able to hold off malice in the society, or predict the actions of the ‘deranged’ few among us. What we can do is foster a culture, less accommodating of violence and less friendly towards those who make violence possible. We also can delve deep within ourselves and ask as to what kind of culture we want. More important, how much will we allow the purveyors of global dominance to dictate our politics?

To get to the roots of violence, we need comprehensive planning to eradicate poverty, provide equitable justice, education and to empower the common man to participate fully in decision-making and civic life. What is imperative for the state is to explicitly name social, economic, ethnic and political equity as a priority and the guiding principle for all its initiatives. It should also rely upon a coherent indigenous plan that clearly defines the scope and complexity of the challenges faced and assumes the need for multidimensional, cooperative solutions. It is imperative that we shun all ‘suggested remedies’ that for us may prove self undermining — self-destructing.

The hallmark of all efforts should be the depth of collaboration among all stakeholders. There should be an honest commitment of our leadership to take steps to better the life of the common man.

(miradnanaziz@gmail.com)