Blasphemy- Yes or No?

A Governor shot down by his own guard, murdered is broad daylight in the Federal Capital. Justice was far from being served; rather a murderer was celebrated, declared a national hero. I can only imagine the horrific image of our nation portrayed to the world, where the failing of a voice of reason is celebrated by the victorious cries of the extremists. Five years have passed since Salman Taseer was killed, and yet the blasphemy law remains in place.

The road in these five years has been bumpy. Yes, every few people have ever been convicted under this law, but minorities live under a constant state of fear with its dark shadow cast over them. The law is interpreted as the masses will, and in the extremist mindset, this law gives the people to right to be judge, jury and executioner. Even in the case of Asia Bibi, the general consensus was to get her punished, and make ‘her pay for her blasphemy’. Because of the sensitive nature of the blasphemy law, the government plain out refuses to say anything about it. The law needs to be refined and its contours need to be defined. Due to a lack of structure and body, this piece of constitution is misconstrued and used by people for their own benefit and privilege. Everyone knows there’s much wrong with this but very few have the courage to modify anything. The one man that dared to support a woman being tried under this law, paid the ultimate price for doing so.

Somewhere along the line, we as a nation let those with extreme ideals sway public opinion and sway national debates in their favor. This meant that discussion on all laws based on Islamic ideas was called off because how are we to question Islam, the VERY RELIGION THAT ENCOURAGES QUESTIONING! God forbid we try to understand the Divine message. The situation in Pakistan only went downhill from here. Asia Bibi is just one example in an immense ocean of cases where minorities are persecuted under the way too loosely defined blasphemy law.  

Understandably, those in power were pushed even further to keep their silence. Not a lot of those in powers have stood up to the mullahs and religious clerics. Rather they seem to do everything in their power to keep them happy and content, sometimes even including them in government.

Salman Taseer is this way poses a great example of a man who tried to fight the good fight. He inspired a nation to question these laws and to stand for what is right. He lent a voice to the voiceless and gave power to the liberals in Pakistan to stand for what they believe in.

Although much has not changed with respect to blasphemy in Pakistan, at least the nation can take relief in the fact that people like Mumtaz Qadri are not entertained in the high courts of the land but rather are given their full punishment under the law.

It will take time and courage to structure the blasphemy law as well as to control the power of religious extremism in the national dialogue. I am not saying religion as a whole needs to be removed but rather that the voices of reason and those of deep Islamic understanding need to be highlighted over the voices of the suppressive extreme. For Pakistan to prosper it needs to strike the right balance between  both extremes (conservative and liberal) and right its tilted way towards the conservative end.  

Kya "Manto" Ki Jawaani Phir Nahin Aani?

The Pakistani film industry has seen quite the revival in the past few years. From its humble days of shooting films on Clifton to full on “Bollywood-esque” party songs in Bangkok. It’s safe to say that Lollywood is going places. Huge movies and with all star casts dazzled all over Pakistan and catered to full houses, from north to south. For me, two movies really stood out, not only for their plot but also how they reflect the general masses’ preferences with regards to entertainment. This duo is none other than Sarmad Khoosat’s “Manto” and Nadeem Baig’s “Jawaani Phir Nahi Aani (JPNA)”.

While Manto was a thought provoking biopic of none other than Sadat Hasan Manto, JPNA was 2 hours of slapstick comedy (and badly choreographed dances). Each movie was incredible in its own right and proved to be benchmarks for what the rest of the industry should aspire to achieve. However, if we look at box office numbers, Manto’s earnings were a drop in the water compared to JPNA’s. This sets off alarm bells in my mind.

Manto was a movie that required the viewer’s total and undivided attention. Nothing in the movie was stated obviously and it therefore encouraged the audience to all have different viewpoints. That’s what was really unique about this movie, everyone came out with a different relationship and understanding with it. Now, on the other hand we have people who really did not follow the movie, and I totally get that, Manto was not meant for everyone.

JPNA was a movie that captured almost all segments of the market. Who doesn’t love a through and through comedy movie? What really impressed me about JPNA was how “Pakistani” it was. The jokes weren’t borrowed from anywhere but were rooted in the pop culture references of today. My only beef with the production were the songs, the dances and the extreme “in your face” product placement.

What the stark contrast between plots and earnings shows us is that the general audience in Pakistan is not mature enough for movies like Manto. This message must have gone to the film industry loud and clear, but the question is how will Lollywood react? Will it choose to stick to its guns and run back to doing what it knows?

If Lollywood stays in its comfort zone then all its movies will become uniform and there would be no variety. It would be in that moment that Pakistanis would move to Hollywood and Bollywood. The success of an industry is not to conform to the general masses likes and dislikes, it is to create new likes for them through the movies they make. I know a lot of people who didn’t like superhero movies earlier, but when Hollywood made them all glitzy and shiny, those seem people were dragging me to the cinema.

As people evolve so do their thought processes, a person’s mindset and thinking are never stagnant. Lollywood has a huge opportunity here to sculpt the mind of the general population. People learn a lot from movies, and this has now become a powerful way of transmitting knowledge. I hope the film industry sees this and is not discouraged by earnings etc. It would be a shame to see Lollywood returning to its old self, because it has the chance to grow and change the way it does movies.

Since Lollywood is picking up again, it shouldn’t focus on the earnings but rather on churning out good quality films and varying genres. It should focus on differentiating each movie from the other and creating its niche. This metamorphosis is so urgently needed and Lollywood would do a great injustice with itself if it doesn’t take this chance. 

New Friends, New Paradigms

It was the 22^nd of August 2014. With a ticket to Lahore in hand I was on my way to start my new life as a LUMS student. Add to the already daunting big step in life I was taking, I was also about to move and live in Pakistan for the first time ever. Yes, ever, and yes I am a Pakistani.

Having lived outside Pakistan my entire life, I never really had truly ‘Pakistani’ friends. My friends who shared the same nationality were all brought up in the same multi cultural environment as I was. We referred to ourselves as “Mellowed down Pakistanis”. How was I, a mellow Pakistani, supposed to fit in and socialize with out there and “in your face” Pakistanis. The thought of it caused Goosebumps all over. My hand trembled as boarding for my flight was announced. Was I about to board the flight to Loner Ville or Alone Town?

Now if we were to fast forward to today, and you were to ask me how my time in Alone Town went this past academic year, I’d tell you I never moved there! I don’t know how it happened but I just met some of the most amazing people there. A lot would argue that the elite of Pakistan attend LUMS, but I disagree. There is a multitude of people who study there and this multitude collectively changed my perception of what I thought people of my age in Pakistan would be like.

For the first time in my life, I could bash the Indian Cricket team- and the entire country without fear of a mini-war breaking out (all in good humor, I do not hate the country)! It was in LUMS that I could discuss shows like “The Newsroom” and “House of Cards” with people who didn’t watch the show for ‘particular’ scenes or just found it too boring! (Side Note- why did my friends back in school not like House of Cards, what’s there not to like, the show’s got Kevin Spacey-KEVIN SPACEY!) What may have possibly shocked me was the multitude of YouTube videos we had all watched and could discuss. May it be the one of a little boy saying “blood” in the most hilarious way to Stewie from Family Guy calling Lewis Mom in a million ways just to get on her nerves. 

One of the perceptions I had about people why age would be that they would only listen to cheesy Jay Z songs or just listen to Bollywood music. (Side note: maybe a lot of my assumptions are due to fact that I have like one cousin who is my age. Therefore my assumptions are really based on no real observation because that one cousin is pretty cool) The people whom I met had a far better taste in music than I did! They introduced me to Arctic Monkeys and The Killers, not to mention some home grown Pakistani artists like Janoobi Khargosh and Usman Riaz. In the pool of premonitions I had, one of them would be that I would be alone in my love for old songs and Sufi Kalams. Boy was I wrong! Unlike back in school, I could now share my love for this music with a huge throng of people. Although very few of us actually understand what’s happening in the Sufi Kalam, I can now enjoy i better since I have more people to go all out malang with!  

These things were small compared to what turned my friends into family for me. 2015 has been tough so far. Nothing came easily and nothing was quite going the way I wanted it to go. With having lost so many of my close family members and falling quite ill myself, I had my friends to turn to in that time of need. They were my shoulder to cry on, they were the people who became the ones I could call at 4AM in the morning and unload my emotional drama.This was a bond I hadn’t had with my friends in school. I was now making friends who were themselves on the threshold of adulthood and were my partners in the scary and uncertain road ahead. Knowing that I had people who were going through a similar roller coaster ride made the journey a little less intimidating. It was because of this, I believe I began the process of blooming into the person I am meant to be. I became more aware of the fact that I am now becoming an adult and now have some responsibility toward my family. They have changed the way I look at things and definitely changed the way I perceive myself. 

I do not know why I felt the way I did about the people my age who lived in Pakistan. They are exactly like all other people, and most importantly they are a lot like me! The love, the support and the friendship I made at LUMS in the past 9 months has changed my paradigm and I see Pakistan’s future in the hands of these amazing people! Although I have lived abroad my entire life and consider my city as my home, I now always sit at Lahore Airport sad, knowing that I won’t see my LUMS family for a while. These people are the reason I love Pakistan at a deeper level than I ever did before.