Getting into the Shoes of Minorities

Nationalism/Identity in most countries in South and Central Asia has come to be defined in terms of the 'other' rather than 'within'. Whether it is Islamic State of Pakistan vs the Ahmadi community, Shias vs the Sunnis, the dalits (lowest caste in the Indian caste hierarchy) vs. the upper castes, Hindus vs the Muslims - fabric of each nation state has become rife with differentiation and the consequent demonization.

I remember a very casual line that my Political Science teacher once said in our Indian Government and Politics class 'in multicultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious countries, you can become a minority anytime'. Mumbai's Shiv Sena is a classic example, it started it's 'so called career' with attacks on the South Indian migrant workers, went on to Muslims and finally Biharis. Same has been the case with Pakistan - the divide began with the Ahmadi community, went on to Hindus, Christians and now increasingly Shias. The claim often is that it is the politicians who use these tactics of 'Divide and Rule', but for me 'politics is the reflection of societal thinking'.

The aim of this post is not to criticise any nation state or take any sides, rather it is to understand the impact of this 'othering' on the fabric of the nation state that is being evolved and suggest social and national behaviour that can help control it. Mahatma Gandhi once said that 'peaceful and stable nation cannot arise out of a violent, exclusionary independence movement' and whether or not we agree with his concepts, this is very true. History has been replete with examples that 'othering' can never stop with one community, caste or religion - once established within a body politic, it acquires a life of its own, often manifesting itself within the oppressed communities as well. In Sri Lanka, alienation of the Tamil Tigers from the mainstream, led to the formation of the LTTE. Claiming to represent the Tamil population, it in fact gained strength not only for anti-Singhalese propaganda , but also by eliminating moderate Tamil voices. The result is creation of a Frankenstein monster that starts devouring the basic premise of multi-culturalism and peaceful co-existence.

So, given that several communities in the region are today facing threat of majority opinion, what needs to be done. This urgency is not only about mutterings of my concious mind, but instead a necessary ingredient if nation states are to be preserved.

First, an active debate needs to emerge acknowledging the injustices done to certain communities and reiteration of the belief in harmonious if not a democratic society. This is not about apologizing for the mistakes of past generations, rather it is am assertion that these things cannot continue in the present. National Integration Councils, Reconciliation Commissions, Community participation forums can all contribute to this goal.

Second, politicians have to be held accountable for their rhetoric and actions. Media can play a constructive role here, but citizen debate groups, platforms at schools and colleges to discuss burning issues, think tanks are also equally important.

Third is understanding the underlying economic and social characters of the 'anti-minority' grievances. Often, targeting of certain communities is related to economic/social degeneration and as such has to be addressed in this framework. Any signs of anti group sentiment is a trigger that somewhere something is malfunctioning in the social and economic fabric.

Fourth is the addressing of the genuine concerns of the majority as opposed to rumours. For example, in Mumbai, statistics have indicated that most crimes can be attributed to immigrant population from North India. However, this reflects a failure of law and order more than the character of the people implicated. Creation of deterrence becomes a key factor here.

Fifth, creation of strong cooperation between civil society activists, NGOs and the government to promote dialogue between the targeted groups, general populace and authorities, while at the same time keeping checks and balances on corruption or misuse of power by any of the three.

These recommendations sound very idealistic I know, but if successful societies are to be built we have to convert this idealism into realism. All instances of group/minority targeting have an economic/social character that needs to be addressed, a vested interest linkage that needs to be broken and a stakeholder cooperation that needs to be fostered. Creation of such social mindsets has to begin at the level of schools, colleges and research institutes.