370295

370295  is not a special zip code, neither is it a new television series like Beverley Hills 90210.

It maybe described as a dangerous inbred  double virus that has not  been discovered yet . If you need to find any one single thing that embodies everything that's is wrong with both India and Pakistan; look no further! The answer lies in this virus. Actually they are infected with differently charged particles of it. Indian virus is positively charged and the Pakistani version is negatively charged. But infected they both are.

Article 370 that provides a special status to J&K  sounds innocently positive and  some kind of an affirmative action; however it  has given nothing except serious headaches  to everyone. Even to kashmiri muslims who seem to love it . It has given nothing but an ever deepening sense of alienation that neither allows them to live in India nor does it allow them to leave it. Although most of them do not know their disease yet, this virus is what is causing it!  This stupid article was a populist measure that was expected by its architects to erode with time . In retrospect   that has proven to be entirely wrong. Its negative fallout has only gone from strength to strength as  time has progressed. Today we know that the act of bringing this article into life was  criminally short sighted and anti nation but are helpless to do anything about it.  it has taken a life of its own and with so many complex pressure groups ;interested organizations  and external governments involved in propping it up; it has created an extensive narrative ; self perpetuating super myths  and high voltage emotional charge around it . Ultimately proving a  very difficult virus to remove.  Like there is any political will to remove it ! It continues to eat into the vitals unchallenged.  So far It has tragically ended thousands of  human lives; made close to a million people refugees  in their own homes and absorbs  mind boggling amount of scarce national resources on a continuous basis. There is no relief in sight yet.

Distill all the problems of Pakistan and there it is . Article 295 ! The negatively charged particle of the virus.  The great embodiment of what is wrong with that country. This act gives special powers to a "Muslim" to kill someone legally just by branding him "non Muslim' and ''against Muhammad" ! Its supporters of course argue that the bill is against all blasphemy.  Although so far no one has been killed legally by the state; many have died a violent death at the hands of a lynch mob or a crazy  individual. Reality is that only non Muslims  or someone who is declared  a non Muslim have been caught in its jaws so far. To say that this article has been misused is stating the obvious. Everyone knows that  its architects  brought  it to legitimize their dictatorship in the eyes of the people as a pious  Islamic rule. Yet a mere suggestion of a need to amend it was reason enough to get  Governor of a province butchered in broad daylight. It is a cruel  joke of a rule but now has taken such a gargantuan life of its own that no one dares  to question it.  Anyone asking for a review is promptly branded an unbeliever and like the middle ages must be burned at the stake; so to say. The virus is  now so deep seated  in the collective minds that the killer was openly feted inside a court of law by lawyers; who should have known better. Besides the fact that killing someone just because you do not agree with him is reprehensible  and unlawful in itself; consider that the policeman murdered someone whose life was in his charge to  guard !! A policeman who does not believe in  the rule of law  is great ? How can that act of not doing your job be great?How can that act  of ultimate betrayal have any pious purpose? Showing mercy and compassion is great; pardoning  a sinner is greater. Since when has killing become great? Yet there are public demonstrations extolling the virtues of the killer and he has attracted a lot of mainstream support from all walks of society for this  murder. How can so many people become demented all at the same time if not for a virus epidemic?

What is most worrying about this  virus  is that it is affecting younger people more seriously. We see this in India where they come out and start throwing stones on police on one pretext or the other. They used to fire bullets which  is less frequent these days because it did not allow for mass participation.  Although from time to time their masters issue threats of going back to  the bullets strategy. Police of course retaliates as it is trained to do ;one thing leads to another and soon we have a couple of dead human beings. These deaths feed into another such skirmish with  the same disastrous result in an unending chain. Any time this chain breaks there are forces that will act as a catalyst and restart the reaction. Minds have become so confused  by the virus that no one is pausing to think even for a moment before acting violently. What is the aim of all this? What do we want and why do we want it ? Why are we indulging in violence and destruction? These questions have no takers. Least among youngsters who have a life ahead of them and who have to lead into the future.

 In India the virus has local pockets of infestation but the situation in Pakistan is worse. Whole country is being ravaged by it. Even the most ardent supporters of the country have to admit that bulk of the young foot soldiers of Islamic terrorism carry a Pakistani passport. It is not  a great achievement and neither is it  very progressive or very pious for that matter . If a young man born in 1985 , working in  an elite law enforcing unit ; living in the most progressive and prosperous province of Pakistan feels compelled to become a terrorist ;something is  seriously wrong! The killer of Salman Taseer was not an illiterate who could be easily led astray .He was not hungry or unemployed that could induce him to take to an illegal path. He was not persecuted by anyone nor was his religious freedom constrained in any way that made him erupt in violence against his own. I am not an Islamic scholar so I will let them decide if wanton killing fits any Islamic ideals.   Pakistani society must decide  if compassion is more pious than punishment and who will decide  what punishment is apt for what crime. Is it up to any individual to  act upon his ideas of what is right or wrong? Or is there some uniform law that shall govern society and individual behavior. It is a difficult choice  for them because the slippery path that society has embarked upon does not allow them any revision or opinion or amendment. Anyone brave or foolish enough to attempt it will attract unsavory attention. There is  very little room for maneuvering . They  may have to continue their descent till the end. The  monstrous mindset that created 295 also unleashed the ideas that has landed them in this strait jacket.