We often feel surprised at the hatred of Pakistani nationals towards India and Indians. This is felt in the actions of their state, army and other institutions. It is also surprising that these are nationals of the countries which were united few decades ago. They fought their battle for independence as one nation. Then what has happened to brew such a hatred for India in Pakistan? How come their nationals are so easily recruited by Jehadi elements to attack and slaughter Indians on their own soil? The author quoting here a report of one Pakistani Research Institute to show us how this hatred is taught Pakistani children in Public schools. And all along we believed that only Madarsas are breeding ground for Islamic Terrorists.
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March 01, 2009 Organiser : M.V. Kamath
How is it that there is so much hatred of India, and more especially Hindus, among segments of Pakistan society? Who is responsible for creating such downright hatred? The answer should be obvious. The responsibility lies heavily on the educational system in the country. And information on this is provided by an independent body set up in Pakistan known as Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) with headquarters in Islamabad, in a lengthy report. The report, co-authored by A.N. Nayyar and Ahmed Salim, is highly revealing, besides making painful reading. The claim is made that it is based on studies made of textbooks in history used in schools from Class I to Class X.
According to the authors, the early textbooks in Pakistan, written after Partition, were free of the pathological hate that is seen in current textbooks. Thus, the early textbooks contained chapters on both the oldest civilizations such as Mohenjadaro, Harappa and Gandhara, and also on the early mythologies of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The great Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms of the Mauryas and the Guptas were also extensively covered, often with unconcealed admiration. Then came the division of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh with some 70,000 Pakistani soldiers becoming prisoners-of-war, a humiliation that Pakistani leaders could not swallow.
The only way to regain pride was to initiate a hate campaign against India and Hindus and denigrate both to the extent possible. That, under Gen Zia-ul-Haq came to be state policy. To start with, education was sought to be totally Islamicised. The Curriculum Wing of the Ministry of Education was authorised to go all out to stigmatise India, damn Hinduism and create a yearning for jehad in young Muslim hearts. History was re-drawn, lies were invented, hatred of India and Hindus was encouraged and distortion of established facts was resorted to extensively “to create a monolithic image of Pakistan as an Islamic state meant only for Muslims” as the SDPI put it. Children were taught that Muslims and Hindus differed in every possible way, which they were told was the reason for the demand and subsequent creation of Pakistan. Falsification of events was not confined to teachings in madrassas alone. According to the SDPI, “the education material in government-run schools do much more (damage) than the madrassas”, all of which “served to create a particular world view that is removed from reality”. Muslim majoritarianism was the ideology that was pushed forward diligently. That, according to the SDPI amounted to “creating an environment for non-Muslims in which they became second-class citizens with lesser rights and privileges”. Their patriotism became suspect and their contribution to society was ignored.
According to the SDPI, four themes emerge on a reading of all the textbooks. One, that Pakistan is for Muslims alone; two, that Islamic teaching, including a compulsory reading and memorisation of Quran is a must and to be taught to all students whatever their faith; three, that the ideology of Pakistan is to be internalised as faith and hatred of Hindus has to be created and four, students have to be urged to take the path of jehad and shahadat. Indeed, textbooks in Class V carried simple stories to encourage and create a passion for jehad. The SDPI report contains some astounding insights into Pakistani textbooks, such as: (a) The Hindu has always been an enemy of Islam (b) the religion of the Hindus does not teach them good things like respect for women (c) Hindus worship in temples which are very narrow and dark places, only one person being allowed to enter at a time! In Mosques, on the other hand, all Muslims say their prayers together (d) Hindus think that there is no other country apart from India, nor any people other than Indians (e) Hindus try to please their Devi Kali by slaughtering innocent people of other faiths at her feet (f) Hindus have always desired to crush the Muslims as a nation. Several attempts were made by Hindus to erase Muslim culture and civilization. (g) Hindi-Urdu controversy, shuddhi and sanghatan are the most glaring examples of the ignoble Hindu mentality etc... etc.
In summarising their study of the Pakistani textbooks, the authors noted the following:
· Inaccuracies of facts and omissions that serve to substantially distort the nature and significance of actual events in history.
· Incitement to militancy and violence, including encouragement of jehad and shahadat. (martyrdom)
· Insensitivity to the existing religious diversity of the nation and perspectives that encourage prejudice, bigotry and discrimination towards fellow citizens, especially women and religious minorities.
· A globalisation of war and the use of force.
· Omission of concepts events and material that could encourage critical self-awareness among students.
· Misinterpretation of the Constitution of Pakistan in making the reading of the Quran compulsory in schools.
According to the report, the use of public education as a means of national and social indoctrination for political ends has created deep social problems and encouraged the development of violent polity. But the most damaging statement made by the authors of the report calls for special attention. It says: “For orthodox Islamists, non-Muslims in an Islamic society that is governed by Islamic laws are dhimmis, liable to the levied protection money, jazia, absolved of any military duty, jehad, and doomed to live in an environment of limited rights.
Within this belief system, therefore, equal national identity can be denied to religious minorities in Pakistan. The educational process in the form of curricula and textbooks re-inforces this denial. “What kind of people can one expect to see grow, who, as children are brought up under a system of education that promotes hatred and insensitivity towards others?
Is it any wonder, then, that Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) can so easily recruit people like that monster jehadist Kasab or his nine other colleagues who got killed during their jehadi mission in Mumbai, to go out on a suicide mission, the sole object of which was to kill innocent people? And against this context one begins to wonder what sort of education is being given to Muslim children in madrassas right here in India to provide to the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) the inspiration to focus on its jehadi agenda. It is time for the government to make an inquiry into what is being taught in these religious schools to create fanatics ready and willing to die for their religion.
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