Hazaras and A Trail of Blood
It is outright heinous what has been happening to Hazaras in Balochistan. They have been subjected to religious persecution time and time again. Despite repeated sit ins and fasts unto death by members of Hazara community to protest their plight, and despite assurances by the political and military establishments of ensuring their safety, the problem has still not been solved. After a brief interregnum killers on the loose again subject the people of Hazara community to gruesome deaths. This time the victims were miners who would already have been struggling hard to earn bread for their dependents. How could have they known that they were going to be the latest victims of their pacifism?
Killing is never justified, not when their is an established order of things. If that established order is accepted and respected by all, then it is the responsibility of the established order to ensure that the established order works for all. Naturally, there are difference among people. Differences of faith, culture, language, color, geography, education, authority, power, access to resources, political values, ethical and moral, and social beliefs. These differences are essential to be integrated with one another in a functional manner, so that smooth sailing of the established order can be ensured. It is also natural that some groups of people will always be in numbers more than other groups. Those who enjoy the liberty of being in large numbers, thus get to have a significant say in relation to decision making when a need arises. And, thus a natural tendency is, to ensure the protection and survival of people from the same group.
But if an established order professes to be a just one, and one which is based on progressive values then it must be highly sensitive to people who are not in large numbers but in small numbers. A responsible established order must not be judged on the basis of the treatment of its citizens who are in large numbers. Rather, a close eye should be kept on how it fares in relation to people who are underrepresented, marginalised, and bear little resemblance to the larger groups in faith, color, language, and other such distinctive social and cultural attributes.
People of Hazara community must be protected in the future at all costs. It must be ensured that those who perpetrated this crime are brought to justice. Introspection on part of those who hold the power and authority to end this cycle of wanton killings is very highly needed. Why is it that we fail time and again to protect those who need our protection the most? Why is it that we fail, to look deeper into the cause of the problem and do something about it? Why is it that we are utterly helpless in face of dogma which takes the lives of so many innocent people? Why is it that we fail to connect with other human beings on the level of being a human? Those who are in large numbers usually have the option of meting out justice just by being in larger numbers. Why is it that those who are in large numbers fail to address the issues of those who are in small numbers?
It is not just Hazaras who have borne the brunt of adhering to a different religious denomination. The attack on a Hindu temple in Karak is another example of how we have repeatedly failed to protect those who need our protection the most. Why is it that we so easily forget the teachings of our Holy Prophet PBUH?
Then there is lack of leadership from the people who must show leadership. The President of Pakistan could have simply gone there and heard what Hazaras had to say. After all he is the symbolic head of state. But No. He must be so busy in cutting ribbons somewhere. What does it take to board a flight from Islamabad to Quetta and reach out to people who can not look elsewhere except towards the sky? Why must it be reminded that the foundations of our social order are as strong as their weakest block? The value of symbolism would have gone long way. But no. Hazaras are expendable. And Hindus are expendable. And we are happy within our warm rooms. And then we get angry at the treatment of Muslims in India.
It pains not because it has not happened before. Yes it has. It pains because those who are visibly helpless are not being helped. It does not help referring to details because as a distant observer I don’t have any, except that there was an FC picket there, before. And soon after its removal this tragedy happened. But it must be emphasised that the strength of an established order is judged by how much the weaker segments are protected. If there is a lacuna there, then it raises a question on the whole of it.
