Those fateful nine months —14th August 1947 to
14th May 1948
Just after the end of the disastrous Second
World War and the start of decolonization, on 14th August 1947, the world's
first religious-based modern nation-state, Pakistan, was born. To achieve this,
the ruling British had to divide India — though some say they tore or ripped it
apart. Exactly nine months after this mega-event, another state was born on the
basis of religion: Israel, again dividing or tearing apart Palestine this time.
In those fateful nine months, these two religion-based countries were created,
and the world changed.
Since their births, Israel and Pakistan have
had a love-hate relationship, as both consider themselves bastions of their
respective faiths. Most surveys in Pakistan report admiration with a tinge of
jealousy for Israel, even among personnel of the elite and ruling institutions.
Remarkable commonalities between Pakistan and
Israel
In addition to the timing of their births, the
commonalities between Pakistan and Israel are striking and astonishing. To
begin with, both countries are believers in Abrahamic religions — Judaism and
Islam. Despite their current hostility, they have more in common than
differences. These two are probably the two closest major religions the world has
ever witnessed.
Both countries were created in lands
controlled by the British, who were known for their finesse in implementing the
divide-and-rule policy.
Historically, Jews were most comfortable
living in Muslim-majority countries, and Hindus and Muslims also lived together
peacefully by medieval standards for over a millennium. They were much more
accommodating of each other than the Christian sects of those times.
In both places, the "other" was
demonized — Muslims in Israel and Hindus in Pakistan. The use of the words
"Yahood" and "Hanood" became acceptable in Pakistani media
with terrible connotations, and Palestinians were given the hatred-arousing
name of "terrorists" by the Israelis.
Xenophobia was effectively used as a tool to
justify this divide to an unbelievable extent. The founder of Pakistan, Mr.
Jinnah, warned Muslims: "If we do not succeed in our struggle for
Pakistan, the very trace of Muslims and Islam will be obliterated from the face
of India" (18 Jan 1942). Similarly, the Jewish leaders of Israel
repeatedly used the memory of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust for their
political purposes.
Both births were bloody and traumatic. Tens of
thousands of Palestinians were killed, and millions were uprooted from their
homes. They still call it Nakba — a kind of Holocaust. It was even worse in
Pakistan, where millions were killed brutally and tens of millions were
displaced. These were very painful births.
Both have a terrible record with their
minorities. Israelis routinely humiliate and harm Palestinians, whereas in
Pakistan, local Christians, Ahmadis, and other minorities are also
institutionally persecuted.
Religion and scriptures were used
unscrupulously in both instances.
Interestingly, the founders of both nations
were so committed to their causes that they were ready to sacrifice millions of
their own people — not to speak of their proclaimed enemies.
Ben-Gurion said: "If I knew that it was
possible to save all the children of Germany by transporting them to England,
and only half by transferring them to the Land of Israel, I would choose the
latter, for before us lies not only the numbers of these children but the
historical reckoning of the people of Israel."
When asked about the fate of the Muslims who
would be left behind in India, Jinnah stated that he was willing to
"perform the last ceremony of martyrdom if necessary" by letting 20
million Muslims be sacrificed in order to liberate the 70 million
coreligionists in Muslim-majority regions (Kanpur, March 30, 1941).
Surprisingly, after their creation, one of
them declared itself a secular state while the other made itself practically
one. Those who preached fear of the majority swiftly converted to being secular
and democratic. Jinnah's famous August 11, 1947, speech envisioned a secular Pakistan
where "you may belong to any religion or caste or creed… that has nothing
to do with the business of the State."
Both Israel and Pakistan became
nuclear-powered states and did not sign the NPT. 191 countries have signed it,
and only 5 have abstained.
Since their inceptions, Israel has fought five
major wars and innumerable smaller but lethal ones. It has fought against all
its neighbors and many countries even farther away. Not to the same extent, but
Pakistan has also fought multiple wars against its conjoined twin, India, along
with multiple Afghan wars, while having tense relations with Iran. Only China,
its most generous supporter, has avoided fighting Pakistan. In other words,
these two states are among the most violent, involved in unending wars.
All this might not have been as detrimental,
but the inculcation of hatred for those they have proclaimed as their enemies
and their propensity toward violence might be the most dangerous trends.
Effects and dangers
These nine months did not just create nations;
they created a template for modern religious nationalism — a template that has
led the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation. In the last 35 years since
the post-Cold War era, most nuclear standoffs have been among them. Talk and
threats of nuclear attacks have happened many times, and the careless manner in
which the use of nuclear weapons is mentioned is outright reckless and
alarming.
Mutually assured destruction has become the
mantra for stability among these states, but it is an extremely erratic one.
Unstable, unpredictable, and unlikely people
can reach powerful positions even in countries rated as democracies, and these
hate-filled, religious countries are most prone. With violent leaders at the
helm in this virulent, nuclear-armed environment, a single miscalculation can
be too dangerous, risking all of mankind.
The recent political instability the world is
experiencing — whether it's Israel/Iran or India/Pakistan — has both these
nations right in the center.
The most important lesson the creation of
these ethno-religious nations has taught us is that theocracy and the modern
world cannot go or survive together. It's a recipe for disaster, and on a
massive scale. It must be corrected.
Suggested corrective measures
No matter how these two political states came
into being, they are now a reality and must be accepted. Their places in the
comity of nations must be controlled and corrected to lessen their potential
for destabilization and violence. To begin with, the world must be defanged with
the removal of all nuclear weapons. All ammunition with the capacity for
indiscriminate killing — something we call terrorism — must be destroyed. We
can start by condemning the historical use of nuclear weapons and carpet
bombings, irrespective of the nationalities of the perpetrators. Anyone
dropping nuclear weapons over civilians should under no circumstances be called
a "near-great president."
The UN should be made into a world government
of confederating states and strengthened. A universal constitution with local
variations should be enforced across the whole world, controlling the greedy
outlaw states and curbing their aggression and avarice. International laws
should be drafted clearly and enforced mostly with the power of reason and
persuasion, the most powerful tool.
Hatred and demonization of all kinds — not
only anti-Semitism — are a must to create a violent frenzy that can result in
extreme cruelties, and that must be curtailed. Brutal control of media,
demonizing of entire peoples, and justification of occupation and violence must
be strongly and collectively resisted. No one country or group should be
allowed to have a monopoly on media or other consent-manufacturing tools.
The use of ancient scriptures as a real estate
guide or foreign policy instrument must be snubbed. 3,000-year-old land deeds
should not be allowed to supersede the rights of living, breathing human
beings. The use of derogatory terms with the potential to invoke violence —
like Chosen people, Amalekites, Yellow Peril — must be forcefully stamped out.
Racism of all kinds has been a source of
immense suffering throughout history and must be labeled a serious crime.
The pursuit of happiness and human welfare —
not religious supremacy or ethnic purity — should become the prime purpose of
governance.
The current situation cannot go on forever, so
let's not wait for the Armageddon some may be working hard to achieve. If the
world is unable to control the violence of religion-based countries, the birth
of these two nations will be remembered not as a historical turning point, but
as the beginning of the end.
These are the seeds of nuclear suicide. The
only corrective is to recognize that nothing — no ancient text, no historical
grievance — justifies the annihilation of mankind.
