Author: Bichkand Baloch
In Balochistan, a disturbing trend has emerged where religious scholars, backed by the state, are vehemently opposing educational festivals. These festivals aim to provide a platform for students and educators to showcase their talents, share knowledge, and participate in interactive workshops and seminars across various academic disciplines. The state’s involvement in suppressing these festivals is unsurprising, as they seek to maintain control over the narrative and stifle any discourse that may challenge their authority. However, the complicity of religious scholars in this agenda is alarming. By opposing educational festivals, they are denying Baloch students the opportunity to showcase their talents, share knowledge, and engage in enriching academic activities. The state’s backing of religious scholars is a deliberate attempt to exploit religion as a tool for suppressing dissent. In doing so, they aim to maintain their grip on education, reducing it to mere indoctrination rather than a path to enlightenment.
The consequences of this alliance are far-reaching and devastating, stifling creativity, critical thinking, and innovation in Balochistan. Educational festivals pose a threat to the state’s control, as they empower students and educators to think critically and independently. The state and religious scholars fear that these festivals may inspire students to question their authority and challenge the status quo. Therefore, they seek to suppress any form of dissent, maintaining their stranglehold on education.
On September 4, 2023, the Baloch Student Action Committee (BSAC) announced an educational festival at the Government Boys Degree College in Panjgur, aiming to promote knowledge sharing, talent showcasing, and academic enrichment. However, this noble initiative was met with fierce opposition from religious scholars, who sought to exploit religion and culture as tools to blackmail students into canceling the event. Despite the students’ refusal to succumb to pressure, the religious scholars persisted, coercing the administration into withholding support for the festival. The administration, unable to resist the pressure, became helpless and refused to provide a venue for the event. This move was a blatant attempt to stifle the students’ quest for knowledge and intellectual growth.
Undeterred, the festival’s organizers demonstrated remarkable resilience by adaptively shifting the event to the digital library. This swift response ensured the festival’s continuation, showcasing the students’ unwavering commitment to educational freedom. This incident highlights the ongoing struggle in Balochistan, where students face formidable obstacles in their pursuit of education. The forces of oppression, masquerading as guardians of religion and culture, seek to suppress critical thinking and intellectual exploration. However, the courage and determination displayed by the BSAC and participating students serve as a beacon of hope, inspiring others to stand against oppression and fight for their right to knowledge and intellectual freedom.
As the festival date approached, a meeting was convened by religious scholars with students in an attempt to negotiate the festival’s cancellation. During the meeting, one of the religious scholars said to the students, “We will not allow you to hold such a festival because during the festival, you people engage in activities that are neither part of our culture nor our religion.” A student courageously responded, “My mother and sisters will sit in the front row if you think we engage in such activities. We will not let you dictate what we can and cannot do. Our festival is about promoting education and talent, not about compromising our values.” This exchange highlights the scholars’ attempts to control students’ actions under the guise of protecting religion and culture. The student’s bold response demonstrates their determination to stand up for their rights and resist oppressive forces that seek to stifle their intellectual and creative expression.
The University of Turbat’s Panjgur campus had organized a musical event that was eagerly anticipated by students. However, the event was abruptly canceled by religious scholars, who cited religious and cultural grounds for their actions. This cancellation was not an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate attempt by the state to stifle intellectual and creative expression in academic institutions. The state has been instructing religious scholars to oppose such events, fearing they may inspire critical thinking and dissent among students. The scholars, in turn, use religion and culture as pretexts to suppress any form of creative expression. By doing so, they aim to maintain control over the narrative and keep students’ minds closed and subservient.
The Kolowah Educational Festival was a beacon of hope in a region where knowledge and education are often suppressed. Organized by students, this program aimed to promote learning and intellectual growth in the backward areas of Kolowah. However, the state’s heavy-handed tactics and oppressive policies once again stifled the quest for knowledge. Despite the students’ enthusiasm and dedication, the state coerced the administration into canceling the program. The organizers received threatening calls and were intimidated into ending the festival prematurely, with only a few segments remaining. This blatant display of state-sponsored censorship and intimidation highlights the regime’s fear of educated and enlightened minds.
The Kolowah Educational Festival was a testament to the students’ determination to seek knowledge and wisdom, despite the odds. However, the state’s actions demonstrate a deliberate attempt to keep the region in a state of ignorance and subservience. By suppressing education and intellectual growth, the state maintains its grip on power and control over the masses. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the struggles faced by students and educators in Balochistan. The state’s aggressive tactics to stifle knowledge and creativity must be condemned, and the right to education and intellectual freedom must be upheld. Only through education and enlightenment can we hope to build a brighter future for all.
The BSAC recently organized a literary festival in NAG, which concluded peacefully, showcasing the power of knowledge and creativity. However, this achievement was not tolerated by the state and religious scholars, who couldn’t accept the success of an event that promoted critical thinking and intellectual freedom. On the same day, in a meeting, religious scholars expressed their discontent, claiming that certain programs were being organized in educational institutions under the guise of festivals, which allegedly hurt religious and cultural sentiments. They specifically mentioned the festival in Panjgur, implying it was not in line with their narrow interpretation of religion and culture. This reaction is a clear attempt to discredit and suppress the efforts of the BSAC and other organizations that promote education and intellectual growth. By spreading misinformation and fueling prejudice, religious scholars aim to maintain control over the narrative and stifle any form of dissent or critical thinking.
The literary festival in NAG and the educational festival in Panjgur demonstrate the students’ determination to seek knowledge and wisdom despite the state’s and religious scholars’ attempts to suppress them. These events show that education and intellectual freedom are the most potent tools against oppression and ignorance. The state and religious scholars must recognize the importance of knowledge and creativity rather than trying to stifle them. Only then can we build a society that values education, intellectual freedom, and progress.
In colonized societies, the state often employs religious scholars as a tool to suppress the population, exploiting religion and culture to maintain control and dominance. This tactic is evident in Bangladesh and other colonized nations, where the state has consistently utilized religious scholars to stifle dissent, critical thinking, and intellectual freedom. In Bangladesh, the state has historically colluded with religious scholars to suppress political dissent and maintain its grip on power. During the country’s struggle for independence, religious scholars were used to justify the oppression of the Pakistani regime, portraying the liberation movement as “un-Islamic.” Similarly, in contemporary Bangladesh, the state has used religious scholars to discredit and silence political opponents, labeling them as “anti-Islamic” or “Western agents.”
This phenomenon is not unique to Bangladesh. In other colonized nations, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, the state has also employed religious scholars to suppress political dissent and maintain control. By co-opting religious scholars, the state legitimizes its authority and crushes any opposition, perpetuating a cycle of oppression and ignorance. The state’s manipulation of religion and culture has far-reaching consequences, stifling intellectual growth, creativity, and critical thinking. It creates an environment where free expression is stifled, and dissent is equated with heresy. The result is a society that is intellectually impoverished, politically suppressed, and culturally stifled. The use of religious scholars as a tool of suppression is a hallmark of colonialism, perpetuating a legacy of oppression and exploitation. To break free from this cycle, it is essential to recognize the state’s tactics and challenge the narratives that legitimize oppression. Only through education, critical thinking, and intellectual freedom can we build a society that values knowledge, creativity, and political liberty.
The state’s brutal suppression of peaceful protests in Islamabad and various cities of Balochistan exposes the hypocrisy of religious scholars, who remain silent in the face of violence but vocally oppose educational festivals. When protesters marched and gathered in Islamabad, the state unleashed its military, beating them mercilessly, tearing off female protesters’ clothes, and arresting them en masse. The use of water cannons and tear gas was a stark reminder of the state’s disdain for dissent. Similarly, in Balochistan, protesters faced the same brutality, with the state showing no regard for human rights or dignity. Religious scholars, who are quick to invoke religion and culture to oppose educational festivals, remained deafeningly silent in the face of this state-sponsored violence. Their conspicuous silence betrays their complicity in the state’s oppression, revealing that their concerns about religion and culture are nothing more than a pretext to justify their own political agenda.
The contrast is stark. When it comes to educational festivals that promote knowledge and intellectual growth, religious scholars are swift to condemn them as “un-Islamic” and “anti-cultural.” Yet, when the state brutally suppresses peaceful protests, they remain eerily silent, betraying their own moral and ethical standards. This hypocrisy exposes the true nature of religious scholars’ involvement in politics. They are not concerned with upholding religion or culture, but rather with maintaining their own power and influence. By selectively invoking religion and culture to justify their stance, they perpetuate a narrative that stifles critical thinking, creativity, and intellectual growth. The state’s violent suppression of protests and the religious scholars’ silence in the face of oppression reveal a sinister plot to maintain control and crush dissent. The people must recognize this hypocrisy and challenge the narratives that legitimize oppression, promoting education, critical thinking, and intellectual freedom as the only path to a brighter future.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.