Page 14 - The Indian EYE 050721

OPINION MAY 07, 2021 | The Indian Eye 14

e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have ing to prove that they can take
rejected electoral politics, the up issues that are important to
TLP is keen to contest. the Muslims, like the Deoban-
Interestingly, this reveals dis. Though the Deobandis
the urban base of the TLP are generally favoured as foot
which epitomises Berelvi poli- soldiers of Islam, the Berelvis
tics. Saad Rizvi’s statement that have proven that they cannot
the “change in the social pro- stay behind. Initially, the Ber-
file of our followers has taken elvi School was more inclined
even us by surprise” is note- to protect its faith and wanted
worthy. The mainstreaming of representation and government
religious political parties has patronisation.
the blessing of the military es- In fact, the government pro-
tablishment which thinks it can jected the Berelvis as a moder-
control these parties who have ate Islamic group and sought
street power but not much elec- Pakistan Prime Minister imran Khan their help to project a moder-
toral presence compared to the ate view of Islam. But events
popular political parties, the have proven that they are not
PML-N and the PPP. far behind in instrumentalising
Some scholars argue that violence.
there is a difference between re- The Berelvi School attaches
ligious political parties aligned importance to the veneration
to the Alhe Hadith school of of Prophet Muhammad and
thought that are supposed to be believes that a true Muslim is
more radical compared to the an “Ashiq-e-Rasool” (One who
Alhe Sunnat school of thought loves the Prophet). Therefore,
that is identified with the Ber- anything that is considered dis-
elvi sect. Over a period of time, paraging to the Prophet is con-
the activities of these groups re- sidered an act of blasphemy.
veal that militancy has become Since the blasphemy issue
the lynchpin in their show of touches a raw nerve among the
strength and both are equally believers, the TLP will continue
radical, if not more. with its one-point agenda. To
Is Saad Rizvi’s politics dif- TLP chief Saad Rizvi become politically successful, it
ferent from that of his father? needs to expand its agenda to
The recent protest demanding tence petered off. Muhammad The emotional appeal of other socio-economic issues.
the expulsion of the French Am- Afzal Qadri, who is the Barelvi blasphemy that arouses pop- But politics of the TLP variety
bassador, underlines the fact Ameer of Aalmi Tanzim Ahle- ular anger has the capacity to relies more on emotion than ra-
that Khadim Rizvi’s successor Sunnat, was the deputy under encourage more people to take tionality. The half-hearted ban
and son, Hafiz Saad Rizvi, has Khadim Rizvi till his resigna- the law into their hands, as they imposed on the TLP is based on
inherited his father’s ‘inflam- tion from the TLP. believe that the court will free the law-and-order perspective
matory rhetoric’. Though he is One has seen in the past the blasphemers as was the than on its toxic politics. The
only 26, the blockade organised that a ban on any radical organ- case with Aasia Bibi. ban will not defang the radical-
by the TLP in Islamabad on isation has not helped. There While the TLP is banned un- ism that forms its core strength.
April 12 indicates that violence are several other steps that the der the Anti-Terrorism Act of
remains a major instrument of state needs to take. It needs to 1997, the government has tak- Smruti S. Pattanaik is Research
the TLP to pressure the gov- stop the source of funding, keep en prompt action to satisfy the Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar
ernment. a close watch on the leadership group. Herein lies the strength Institute for Defence Studies and
Four policemen were killed and dismantle its support base. of the TLP. The supporters of Analyses, New Delhi
in the violence and 11 police- The TLP’s politics is cen- the TLP who were engaged Views expressed are of the au-
men and a SHO were abducted tred on the issue of ‘blasphemy’. in violence and attacked the
by the TLP and later released In 2018, it had demanded the police station on April 18 de- thor and do not necessarily
after negotiations. expulsion of the Dutch Ambas- manding the release of Saad reflect the views of the Manohar
Perhaps Saad Rizvi is in a sador after cartoons of Prophet Rizvi, have been freed. After Parrikar IDSA or of the Govern-
ment of India.
hurry to leave his mark in pol- Mohammad appeared in Dutch the government agreed to ac-
itics as several other ulemas, newspapers. cept its demand to table a res- This is the abridged version of
mainly Pir Afzal Qadri, were It appears that while the olution in the National Assem- the article which appeared first
against his appointment, given TLP has not confined its activi- bly to debate the expulsion of in the Comment section of the
his young age. Pir Afzal Qadri ties just to protests against blas- French Ambassador, the TLP website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
had shaped the TLP’s agen- phemy in Pakistan, it wants to called off its nationwide strike. har Parrikar Institute for De-
da after the protest against emerge as a champion for the The TLP is also a manifesta- fense Studies and Analyses, New
Mumtaz Qadri’s death sen- cause of blasphemy. tion of Berelvi assertion want- Delhi on May 3, 2021

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