Saving the past from obliteration

By: Murtaza Razvi

NOTHING is safe any longer from the malevolence of those who continue to bring death and destruction in the name of God in this increasingly Islamic republic; not even a harmless rock-carved image of the Buddha dating back to the second century BC and which no one worshipped.

The giant Buddha at Janabad near Mingawara in Swat finally lost its face, parts of the shoulders and the feet in a second assault last Friday by Islamist militants. The historical relic had survived two earlier attacks. But this time round, in spite of the law enforcement agencies having been warned of the danger the militants posed to the rock carving, the latter planned and carried out the blast unchecked.

The roadside massive rock on which the Buddha is carved is by no means in a remote area hidden from the public eye. It is the most conspicuous rock that greets every visitor to Mingawara, the commercial hub of the Swat valley. For the militants to have planned and carried out the assault the way it was done, it is clear the government and the local administration couldn’t care less about the damage inflicted on this national archaeological treasure.

The attackers reportedly had the time to drill holes into the solid rock, disfiguring the Buddha measuring 13 feet by nine feet, while they were at it, before filling up those holes with explosives and setting them off. Given the location and the size of the relic, it cannot be said that anyone up to causing such carefully planned destruction was not visible to the passersby or the vehicular traffic, let alone the law enforcement agencies whose job it is to protect such sites.

Archaeology department officials had lodged an FIR with the Swat police, warning them of attempts by Islamist militants to blow up the historical relic after the last assault suffered by the carving on Sept 11 only this year. The police and the government have no defence against their apathy towards the country’s pre-Islamic historical relics. Indeed, they are guilty by their studied inaction of being party to the destruction of the unique rock carving, which was second only in the region to the spectacular and now annihilated Buddhas at Bamiyan in Afghanistan.

The question is: why this tolerance of extremism and hate of the other in the most hideous form? The answer perhaps lies partly in political exigencies of the current regime, combined with the glorification of the bigots in our history books. Consider that 11-century bandit Mahmud of Ghazni, who was credited with bringing down idols as he invaded India, raided only those Hindu temples which were laden with gold and other ornamental wealth. Once his empire took hold in the subcontinent, and the rich temples had been laid bare of their gold and silver, idol worship carried on unhindered.

The puritan, bigoted and born-again Muslim creed of the Taliban variety poses a serious threat to the evolved notions of tolerance and fine moral and social ideals of a humane, civilised society. That they breed and sustain themselves in isolation from evolved social norms, among rugged mountains and under primitive conditions, denying themselves and others at their mercy the right to practise social norms brings out the primitive instincts best known for causing destruction all around.

Following the blowing up of the Buddha relic in Swat, it is most astounding that not a word of condemnation has come from the highest and the mightiest in the government who otherwise preach enlightened moderation and tolerance. There is nothing un-Islamic or anti-religion about deploring barbarism, whether it is practised against a people or shared human heritage.

What is going on in Swat, a valley known for its natural beauty as well as for attracting the common pleasure-trip seeker and the history enthusiast, threatens both equally: the people living there and the national historical treasures.

The way the authorities have buckled under pressure from Mullah Fazlullah, who is broadcasting his bigoted views and issuing threats to the people via an illegally operated radio station, has emboldened the misguided few of his ilk to now cause damage to pre-Islamic historical sites and relics. The Butkarra remains and the museum in Saidu Sharif, so many other such sites in the region and another well-endowed museum with ancient Buddhist-era relics at nearby Chakdara are crying out for help.

The intolerant, extremist brigade has to be stopped, and stopped fast in its tracks. But until that happens, rolling a few heads whose job it was to protect the ill-fated Janabad rock carving, will not be a bad start in trying to salvage the precious little we have left of our national heritage.