It is Sunni vs Shia this time around
Even though the original two-nation
theory drowned in the Bay of Bengal,
some of the most illustrious seamen and
fishermen still hog the coastline vying
to unearth the theory from underneath
the water. It is said of the theory that it
didn’t even border on being watertight,
and hence sunk with ease amidst the tsunami of 1971. And so after 41 years
of staring at a gaping two-nation theory shaped hole with closed eyes, we
now have its updated version that is significantly more impermeable than
the original, which, if one were to be honest, would’ve drowned in a
bathtub if one left the tap open for more than a minute.
The original two-nation theory threw all the commonalities between Hindus
and Muslims of the Indian subcontinent out of the proverbial window, and
showcased the fact that Muslims and Hindus are ostensibly two different
nations and can’t for the love of god, live together. Two-nation theory 2.0
not only makes a scathing mockery of that assertion, but unlike the first
version it actually underscores two veritably separate nations who despite
having the aforementioned commonalties, and more, are as distinct as a
pack of hyenas and a flock of lambs.
Unlike the Hindu-Muslim division, the Shia-Sunni divide is lopsided
butchery. When juxtaposed with the genocide and massacre of Shias in
Pakistan, the Hindu-Muslim differences in India seem like brotherly
disagreements. And the Shia community in Pakistan can only envy the
discrimination that Muslims face in India. Furthermore, while Muslims can –
and do – live safely in India, it is quite obvious that Shias can no longer feel
secure in Pakistan.
When one community is being targeted, in what is barefaced ethnic
cleansing, and the other community remains shushed about it at best and
endorses it at worst, you know the division between the groups is
unbridgeable. Those that coined the original two-nation theory overlooked
the fact that believing in the same god and the same prophet might not
suffice in uniting you into one nation, and that is the raison d’etre behind
two-nation theory 2.0.
Just like Muhammad bin Qasim’s imperialistic surge towards India in 712 AD
is touted as the foundation of the Hindu-Muslim two nation theory, the Shia-
Sunni two nation theory traces its origin back to the same epoch when
Umayyads were busy sidelining the Shias in the hub of Islam. Their lead was
followed appositely by the Abbassids, Ottomans and then the Mughals for
the next millennium or so, as the Sunni hierarchies violently tightened
screws on the Shias inhabiting their region.
In the context of the Indian subcontinent, it was the Fatwa-e-Alamgiri
compiled by Aurangzeb “the great Mughal emperor” Alamgir and Shah “the
spiritual light” Wali Ullah, who should be dubbed the founding fathers of
two-nation theory 2.0 in our neck of the woods – that brought together
some of the most renowned kafirometres in the world to declare the
infidelity of the Shias. Recent fatwas by the likes of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ),
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Darul
Uloom Deoband are the offshoots of the aforementioned compilation of
fatwas.
The next father figure of two-nation theory in the Indian subcontinent is
General Ziaul Haq, who hoarded Saudi riyals in exchange for granting the
godfathers of Islam a playground to stage the two-nation theory 2.0 in all its
blood and goriness. From the annihilation of 118 Shias in Therih in 1963 to
the 22 massacred in Lahore and Karachi in 1978, Shia killings were
witnessed before Zia became the caretaker of Islam as well. But it was under
Zia that the two-nation theory 2.0 became ubiquitous in madrassas, Islamic
Republic of Pakistan transmuted into Takfiri Deobandi Republic of Pakistan
and Shia discrimination metamorphosed into Shia genocide.
Modern day leading proponents of the ideology, like Malik Ishaq – acquitted
more than 30 times over charges of homicide and terrorism – , Mahmoud
Baber – “proud” murderer of 14 and Ahmed Ludhianvi – SSP chief and the
embodiment of paranoia with regards to Shia – are the Jinnah, Sir Syed and
Iqbal of two-nation theory 2.0. And these ideological guardians are hell bent
upon creating a separate homeland for the Shias in graveyards all across
Pakistan, which would rubberstamp their entry into heaven where God and
his promised luxuries await them with arms wide open.
More than 20,000 Shias have been killed in Pakistan ever since the country’s
inception, with more than 500 being executed in 2012 alone. The back-to-
back blasts in Quetta over the past two months, killing over 200 Shias prove
the verisimilitude of two-nation theory 2.0, as reaction from majority of the
other half of the community – more than 50 percent of which endorse the
theory by declaring Shias as non-Muslims according to a PEW study – ran
the whole gamut from indifference to complaints over traffic blockade.
In a country where volcanoes of protests erupt over the killings of “Muslim
brothers” in Palestine, Kashmir, Syria and Myanmar, the deafening silence
from the Sunni half of the two-nation divide vindicates that Shias can no
longer feel at home in Pakistan – the country whose founding father was an
Ismaeli Shia himself.
As two-nation theory 2.0 widens the gaping cracks between the two
communities and lays the foundation of a Shia exodus, it won’t be long
before Takfiri Deobandi heavyweights find another target in the Islamic
Royal Rumble of Pakistan. Two-nation theory 3.0 could see the Barelvis
under the gun, followed by other sects, as the religion of ‘piece’ keeps on
throwing constituent pieces out of its anatomy.
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