The Taliban Supreme Commander Mullah Omar is a man on a mission. He wants to take Afghanistan back into the medieval, nay, the black ages. Deeply opposed to any progressive ideology, the High Priest of an Islam conveniently Talibanised, swears by obscurantist, retrograde policies and a crude form of natural justice. All evident in his list of achievements, which include but are not limited to, religious sanction for stoning women to death for the crime of going to school or permission to chop off limbs for sacrilegous exposure of flesh. There is now another worthy addition - destruction of all pre-Islamic statues which cropped up in Afghanistan during its preeminence as a trading centre on the Silk Route.Once the Taliban militia have their way with rocket launchers, tanks and missiles, Afghanistan shall be cleansed of those impure and unholy "pieces of stone". Seldom has there been such a blatant assault on culture and history in modern times. Even Iran, with its fundamentalist regime, has carefully guarded its Zorastrian heritage. Thankfully, this cultural carnage has been described as `a tragedy', `pathetic', `shameful' and `an outrage' by Muslim and non-Muslim nations and Afghan and non-Afghan people alike.
Which leaves one worried that, if the condemnations of fellow-Islamic Pakistan and Iran, have had little impact, what hope does anybody else have of urging moderation on the Taliban? Alas, modern day Afghanistan's legacy is in danger of becoming an explosive mix of narcotics, religious bigotry and cultural terrorism. The tragedy and the senselessness of it all is in the fact, that in today's Afghanistan, these statues have little or no religious significance. To be sure, Shariat does not permit idol worship, but these are not Islamic idols. They are an important part of Afghan, Buddhist and Hindu history.
Irreplaceable loss of world cultural history apart, this barbaric act raises the terrifying spectre back home of violence towards Islamic-era monuments.
Some Hindu right-wing groups, not known for their respect for other religions and cultures, have already sent out chilling warnings. "You never know how people react," one of their members has reportedly growled. The Babri Mosque demolition could soon be justifiable. India, the world's most pluralistic society, has in this a clear signpost to where its worst religious hotheads would take it.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
