Literature: a Pathway to Peace

Literature and peace are deeply interwoven and necessary for a nation. Although, it is debatable to say which precedes which; does literature give birth to peace, or is it the other way around? The enigma is similar to the stereotypical question of a hen and egg’s arrival; who came first? We do not know and we do not care because either way, it benefits us. However, it is not the same as the question posed before. Literature can either be used to create or to sabotage peace whereas peace, in its true sense, can lead to the production of great literature. Before starting the debate, we must know what the word ‘literature’ and ‘peace’ means. 

Literature is the physical manifestation of the internal thoughts, fears, conflicts, challenges, ,etc, of a person or an entity into poems, dramas, novels, short stories, essays, memoirs, plays, and all other forms of genres. It is a form of art produced to make the audience think, laugh, cry, connect or reflect on themselves and the societies they are living in. Whereas Peace does not necessarily mean ‘the absence of war or conflict or confusion’ or ‘absence of aggression and impassiveness’ as is defined by many. Peace does not mean the unquestioned obedience of an entity or a person, be it with God, a spouse, parents, or any leader one follows. Peace is often confused with calmness but in reality, it is the degree of satisfaction one feels in pursuing a career, a partner, a thought, or a desire and not fearing the things that one might be subjected to executing the will. It is the state where one has the freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom to think freely, and freedom of questioning.

We all live double lives, everybody is an actor and we all play different roles as required. As the Shakespearean trope goes; ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’.

Literature is the only way forward to create peace provided it is not used as propaganda or to create stereotypes. Keeping in consideration our enthusiasm for movies rather than books, this essay would focus more on media literature than print media. Also, there are dimensions to peace itself like internal peace and external peace. The relationship between literature and external peace is explored first followed by the relationship between literature and internal peace. 

As evident from history, the world has never been peaceful. Wars after wars have sabotaged world’s peace leading to external chaos as well as internal chaos. It is no secret how war is the major cause of creating disturbed mental states and leads to a hike in suicidal tendencies; particularly among the war heroes; along with the other problems like failure of nations and retarded food and energy resources. No government, state, God, leader, or Messiah has ever achieved a state one can call peaceful in its literal sense. 

Starting with Bollywood, the dramas, movies, and theatre show a vivid indication of animosity towards Pakistan. The latest example is the movie ‘Mission Majnu’ starring Sidharth Malhotra. He is a disguised Indian spy in Pakistan, dressed as a Muslim to detonate a certain nuclear weapon on the so-called ‘enemy’s land’. The dressing code_shalwar kameez with a hat and antimony-filled eyes, and the language, pregnant with the words like ‘Adab, Huzur’, etc, is a very backward approach to theatre. It not only escalates the political and social relations between India and Pakistan but also sow deep hatred among the Indian masses especially when BJP government has made a hell out of India for the muslim communities.

Unraveling the meaning of love: Exploring its depths beyond surface

Similarly, Pashto cinema is portraying a very violent side of the tribal communities. It is destroying the youth by creating such rogue ideals; as evident from the posters_the patriarch hero standing in the center with a mandatory gun. It is misleading both the uneducated and the educated youth. The Pashto phrase ‘Topak Zama qanoon de’ is normalized to the extent that it is the very first dialogue of any Pashtun character in Urdu dramas or in nationwide theaters; For instance Sarwat Gillani in the movie ‘Jawani Pir Nhe Ani’ (2015) saying it out loud.

Coming to Lollywood: It has also failed on many levels to offer anything substantial. The same soap operas revolving around the same stupid love stories or daughter-in-law and mother-in-law’s fights are literally affecting Pakistanis in very bad ways. It creates very disturbing ideals, builds gender roles, and divides the society. 

War movies and violence-related stuff must be done justice to theatrically. For it is very sensitive content that can heal on a personal and national level but at the same time can mislead youth. There is a huge difference between Hollywood’s take on such war-related topics and Lollywood or Bollywood’s take. Some of my favorite Hollywood war-related movies are: Born on 4th of July (1989), Dunkirk (2017), 1917 (2019), Schindler’s List (1993), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008). All these movies question the futility of wars and conflicts, show the mentally disturbed states of the war heroes and their families, the alienation and disconnection of the soldiers from the world, and realization that awards and insignias are only tools used by governments to manipulate the people and use them to achieve meaningless goals.

Hence condemning wars in every way possible. However, Lollywood has a very irresponsible approach to the same issue. Rather than showing the struggles of Pashtuns in Waziristan, the plight of Sindhis, or the sexual and political harassment of Balochis; Pakistani movies and dramas are just bent upon creating cricketer’s biopics and military-glorifying dramas like Ahad-e-Wafa (Hum Tv), Sinf-e-Ahan (ARY) and movies like Parwaaz Hai Junoon (2018), Ek Thi Maryam (2016). It only glorifies and idealizes war and makes an environment where no one would even think to question the military. It never questions the corruption; Ultimately making us all sing the eulogies of the things that should be condemned. 

Now, we know that movies and dramas are made for targeted audiences and to generate revenue. But if revenue is the sole purpose of producing then there is no room for any effective content. Literature is the soft power that has the strength to change the way we think, challenge our beliefs, and questions our ideals. It is a kind of therapy that not only helps us to find our inner peace but external peace as well. Quoting Martin Luther King Jr; ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter’. 

Coming to the relationship between literature and internal peace. We all live double lives, everybody is an actor and we all play different roles as required. As the Shakespearean trope goes; ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’. The constant hiding of one’s true self leads to mental and physical exhaustion along with depression and anxiety. Our existence becomes nothing but a facade and we get accustomed to seeing the world with blurred vision.

The incessant repression of our true selves makes us emotionally distant and intolerant. We merely breathe through the days and wait for death to greet us. We are so hard on ourselves in maintaining the image that society wants us to fit into and all we see is bleakness around us. In this abyss of self-denial, when we stumble upon books or movies we discover the universality of all beings. We find that whatever we are feeling or experiencing has already been felt, experienced, and survived. We discover the timelessness of literature and gain the courage to carve our true identity, our opinions, and ideals without any bias or prejudice. As Charles Bukowski says, ‘The closer you get to exactly what you want to do, the better you are as a human creature’. 

Catharsis is the magic used in literary genres to connect with the audience and help them attain internal peace. Catharsis is a psychological condition leading to the elimination of repressed emotions often connected with traumatic experiences; when those events are brought back into consciousness and re-experienced. It generates a feeling of pity and relief. Through literature and art, this effect is created. When an audience sees himself/herself in the character and finds his true identity he/she feels liberated. The most peaceful thing is to see or hear someone talk about the things one has been suppressing for so long; this peace in its true sense can only be found in the literature. 

The most beautiful revelation of literature is when we feel connected with the villains rather than the heroes. It challenges our idea of good and bad; that villains can be good too and heroes can be bad too. We all have flexible characters and nobody is born completely bad or completely good. This is where we liberate ourselves of all the ideals that have been dictating us our whole lives. We become tolerant, flexible and find inner peace and satisfaction, which ultimately leads to external peace. They all begin with literature.