Social intolerance in Pakistani society

1. Intolerance – A Dilemma of Pakistani Society
Department of Sociology , BZU Multan
Intolerance is an attitude towards cultural ideas or ways different from one’s own.
It is characterized by avoidance of examining of such ideas and unwillingness to
see value in them. Social intolerance is becoming the major cause of concern these
days. This one single issue is becoming the cause of many others. But while we
deal with the tide of impatience, extremism and crime; we need to step back and
see how and why we arrived at this stage?
Intolerance can be found in rich as well as in poor. Rich are always impatient to get
more and more wealth. They don’t find any limit of this unending rat race. Now
the point is why poor are impatient. Rich’s adoration for materialism snatches
away their due share which gives rise to the feeling of insecurity. Here we see the
simultaneous impact of one social behavior or phenomenon. If on one hand
intolerance is giving birth to the tendency of more and more than on the other hand
it is also a manifestation of fear and insecurity.
As money had become a source for creating a sense of protection among
individuals so poor had adopted an aggressive attitude for their protection and
security. Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) once said “imprisonment gives birth to
wickedness.” According to me no imprisonment is bigger than poverty.
In Pakistan the ratio of this problem is alarmingly high. It was extremely shocking
to read in a newspaper that in Karachi a group of residents beat and burnt three
robbers so badly that two died on the spot and another died at the hospital. This is
the biggest example of social intolerance. When people see that there is no
supremacy of law in the country then they start taking law in their own hands. This
demonstrates the poor performance of law enforcement agencies. Prophet
Muhammad once said “avoid cruelty and injustice for this has ruined nations who
lived before you.”[Hadith 203]
Recreational activities for any society are important because it reduces stress and
anxiety and provides alternates to self destructing behavior. Unfortunately in a

2. country like Pakistan we will hardly find any recreational activity in the form of
cinema, sports ground, aerobic clubs and many others. Sports ground, lady’s and
kid’s park are often found deserted or become a hiding place for drug addicts.
Inflation is another major reason for creating chaos. Commodities are becoming
unaccessible day by day, putting social pressure on an individual and compelling
him to go against the norms by thefting, snatching and robbing.
An increased tendency of filing cases in the courts gives rise to the conclusion that
people had given up negotiating and settling matters by sitting down in the
community and listening to each other’s point of view.
Intolerance perishes society by effecting and weakening the norms, institutions and
law and order system. Materialism, inflation, poverty, social pressure, lack of
recreational activities and poor performance of law enforcement agencies; these are
the factors which compels a member of a society to be out of patience. In Pakistan
the situation is worse but we have to be tolerant otherwise it will tear apart the
fabric of a society and will lead toward disorganization.
British writer E.M.Forster in his essay “Tolerance” suggested two things for the
reconstruction of civilization. The first is to kill or punish and the second is the
civilized and democratic way of toleration. Media can play an important role in
spreading the message of tolerance among youth and building a tolerant culture in
Pakistan. It is the duty of our parents to discourage differences and give lesson of
tolerance to their children.
Media and family, both are an important institution but they cannot succeed
without an individual’s effort to change the prevailing condition. The moral of this
discussion is that we have to build a sound state of mind for the promotion of
peace and love in society.