Pakistan should patronize the art as it is an effective tool to counter extremism and terrorism by bridging the gap between ethnic communities and religious sectors: Kamran Maqbool
Man is mortal, but his art, wisdom, and ideas have the potential to survive, which makes civilization immortal. Egalitarian Ideas and art remain preserved because the creative elite class patronizes them to safely transmit from one generation to another. These transmitted values render certain identities to the societies, which build a strong bridge between ancestors and successors. Hence each generation makes contact with their ancestors through surviving art, music and poetry.
A civilization may become dormant if it faces adverse pandemics or climate disasters, but it never dies. Its creative ideas emerge from scratch and establish their ascendency over the globe. From Greece, the Civilization world has borrowed democracy, the most egalitarian political system. Romans overtook Greece, but democracy has stood the test of time; Aristotle called it to rule by a mob; with the emergence of Christianity, it remained dormant; the Enlightenment age and French Revolution strengthened its cause; it fought with communism and remained victorious. Today, democracy, an ancient idea, has prevailed throughout the world.
We live in a better world because creative minds preserved egalitarian values, preached logic and science, and challenged prevailing dogmas of the time at the cost of their lives. Teaching science and logic, Socrates challenged the furious gods of Greece; he was trumped up corrupting youth and was forced to drink hemlock. Socrates’s argumentative method is still being taught in universities which compels students to think critically.
Having believed in exoplanets, Giordano was burnt alive. He preached the cosmological truth that there could be planets outside the solar system. The idea was preserved and proved true four centuries after his tragic death. Creativity comes with free thinking that enables a thinker to look ahead of his time.
Creative ideas and art remained relics because the ruling class patronized and invested resources. From Mesopotamia Civilization to the latest Global Civilization, artists, musicians, and poets have been welcomed with utmost respect and prestige in royal courts.
Medici Family rendered immense resources in Renaissance Europe to promote art, music and architecture. De Medici commissioned Leonardo Da Vinci, the universally recognized genius for painting and carving sculptors. He later painted Mona Lisa though it remained unfinished; it is still considered a magnificent piece of art. Francesco Caccini was the first woman officially appointed musician in the Medici court.
In the Asian context, the Mughal ruler patronized architecture and commissioned immense buildings across the continent. Taj Mahal, for instance, which has become a major source of tourism in India, was built in the Mughal era. It is a creative ruling class that promotes art and saves great ideas from becoming redundant.
For instance, the Excavation of the Indus Valley Civilization showed that it was a great land of art and music. Still, it became dormant as the successors took no responsibility for patronizing the art. People of the Indus Valley Civilization had great tendencies towards art as they built huge dams. They also introduced an accurate system of standardized weights and measures. But later, successive inroads of religion into Indus civilization sidelined its art and cultural values, and no one took responsibility for commissioning art.
Learning from history, Sindh, the epicenter of Indus civilization, has decided to revamp Indus Valley Civilization by patronizing art. It has become the first province of Pakistan where music teachers are being recruited to promote art. It is indeed a great effort by the provincial government that would serve multiple purposes. Firstly, this policy aims to reduce unemployment by creating jobs.
In 1933, when the Great Recession occurred, the United States adopted a similar policy under the title of “Arts of Work Project” (AWP), which employed 8.5 million people in a short time. Imitating AWP, the Sindh government needs to expand its project from the educated to the non-educated artisan class. Secondly, by ironing out differences, art has the potential to bring different communities together.
Sindh has been struggling with the identity crisis between two large ethnic communities, Muhajirs and Sidhis. As art promotes peaceful coexistence, hopefully, this initiative will bridge the gap between these two communities.
Thirdly, Pakistan’s politics is emotion-driven, where leaders concoct conspiracy theories to attract people. Introducing students with creative skills and art would be helpful in restraining rancor leadership from emerging at the national level.
Fourthly, the propagation of art through cinema has been an important tool of state actors to yield soft power outside the world. Our neighbor India has developed one of the largest cinema hubs in the world that pours millions of dollars into the economy. Pakistan is already struggling with a severe economic crisis that could be mitigated if the federal government implements this policy.
In short, Pakistan should patronize the art as it is an effective tool to counter extremism and terrorism by bridging the gap between ethnic communities and religious sectors. Here an art utopia could be established if creative minds are allowed freedom of expression and concerned authorities are obliged to patronize and promote art.
