Open AccessThe Rise of Sectarianism: An Ethnography of Religious Intolerance in Southern Punjab
Author(s) -
Nayyab Khan,
Muhammad Bilal,
Shafia Azam
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of peace, development and communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2663-7901
pISSN - 2663-7898
DOI - 10.36968/jpdc-v05-i01-27
Subject(s) - sectarianism , schism , blasphemy , ethnography , militant , grassroots , sociology , gender studies , law , criminology , political science , religious studies , politics , anthropology , philosophy
Pakistan has been experiencing a sharp resurgence in sectarian violence. The upsurge ofsectarian loathing can be traced to the emergence of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in themid-2000s and their coalition with militant sectarian organizations. The consequence ofsectarian schism has engendered horrific fallouts such as target killings, bomb blasts,accusations of heresy and misuse of blasphemy laws against the followers of other sects. Thecurrent multi-sited ethnographic study was conducted in Karor Lal Eason – a poverty strickenregion of Southern Punjab which is considered as a hub of sectarian abhorrence. This articleexplores the grassroots structure of sectarianism while presenting the forms and expressionshighlighting the sectarian repugnance. While employing the methodological triangulation, theparticipant observation was conducted in the community at numerous places such as homes,shrines, female madrasahs and schools. Also, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted to graspthe native perspectives. The sample was selected using purposive sampling including bothgenders with varied sectarian, socio-economic and educational backgrounds. The currentresearch suggests that sectarian-based division, hate literature, hate speech and allegations ofblasphemy laws are the prominent symbols of sectarian schism in Southern Punjab.