Art on campus

Where there is will and commitment, it is possible to bring change even when mindsets have been created in favour of extremism and against most forms of entertainment. A demonstration of this was recently given at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering and Technology at Swabi, where a colourful three-day festival of performing arts was organised by a university cultural society. The success of the event and the packed auditorium exhibited that even in what is seen as a ‘conservative’ region, people, especially young people, are desperate for entertainment to enter their lives. The plays, mimes and music performances put on by the students of various educational institutions drew much acclaim and the event proceeded without evident hitch.

In this, there is hope. We read a great deal about the hatred and extremism which has permeated into the walls of university and college campuses. Certainly, this narrow-mindedness exists. But we still have time to combat it. The support of administrations on campuses is essential to this. The event at the GIK campus had the full backing of university authorities. Clearly, students are able to appreciate such events and pack auditoriums to witness them. We need many more such opportunities for our young people to give them a more holistic picture of what our culture and society are all about. For too long, most of them have been provided only a blinkered or single-dimensional view. It is time to break barriers. We can do this by encouraging students and administrations on all campuses to provide those present on campus as many opportunities as possible to demonstrate their abilities in spheres that deviate from traditional courses of study. The students of the National College of Arts, who won particular acclaim at the festival, show the immense talent and ability which exists in all parts of our country. We urgently need to promote this and take it forward as a means to combat the prolonged chronicle of extremism and hatred and intolerance that we have heard for so long. Books, music, theatre and dance can all help break through the walls which prop up this creation of autocratic rulers and narrow-minded clerics. We must in our own way all play a part in this.