'Will Bilawal Bhutto oppose this?': Pakistan gets slammed for banning Holi in universities

Pakistan's move to ban the Hindu festival Holi in universities has triggered a wave of reactions on Twitter. While some have outrightly called the step 'discriminatory', others have sought comments from leaders like Ilhan Omar and Bilawal Bhutto - who calls himself a fierce advocate of human rights in Pakistan.

On Wednesday, Pakistan-based journalist Veengas shared a circular by the country's Higher Education Commission (HEC), which asked the universities to "distance themselves" from celebrating Holi. Posting the circular, Veengas said Islamabad must understand that Holi/Diwali is part of the Sindhi culture. "Islamabad neither accepts our Sindhi language nor does it honor the Hindu festivals," she said.

"Let's see the champion of Human Rights politicians, especially Mr Bilawal Bhutto who keeps pointing fingers at others and lecturing on Islamophobia. Will he and others oppose it?" she asked.

Last month, Bhutto was in India for the SCO Summit. He had raised human rights issues in India but when asked about minorities' conditions back home, the PPP leader said he fights for the rights of Hindus and Christians in Pakistan. However, the new order to ban Holi now exposes his claim about the rights of minorities.      

This latest order came after several videos of Holi celebrations at the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad went viral on social media. In an apparent reference to the celebrations at QAU, the commission said that it was sad to witness activities that portray a complete disconnect from the country's sociocultural values and an erosion of its "Islamic identity".  

Reacting to this, Rathee, a Twitter user, said the celebration of Holi affects the image of Pakistan, but forced conversions and temple destructions promote the image. He was referring to a series of reports of the conversion of Hindu girls in Pakistan.  

Mustafa, another Twitter user, said crazy hyper-religious moulvis have summoned the commission to ban Holi as they feel it is against Islam. "They only wake up when the stuff is about Hinduism or Christianity. But when there is so much corruption and oppression happening in Pakistan, then they forget Islam and are scared of getting arrested."

Dr Koko Baloch, another user, confronted those who hailed the move and asked: "What if Eid was banned in Indian universities? You'd cry for months. Here you are happy that Holi is banned in another country. Hypocrites."

In another tweet, she wrote: "Agar Eid celebrate karne jao aur dande pare, university se bhagaya jaye, social media pe mazaq uraya jaye aur agle hafte ban lagane ki baat ho to? This is what has happened on Holi multiple times in Pakistan. Will you be happy if this happened to you on Eid?"

https://twitter.com/madam__koko/status/1671441694028431360

Jai, another user, said the ban was expected from Pakistan. He said Hindus were beaten up every time they celebrated Holi. "Now the Pakistani govt has banned it ... a new low for minority rights in Pakistan."

Monica Verma, strategic affairs analyst, said Pakistan has banned the Holi celebration across educational institutions saying it interferes with Islam. "But stooge of these Islamists Ilhan Omar is convincing the USA that minorities are under attack in India." Ilhan Omar is an American politician who has targeted India in the past over human rights issues.  

One user said Pakistan has banned Holi, which is a celebration of colours and diversity. "Still, They want cultural exchange through cricket and the Indian cricket team to visit Pakistan."