The Hatred Curriculum of India-Pakistan: From Cradle to Grave

Children in India and Pakistan are not taught to fear monsters or the devil but their own neighbor. ‘The enemy’ they are told. An image carefully crafted from narratives of history they have not lived and the hate they have not felt. A Societal curriculum injected in the minds of commoners in India and Pakistan sets the stage for war between ‘us’ vs ‘them’ ideology. The warfare is not of tanks, not of nukes but with something far worse and brutal, the deep-seated hatred rooted in the minds. The citizens of these two brotherhood nations are intoxicated by the madness of religion.

        This hatred is not spontaneous. It permeates the very fabric of both the societies. The traumas of partition, unsolved conflicts, violent retaliations to accumulate animosity. In the digital age, social media is not just for socializing but has morphed into echo chambers of nationalism. It is a brilliant weapon of mass influence. The distance and anonymity it offers create fertile ground for spitting more hatred. Hatred can now be posted, liked, and shared.

        This cyber nationalism is more dangerous than traditional terrorism. These online warriors don’t wield guns but wield narratives that seek to spread nationalistic fervor and disdain for the other side. When India launched Operation Sindoor, claiming it was a retaliatory strike against terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam massacre that killed 26 tourists, Pakistan called it an act of war that led to civilian casualties.

But even before diplomats could speak, the war had already begun on Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Accounts claimed to be pro Pakistanis shared outdated and unrelated videos as the aftermath of Operation Sindoor. Whereas Indian social media accounts, claims to be driven by nationalistic sentiments are sharing the slogans of ‘Jai Hind’ often laced with vitriolic abuse against Pakistan and Pakistanis. Abuses based on religion, turning patriotism into exclusion. An even worse scenario is when an Indian Olympian was abused ruthlessly for being friends with a Pakistani.

        What happened in Pahalgam was inhumane, atrocious, and highly condemnable, it deserves peace through justice. But what is happening in media spaces is far more toxic and inhumane. This is not just the result of government policies but of the cultural indoctrination at earlier age. Many genuinely believe that hating the “other” is patriotism—that abusing an Indian or a Pakistani is an act of national service. But this is not patriotism. It is ideological terrorism, perhaps even more dangerous than the physical kind, because it hides behind the mask of moral legitimacy.

At least the terrorist knows what he is fighting for, but these social media warriors fight because of emptiness. An emptiness caused by fear, misinformation, and the boundaries that conditioned them with prejudice and a judgemental mindset. The emptiness is caused from their childhood through the fear fed values embedded by society. To love one; one need not hate another. If love demands hate, then it is not love. If love demands an enemy, it is insecurity.

       Classrooms, in their desperate attempt to chronicle history since 1947, have failed to teach compassion. In the rush to define national identity, they have neglected the basic tenets of shared humanity. As children grow, media exacerbates these biases. The line between truth and propaganda blurs, and curated narratives replace critical thinking. Truth becomes optional. Justice becomes a matter of allegiance.

        With the lives shattered and identities weaponised where is the law? International Law appears to be impotent before this hate. Article 20(2) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law. It is honoured only in breach.

        Article II(2) of Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide includes mental harm as Genocide. Who will hold these social media nationalistic terrorists accountable for their respective genocides? Reformation? Is it not mandatory to implement international laws for a better world? Is it not the obligation of signatory states to implement international law?

        The problem is not the absence of laws but the absence of will and the domestication of empathy. It might be digital but violence is violence. Shouldn’t international law evolve to include “Digital Violence” as a category of crimes against humanity?

The world does not need uniformity but universalism. The solution is not sharper borders but softened minds enlightened enough not to abuse or hate another nation’s citizen, but tender enough to ask for an Investigative Agency independent of national sovereignty to investigate the narratives shared in medias. Not just for Pahalgam not just for Operation Sindoor but for every conflict where information is weaponised.

Maps may be political, but suffering is universal. And so, the justice.