From Islamic extremist groups promoting militant notions among Pakistani youth to the Hindu nationalist parties spreading an anti-Islam narrative, extremism and the politics of religion has been on the rise in the neighboring countries. Among other things, this has had an adverse impact on the outflow of art from and within the region.

In 2019, renowned Pakistani filmmaker and actor Sarmad Khoosat directed Zindagi Tamasha (The Circus of Life), which explored the suffering of a devout and practicing Muslim who makes a single mistake. This mistake — dancing for a few seconds at a close relative's wedding ceremony — seems pretty irrelevant and unimportant to a reasonable audience, but put in front of a radical cleric, controversy is bound to sprout from it. The film then explores his active ostracization from local society. This film and its unique idea would have proven to be an exciting prospect for a cinema critic, especially if art is judged by its ability to challenge the norms of society and talk about something that would not be normally addressed. Khoosat’s film was a masterpiece of this sort, but unfortunately, it became the target of clerical groups and could not make it to the cinema screen. Censor boards caved under the pressure of religious conservatives and prevented multiple screenings across the country, a decision which was appealed and eventually overturned after a long struggle. The irony of ironies, Zindagi Tamasha is now Pakistan’s submission to the Oscars for official consideration.

One need not go far to get another example, just across the border in India, where similar trivial issues are being blown out of proportion. An Indian Netflix production by the name of “A Suitable Boy” attracted the attention of the ruling political party of India for all the wrong reasons. The series included a scene where it showed a Muslim boy kissing a Hindu girl inside a temple. Interfaith relationships have been a controversial issue in India for quite some time, the explanation being that Muslim men use marriage as an excuse to convert Hindu women to Islam. Passions around this issue have inspired attacks on interfaith couples, even culminating in communal violence. However, in this instance, such attitudes have targeted a piece of art, and that too, a piece of art produced by an international platform, and it is unacceptable.

The two instances narrated above are symbolic of a much bigger and deep-rooted issue in the bordering nations: the ideologies of major political parties being premised on divisive religious and nationalist ideals. The Bharatiya Janata Party in India has exploited its anti-Muslim agenda multiple times, so as to garner public support and come into, or remain in, power. On the other hand, the military and clerical stronghold in Pakistan have opposed any progressive reform coming from the legislature by aligning public opinion with their own agenda. The proper functioning of a working democracy is not just slowed down, but obstructed by this opposition at every turn, which leads to unnecessary regulations on media and art.

This is problematic because art in itself is supposed to be a medium through which societal problems can be brought into the limelight, and stopping this self-correcting mechanism is nothing short of a crime. Putting out films, books, documentaries, or even newspaper articles, which tackle supposedly taboo topics are essential to nation building in the sense that they spread awareness and help the citizens of the nation ask the right questions.

Placing excessive restrictions on artistic expression is just another way fundamentalist groups control the narrative and keep the public on their side. The principle is simple — if they can stop societal issues from going out into the public, they can keep people in the dark and maintain their stronghold. An example that comes to mind is of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, a radical Islamic political party of Pakistan, which does not miss any opportunity to create a social backlash against so-called “liberal agendas'' of leftist parties. It is becoming increasingly popular because of their appeal to the religious sentiment among the general populace. This is carried out rather methodically; putting pressure on media outlets, threatening artists to not produce controversial art and the occasional sit-ins in front of governmental agencies are just some of the ways that these conservative groups maintain their control since hijacking media content is the easiest way to do so. Regulatory bodies like the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority in Pakistan and the Central Board of Film Certification in India have become mere tools of the sitting governments, rather than upholding the notion of being an independent body and passing unbiased decisions.

At the end of the day, we all need to understand that art plays a major role in society and in shaping public opinion. If governments start controlling the creation of and access to art, the regime could quickly and quite efficiently become authoritarian. Free media is, and always will be, an integral part of a fully functioning democracy. For the average Indian or Pakistani, being presented with a completely fair judgment of the facts in news sources is rare, and the religious fundamentalism aspect is just the tip of the iceberg. If the two neighboring nations keep heading down this path, there is a high probability that excessive censorship of free media and blockage on the outflow of art translates to these countries becoming police states.