He started meeting somebody recently and within a couple of months, he is completely ‘brainwashed’.
‘You can’t talk to him, he is brainwashed.’
If you are socially active in serious circles, you must have come across these lines. You find people who seem to have authority, certify other people of being ‘brainwashed’. So what is brainwashing? How does it actually work and in reality, how is it perceived and why promoting this concept is dangerous? Here’s my take on the subject:-
Interestingly, it is generally presented as a ‘medical condition’ where the victim loses all connections with reality and starts living in a fantasy world. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t get admitted into a mental hospital because this ‘medical condition’ has more to do with his conviction on some ideas rather than any bad eating habit or cousin marriage history. These ideas must have one characteristic; they should be totally against what the regime wants citizens to believe. The degree of brainwashing depends upon two things; one, how badly state wants to push X idea and two, Y idea that the person adores is how much opposite to X idea.
For example, when USSR was promoting communist ideas and Pakistan was in capitalist camp; those who adored communist ideas were got certificates of being brainwashed. During Zia regime, when armed struggle in Afghanistan was supported as per Washington’s policy, those who opposed strongly were called brainwashed. Today, things have become a bit more funny though; if Misbah-ul-Haq wins the toss and doesn’t say ‘Shukriya Raheel Shareef’, he can also be considered to have a bit of brainwashed because it seems that regime wants to hear this line from every citizen; from those who get free gravy of Nihari at road side hotels to those who get electricity load shedding as per scheduled hours.
One more important thing regarding brainwashing is conviction. A ‘brainwashed’ person is so convinced of his ideas that he is ready to sacrifice his material benefits for his beliefs, even sometimes his life. For him, compromise is a sin and the only way to ‘undo’ his brainwashing is to convince him back. Threats and oppression in most practical terms including abduction, torture, etc. are not enough to dent his conviction. Actually, in most cases, it brings more strength to conviction.
Majority of the people (i.e. mango people) is never convinced of any idea; they go with the flow and are ready to compromise as soon as their interests are at stake. For this reason, they will not oppose even the dumbest idea pushed by the state. They will surrender, bend their backs and even prostrate. They will buy the regime’s argument and even propel her propaganda.
I personally feel that ‘brainwashed’ people are the cream of society, because there are very few who have enough courage to transfer their belief into conviction. These people are necessary for keeping the intellectual debate alive in society. They are the source of parallel opinion making in the society, fighting hard against regime’s propaganda and even getting punished for that. They speak their mind and are not afraid to face the consequences.
I think it’s time we start thinking who is actually ‘brainwashed’; those that are convinced of their ideas or those who are fed, directed and controlled by regime.
