Pakistani Fight Club

What is this love for fighting in the subcontinent. I challenge you to find two parties fighting and fighting alone or with a moderate number of viewers. Whenever there is a fight there is almost always an unusually huge crowd accompanying it. No matter whether the people know the parties fighting or not, they would still gather around to view a good fight. This behavior is not limited to human fights. The other day i was on my way home from university on the ring road, i remember i was going back from the last class ever of my undergrad at LSE. As soon as i crossed the bridge i saw a huge mass and it looked scary, there were around 400 to 500 people standing in a huge semi circle which made its way all the way from the focal point to the center of the ring road and beyond. There were cars standing on the other side of the 6 lane ring road and yes you guessed it right, although they had no clue what was going on the other side of the road due to the huge crowd that was in the way, they had all stopped to see what was it that was attracting people to stop their cars on a highway considered nearly as quick as motorway and jumping up and across the huge six feet fences and into the rugged dirt terrain filled with junk on the other side.

Naturally, i stopped. Being a human with a slice of inquisition, i was curious to find out what was going on. I slowly made my way into the left lane and slowed the car down to a manageable speed to get me through and little clear of the crowd. I rolled down the car's left door window and inquired an equally engrossed in the moment by-stander "Ustad, ithay ke hoya hay?" (Sir, whats happening?)

Very calmy he replied "Bhansay lar rahay hein" (Bulls are fighting).

This huge a love for fighting, be it bulls or be it the local, regularly arranged cock fights or dog fights, be it two motor cyclists smacking each others brains out after an accident, or two car

drivers in an accident putting up a show, or extremist freaks spanking their females who have "wronged" in the middle of the bazaar so there are witnesses of the punishment, according to their own "shariah" , or a woman arguing with a shop keeper over inferior goods sold. You'll find a bigger than required crowd gathered around staring meaninglessly, completely absorbed in the live action.

Is this love for aggression hereditary? Can it be owed to the confrontation Muslims faced in the tumultuous history of the sub-continent? Can it be that the anger, love for fighting and tussle is travelling in our genes ever since we the learned the art of fighting during the bloodshed involved in the independence and 3 wars we've been through? Can it be owed to the violence we have been exposed to in the past through different mediums daily. Just like anger, many characteristics pass on through our genes and it can be seen there are a great deal of intangible qualities that travel through generations.

Can it be that the barbarous times that we have been through have left this mark on our actions and attractions?