When a man of my height starts to feel dwarfed, there has to be something not quite right. When he finds that the minority is responsible for making this happen then there has to be something seriously wrong. That’s what we have been experiencing for a long time, too long.
Democracy is said to mean the rule of the majority party, elected by the majority of the electorate. Democratic norms also mean accepting the decisions of the majority, which should be fair and without prejudice. But these are principles and Pakistan society, or at least the part that appears to be calling the shots, seems to have stashed these away for greater worldly benefits.
The recent past is ablaze with incidents that defy national interests but the recent weeks have taken this adversity to the absolute limits. Millions of citizens of the largest city have been terrified and locked in their homes because segments representing the citizens decided to wage war on each other and the city, apparently oblivious of the irreparable damage caused.
Gravediggers, doctors and nurses are perhaps the only professions engaged in overtime. Others, especially daily wage earners have been trying to stay alive, hoping stray weaponry does not deprive their children permanently of livelihood. Ironically, the warring segments come together as quickly as they fall apart, leaving the land rent asunder and families mourning their dear ones.
When logic becomes a bad word and emotions are allowed to rule unfettered, anarchy cannot be far away. A handful, figuratively speaking, has decided that this country, unprotected by its dwarfed majority, is ripe for the plucking. Creating confusion, hatred and disorder dominates the mindset and the country’s progress is put on indefinite hold.
A fellow passenger recently used appropriate terminology in describing the behavior pattern of our people. “Absence of EQ” he said. Emotional quotient is what he meant. This is so true. The issue is where and how do we begin to deal with this. The remedy would normally lie in upbringing. But then you need educated parents. When kids see parents behaving in a certain manner, they tend to follow suit. Having said this, let me quickly add that in our case even educated parents, not to exclude the elite, are perhaps even more prone to reacting with excessive emotions than most.
Emotional militancy has consumed this country. It defies logic. It defies democratic norms. The use of firearms is intended to generate the fear required to subjugate the majority. And to a great extent, it has succeeded. The brutality of our everyday lives has driven international business and foreign direct investment away. Countries around us continue to prosper, register admirable growth rates, generate record exports and draw the investment that, woefully, could have been ours.
Political expediency appears to allow this factor to go unchallenged. This stymies law enforcement agencies in addition to the fact that they are ill-equipped to engage these forces. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Isn’t that how you see it? When they act they are urgently brought to book and when they don’t the nation suffers.
The judiciary has been silenced by the fear of the religious extremists. When have you heard of action being taken against the extremist factions that are creating mayhem? Banned extremist outfits flourish. Murderers are decked with flowers. Terrorists are taken from courts in jubilant processions. What chance does the majority stand?
The majority in Pakistan are peace loving and, to a large extent, very poor. They fear weapons and armed attacks. They are totally unprotected and have no recourse. Whereas the minority is totally protected, beyond the law, armed to the teeth and running wild taking down anything or anyone that comes in its way at will.
The government is trapped. Even if there was political will to deal with it, there appears little it can do to stop it without a direct confrontation, the ramifications of which would be even more brutal. Democracy renders draconian laws inappropriate. However recent events have led even famed democracies to draw on reserves and legislate acts to protect themselves against “anti-state” activities. We had these for years, DPR and the like. It will be most unfortunate if government had to resort to such infamous laws to control the situation. As we all know, the laws would not just be directed against those actually violating them.
So how does the majority of our population, today a human shield in the tragic events destroying our country, act to protect the state and thereby itself? It’s a million dollar question. It is not inappropriate to say that pleas, if any, will fall on deaf ears, across the board let me add. There are no listeners. Repentance is not an option in Pakistan; that went with the ideals of Jinnah.
This is paradise for us, countrymen. If we lose it to marauding hordes, it will be the greatest injustice we do to God’s gift to us. We need to stand tall; courage must prevail.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected]
