A political slumbering

By
Nazir Naji
-
34
186

No saviour in sight?

The Kasur incident where people looted chairs is not something that should be laughed away. This is a very serious message from the neglected, bereft and hapless public to the ruling classes. It was disappointing to hear the comment from Imran Khan – who is emerging as a leader of the present times – that what else would people sick and tired of the tide of inflation do. He is an aspiring candidate for PM. If this heavy burden falls on his shoulders, will he say such things as the chief executive? Should every thief, dacoit, scallywag, bribe-taker and wayfarer be pardoned on this ground?

Shouldn’t a politician and an erudite ponder about what happened and why it did so? Is there nothing here that incites one to think? Doesn’t it say something about the state society is in? That something is rotten and nobody’s trying to find out what it is. No one knows what the outline and delineation of the ‘change’ that Imran Khan purports to bring will be? But the extent to which the people can go to bring a ‘change’ was illustrated by them when they nicked chairs with abandon. This isn’t just a message to Imran Khan – but to all of Pakistan’s politicians, generals and officialdom. The message: Enough!

The comments of the PTI workers present at the rally were run-of-the-mill. The common man when witnessing fights, disorder and such a muss would condemn it and that’s what they did. But I want to analyse this incident in a framework in which it should be situated and analysed.

I was watching the reviews on TV talk-shows last night. Some people were reminiscing about Bhutto’s time and said that it was he who showed people the way of looting. If we look at history, this is a lie. Bhutto did indeed coax people to rise up against injustice and oppression. But he detested disorder and anarchy.

When the national movement of journalists started in the 70’s, some over-enthusiastic started snatching bundles of newspapers and some leaders of the PPP barged into the PPL’s central office as Mukhtar Rana shouted slogans about occupying it, Bhutto sahib sent a stern message and said that he would not tolerate such disorderly conduct. He said that the movement should be carried out peacefully even though he was in the opposition at the time and no newspaper was inclined to publish his statements and/or present him in a good light.

Similarly, when there was inordinate delay on the part of Yahya Khan in the transfer of power, Awami League’s workers in East Pakistan started occupying government offices and institutes. Following suit, some passionate PPP workers also started doing the same in Lyallpur and created the atmosphere of a revolution in the city. At this juncture, Bhutto sahib again sent a stern warning to the workers and told them to immediately desist from their activities and anybody who does not obey should consider them no longer part of the party. Within a matter of hours, the atmosphere of the city had changed again and the danger to the peace of the city passed.

After Bhutto sahib came into power, some labourers in Karachi occupied a mill. When they did not vacate, the police dealt with them firmly and the matter was resolved. This was a message that the movement for the rights of the poor which had been started by ZAB was supposed to be peaceful and would not be allowed to degenerate into anarchy. It’s a separate issue that later Bhutto sahib fell prey to bureaucrats, feudals and opportunist and lost track of his mission. But it cannot be denied that at any point in his political struggle, neither did he encourage troublemaking tactics nor did he justify them saying that the impoverished public had no option but a recourse to violence.

Leadership would’ve been that Imran Khan jump into the fray and stopped the looters himself even if he was injured in the process. There are many such examples in history where leaders have done that.

The independence movement’s leader Gandhiji had organised his movement on the basis of non-violence. Congress’ workers, which included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, were stopped by British forces when they tried to stage protests. But they would keep on going. As they marched forward, the British police would warn them not to go forward but they soldiered on. Even in the case of baton charge, these people bore the blows peacefully, such was their training. Those injured would be picked up to be taken away but nobody would raise arms or resist violently.

When incident s of police violence against peaceful protesters grew, Gandhi, Nehru and other leaders would join the protesters to stop the police. This often caused them to be injured by the charge of their own workers but it meant that they were able to control their enraged workers. Lala Lajpat Rai gave his life in Lahore attempting to stop protesters. He succumbed to the injuries he sustained while attempting to curb protesters as the police beat them. This is leadership. It should be remembered here that Lahore’s Gulab Devi Hospital was established by Lala Lajpat Rai in honour of his mother who dies of tuberculosis.

The trouble is that the constant interruption of the political process has hampered the nurturing and grooming of political leaders in Pakistan. Politics is confined to offices and darbars. The ruling generals had their pick of people and included whomsoever they wanted. If they wanted to work behind-the-scenes, they handed the government over for show. We started thinking of these props as politicians. Even though these so-called politicians did not have the ability to function in an independent and fair political environment. For them, politics merely comprised of bootlicking generals and the patronage of bureaucrats.

These ‘politicians’ didn’t ask for votes on some ideology but on the basis of baraderi, caste and other associations. This is what has continued till date. Which is why people who understand the forces of history and politics have said that real democracy cannot come to Pakistan for decades yet. There is little chance of the conditions taking root that are conducive to democracy.

Our politicians do not have the requisite experience of independently dealing with people’s problems, unrest and social fissures. They have to get each decision approved by the establishment. It has become such a force of habit that these people have lost the ability to take decisions independently sans approval from the powers that be. These hapless people who think they are in power after only having power in name cannot reach the root of public discontent. They can’t even see the gathering storm; how will they even begin to face it? The slumber we were forced into after 1958, only this could have been our wretched end. As Mir puts it:

(What slumber keeps you, O sorrowing eyes
Open and behold, the deluge on your city)

The writer is one of Pakistan’s most widely read columnists.

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34 COMMENTS

  1. What about our intellectuals and opinion makers who got their sons recruited as inspectors and tehsildars so that they could amass crores of money in ill-gotten black money through corruption and get multiple plots from every government, both civil and military and yet pay minimal tax. Problem Sir is not with the masses but those who have set the precedent that corruption is kosher in Pakistan. Hang somebody in the powerful elite for corruption and it will be curtailed all the way down to the bottom.

  2. Add the son in law who served Assistant Commissioner (AC) Tehseel Chunia of District Kasur buying land 'at market price' for Jati Umra.

  4. The writer may have made sense with many things he has written in this piece but his saying "No one knows what the outline and delineation of the ‘change’ that Imran Khan purports to bring will be" is as amateurish as it gets. Are the millions who are attending his rallies and the hundreds and thousands who are joining PTI in hordes are nuts that they are joining Imran Khan but not really knowing what he is aiming for. Grow up, Naji sb. People are not naive. They know who is who and who is aiming for what.

  6. Nazir Naji u r a part of status quo.. Imran Khan should have jumped in to stop hundreds of people from looting.. he is a leader and not a super hero… Atleast have some sense in ur argument.. I dont understand how they even publish ur articles. u take plots n houses to write such articles.. Shame on u..

  7. The only disappointment naji sb is your lack of understanding that criticizing will not always boost your popularity. I mean talk about other things, talk about the reasons why people are flocking towards him. The reason I can derive is that, among “the people” count the youth of the 90’s who are aged enough to vote now.

  9. I am ashamed at the lot off you , if this is the way youth address someone senior then God help us all, all this person is trying to say that IK should say what is wrong is wrong, for his foundation should be unity, faith, discipline ….. without this we can never be a nation.

  11. i dont think so..it shows the education rate.menatality.literacy rate of people..and instead criticising ik..govt should be ashamed of their education policies and other policies as well.

  12. It makes me laugh to read this old man saying "No one knows what the outline and delineation of the ‘change’ that Imran Khan purports to bring will be" is as amateurish as it gets. Are the millions who are attending his rallies and the hundreds and thousands who are joining PTI in hordes nuts that they are joining Imran but not really knowing what he is aiming for. Grow up, Naji sb. People are not naive. They know who is who and who is aiming for what.

  16. @Rehana ,even though I support Imran Khan , please stop making a God out of him .
    Every leader talks mighty until he comes to power .Take Shiekh rashid for example .Maybe IK's agenda is good , maybe hes better than the others but he does not have the political experience to bring about a change .
    Just an example , his party is recruiting the most corrupt and "lota" politicians , like Pervez Khattak .
    Don't raise your hopes , personally I dont think Imran will be able to go too far in his mission to bring change .:(

  21. Look we must give at least Two chances to Imran Khan… first as an experience and second to implementation what he learned frm his past mistakes… not be so Optimistic…. how many politiciens damage the economy of pakistan and how many times… let us check Imran too…. who knows in future he will be the one to whom we all demand…. ofcourse not in one match gradually my dear fellows..

  22. Forget stealing chairs. What this man should realise is that under the government he seemingly supports many have committed suicide. And the worst is yet to come….

  23. Nazir Naji at this age is lying flat to get flat at Zaradari feet. It was Bhutto who destroyed the basic values of this nation. Your final plot is ready naji sahib. Allah Allah karo ab.
    Yes people must do what they did. The ruling * are not leaving the nation otherwise. All these people have foreign passports and here only to loot. They all must be butchered along with their future generations.

  25. when and where have you openely expressed your hatered/criticism towards PPP… you swapped PARTIES from PML N to PPP for a better package and the whole pakistan knows this Mr. Naji. the whole pakistan knows how corrupt and dirty you are when you were exposed by a Junior Journalist over THAT land issue,remember?

    you should talk sense and you should stop the bhutto and ppp thingy everywhere. why dont you guys come forward for Ehtesab first and then drag others? you journalists are suppose to be hope in darkness but unfortunately people like u r trying their very best to destroy THAT only hope left in our country.. what else do you know about Mr. Khan? why not speak about his courage? about his stance on national issues? about his intelligence? about his passion love and dedication for pakistan?

    one line for you Mr. Naji, GROW UP AND LET US CHOOSE OUR OWN LEADER. YOUR TIME IS UP..YOUR GENERATION IS DONE WITH PAKISTAN.. ITS OVER COUNTRY AND WE WANT OUR PRESIDENT/PM TO RULE IT…

  26. Do not be ashamed just one old guy who is supporting to wrong person just because of few pennies we don't wanna respect him…. sorry but truth is always bitter… what we want to hang all those senior junior news editor and all the politicians hang in a street till their death… we need revolution.. like china like iran

  27. There are Oxbridge types from an elite instituition of Lahore who are advising Imran Khan on how to sort out the economic mess. Are they any different from Hafeez Sheikh & Co ?

  28. ‎"It was disappointing to hear the comment from Imran Khan that what else would people sick and tired of the tide of inflation do" – Nazir Naji"

    I guess they will listen to your rhetoric then !!

  29. What happened was very funny but normal. This is what people do with politicians. Take what they can when they can and not go after false promises of a great future which is reserved only for the rich.

  32. nazir na jee tujh jaisay randi kay bachay is mulk ko khaa rahay hein randi nasal ki tu randi ki olaad hai

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