A dream that has lost its meaning – and much of its relevance
There should be little ambiguity about one thing now. When it comes to defending a corrupt and decrepit system, all stakeholders who are its direct and indirect beneficiaries would converge leaving aside their bitter rivalries and animosities. The coalition partners on the one hand and the opposition parties on the other joined across all divides in this unprincipled and humiliating spectacle to lay claim on being the anointed custodians of the country’s destiny and to challenge a move ostensibly aimed at highlighting the fickleness of their beliefs and the hollowness of their claims.
Tahirul Qadri may have gone overboard in his oratorical exhortations stretching over hours, the formulation, branding and packaging of his demands and the immediacy of timing that he set for their acceptance, but he succeeded in pinpointing some of the inherent flaws that plague the prevalent electoral system so critical for the advent of a genuine democratic polity in the country. The composition of the Election Commission with its gross political undertones and the manner of the formation of the interim government that would be vested with the responsibility of holding the next elections constitute the core of the problem.
On the face of it – and which he was able to highlight in his multiple masterly addresses – the steps leading up to the elections have been so engineered that they would solely serve the interests of the established political mafias. Consequently, it was strange to witness that even the junior partners in the loot spree sprang to the defence of the system with alacrity and zest. May be this is because they would not like to risk what they have so assiduously secured under the corrupt incumbent aberration to any possible prospects under a more efficient and transparent dispensation. So they all clung together like forlorn partners grieving tearfully over years of separation. It was one big show of hypocrisy in defending the system with all its attendant shortcomings and ills lest the cleric may succeed in spearheading a movement for changing it for the general betterment of the people. In essence, it was self-interest overshadowing any prospect for institutional correction and public welfare.
While the attitude of the political parties that are part of the parliament was understandable, it is the approach of those that are not represented in the legislatures that was mindboggling. One understands that their avowed commitment to ‘democracy’ springs from a perception that the stakeholders of the current system would allow them space either in formulating the rules leading up to the elections, the putting together of various institutions that would be vested with the task of conducting the exercise or the manner in which the state machinery would be used to influence the outcome. This espousal of ‘democracy’ could also spring from the notion that they would be able to lead a charge converting the apparent surge on ground directly into seats in the legislatures. So they chose the path of elections preceding any possible reform. Both these assumptions could prove to be grossly erroneous. But, if and when realised, they will neither have the advantage of time nor the willingness of people to support their cause. They did not have to jump on the Tahirul Qadri bandwagon, but they could have extended support in multiple ways to highlight the genuine failings of the system that the cleric had set out to do. They may rue the lost prospect in not utilising a window of opportunity that was created. Or, was it just a question of who leads the charge?
In the process, it is the possibility of alienation for the genuine democratic forces that would be most damaging for the country. While the traditional mafias, both in the ruling coalition and the opposition, would continue to negotiate and secure their respective pound of flesh, it is the forces leading a movement for change that would likely be left out in the cold. Every political activity like the one led by Tahirul Qadri is usually followed with a level of exhaustion and inertia which take a while to wear off. Also, if any such movement ends in a victory for the status quo represented by the ruling forces – as has actually happened in the current instance – it is also followed with heightened cynicism which greets every new initiative on the anvil. So, those desirous of a change will have to wait their time out to re-cultivate receptivity which may take years in coming. In the intermediary, they may themselves fade away as victims of the largesse so benevolently bestowed by a corrupt system and its clever machinations. So the cumulative loss would be manifold that will have to be borne out not only by the political players who fail the people, but the whole country.
Whatever else may or may not have happened, the Tahirul Qadri phenomenon has effectively highlighted the drawbacks of the system and the manner in which it is likely to be manipulated to the advantage of the incumbent beneficiaries. There is little room that will be afforded to any newcomers unless they strike a deal in advance to further promote the corrupt system and to boost its relevance. In the aftermath of the failure of the long march, any such prospects would also diminish as, gloating in the sunshine of their success, the incumbent mafias would be loath to share their pound of flesh with any new kids on the block.
These are sad times for the country as also for the people who have genuinely craved and struggled for the advent of change. Their faith would be badly shaken and their commitment mortally dented. Worse still, they are likely to lose hope in the prospect of things changing for the better. It is in the shadows of this waning hope that we may have to survive for a very long time to come.
Postscript: Ironically, in the end, Tahirul Qadri became a victim of the very demon he had set out to vanquish: “siyasat”.
The writer is a political analyst. He can be reached at: [email protected]
