The real issues that need to be attended to
No country on this planet could possibly have the permutations and combinations of plots and subterfuges that we Pakistanis can lay claim to. Take, for instance, we have the Salafist, Takfeeri Wahabi conspiracy, the jihadists, the American-funded Taliban, the Indian-funded Taliban, the Punjabi Taliban and what have you. We also have our own version of the military industrial complex elbowing for space and the ever present bureaucracy smugly plying its trade, jealously guarding its own space. It is no wonder then that the country itself does not seem to make any sense at all. To someone coming from the first world where systems are more or less in place and running within their parameters, all this looks like an extreme case of mayhem. But, for Pakistanis, who have known nothing different, and have become inured to all the chaos, this is business as usual.
Yes, indeed, this is Pakistan, take it or leave it. The only thing consistent about our country is its inconsistency and nonstop turbulence. That Pakistanis still go about their business undeterred by bomb blasts, kidnappings, corruption, load shedding and what have you, is a tribute to the fortitude and resilience of the man in the street.
The Americans call their government and its functioning, the “Ship of State”. This ship of state, regardless of which party is in power, changes course very gradually and to such a minute degree that it is barely noticeable to the common man. Here, instead of this ship, we have a pendulum. Indeed, when our pendulum swings in response to changes in power, it oscillates to a level reminiscent of obscure banana republics. Following the turbulent, rudderless first decade, the pendulum of power swung wildly to Sikandar Mirza’s Martial Law, immediately followed by Mirza’s upending by Ayub Khan. Khan’s decade of development was brought down to earth by Bhutto’s socialist concepts and the pendulum had swung completely the other way. On came Zia, who had the Bhutto tiger by the tail. Zia had been dealt very difficult cards and after eliminating Bhutto, he was delighted to be a front line ally of the Americans against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. Zia was also cozy with the Wahabbi Saudi regime, long time allies of the Americans. Zia changed the character of the country by his unabashed use of faith. The pendulum had, inexorably, swung the other way.
Perhaps the biggest change Pakistan incurred in Zia’s time was in the distortion of the educational system in accordance with his personal beliefs. It is this character change that continues to haunt us and spawns the extremist thought that we have to contend with.
Following the deaths of Bhutto and Zia, Pakistani politics have been fought out between the legatees of the two erstwhile leaders. Even the MQM traces its lineage to Zia’s days. The PPP has lost much of its socialist flavour to a more centrist approach and when in power does well simply to survive the concerted assaults by the rightists, plausibly aided by the deep state.
So, what does one do to improve the lot of a people who have lost their moral and ethical compass? People, who as children are encouraged to cheat in examinations and are then expected to be honourable, law abiding citizens. It is here at the grassroots level that things have to be set right. Children have to be taught what is right and what is wrong. They have to have a well developed conscience that tells them to do good and avoid the bad. The only way to do that is through education, by their parents and in the schools. But, then are most of the parents not products of this same rotten way of life?
We can do worse than to learn from other cultures, other religions, who have handled this much better. The English used to teach moral science to children in their schools in India. Once ingrained, this teaching would stand the children in good stead throughout their lives.
The Japanese have a very strong sense of honour and morality ingrained in them from childhood. In World War II it was not unusual for Japanese soldiers to fall on their swords rather than be captured. Some soldiers emerged from the jungles of South East Asia thirty years after the war ended.
They had not heard of the end of the war and had received no order to surrender such was their commitment to honour and discipline. These aspects of education, far removed from the rote learning of our schools and madrassahs, are the cement that will bond our country into a synergic entity that can take its rightful place in the comity of developed nations.
But, what does one do in a society where a huge number of the legislators in our assemblies had the gumption to submit forged degrees as their qualifications.
And these people are still there with no feeling of guilt or any commensurate punishment, sitting in our assemblies, supposedly legislating new laws. Can they be expected to legislate for the greater good of the nation or for their own selfish, narrow interests? Do they feel the prick of conscience when they do all this? It is doubtful, because, as has been said before, our moral compass has gone completely awry.
How do we go about recalibrating this compass? It was this battle cry initiated by the PTI against corruption of all kinds and of an education revolution, which struck such a chord with people from all walks of life. People came out in the tens of millions to record a massive turn out in the past elections. The PTI received the second highest number of votes, a startling testimony to the people’s desire to live in a just, peaceful and egalitarian environment. The only way for PTI to have done this would have been to handle both ends of the pyramid at once: leading by example at the top of the pyramid and by educating the broad base of the pyramid on a war footing. This was one of the cornerstones of the PTI manifesto and the new government coming into power could do worse than not to treat this as a top priority. They should handle two things on a war footing: the energy crisis and the education/personal development of the present and future citizens. Once these are addressed, the bullet trains, Metro buses and motorways will take care of themselves and there will be no need for sasti rotis, laptops or yellow cabs.