Is it capable enough to change the society?
In response to my last piece about whether middle class can lead transformation of Pakistan, many questions are raised by esteemed readers that include retired bureaucrats, generals, intellectuals and politicians. I have selected some of these questions to answer through this follow up piece. These questions are: If middle class failed in Iran and Arab Spring to gain political power, then how can it succeed in Pakistan? If middle class is one of the partners in the decay of the country, then what has it got to lead the transformation? And how can it help to alleviate the poverty in the country to increase its ranks?
The answer to first question is that middle class lacks self-confidence to gain legitimate political power. The first martial law in Pakistan by retired Major General Iskander Mirza and Chief of Army Staff Ayub Khan provided an easy access to political power. Since then the middle classes found it more convenient to gain access to political power by collaborating with military establishment. When PTI rose to prominence through support from educated urban and rural members, it was expected that the middle class will use it as a platform for seeking mandate from the people through constitutional means. That dream is at risk because status quo members have penetrated the ranks of the party and control its decisions making. Now PTI is considered part of a conspiracy to uproot the democratic gains and allow undemocratic ascension of a middle class dominated technocratic government supported by the military. If that happens, it will be a major setback to the political evolution of the country and legitimacy of the middle class to transform the country.
The answer to second question about what can be done to transform the country has many examples to learn from. For instance the lawyers’ movement enabled the judiciary to emerge as an important third pillar of the state to balance the power of legislature and executive. I am not proposing here that judiciary is delivering on the promise but that the foundation is laid for it to build upon. A good bench of SC judges can initiate the second stage of reforms to ensure speedy delivery of justice and ensure the implementation of constitution by other organs of the state. It is hard to say when this second wave of effective judiciary will happen but civic society, bar associations and media has to remain vigilant to become a catalyst for it.
Another example is electronic and print media which is comprised of middle class. In the recent political crisis the media had a united position, except for a few dissidents, that the democracy should not be derailed but rather the system should be reformed constitutionally from inside. Without the outright support from the media, Joint Session of the Parliament alone would not have been sufficient to protect the government. Some have argued that media was a partner in the crisis by providing 24/7 coverage to the two dharnas. In my personal view this is a mistaken notion because images beaming through the TV screens showing protestors cutting barbed wire to enter the Parliament grounds and entering PTV awoke the nation to the possibility of the country being destabilised if they continued supporting dharnas. It eroded the support for these protest movements, at least on the street. Another indication of the middle class waking up to fix the country is that all unconstitutional demands of the protests, including resignation of PM, non-cooperation and non-payment of bills were not supported. On the other hand, demands for electoral and governance reforms have full support of the people.
So the recipe is quite simple for the middle class to transform this country. They have to seek legitimate political power by supporting and joining a political party that is an institution. They should form civic associations to keep pressurising the government to deliver on their election promises. Bar associations should come forward to help in drafting laws for electoral and governance reforms. Media should maintain its pressure on the government to reform and highlight the corruption committed by them. Military establishment should support the reform agenda without explicitly engaging in politics and having favourites. Middle class also has to demand expansion of tax net to include those that have enjoyed high incomes without contributing their fair share to the exchequer.
The third question about alleviation of poverty is very critical to answer. The poor comprise almost 55 per cent of the nation and include large segments of labour, small farmers and domestic help. Middle class has been blind to their uplift by ignoring to include them in their political agenda. Keeping a large population uneducated has allowed them to have luxury of many servants at home at an affordable cost including maids, drivers and cooks. They, along with the upper class, have been complicit in depriving them of education and economic incentives.
How is it possible that education district officer, a member of the middle class, closes his eyes to bad hiring and absenteeism of teachers in public schools without realising its effects on the children of the poor? Similarly how can a medical superintendent in a district hospital keep his eyes closed on being unable to provide proper medical care to the poor? Or a bureaucrat, another member of the middle class, doing the same while preparing budget keeping it at just 2.5 per cent of GDP? An important factor of middle class’ ability to transform the nation will be to champion the cause of the poor. Education is a great equaliser and special focus on women would mean a strong nation. Middle class, particularly bureaucrats, intellectuals, academic and philanthropists should ensure that quality of public schools improves in rural areas and suburbs of large cities.
Middle class has to take the lead in transforming the nation but first it has to prepare a plan of action. The ideas presented above are just to get the debate going. I am sure others have better ideas and plans than mine. Being pessimistic and spreading it will not help us. God has instructed us that the condition of a nation does not change until people want to change themselves.