‘HUM SAB CHOR HAIN?

(We all are thieves)

The ruling party PML(N) has been trying to convince the nation that ‘Hum Sab Chor Hain’ so the game of robbery should continue unabated as it is a way of life in this part of the world. It is the biggest insult hurled at the people of Pakistan. As if Panama Leaks was not enough to cover our shame. For a population of 200 million, 654 is not a big count (0.00033%) but their shamefulness is blaring, obnoxious and nauseating. Society must be cleansed of these deadly infectious germs that have engulfed the entire nation.

There’s a Persian saying, “Usr-Az-Gunha Batar-Az-Gunha” (Denial of sin is the worst sin). When wrong becomes right society crumbles under its own weight. In Punjabi a term ‘Mundhi’ (upside down) is frequently used. As the story narrates once there was a massive storm in a village which caught the villagers unaware during their sleep. Early morning they sent a few people to assess the damage they reported back that everything was ‘Mundhi’. Pakistan has gone through such an upheaval which we the first generation of the new nation have painfully witnessed and endured. Some of us even tried to fight back but the cost of dissent was made unbearable.

Pakistan was once a civilised country where corruption was contained and looked down upon. Corrupt individual were ostracised. Honest hard work was considered the only means of success. Abdur Rab Nishtar as Governor Punjab kept a log of his private calls and paid from his own pocket. Official cars were confined to office work only. Nation building not bashing was the norm.

In his recent speech to the parliament the PM proudly mentioned that his entry into politics came after his exploits in business. The question is why did he embark on such a dangerous and slippery mission with no background? There is a widespread belief that business and politics cannot co-exist. I was once with very successful industrialists who were praising one of their friends who had entered politics. They talked about his good book keeping and honest payment of taxes and were by my disagreement.

Coming from a business family, I was taught that real success comes only through honest, hard work. Perseverance and belief in yourself is considered important which most of today’s politician’s lack. Most of them have been ‘Lotas’ (syphophants) and have jumped from party to party to gain positions. “Why don’t you all come into politics?” I asked. There was complete silence. Businessmen who enter politics come for a killing the sooner it is realized the better it will be for the nation. That is why honest money keeps away from politics.

Philosophers have also deliberated on this subject. Plato (427 – 347 BC) said; “Good political order is in every ones interest as it seeks legitimate interests of all social groups while business seeks individual interests.” He also said; “justice is neither the right of the strong nor the advantage of the stronger, but the right of the best and advantage of the whole community. Ibn-i-Khaldoon the famous social historian believed that traders should not be rulers as they would always have trader mentality. Birbal once remarked that all ‘Banias’ (traders) have common thinking. Birbal was asked to prove his hypothesis. On his instructions a huge tank was prepared outside the city in which every ‘Bania’ was asked to pour a ‘Garvi’ (a small bowl) of milk at night with no one watching. In the morning he visited the site with Emperor Akbar and the tank did not have a single drop of milk, it was all water.

In Arizona while I was a student in the eighties a used car salesman by the name of Evan Meecham got elected as the State Governor. He tried to run the state like a business with focus on the bottom line. Even universities were required to earn their expenses. National holidays were cancelled to cut costs. When he decided to cancel the day off for the great civil liberties leader Martin Luther King he went too far. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged him. The President of USA could be impeached but a state governor had to be removed by a recall motion signed by 51% of the registered voters. It was a gigantic task. ACLU volunteers camped in the state and went door to door to get signatures. It took them three years but the governor was recalled for the first time in US history. There weren’t charges of financial corruption against him but the voters weren’t sure whose interests he was watching.

It is because of conflict of interests that business and politics cannot co-exist. PML-N is a party of mutual interests. Every member is encouraged to make money. It takes pride in its development projects as they are a source of kick backs (KB), in the colonial era the same was called Khan Bahadur.

In the fifties when Ayub Khan led an establishment onslaught against the political leadership a famous movie song was heard all over. ‘Is duniya mein sab chor hi chor’ (Everyone is a thief in this world). It then went on to categorize the levels of theft. ‘Chota chor’ (small thief), ‘Bara chor’ (big thief), ‘Dil ka chor’ (thief of hearts), ‘Khazanay ka chor’ (thief of treasury) etc. The dictator first promulgated an ordinance called Elected Bodies Disqualification Ordinance (EBDO) under which the entire political leadership was sent packing, resistors were crushed underfoot. He then went looking for ‘Political Chors’. He found a ‘Chor sepoy’ in Gujrat, ‘Thug Sepoy’ in East Pakistan and then several ‘Lotas’ all around (Wattoos, Bhinders, Dresheks etc.) Zia introduced ‘Tajar Chors’. Musharraf followed the same routine.

Now we have entered a defining moment for Pakistan. Like me there are millions in the country who refuse to be categorized as ‘Chors’. It is an insult of our integrity. EBDO was not needed in 1958 as political leadership was financially clean, but it is the need of the hour today. These EBDO generated ‘Chors’ deserve a dose of their own elixir. They should be served Socrates Hemlock, those who survive can go home others to the graveyards of history where they belong with their mentors and benefactors. Spare this poor nation by protecting them from ‘Chors. This era of ‘Nadir Shahi’ must come to an end through across the board disqualifications of these 0.00033% rogue elements of our society who have turned us ‘Mundhi’.