- A clear, well worded narrative is a powerful thing
“Language is a weapon of politicians, but language is a weapon in much of human affairs.” – Noam Chomsky
The government is on the backfoot, again. Our minister of state for interior has suddenly found himself flipped from the frying pan into the fire. The past week has been a constant stream of almost daily sound bites from Mr Afridi. Starting from a vehement reinforcement that the writ of the government shall not be challenged, lines will not be crossed and eventually moving on to blaming the opposition parties’ activists, including the PML-N for causing the ensuing mayhem. He followed this by laying out a carefully worded statement regarding future course of action, “…embrace (TLP) and engage them in dialogue.” Mr Afridi added that the footage of the hooliganism, violence and vandalism was shown to TLP leadership and they in turn “disowned” the perpetrators. Whether it is naivete or a deliberate stance of looking the other way, the government has set a flammable and very dangerous precedent, the price of which our children will have to pay.
There is no point in getting into the politics of the predicament that we, the law-abiding, tax paying citizens seem to find ourselves in. What is noteworthy is the use of reconciliatory language that has led up to Mr Afridi’s declaration in the National Assembly that there is no room for “…bloodshed in Naya Pakistan.” And while that specific assertion is a positive one, the contradictory language used by the government throughout the course of this issue has been painstakingly obvious. The ebb and flow of political rhetoric is determined by the need of the hour. Language is a physical aid for politicians and journalists to use as they will. In this case, words that were put forth by Prime Minister Imran Khan began in a concise, specific and focused manner.
There was no room for multiple interpretations to be drawn from that very straightforward address. This was reinforced by the equally clear language of government ministers. Citizens watched all this in awe, witnessing an attempt to hold the bull by its horns. The language used left no doubt as to the course of action that would follow. Unfortunately, as the days progressed, so did the language used by the government. As clear as it was before, the discourse was now inundated by doubts, questions and rather vague steps to be taken forward. This confusion translated itself into a rather haphazard narrative created by the government.
A face-saving exercise for all without any concrete steps taken. Language is oftentimes a casualty in grand political schemes. In this case it was used as a foggy, passive recourse to divert attention from what was simply a case of sedition and mob violence and create a grey area in order to carve out an account that seemed more convenient. Politicians and the like are aware that the layman sits in wait for analyses and information coming from ‘accredited’ journalists and banal statesmen that may help him to develop his opinion and political direction.
Corruption allegations, even when they are proven by courts of law, are made victim to slanderous talk by political parties
We should be mindful that a clear, well worded narrative is a powerful thing. It has influence over economic and political discourse, journalistic ideals and the general mood of the public. It also translates into how we view concepts that have previously been well defined for us. For example, any person who breaks the law or commits a crime is simply put, a criminal. Unfortunately, every successive government of Pakistan has continuously and incessantly blurred the lines of what a criminal is or is not. Corruption allegations, even when they are proven by courts of law, are made victim to slanderous talk by political parties who will go at all lengths to defend, what they deem, is their God given right to rule. The most recent example is the aftermath of the Panama Papers. It is pointless to go into the depth of the verbal assault committed by the house of Sharif and their activists on the judiciary and the military, as it is all on record. There were statements that were labelled as “political” in nature so as to try and remove the implications they presented. And so, like before, the definition of the word ‘criminal’ continued to corrode at the hands of politicians assailing language for their own devices.
“The misuse and manipulation of language – the worthless semantics of journalists and politicians and even academics is becoming ever more frequent and ever more dangerous… Perhaps we now ‘experience’ language rather then listen to it.” -Robert Fisk.
