Democracy Survives in Pakistan?
Seeing the total anti-climax in the Pakistan’s swirling situation a friend advised caution as according to him there are many a slip between the cup and the lip! There was jubilation all over. The political pundits predicting the disintegration of this troubled country were proved wrong for once at least. Earlier it had become a part of history that every civil upheaval and turmoil most often resulted in army take over. Army was supposed to be the only disciplined institution which could hold the country together. Many had been debating whether the dream of Allama Iqbal and Mohammad Ali Jinnah had finally turned sour. It was repeatedly given out that religion cannot be basis for creation of a country. The very basic concept was held faulty and Pakistan was supposed to be heading towards becoming a failed state. Whether these predictions and postulations were correct or not, are too early to decide but for the time being the country seems to have returned from the brink. The fast deteriorating situation had forced some of the media persons and intellectuals participating in a recently held conclave in Delhi to indirectly propose the return of General Musharraf to save that country from total disintegration. This was being done out of the fear of the extremist Taliban taking over the country along with the lethal nukes.
A Talibanised Pakistan with freely floating nukes was every body’s nightmare from Delhi to Washington. Most of the sane people were praying for the stability of this country caught in the whirlpool of extremism. Some were in fact going so far ahead as to suggest that a military coup was round the corner. Army take over was supposed to be imminent. The total reversal of the situation regardless of the forces that were responsible for bringing it about seems to have taken some people by total surprise. Especially some of the TV channels seem to have been disappointed by the turn of events. Instead of welcoming this victory of peoples’ power and beginning of a new era in Pakistan, they are busy in highlighting the victory and defeat of various personalities involved in the episode. According to one channel Pakistan is suffering from the cancer of terrorism and the present victory is like aspirin being administered to a cancer patient! One would have thought that the people would have heaved a sigh of relief at this dramatic victory of the democratic forces but unfortunately because of the inherent bias and prejudice they are trying to belittle it by raising some personalised issues. According to them agitation has ended but the turmoil stays. The only silver lining has been the statement of the foreign minister that the stability of Pakistan is in the interests of the region and the civilian government there has been fighting the terrorism and needs support.
Any victory of democratic forces, however small, should be a joy for true democrats. Unfortunately, the prejudices in this part of the world are so deeply ingrained that we take pleasure in our neighbour’s discomfort. In any case the situation in Pakistan is not as simple as it may appear. The country apart from the cancer of terrorism introduced by the very same people who are now trying to keep it together, suffers from many infirmities. It is a totally feudal society and in spite of the massive show of peoples’ power, it is the Sardars, Rajas, Choudharys, Sharifs, and Zardaris who ultimately decide the fate of the people. It is these feudal lords who have prevented the creation of a nationality called Pakistani. They have stayed as Sindhis, Punjabis, Pathans, and Balauchis. They still think in terms of their tribes and clans. They are Pakistanis only outside Pakistan. As soon as they are back in Pakistan, they revert to their tribes and clans. The most damaging infirmity of Pakistan has been the absence of a sizeable middle class. There are “Dirty” rich people on one side and hopelessly poor on the other end. Compared to this India’s middle class is almost the size of USA.
The major cause for the failure of democracy to take roots in Pakistan has been the absence of institutions. Its rulers both civil and military never allowed institutions to grow and flourish. India may not be a perfect welfare state as there are more than 35% people still below the poverty line, yet it is to a large extent a functioning democracy. The survival of India as a democracy is because of its institutions. The Supreme Court of India, the Election Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Income Tax Department, and many other institutions have a reputation of their own. By and large these institutions are supposed to be least susceptible to any political interference and have functioned independently and given independent judgements whenever these were called upon to do so. Another important pillar for democracy to survive is the active and forceful media. India has rather a hyper-active media which sometimes goes overboard. However, it contributes for the functioning of the democratic institutions. The only Achilles heels of Indian democracy is Kashmir. Here, everything democratic vanishes. All principles, rules, regulations, and moral considerations are given a go by. Anything connected with Kashmir is protection of so called national interest for all political parties regardless of their ideology or affiliations.
The triumph of the lawyers in getting the sacked Chief Justice of Pakistan restored is being considered a victory of the civil society and an important step towards the restoration of complete democracy. However, the main problem facing Pakistan is not the absence of democracy but the fast growing religious extremism spearheaded by the Taliban. Army is the only institution which can take this menace head on but they need the full support of the civil society to do that. The first important question for Pakistan is to survive as a state and the other things will come only after that. The greatest challenge for the Pakistanis is what has been happening in Swat. Whether they have a democratic set up or a military dictatorship, Swat is staring the both in the face. No doubt the March 16 victory has been termed as the “Justice Revolution” and it has strengthened the civil society, yet the ultimate test will come only after the strengthened democratic institutions take on the extremism which is destroying it from within. For this to succeed the army and the civil society will have to join hands as they recently did in saving the total collapse of the nascent democracy!
One of the easiest points of convergence for all extremist groups in Pakistan has been the holy war to liberate the Muslims of Kashmir. General Musharraf had tried to remove this convergence and Zardari had gone even a step further! Unfortunately, the Indian intransigence did not allow their initiatives to succeed. Even President Obama in his pre-election speeches had pointed about the urgency of removing this basic cause preventing an all out effort to tackle extremism. The Indian Foreign Minister’s positive response augurs well and one hopes it will be implemented all the way not only to strengthen democracy in Pakistan which is essential for its stability but also to tackle the scourge of extremism with full force in the entire region.
A Talibanised Pakistan with freely floating nukes was every body’s nightmare from Delhi to Washington. Most of the sane people were praying for the stability of this country caught in the whirlpool of extremism. Some were in fact going so far ahead as to suggest that a military coup was round the corner. Army take over was supposed to be imminent. The total reversal of the situation regardless of the forces that were responsible for bringing it about seems to have taken some people by total surprise. Especially some of the TV channels seem to have been disappointed by the turn of events. Instead of welcoming this victory of peoples’ power and beginning of a new era in Pakistan, they are busy in highlighting the victory and defeat of various personalities involved in the episode. According to one channel Pakistan is suffering from the cancer of terrorism and the present victory is like aspirin being administered to a cancer patient! One would have thought that the people would have heaved a sigh of relief at this dramatic victory of the democratic forces but unfortunately because of the inherent bias and prejudice they are trying to belittle it by raising some personalised issues. According to them agitation has ended but the turmoil stays. The only silver lining has been the statement of the foreign minister that the stability of Pakistan is in the interests of the region and the civilian government there has been fighting the terrorism and needs support.
Any victory of democratic forces, however small, should be a joy for true democrats. Unfortunately, the prejudices in this part of the world are so deeply ingrained that we take pleasure in our neighbour’s discomfort. In any case the situation in Pakistan is not as simple as it may appear. The country apart from the cancer of terrorism introduced by the very same people who are now trying to keep it together, suffers from many infirmities. It is a totally feudal society and in spite of the massive show of peoples’ power, it is the Sardars, Rajas, Choudharys, Sharifs, and Zardaris who ultimately decide the fate of the people. It is these feudal lords who have prevented the creation of a nationality called Pakistani. They have stayed as Sindhis, Punjabis, Pathans, and Balauchis. They still think in terms of their tribes and clans. They are Pakistanis only outside Pakistan. As soon as they are back in Pakistan, they revert to their tribes and clans. The most damaging infirmity of Pakistan has been the absence of a sizeable middle class. There are “Dirty” rich people on one side and hopelessly poor on the other end. Compared to this India’s middle class is almost the size of USA.
The major cause for the failure of democracy to take roots in Pakistan has been the absence of institutions. Its rulers both civil and military never allowed institutions to grow and flourish. India may not be a perfect welfare state as there are more than 35% people still below the poverty line, yet it is to a large extent a functioning democracy. The survival of India as a democracy is because of its institutions. The Supreme Court of India, the Election Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Income Tax Department, and many other institutions have a reputation of their own. By and large these institutions are supposed to be least susceptible to any political interference and have functioned independently and given independent judgements whenever these were called upon to do so. Another important pillar for democracy to survive is the active and forceful media. India has rather a hyper-active media which sometimes goes overboard. However, it contributes for the functioning of the democratic institutions. The only Achilles heels of Indian democracy is Kashmir. Here, everything democratic vanishes. All principles, rules, regulations, and moral considerations are given a go by. Anything connected with Kashmir is protection of so called national interest for all political parties regardless of their ideology or affiliations.
The triumph of the lawyers in getting the sacked Chief Justice of Pakistan restored is being considered a victory of the civil society and an important step towards the restoration of complete democracy. However, the main problem facing Pakistan is not the absence of democracy but the fast growing religious extremism spearheaded by the Taliban. Army is the only institution which can take this menace head on but they need the full support of the civil society to do that. The first important question for Pakistan is to survive as a state and the other things will come only after that. The greatest challenge for the Pakistanis is what has been happening in Swat. Whether they have a democratic set up or a military dictatorship, Swat is staring the both in the face. No doubt the March 16 victory has been termed as the “Justice Revolution” and it has strengthened the civil society, yet the ultimate test will come only after the strengthened democratic institutions take on the extremism which is destroying it from within. For this to succeed the army and the civil society will have to join hands as they recently did in saving the total collapse of the nascent democracy!
One of the easiest points of convergence for all extremist groups in Pakistan has been the holy war to liberate the Muslims of Kashmir. General Musharraf had tried to remove this convergence and Zardari had gone even a step further! Unfortunately, the Indian intransigence did not allow their initiatives to succeed. Even President Obama in his pre-election speeches had pointed about the urgency of removing this basic cause preventing an all out effort to tackle extremism. The Indian Foreign Minister’s positive response augurs well and one hopes it will be implemented all the way not only to strengthen democracy in Pakistan which is essential for its stability but also to tackle the scourge of extremism with full force in the entire region.