This problem is one which not even the bitterest of Pakistani critics / analysts / journalists have taken up so far.
Elections in Pakistan will continue being a sham and so will lack of awareness among the majority. No wonder. Excepting the southern city of Karachi, the country still has a feudal culture. As long as feudalism exists, illiteracy will keep rising. The feudal lords will never educate the subjects they control. Realistically, Pakistan at present is no different from the society of slave drivers in medieval Europe and America. For more than six decades it's been the cause of illiteracy, autocracy, ever-growing corruption and of course, financial disaster for the country as feudals pay no taxes.
Unfortunately the response of urban Pakistanis for years has been to flee from their sufferings rather than build a resolve to be the first to make a sacrifice. And such a mindset perfectly suits their corrupt leaders.
I ask myself, why blame the blissfully ignorant peasants and farmers in rural Pakistan who are enjoying their serfdom under their feudal lords when apathy is spreading so rapidly across our urban population?
Among the small number of supposedly educated folks who have still not immigrated abroad, fantasy is their cause of ignorance. Instead of being introspective, they are much too eager to be guided by their sentiments. Pakistanis have since long been idolizing their leaders on the basis of their own imaginary iconic images of them. Thus, only the corrupt or chauvinistic ones have either assumed leadership or simply succeeded in jumping into celebrity politics as trouble-makers. It's a sad state of affairs and we only have ourselves to blame.
The policies that constitute the entire system are intertwined. Having said that, it's impossible to repair the broken pieces by picking them up from the places where they lie. That would be too superficial a clean-up.
Here's what I mean ..
The feudal system is tightly locked up with politics --> politics is tied to elections and its rules as exist in Pakistan --> such elections are again tied up with the type of leaders selected who grab seats within the Parliament and thus frame policies. It's a long chain of mess that smells awfully foul. Every issue is determined by feudal power & money, not the people. After all, feudalism and free society are two opposite concepts. They cannot co-exist.
Eradicating feudalism must be an indispensable first-step, if ever Pakistan gets serious about meaningful reforms. Analogically, attempting to introduce reforms by allowing the feudal system to remain intact would be like trying to cure malignancy with vitamins, minerals and herbal applications instead of chemo.
Not to mention, imperialistic interference because of the country's geographically strategic position has been a perpetual thorn on the side. Again, even while interacting with the imperialists, our leaders elected by the force of power & money are at the helm to make all decisions. Their pathetic dependency on Western financial assistance to fill up their Swiss bank accounts prevents them from achieving genuine sovereignity as so successfully achieved by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although Pakistan has no oil, there's no dearth of natural resources in the country. Yet, a nation can find a way, only if it has a will.
When the infrastructure of a society crumbles .. there's one characteristic that's rife and it gradually destroys the values & morals of the masses (starting from the leaders of course) .. that is INJUSTICE. There's a lot to say on this, but briefly put, when the culture of injustice is allowed to get the better of a society, it takes away the fear of God Almighty from the hearts of its people and also the necessity of accountability which is an inseparable part of justice. Subsequently, the 'rule of law' fizzles off. That's the last nail in the coffin, after which, nothing can be put past anyone.
The joke of "democracy" in Pakistan is for the purpose of benefiting only the U.S. and the EU. It provides a cute window-dressing and covers the daily horrors of feudal practices. Thus, it becomes a lot easier for the West to justify their motivated-close ties with the Pak leadership on the international stage.
The present quagmire of handling the Talibans is apparently a long haul. I don't see any big costs going to the extent of becoming prohibitive for the Superpower either. Nor can I imagine the Superpower and her allies acquiring a different mindset and resolving issues by preferring negotiations over combat.
But at the end of the day, the long-term scourge of feudalism is more intimidating than that of Talbanism. And that's saying a lot!
It's easy to guess why not even those Pakistani leftists bubbling with aspirations frown at the terms "feudalism" or "feudals." That's because they are either landowners themselves or acquiring vital perks through their connections with landowners.
Elections in Pakistan will continue being a sham and so will lack of awareness among the majority. No wonder. Excepting the southern city of Karachi, the country still has a feudal culture. As long as feudalism exists, illiteracy will keep rising. The feudal lords will never educate the subjects they control. Realistically, Pakistan at present is no different from the society of slave drivers in medieval Europe and America. For more than six decades it's been the cause of illiteracy, autocracy, ever-growing corruption and of course, financial disaster for the country as feudals pay no taxes.
Unfortunately the response of urban Pakistanis for years has been to flee from their sufferings rather than build a resolve to be the first to make a sacrifice. And such a mindset perfectly suits their corrupt leaders.
I ask myself, why blame the blissfully ignorant peasants and farmers in rural Pakistan who are enjoying their serfdom under their feudal lords when apathy is spreading so rapidly across our urban population?
Among the small number of supposedly educated folks who have still not immigrated abroad, fantasy is their cause of ignorance. Instead of being introspective, they are much too eager to be guided by their sentiments. Pakistanis have since long been idolizing their leaders on the basis of their own imaginary iconic images of them. Thus, only the corrupt or chauvinistic ones have either assumed leadership or simply succeeded in jumping into celebrity politics as trouble-makers. It's a sad state of affairs and we only have ourselves to blame.
The policies that constitute the entire system are intertwined. Having said that, it's impossible to repair the broken pieces by picking them up from the places where they lie. That would be too superficial a clean-up.
Here's what I mean ..
The feudal system is tightly locked up with politics --> politics is tied to elections and its rules as exist in Pakistan --> such elections are again tied up with the type of leaders selected who grab seats within the Parliament and thus frame policies. It's a long chain of mess that smells awfully foul. Every issue is determined by feudal power & money, not the people. After all, feudalism and free society are two opposite concepts. They cannot co-exist.
Eradicating feudalism must be an indispensable first-step, if ever Pakistan gets serious about meaningful reforms. Analogically, attempting to introduce reforms by allowing the feudal system to remain intact would be like trying to cure malignancy with vitamins, minerals and herbal applications instead of chemo.
Not to mention, imperialistic interference because of the country's geographically strategic position has been a perpetual thorn on the side. Again, even while interacting with the imperialists, our leaders elected by the force of power & money are at the helm to make all decisions. Their pathetic dependency on Western financial assistance to fill up their Swiss bank accounts prevents them from achieving genuine sovereignity as so successfully achieved by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although Pakistan has no oil, there's no dearth of natural resources in the country. Yet, a nation can find a way, only if it has a will.
When the infrastructure of a society crumbles .. there's one characteristic that's rife and it gradually destroys the values & morals of the masses (starting from the leaders of course) .. that is INJUSTICE. There's a lot to say on this, but briefly put, when the culture of injustice is allowed to get the better of a society, it takes away the fear of God Almighty from the hearts of its people and also the necessity of accountability which is an inseparable part of justice. Subsequently, the 'rule of law' fizzles off. That's the last nail in the coffin, after which, nothing can be put past anyone.
The joke of "democracy" in Pakistan is for the purpose of benefiting only the U.S. and the EU. It provides a cute window-dressing and covers the daily horrors of feudal practices. Thus, it becomes a lot easier for the West to justify their motivated-close ties with the Pak leadership on the international stage.
The present quagmire of handling the Talibans is apparently a long haul. I don't see any big costs going to the extent of becoming prohibitive for the Superpower either. Nor can I imagine the Superpower and her allies acquiring a different mindset and resolving issues by preferring negotiations over combat.
But at the end of the day, the long-term scourge of feudalism is more intimidating than that of Talbanism. And that's saying a lot!
It's easy to guess why not even those Pakistani leftists bubbling with aspirations frown at the terms "feudalism" or "feudals." That's because they are either landowners themselves or acquiring vital perks through their connections with landowners.
Comments
Post a Comment
For all general Q&A visit the following link @ Zainab's Lounge.
http://zainabslounge.blogspot.ca/2016/09/muslim-villa-guests-introduction-prior.html (Copy & paste link on browser)