By  Mowahid Hussain Shah

February 27, 2009

VIP-hunting

 

One of the key factors why Muslim strength is not reflective of its size is that much of the energy of its upper-crust is squandered on chasing VIPs.

Amongst the circle of courtiers, perhaps none is so ubiquitous and omnipresent than that which may be characterized as the "VIP-hunter ".

This breed has an uncanny knack of courting and cultivating power. The VIP-hunter chooses to bet on whosoever is in power, poised to as­ sume power, or with the potential to take power. Without shame, he pursues his game, stalking those with fame.

A sociologist can write a PhD dissertation on these carpetbaggers who constantly keep cropping up on the national scene. The same recycled faces keep resurfacing. It is one constant in a ruthlessly shifting landscape.

The VIP-hunters are a byproduct and beneficiary of a culture where recom ­mendation often becomes the sole qualification. Invariably, the VIP-hunters justify their loyalty-switching activities under the camouflage of patriotism.

The question to ask is: does VIP- hunting really matter? It does matter and it matters to those who teach and who have been taught to believ e that honesty and hard work ought to bring its own meritorious recognition, only to find themselves banging against the doors of a closed system which, at the expense of the many, visibly benefits the few with fewer scruples.

Abroad, too, the breed continues to flourish. Its modus operandi, in substance, remains the same: wining and dining with celebrities, seeking photo opportunities with top officialdom, and selling to visiting government dele­gations access to so-called "power brokers", with a view toward onward encash­ ment in Pakistan. Some go to the extent of enthusiastically wooing Israel. The primary impulse, once again, comes less out of ideological conviction and more from the anticipated rewards through the appeasement of a pow­erful group. If only similar zeal were shown on the Kashmir cause.

By itself, VIP-chasing would be rel ­atively innocuous. But hardly so, given the existing conditions in Pak­istan, and the severity of the chal­lenge confronting Muslims in the West. Such supplicant behavior suppresses and deflects attention away from the serious and more bona fide task of uplifting and building the community and giving confidence and direction to Muslim youth, nursing the scars of dual cultures.

The VIP-hunter has no qibla — which makes it a lot easier to bow before the false gods of Power and Privilege.

VIP-hunters come in many colors; but the common denominator and agenda remain the same: pan­ dering to the powerful, penalizing the powerless. A sense of principle is seen as romantic excess baggage, a load, therefore, to be shed in the pragmatic compulsion to see and be seen with those promis­ing quick benefits. To ascertain the true character of the VIP-hunter, it would be instructive to examine past record on is sues requiring a bold stance.

Overlooked in the pursuit of advantage and easy opportunity is recognition of the damage done and the casualties caused.

VIP-hunting is a form of idol ­atry which undermines inspiration, debases self-esteem, and per­petuates the cycle of subservience by seeking false secu­rity under the umbrella of depen­ dency. For their part, VIP-hunters are prone to proudly parade the "trophie s " obtained through short-cuts and back-door maneuvers. But, more sig ­nificantly, by doing so, they send a message both to society at large and to those plodding on the straight path that perhaps there is little virtue in legitimate effort. It is difficult to motivate the youth to chart a nobler route through toil and sweat when it frequently witnesses venality overtake integrity.

The very nature of VIP-hunting leads many to ignore that, in the final analysis, it is the average person who is the rock upon which a decent soci ­ ety with human dignity values can be built and who, in reality, is the genuine VIP.

PREVIOUSLY


Clash or Coexistence?

The Radical Behind Reconstruction

POWs & Victors’ Justice

Islam on Campus

Community of Civilizations

Rule of Law or Rule of Men?

Unpredictable Times

The Quiet One

Turkish Model & Principled Resignations

Live and Let Live

Leadership & de Gaulle

Dark Side of Power

2002: The Year of Escalation

Whither US?

Politics, God, Cricket & Sex

The Company of Friends

Missing in Action : The Kofi Case

Accountability & Anger

Casualties of War

A Simple Living

The Nexus & Muslim Nationhood

The Kith and Kin Culture

It Is Spreading

Road to Nowhere

Misrepresenting Muslims

The value of curiosity

Revenge & Riches

The Media on Iraq

The Perils of Sycophancy

Legends of Punjab

Mind & Muscle

Islam & the West: Conflict or Co-Existence?

The Challenge of Disinformation

Britain on the Backfoot

Paisa, Power and Privilege

The Path to Peace

On Intervention

Countering Pressures on Pakistan

A World at War?

Raising the Game

The Argument of Force

Affluence withtout Influence

The Shawdow of Vietnam

Heroes of '54

The Imperative of Human Decency

Hollywood and Hate

Living in Lahore

Fatal Decisions

Singer or the Song

Arrogance

The Power of Moral Legitimacy

The Trouble with Kerry

Green Curtain

A Nation Divided

Election 2004: Decisive but Divisive

Muslim Youth & Kashmir in America

The Big Picture: Wealth without Vision

Oxygen to Global Unrest

Punishing the Punctual

Change without Change

Don’t Be Weak

Passionate Attachment

The Confidence of Youth

The Other Side of Democracy

Campaign of Defamation

Pakistani Women & the Legal Profession

A Pakistani Journey

Farewell to Fazal

Mukhtaran and Beyond

Revamping the OIC

7/7 & After

Nuclear Double-Standard

Return to Racism

Hollywood – The Unofficial Media

The Sole Superpower

The UN at 60

A Slow Motion World War?

Elite vs. Street

Iqbal Today

Macedonia to Multan

Defending our Own

2006 & Maulana Zafar Ali Khan

Error against Terror

The Limits of Power

Cultural Weaknesses

Aggressive at Home, Submissive Abroad

Global Storm

The Farce of Free Expression

The Changing Mood

Condi & India

Xenophobia

Looking inward

Re-Thinking

A Tale of Two Presidents

Close to Home

Flashpoint Kashmir

The Spreading Rage

Confronting Adversity

The Illusion of International Law

Other Side of Extremism

Five Years after 9/11

The Educated Ignorant

The Decline of Humor

Icons

Six Years of Insanity

The War Not Being Fought

Munir Niazi

Compliance & Defiance

Counter-Message

Miscast

The Goddess of Wealth

The Meaning of Moderation

The Tora Bora of Fear

Clash of Civility

The Early Race

Challenge & Response

Will & Skill

Zealotry

Movie-Media and Pakistan

Hug with a Thug

Quest for Integrity

Unconquered

Vanity

Bringing Back the Past

Stuck in Iraq

Islam, Science and the West

Turmoil over Turkey

Leaders versus Leadership

Might Does Not Make Right

Kursi First

Vision & Will

Battle of the Billionaires

Assassination Alley

Extremism and Change

Rosy Expectations

Short-Term Gain, Long-Term Pain

Not Winning

Beyond Baghdad: Five Years after

The Hijab of Democracy

Hate, Fear & Hope

Weapon of Words

Hide N’ Seek

Yanking in the UN

Obama’s Breakthrough

Let Lahore Be Lahore

National Mood & Sports

Flirting with Fire

Trips Abroad

Georgia on the Mind

Duel for the White House

Zia to Zardari

Palestine: Avoiding the Unavoidable 

Not Working 

In the Ring 

Obama’s America

Smiles & Dreams

Quiet Deeds of Good

Crime and Indifference

Journey of Understanding


2001

 

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
© 2004 pakistanlink.com . All Rights Reserved.