The
Forgotten Leader: A True Leader
By Gul Nisar
Greenville, North Carolina
The
pendulum of time constantly moves forth and forces
the world to evolve simultaneously. There are
people who help write the course of this evolutionary
process by leaving an imprint of their leadership.
Always, great leaders have emerged in times of
crisis and desperation to serve their fellow beings
and to ensure the humanitarian principle of freedom.
Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A leader is a
dealer in hope,” thus emphasizing the power
and influence of such individuals in times of
situational needs. However, as Pakistanis, we
have forgotten one of our own leaders, whose ability
to administer, implement and develop our nation
is extraordinarily attributed to his individual
beliefs, values, preferences, as well as the culture
and norm of his time.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto emerged as a leader for the
people of Pakistan in a time of governmental instability,
economic chaos and social injustice. He utilized
his ability to lead and inspire others in a shared
vision of equality in the political, social and
economic realms. As a dealer in hope, Bhutto gained
respect, trust and loyalty of his followers through
his well-defined and structured leadership.
Confident in his destiny, he found opportunities
to educate others around him of the importance
of global contemporary issues, and their affects
on the domestic nature of his beloved country.
And greatly concerned with the economics of our
country, he believed that in order to motivate
the people, he would have to establish avenues
for the basic needs, such as food, clothing and
shelter, to be met. His slogans of abolition of
feudalism and capitalism, and the establishment
of socialism in Pakistan mesmerized the masses.
His election slogan roti, kapra, makan (food,
clothing, shelter) claimed to fulfill the promises
of growth and prosperity. As he took office as
President of Pakistan, he declared that “the
common man would be the master of his destiny”
He assumed leadership of Pakistan at a time of
momentous tragedy as the country was at war with
its major rival India and its most populous province
of East Pakistan (Bangladesh) had declared its
independence. Furthermore, the government structure
had been deeply undermined and popular confidence
in officialdom was virtually nonexistent. It has
been suggested by analysts, the weakness and despair
that gripped the country also set the scene for
the emergence of a strong, determined, and energetic
leader such as Bhutto. He was a leader of a broad
coalition of peasants and workers, landlords and
industrialists, professional classes and youth,
and in a moment of extreme need, the nation looked
to him for encouragement and direction.
As he picked up the pieces of our fragile nation
and tried to establish positive changes, Bhutto’s
administrative strategic task was to take into
account the territorial and administrative consolidation
of the State. He scheduled a vigorous tour across
the nation, taking the flag of Pakistan and the
promises of his new order to some of the most
remote corners of the country. His goal was to
promote awareness among people everywhere.
It is crucial to understand his strategic initiatives,
which were geared to tackle wholesale corruption
and nepotism in the government, the absence of
civil liberties (translating into a through alienation
of the educated middle class), the traditional
exploitation and oppression of peasants by feudal
lords, and economic dispositions of continuous
wage freezes, labor strikes, population growth,
and the fragmentation of classes. He emphasized
in his political strategies and ideologies that
real power resided within the apparatus of a nation’s
government. His mission included providing public
dominance; state ownership and management of all
significant resources through institutionalized
techniques to help develop productive utilization;
training of personnel and generation of financial
resources; increasing the national production
over a five-year span by fifty percent; improvement
in transport and communication by building a super-highway
linking all major cities; establishing governmental
health and education sectors with pharmacies planned
within walking distance of every community; furthering
the agricultural industry by assisting in agricultural
programs and manufacturing of tractors, the production
of fertilizer, setting up sugar refineries and
cement production plants; promoting efforts to
achieve self-sufficiency in steel and heavy engineering
and electrical machinery; securing enrollment
in basic educational institutions for children
free of charge; and establishing and enforcing
land reforms by redistributing aggregation land
from the wealthy feudal lords to the common man.
Together these projects aimed at promoting a sense
of national unity in attempts to promote a mainstreamed
life in Pakistan. The general theme, promising
security for the common citizen, helped mobilize
our country’s human and natural resources
in the most efficient manner possible.
His impressive accomplishments towards laying
foundational blocks of statehood included reestablishing
the parliamentary system of the nation, while
in the process overseeing the adoption of a constitution.
As the party politics were restored, he focused
on regularizing the country’s international
relations with almost all states, including an
effective international campaign to press its
rival, India, to come to the bargaining table,
and a difficult domestic campaign to move towards
the recognition of East Pakistan (Bangladesh)
that had seceded from the country.
No doubt, the age of Bhutto was an age of revolution.
At the time of his overthrow; he was emerging
as a spokesman of the world of Islam and the leader
of the Third World. Although his life and political
career were cruelly terminated, Bhutto was one
of the great leaders who took part in the liberation
of the Third World from the yoke of imperialism
and neo colonialism during the twentieth century.
He was more than a popular leader who attracted
large crowds; he was a true dealer in hope, who
vowed to secure equality and justice for all through
his leadership. Without Bhutto’s initiatives,
it is difficult to imagine that the development
of our nation could have taken place.
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