July 04 , 2008

Let Lahore Be Lahore

When the need is to shift gears and change the script, it remains business as usual. 
Once again, there is a dearth of an action-driven agenda.  There is talk, plenty of talk.  Talk of hanging, talk of taking over the presidency and converting it into a partisan fortress, talk of turning Lahore into Larkana.  Ask Lahorites whether – during turbulent times – their foremost priority is to make their fabled city into a feudal backwater.  Empty sloganeering, it seems, is ahead of solid thought.
Just for the record, Lahore has been the least tribal and parochial city of the subcontinent.  It has been the hub of pan-Islamism and, along side Multan, the cradle of Sufism, with its universal appeal.  Lahore has been able to shun and transcend the tunnel vision of ethno-nationalism.  But for Lahore – where it was founded in Dr. Mubashir Hassan’s house in November 1967 – People’s Party would have remained confined to a rural provincial party. 
Let Lahore be Lahore.
As for the subject of hanging, is not the hanging of 30 years back one too many?  It polarized the polity, embittered the populace, and frayed the federation.  It left a legacy of vendetta and obscurantism, the repercussions of which continue to reverberate.  Instead of weakening it, such loose talk has the opposite effect of fortifying the presidency – just as the policies of the presidency strengthened the resistance to its writ.  The prolonging of the presidency is dependent on the over-reaction of its opponents.
And, then, there is the familiar stench of personality-worship, which is all the more egregious in a predominantly Muslim society.  When someone once tried to kiss the hand of the Quaid, he pulled away with a stern admonition, “Do not worship me.”  Mother Theresa-like virtues are now being discovered in those once banished from public life.  Roads and buildings are being re-named with a vengeance.  A more sustainable tribute to the memory of the departed would be to build new schools, hospitals, and roads.  Previous chair-occupiers, too, were praised to high heaven.  It resulted in a backlash of public fury. 
There is scant evidence of any ambition or determination to do public good. Cheating has become endemic and its pernicious effects and spread are visible in multiple spheres of activity. 
Perhaps the time is now to rally the nation to launch a march for the recovery and return of looted wealth.  If anything, it will help explain how some got to stand on pedestals.  And, in doing so, it may unveil many a ‘champion’ of democracy. 
One hidden factor why an untenable status quo lingers on can be attributed to apathy and inaction – in areas that matter – of the educated and computer-literate youth. 
There is smut on the Net, but not enough insight and wisdom.  One disturbing pattern is a section of the youth who are avid Internet browsers and are often trigger-happy with their comments and judgments, sometimes laced with venom and personal abuse, while hiding behind the wall of secrecy and anonymity.  Not only is this craven and unfair behavior but it also prevents the target of their attacks from confronting the accusers. 
In an era of grave challenges, it would be more effective – and responsible – if they bombard newspapers with letters to the editor, with their names signed on to their suggestions and point of view.  If this trend is left uncorrected, it may result in a generation of strong talkers and weak doers.  If the past generation of seniors were too strict with their progeny, today’s elders may be too indulgent and mollycoddling.  The outcome, in either case, has meant little commitment for change.
Meanwhile, hovering over it all is the cloud of the ‘war on terror’ which continues to cast its lengthening shadow, with its unforeseen implications for the federation.  These implications may well trump and supersede the ‘business as usual’ mode of domestic politicking and power plays.