July 12, 2013
Scent of Power
Amidst the ripple of change there is a considerable body of water that remains still. Still waters are prone to stagnation. So the phenomenon of change without change continues.
The craven awe of power and its naked pursuit explains the stench of stale sameness. The toady pattern of sniffing around the corridors of power persists.
Throughout, the driving factor remains not any particular ideology or idealism but immediacy of advantage. If you stand for nothing, you end up with nothing.
The epidemic of murderous fifth column obscurantism presents an ultimate test of will for the State. The talent for talk has been thoroughly exhibited, not so the guts for action. The writ of the State is not established by over-talk on TV but by solid steps on the ground. Cruelty toward the defenseless is matched by cowardice before 'Zulm.'
The priority of party heads is to launch their kith and kin and to bring in those who add financial value. It is not to curb rampant inflation.
Cronies may provide good socializing but their placement in positions of power can bring governance to a standstill. They may like to think they are clever enough, but they simply are not good enough.
So what has changed? Not much. Even those who preach change eventually are themselves encircled by carpetbaggers with deep pockets. It is a stale circle that has had plenty of chances in the past to prove proclivity for change but has not done so. Being a celebrity is no substitute for hard-earned sagacity acquired through the experience of adversity.
The difference between sloganeering and a solution-oriented approach is soon found out when saddled with the responsibility of the reins of power and, so perhaps, too, the gap between campaigning and governing.
Out of this morass, are there answers easily available to address the national quandary? Unlikely. Staleness remains entrenched.
Few have been blessed with a moment of epiphany when there is an acute realization of being on the wrong track. The tendency is to rationalize clinging to the familiar route. Blind spots tend to be discovered, if at all, too late.
But the upheaval in the Arab World promises a shift in the pattern. When the Arab World, deemed impervious to change and mired in the status quo, can see a seismic shift, then it is not far-fetched to visualize its wave crashing on the shores of Pakistan. Much as the current stock would like to nurture a dynastic monopoly, it is difficult to see it getting digested, especially so, when civic sense is getting sensitized and demanding a place at the table. It is the unavoidable task of civil society to step up to the plate to develop a counter-vision.
Genuine change leaves a cleansing effect. But, with only cosmetic change, the scent of power can leave the nauseating stench of power.
My friend Javed Elahi took me one evening to a rooftop restaurant in Lahore. All one could see from a distance was 21st century modern Lahore, without power, and enveloped in medieval darkness. When there shall be light, there shall be change.
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