August
30, 2007
Vanity
If there is one feature
that stands out in Pakistan’s
polity, it is vanity.
In the last 50 years of Pakistan’s
history, those in the saddle have been
lionized with godly virtues. When they
fall off the saddle, they are vilified
with satanic vices. One was presented
as the savior. Another was heralded
as a modern-day Saladin. His successor
was hailed as the pride of Asia. His
executioner was paraded as a soldier
of God. And then, there is the paragon
of pragmatism. The list promises to
go on. The common element binding all
of them together is that, while in office,
they all have been praised to high Heavens.
Despotism, whether attired in khaki
or in civvies, attracts its own acolytes.
Faults are found in others, while no
faults are found in one’s own
party bosses. The circle of servility
flourishes. Quickly enough, the cynosure
of attention starts believing in his,
or her, own propaganda of indispensability.
But it is said that the graveyard is
full of indispensable men.
It is a good thing that Pakistani culture
inhibits the sculpting of statues. Otherwise,
the credit for building the tallest
statue in the world that might have
even dwarfed one of the ancient Seven
Wonders of the World – the Colossus
of Rhodes – would have gone to
a local builder.
Pride is legitimate, but vanity is pride
pushed too far.
Indulging in vanity is especially jarring
when juxtaposed against a belief system
which shuns idol-worship. The offices
of political parties often look like
cinema houses adorned with colorful
posters and billboards of politicos
striking movie star poses. Roads, too,
are bedecked with banners of ‘heroes’
and ‘heroines’. Even private
homes have not been spared from the
vulgarity of displaying monster-size
portraits. It has created a catering
industry of sycophancy.
Extremes exist side-by-side. There are
those who absolutely shun the display
of any human imagery. And, then, there
are others who surround themselves with
too many self-images.
The cult of personality worship is one
of the visible symptoms of pandering
to vanity. It is a flaw which needs
curbing, if not curing.
The propensity toward vanity has made
the task of politicking relatively easy.
One need not show up prepared for meetings
as long as one is prepared to shower
rose petals – the so-called Kheraaj-e-Tehseen
– on the chair.
Given this background, it is not hard
to figure out why leadership qualities,
such as integrity and courage, don’t
flower, and why independence of thought
gets amputated.
The fixation with preening and praising
the powerful verges on idolatry, which
has been spurned by Islamic values.
Writing in his magnum opus, “The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”,
the celebrated British historian Edward
Gibbon has this to say about the advent
of Islam:
“The good sense of Muhammad [pbuh]
despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle
of God submitted to the menial offices
of the family; he kindled the fire;
swept the floor; milked the ewes; and
mended with his own hands his shoes
and garments.”
In his famous letter to Maalik Ashtar,
Governor of Egypt, Hazrat Ali expounded
on the principles of governance, by
highlighting the pitfalls of developing
vanity and conceit, and also the perils
of being misled by flattery and cajolery.
The culture of self-aggrandizement blocks
the fruition of a genuine democratic
process. As Bertrand Russell said, “The
more you are talked about, the more
you will wish to be talked about.”
It is one of the factors which make
democracy, as practiced, hollow. Dummy
democracy can only be dispensed with
if, through applicable safeguards, elites
are made to eschew the pursuit of riches,
are discouraged from launching their
‘talented’ kith and kin
and, most importantly, by law are prevented
from treating Pakistan as their personal
playground. Regime change so far has
only meant the re-arrangement of photos.
The results of the existing approach
are now transparent. It reveals that,
despite the excessive focus on personality-projection,
there is little izzat for those
being over-projected, in the public
eye.
A small beginning would be to restrain
– as a matter of policy –
the non-stop ‘chamcha’
coverage of officialdom on PTV. This,
after all, is funded with public money.
The nation has already over-dosed on
personality-worship. A little dose now
of humility would be most refreshing.
