Talking of Revolutions: A New Tend in Pakistan Politics – 2
ByMohammad Ashraf Chaudhry
Pittsburg , CA
“Great revolutions, whatever may be their causes, are not lightly commenced, and are not concluded with precipitation.” - Benjamin Disraeli
It is a formidable fashion to talk about revolutions. Nine out of ten revolutions invariably fail. Revolutions, however, become inevitable when profit starts taking precedence over human welfare; when injustice, immortality and corruption start suggesting inhuman solutions to made-made problems. It is then that people start longing for a new world. But Revolutions and big changes do not assume a gentle stroll; they rush and often crush and crash anything that comes in their way. Again, it is the common, weak, helpless who perish first.
Bruce Catton and Will B. Catton in their Book, “The Bold and Magnificent Dream,” say, “Revolutions are respectors of neither logic nor consistency, and they almost always impose their own pattern upon the course of events. A revolution will overflow its banks and inundate the lowlands and carve strong shifting of new paths across the landscape”.
What happened in France during the French Revolution of 1789-1799, and what happened in America in 1776 makes the point clear. The American War of Independence and the American Revolution, 1776, succeeded because “the Americans and their ancestors had been at work upon a channel for their Revolution since the days of the Tudors”…. In addition, America had its famous six Founding Fathers, namely, Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton and Madison present there to supervise it, monitor it, and manage it in the pre- and post- revolution era; the Frenchmen by contrast, did not really begin to think seriously about changing their political and social system until a few years before they tried it…. They started it because Americans had done so. They coined some slogans and rhetoric, and what remained with them was just those slogans and lots of bloodshed.
The country, Pakistan, no doubt, needs an urgent overhaul, some revolutionary type of radical changes, and riddance of some well-entrenched evils , but where are its “six wise men”, to ensure that the big change, or revolution takes place as desired and designed and that it does not transform itself into a civil war? Unfortunately, Pakistan has never been populated by a more inept, corrupt, callous, pelf-conscious, insensitive, ill-educated and incorrigible brand of politicians - present both in the opposition as well as in the government - than it is now. Target killings on the basis of ethnicity and on sectarian basis has already begun; religious fanatics for the first time are seeing their dream of ever coming into power via religion, fast coming true.
Educational institutions for the first time in the country’s history have been closed for more than 90 days due to security concerns. That electricity and water would ever become freely available to people remains just a far-fetched hope. Minorities are getting butchered in their worshipping places and what the nation hears are a few meaningless statements. Things have come to such a pass that even the leader of the opposition, Mian Nawaz Sharif, is made to bear the brunt of Mullah’s wrath for just calling the Ahmedis as “Brothers”. That Islam, whose basic teachings are directed towards Humanity and Mankind could get so distorted that even the killing of 97 innocent “Ahmedis”, and dozens of Shias, would still not qualify them for being addressed as “brothers”. We heard the religious leaders telling us on TV that ‘non-Muslims” should not be addressed so; nor should they be allowed to quote from the Qur’an. Only they monopolize God’s Mercy.
This is not the country that we served with pride for years; this is certainly not the country we migrated to in 1947, leaving behind all our assets and our lands; and this cannot be the country its Founding Father envisioned and created. This country was never devoid of religious tolerance or pluralism as it is now. In fact, its first cabinet of seven ministers, had two “non-Muslims”, as per today’s definition of Islam. Mr. Zafarullah Khan, an Ahmedi as Foreign Minister and Mr. J. N. Mandal as Law Minister. As regards honesty and ability in the leadership, the country had never been so deficit as it is now. Only the posterity has been deliberately fed on negative information about them.
Abdul Sattar, a dispatcher narrates that in 1951, Malik Ghulam Mohammad, country’s first finance minister came to see PM Liaquat Ali Khan. Begum Liaquat Ali met him and had him sit in their modest drawing room. She informed the minister, “Please wait for a few minutes as the PM is changing his clothes behind the cupboard (Almirah)”. The PM house didn’t have even a dressing room.
Khawaja Nazimuddin is often remembered as not a very efficient Prime Minister. But that is a different topic. He was, however, absolutely honest and a very non-biased Bengali, a God-fearing person. He did not crowd the PM House with Bengalis, nor did he ever try to do so. His driver was a Hindu, Mr. Roi Das, whom he had with him since the time when he was the Chief Minister of Bengal. We remember the days when we as children protested against him for shortage of wheat-flour, more due to the extra fatigue we have had to go through by standing in the long lines in front of ration depots. He once asked Abdul Sattar Pirzada, the Food Minister to taste the bread that his office Jamadar, Mr. Idris had brought to the PM on his enquiry, “What kind of flour chappati you are getting these days Mr. Idris?” How well informed are the present-day ministers about the hardships the people are undergoing on daily basis, is an open question.
Chaudhri Mohammad Ali is often remembered for his austerity, honesty and simple living. On his daughter’s wedding with Mr. A. Z. Farooqi, the PWD superintending engineer, Mr. Kafeel lighted well the PM house during Chaudhri Sahib’s absence. On arrival, he called Mr. Kafeel and severely reprimanded him, demanding that the extra lights be removed immediately. It was Patel who once had predicted that Pakistan would not survive beyond a period of six months because of the financial crunch, but for that it got the Quaid as its leader, and Chaudhri Mohammad Ali as its “Mohafiz”, protector or caretaker. As Secretary General, Chaudhri Sahib set the tone and pattern of the country’s bureaucracy. As PM, he once borrowed money from his pension and gratuity fund to take his wife with him on the US official tour for medical check-up. The Cabinet ministers asked him to include her in the touring retinue for a free ride and medical treatment. His answer was, “It would set a bad example”. Once he called his cabinet meeting in his house. On arrival the ministers found the PM giving a helping hand to his wife in the kitchen. They also joined him, and thus they ate what they themselves had cooked and later held the meeting.
These were the people who had earned their reputation in joint-India by dint of their intelligence, ability, efficiency and above all, their sustained performance in the midst of the British, the Hindus, the Parsis and the Sikhs. One could disagree with them on many accounts. The posterity has been fed on to look at them as power-hungry or conniving people. But nobody can ever accuse them of the social and moral evils that are afflicting the modern brand of political leadership. We do not see the children or relatives of Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat Ali Khan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, Malik Ghulam Mohammad, Suharwardy, Iskander Mirza or Malik Feroz Khan Noon emerging on the political scenario of the country as their heirs. The trend of political inheritance, and of preserving the political seats in the family, became fashionable with the arrival of General Ayub Khan.
Now politics is a family business, a family deed. Even the incumbent PM feels no moral compunctions by campaigning for his own brother, while the son and other relatives are already there. The same is true of other leaders as well. So change or revolution would be a Herculean job, needing a Titan or Spartan. But where is he?
Shri Sarkar of Prout, says it wisely, “The theory of leadership is one thing, but the practical, human qualities of a leader are quite another. In the past some persons, due to having intelligence, special awareness and great oratory skills, were able to start a revolution. But, in most cases, they had no vision of how to guide the people during the post-revolutionary phase.A great leader who has established himself through dedication, ideological zeal and deep sincerity can succeed against tremendous odds, including the military might of society’s exploiters. When revolution begins, a fight will start against all immortality and corruption in the society. The moral, intellectual and spiritual strength of the leaders will bring about their victory. Yet even when the revolution is over, the leaders will have to remain constantly vigilant that new exploiters do not come to power. Hence their struggle is never ending. …the greatest achievement of a revolution is to eradicate exploitation and being about a progressive change in the collective psychology through the minimum loss of life and property”.
Such an exploitation-free and social, economic and moral revolution was initiated and accomplished by the Prophet of Islam. He, no doubt, received the first Revelation in the Cave of Hira, but he descended from there and walked the streets of Makkah and faced the opposition that resisted the moral, social and economic change. He had to defend himself and his Islam in the battlefields of Badr and Uhud and in the Battle of the Trench.
And above all, he had to remain vigilant and watchful against the new exploiters emerging in Islam. Pakistan has become a breeding place of exploiters like people in the valleys of Madyan and Thamud had become. They were prosperous, but they short-measured things; and had become dishonest in their dealings, and were arrogant and ungrateful. Why should the people of Pakistan not then meet the consequences that under such circumstances, had visited the people of Hazrat Shoaib and Hazrat Saleh? God’s wrath can appear in many forms. Winds and earthquakes are just two. The IMF solutions and the imposition of inept leadership on the country could be some more.
Pakistan is miles away from such a gradual and healthy change. The warning given by Henry Clay on such a situation is: “An oppressed people are authorized whenever they can to rise and break their fetters”. The fear is that in this effort, they may not end up destroying themselves completely, just the way the French did in 1789-1799. But they had a Napoleon in the win. Where is Pakistan’s Ataturk?
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