November 05 , 2010

Pak Parliament Likely to Talk out the Land Bill

 

The land reforms bill presented to the Pakistan National Assembly on October 12 by the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), the country’s third largest political party, may in all probability be talked out, despite the fact that the same Assembly had approved a resolution calling for such reforms only a month earlier. The resolution reflected merely the pious and populist intentions of the august body; a bill, on the other hand, would be the turning of that intent into a binding law and thus a clear threat to the feudal hold of the society and its domination in both houses of the parliament.

Undoubtedly, the basic problem of Pakistan’s polity lies in its social structure. Feudalism continues to be the predominant feature of the society. The much-flaunted land reforms of Ayub and Bhutto eras created not much of a dent in the political and social supremacy of land barons. The feudal lobby, well entrenched in the state structure and society, found loopholes in the laws to evade their implementation.

Driving through the countryside of Pakistan, one comes across vast estates, comparable to those in medieval Europe, in which the landowner runs all towns and villages, enslaves the tillers of his lands through debt bondage, and may even operate a private prison to confine his opponents and defiant of his commands irrespective of the laws of the state. This feudal elite migrated into politics where it exerts huge influence. A feudal mindset has gradually permeated the society, both rural and urban.

Students of history are well aware that the tyrannies of feudal and capitalist barons in the 19 th century made room for the communists; similarly, the feudal structure’s lack of compassion for the common man in Pakistan, may add to the attraction of the Jihadist culture.

A crucial factor in the rise of East Asia, China and India has been the restructuring of the land, unleashing the cooped up energies of the suppressed classes. Massive land reforms were carried out in 1953 in India and the princely states of the British period were absorbed into the central polity right after partition. Pakistan was left out; but the need for reforms was conceded all the time. The wily land barons managed to deflect all pressures for reform and find loopholes in the laws that were passed to protect their ownership and consequent political power. In other countries, including the US, vast land holdings do not translate into political power. It does so in Pakistan, as the feudal lords have turned their areas into fiefdoms and their vassals into subservient slaves. They are allowed to exercise their right to vote, but according to the wishes of their masters. For, the landlords command the levers of both reward and punishment.

Never in the history of the country have both the Assembly and the Senate been dominated by the land-owning politicians as at present. And, never has the country been run on the feudalistic value system as it does now. Political leaders of all hues and persuasions have joined hands to “protect the current system”. This is the only period when the country has a “friendly opposition” - a term contributed to the political lexicon by the second largest party in the legislature. The voice of the opposition having thus turned into a whimper, the media had to don the mantel of the opposition. This is the only period also when leaders of most of the political parties, PPP, PML(N), MQM, JUI, ANP, have been given plums of office to blunt their discordant voices. Every leader now masquerades as a populist; so does every senior bureaucrat and man in uniform. The common man is constantly tortured by the fall in his purchasing power, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, power outages, and no palpable evidence of the ruling elite’s decisions to ameliorate his anguish. The floods have added further to the bitterness of his cup.

The ruling elites, on the other hand, do not tire of attributing all their measures to their commitment to the common man and to democracy. Fact of the matter is that the men at the top avoid paying taxes, the middle class pays some taxes, while the poor bear bulk of the burden, because bulk of the revenues are collected through indirect taxation. The feudal lords enjoy exemption from paying tax on their agrarian income. The American Secretary of State as well as the President have asked our rulers to tax the rich of the country to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people instead of depending totally on foreign donations.

Now a word about the spurious zeal for democracy of our feudal rulers.

The immense powers of the District Commissioners and city officials – legacy of the colonial period - were transferred to elected Nazims (administrators) by the Musharraf regime. That was, by any measure, a step for promoting and buttressing democratic norms. For, an elected official has to keep in mind his accountability at the next election. The present government has reversed the system, inasmuch as it can manipulate a bureaucrat more easily, than an elected Nazim. A bureaucrat can be transferred to a tortuous post, he can be even sacked; an elected official is not as vulnerable and as pliable; for he has to always keep in mind his voters’ reaction to his decisions in office. He would therefore be disinclined to take unpopular and subjective decisions for the benefit of his superiors. A feudal mindset does not admit of any such defiance.

In the current political dispensation, the men at the helm of affairs enjoy almost a license to feather their own nests at the cost of public weal. The scandal about the rental power stations epitomizes the general pattern of cuts and kickbacks. The latest Amnesty International report shows the increase in corruption over last year. Among the corrupt countries, Pakistan now ranks at number 36 as against 42 last years! India is at number 90.

The ascendance of feudalism in Pakistan since the nationalization of key industries in early 70s and the hamstringing of the urban industrial and commercial magnates, has added to the glory of the feudal lord making him the role model for the aspiring youth of the country. Urban rich copy the rural aristocrat. They dress like him, walk with a swagger like him with a bunch of hired gunmen in train, and move about in 4-wheel Pajero jeeps on the smooth roads of the city.

Almost the entire ruling elite is inflicted by the feudal spirit: arrogance, self-aggrandizement, and finding a way out of any problem through harassment or corruption.

This being the situation on the ground, it would be naïve to think that the bill presented to the Assembly for land reforms has much chance of being passed by the very people who would lose a lot if it were passed. Yet , it is a move in the right direction. If the evils of feudalism are repeatedly put before the people, the idea would acquire firm roots and its time would eventually come. And, as Victor Hugo has said: “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”

arifhussaini@hotmail.com