War of Words

Imran Khan's emergence on the political scene seems to have disturbed many. Everyday we find someone talking of him and his growing popularity and trying to cool down people's response to it. Watch the video below I found on YouTube, prepared by Express News. Amusing !!

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Short sighted Visionaries

Every political government that comes to rule the hapless Pakistanis plays the Nero’s flute to mesmerize their already intoxicated and closed eyes subjects for as long as they stay in power. They rule the country as they wish, and when their time is over, and made to over, they leave, only to come back again to start afresh. No government has so far given a vision of their own as to how they see Pakistan at least 25 years from hence. That is even a mid range strategic view, but at least some distant thinking to start with.

But this is very unfortunate that our politicians look up to the next elections and draw up plans and methodologies as to how to befool the people of their vote bank and win them over till they cast their next vote for them. Most of the office bearers appear in front of the public for mere photo sessions and to impress the “illiterate literates” with their hollow, yet apparently promising speeches and actions. The riding on motorcycle during the floods was just one of the many gimmicks our leaders play to show to the poor their “concern” for them. But back in the capital, they ride in an armada of bullet proof cars and dozens of escort vehicles, for which the traffic is blocked for hours together, much to the discomfort and agony of the common man.

Their short sighted vision, as I said before, is only to win the next election. A few days back, I read news about the “Sasti Roti” project. The news read that the government of Punjab spent an amount of Rs. 4.66 million per day over the last 20 months. This means that a total of Rs. 2,796 million (or Rs. 2.796 billion) has been spent on a project with very limited and short sighted objectives in view. Although, it may have made the CM popular in the eyes of those people who got cheaper bread, but did it make any sense at all?

If there was a man with a vision was in his place, instead of spending such a colossal amount for limited gains, and that too in big cities only, there were many other wise and prudent options available for poverty alleviation on mid to long term basis. For example, Rs. 4.66 million could provide some 23 motorcycle-rickshaws (@ Rs. 200,000) per day, provide innumerous sewing machines, or even milk giving buffalos to countless number of widows and the poor to start their own business and even repay the amount. But like visiting the flood hit areas on a motorcycle, the sasti roti was also to earn him cheap popularity and nothing else.

The same goes for the Benazir Income Support Programme as well - providing money to many, which would cease when the present government goes. Instead a far sighted PM could announce soft loans, if not to many, but to a sizeable people who could start their own small scale business and earn their livelihood on a long term basis.

But there are still wise men left in the country, one of whom for instance giving interest free loans (Akhuwat NGO to name one) to poor women to earn their own livelihood honourably rather than seeking a sasti roti, a project that died it own death recently. Even the Rescue 1122 and Four Stroke CNG rickshaws to get rid of the pollution creating two stroke rickshaws by a previous government is a commendable step and futuristic in approach. Although I have no political affiliations with any party, the good deeds must be commended rather than clapping hands out of sheer adulation.

For how long we will remain enslaved to the short sighted leaders and their equally short lived policies at the cost of hard earned money from the tax payers? The tax payers have no clue as to where their tax money goes – to the development of the country or for promotion of the cheap popularity of the political parties in the heartland of their vote bank.

The concept of micro financing and Grameen Bank of Bangladesh earned its founder a Nobel Prize, while our short sighted politicians settle for gains related to their person or their parties at the cost of the tax payers’ money. I found them raising slogans of changing the lives of the poor in their speeches. But has anyone ever visited the plight of the poor in far flung areas of Pakistan, where poor live the same miserable life since ages? For them, party A or B or C doesn’t matter even if they had voted for any. For them life remains as miserable as it was yesterday or as it would be tomorrow. But everything isn’t bad either. While people generally suffer, the good news are that the assets of the politicians have swelled manifold, as has been reported after filing of the asset declaration by some out of the many politicians. Jolly good. Is'nt it?

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Integrity

We often come across the word “integrity” and label others as man of integrity (or otherwise). But we never really care what this word actually means. Often we take it as sincerity, truthfulness and standing by one’s words and so on. But I wanted a more meaningful and easy to understand this usually simple, yet very meaningful word that in fact is the essence of a man’s character.

I talked to a few “learned friends” of mine and each gave his own narration and understanding of the word. But none satisfied me. Then I finally found a wise man, a teacher, a mentor and a thinker. He looked at me with a frown, as if I had asked a question much below his wisdom. Then he smiled and asked, “Does what you eat make you strong or what you digest that makes you string?” Well it was a simple thing to ask me, but when I tried to answer, I understood the wisdom behind the question. Of course we eat a lot when attending marriages; rather we eat as if tomorrow would never come. But often come back with heartburns and have to take medicines to have a good night sleep. But does all those things that we stuffed inside us made us any stronger? Perhaps no. So what we actually digest is what matters most – it adds neutrinos to our body and makes our muscles and tissues stronger.

But my question wasn’t answered as yet. So I looked rather stupidly to the wise man, which had a smile on his face, probably understanding my inability to find the answer he was hinting at. He then went on to explain that a man may gain lot of wealth, but it is the savings that make him rich. We may read a lead, have closets full of books to impress others (specially a number of thirty plus volume encyclopedias and books written by famous authors), but what we actually remember makes us learned. And I readily agreed as I have come across many who have books but no knowledge, while a man living in the most desolate place on the earth that may have a page picked up from the trash, read and remembered the essence, was much wiser from then on.

And then he came to the final point. A man who professes but doesn’t practice for himself is man of no integrity. Simple isn’t it? Well yes and No. Now I started to understand the whole philosophy he was trying to teach me. And then I tried to correlate it. And here let me narrate a small incident. I once went to the market and while my wife went for shopping I just stood outside looking at people. I saw a man sitting outside his shop and reading something. I was impressed to find at least someone with a book. Suddenly, to my utter disgust and dismay, he spit on the road, which barely missed a lady passing by. I couldn’t stand this and went to the man. To my amazement the book he was reading was captioned, “Concept of cleanliness in Islam.” I indicated to the book and just told him, “Is this the book teaches you.” The man looked at me angrily and went inside. This is what the wise man had told me. Do we practice what we profess?

I can now apply this word aptly on anyone, including myself. Our prime minister asks everyone to pay the due taxes, but he and many members of his cabinet (including the fiancé minster) do not pay income tax. A leader in self exile in a foreign country lives on without any business or job, probably on the funding provided by his party, and professes others to give out their everything for the nation. There are politicians who have vaults full of money both in local and foreign banks, who ask “people” to donate generously for the flood victims, but haven’t donated a penny themselves.

I could go on and on, but my purpose was only to define integrity. Nothing more.

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What Change?

A few days ago, I wrote something about our present political situation and a few friends wanted me to do more rather than just a cosmetic change of our tainted political scene. Yes we need to do more rather than merely changing the faces in the current set up. Everyone is talking of change, a Pandora box opened God knows for what reasons by the MQM chief peacefully nested in his British abode.

Whatever the reasons and motives behind the proposed change, which is grossly vague and ambiguous, no one is really ready to say what should be that change. I suggested some steps, but those were just a bailout from the present situation as changing faces would mean another set of politicians laced with the same myopic agenda, suitable to their party leaders and not the ordinary people of Pakistan.

The question thus arises what does an ordinary Pakistani wants. Does he want Party A or B or C? No he is not concerned with any brand name. What he is concerned is peace, economic stability, justice, good governance and employment. He wants to get rid of the bribe-rich Patwar system, where even to get a simple fard (official certificate of land ownership), he has to grease the palms of the corrupt patwari. He wants the Sui gas connection given to him without bribing the clerks in the so called friend one window operation consumers’ centre. Go out in the far flung areas of Pakistan and you find the people living in the same deplorable conditions as they did in any branded party’s time. Yes if you find someone with a better house or living, he would be the one having his son or brother or some relation working abroad.

At the same time, as has been revealed in a recent survey, the wealth of the politicians has multiplied by an unknown factor of x. How come only politicians are getting richer, while the ordinary people of their vote bank are still starving and suffering? Is politics a business that anyone entering into it has his assets multiplying? Aren’t these people under the same law an ordinary citizen is?

As per a TV programme today, the government has imposed additional taxes on income, urban property and also the revised GST, which is likely to fetch the government something around Rs. 80 billions to cope up with the added requirements of the devastations left by the recent floods. Good intentions, indeed. But at the same times, there is news that in the past two years the sitting government has also written off loans worth Rs. 50 billions just like that. What a generous thing to do. On one end it is taxing the already over taxed, and on the other hand it is writing off loans of the influentials and rich. No wonder how the assets of the politicians have been multiplied since the last elections. And as if that is not all. The TV report also reported that many a high ups, including the PM, the Minister of State for Finance and many others pay income tax just a few thousands of rupees each year. I know many government employees of grade 20 pay something like Rs. 5000-7000 per month. Then how come those who are above even grade 22 pay less?

The political acumen of the present politicians is so abysmal that everyone is talking of change, but when asked what should be the change, one gets vague and ambiguous replies. I don’t find anyone capable of giving a prudent analysis of the present political situation and then giving out options to rid the country of the mess we are in since 1947, and the same rhetoric of army’s interventions and robbing the democracy any chances of flourishing. I don’t know what is that maturity that is wanted? Do we all need to attend class one at the age of fifty to learn the ABC thing once again or have we wasted all these years learning nothing from the follies committed by others.

Unfortunately, except Jinnah, Ayub Khan (may be to the dismay of many), Bhutto and Benazir we haven’t had a visionary to rule this country. Most of our politicians are politicians because their fathers were politicians. No one has actually been groomed to become one. If today a debate is to be conducted to discuss the national strategy, the economic strategy, the defence strategy, we would find most of our politicos looking sheepishly around for better answers. I remember one TV interview in this context when the anchor asked the guest politicians as to how his party would alleviate sufferings of the poor. The honourable politicians replied that by increasing the salaries. The anchor inquired that that would increase the inflation. To which came the answer, “Uss ka bhi kuch kar lain gay (we will do something about that too.” When the anchor still persisted, the politician replied that he didn’t have readymade answers to every question. This is what happens when one is not groomed to lead the country.

Let us stop blaming what has been done to us so far by either Mr. A or General B, as the blame game cannot provide a solution to the mess we are in. Let there be someone with a vision. And here I am not talking of the dynastic vision of some frequently referred to families, or people who absconded from the country and thriving on party funds, and even those who haven’t participated in elections but still call for system change without being part of the parliament. I am talking of vision of Jinnah, who elected to take Re. 1 as his salary and not like the present lot, who despite being filthy rich, still cry for more allowances, perks, privileges while not pay a paisa as income tax. A man who despite being very sick, made his British and Indian counterparts succumb to his stand of a separate homeland for the Muslims. We need to read and listen to countless speeches of Jinnah and deduce his concept of a free Pakistan. Read when he admonished his ADC for getting a closed railway crossing opened for the governor general car (he travelled with one car and one police motorcycle in front and no more) in contrast with the hours long traffic shut downs for the entourage of the (many Vs)VIPs, whose motorcade comprises of dozens of bullet proof cars. We need to read Iqbal’s poetry to find answers (I am sure a majority of our politicians would have never read it at all). His poetry contained a vision that a future independent Pakistan should have. But we lost everything within first ten years of independence when every year we saw a new PM and a new government.

We have lost too much time clinging to the system of democracy that we have with duplicity of offices and larger cabinets to please every hawk in the party to cling to the power. We need to start afresh – without any blame game of the past actors. We have to find a new path for ourselves, which more efficient, quick in decision making, more responsive and less heavy on the fragile economy of the country. We need to find people from among us who have knowledge of how states are to be run and governed rather than holding fake degrees and still insisting that politics is far above education and that one doesn’t need degrees to run a country. Since they are mostly illiterate (and even if they hold degrees, they remain ignorant of the world around them), they can’t see beyond their horizon to see that only those politicians are remembered even after they are no more, who had a vision which they polished in great educational institutions of the world.

If we do that, maybe we find a solution to our problems one day.

Related Reading: A time for change, I swear it is not too late

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