How are they different from us?

The writer is a human resource consultant currently based in New York (aziz.akhmad@tribune.com.pk)

We all know the profile of our current parliament. It does not resemble that of the population of Pakistan. A lot of lawmakers are rich, with a feudal or business background, many are related to each other, many are maulanas or mashaikhs (I never quite understood the meaning of the latter term), and they all are college graduates although many with fake degrees.

I know comparing Pakistan with the US is neither valid nor fair, but a peek into the composition of the US Congress shows an interesting picture, which some readers might also find of interest.

But before the details, some explanations are in order: The term US Congress is used for the Senate and the House of Representatives combined. The Senate has 100 senators, two from each state, elected for a six-year term. The House of Representatives, also called the House, consists of 435 plus members, one or more from each state, based on population, elected for a two-year term. Members of the House are also referred to as congressmen or women, or simply representatives. There are no reserved seats in either House; everyone is elected directly.

Here is the composition, gleaned from a 10-page report prepared by Congressional Research Service on the current Congress:

Education: A vast majority of the members of the House and Senate (95 per cent) hold college or university degrees, many a law degree. Twenty-four representatives have PhD degrees, and 17 representatives and three senators have a medical degree. However, one senator and 27 representatives have nothing but a high school diploma.

Religion: Other than a large number of what can broadly be labelled as Christian, there are 44 Jewish, two Buddhists and two Muslims (both in the House).

Gender and Ethnicity: There are 93 women (76 in the House and 17 in the Senate), mostly Democrats. There are 42 black members in the Congress, all Democrats. Another 40 odd members, again, mostly Democrats, are either Hispanic or of East Asian heritage. There is one set of brothers and one set of sisters in the House, both Hispanic.

Foreign Birth: Several members were born overseas. One representative, Van Hollen, Jr., a Democrat from Maryland, was born in Karachi in 1958, and – as if to equalise – one senator, Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, was born in New Delhi in 1964.

Occupations: They come from all walks of life, literally. From sciences, there are 16 medical doctors, two dentists, three nurses, two veterinarians, three physicists, one chemist, six engineers, and one microbiologist.

From justice and law, besides many lawyers, there are three state Supreme Court justices, a federal judge, four sheriffs, a deputy sheriff, and four police officers (equivalent of our S.H.O, Sub-Inspector, and Constable, respectively).

From the media, there are two radio talk show hosts, a television broadcaster, a radio newscaster, a television reporter, and a television commentator.

Then there are two professional musicians, a semi-professional musician, a screenwriter, a comedian, a documentary filmmaker, a major league baseball player, and a professional football player.

Also included are three farmers, four ranchers, two wine makers, and a fruit orchard worker; a driving instructor, a cosmetic sales woman, a mountain guide, and a ski instructor; a casino dealer, a night watchman, and a prison guard; three carpenters, two bank tellers, a furniture salesman, an ironworker, an auto worker, a clothing factory worker, a textile worker, an oil field worker, a waitress, a paper mill worker, a cement plant worker, a meat cutter, a taxicab driver, an auctioneer, a toll booth collector, and a hotel clerk.

From the people in uniform, there are 111 members with military service including the commander of an aircraft carrier battle group, an instructor at West Point, and a pilot of Marine One (the president’s helicopter), an astronaut and a naval aviator. (And, yes, there are four clergymen, too.) Surprisingly, there are no generals. In the US, unlike Pakistan, generals usually fade away.