An uncertain path

Problem is that those whom we consider democratic, may not be on one page when it comes to defending democracy.

What have we got from democracy, what has it done for the common man and why isn’t all this ‘farce’ just scuttled when the country, the nation and the people are going down? These are not jut drawing-room musings but well-calculated thoughts among those sectors of society that in the past have supported the military. The argument of anti-people and anti-democratic forces has always been that the political culture of the country doesn’t support democracy and that Pakistan will have to wait for some time to make a democratic transition. Their other refrain is that people really want economic development, peace, stability and good government, and they are not concerned with who rules them, provided they get what they want.

Beware, these are old traps with new nets and new players around to cultivate a national atmosphere supportive of non-democratic rule in the country. Peace, development, stability, justice and good government in the world have resulted only from strong democratic rule, and not from the dictatorship of generals as we have had in Pakistan. Let us learn from our own history that the social, political and ethnic rubbish that we face today is the result of military rule. The last one was the most devastating for Pakistan, from the Kargil war to the overthrow of an elected government and the imposition of the most corrupt elements over the country. There are no arguments if one says that the Zia years were the worst. Comparing evil with evil gets the same results.

We have been critical, rather very critical, of the present democratic government. I believe that it is our obligation as public intellectuals to stand on the side of the powerless and the society and challenge those in power when they misuse it. The performance of all governments on many counts is very poor with limited exceptions here and there. What is the solution? The solution is in more democracy, and not in uprooting this plant and waiting to replant it when the social weather is right. This is the reason for the stunted growth of our democracy. Democracy is an all-weather political philosophy and history shows that it has grown well in all social climates from Japan and Germany to Latin American and some African countries. Actually, Pakistan’s democratic endowment and experience is far richer than that of many other countries in transition.

The anti-democratic arguments are self-serving for those sections of society that benefit from martial rule. Consider the wealth, power, influence and public visibility of those individuals and groups that were associated with military regimes in the past. They want more of it, but that will be, like in the past, at the expense of the future of Pakistan.

What makes me a bit suspicious about some of the moves targeting the election commission, the mysterious long march and demands for the resignation of President Asif Ali Zardari is that the front-parties and their backers don’t want elections on time. Why? In their assessment, the horses they have been grooming have either left the barn for good, or the new breeds they have introduced are too weak politically to win the race. Don’t you hear this phrase — the same forces are going to get back into power. Thus, in their view, elections wouldn’t bring about change, because for them change means that all the incumbent assembly men and women are sent home forever, even if it requires unconstitutional means.

The anti-democratic mindset and intrigues must be exposed, challenged and defeated for the good of the country. The problem is that those whom we consider democratic and whose right to rule we defend, may not be on one page when it comes to defending democracy.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2013.