Rise of fascism in Pakistan

Never did fascism die with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. It is alive, doing well, and I am afraid, it is on the rise in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Under the façade of democracy, which has not gone beyond disputed elections, fascism has been a political growth industry for many decades. The social conditions generated by the political elites and the military have been right for the development of fascist attitudes. There is a sense of failure and humiliation, narrative of victimhood and injustice (the loss of Kashmir, fall of East Pakistan) and a common belief in conspiracies hatched by enemies. Sadly and quite remarkably it is the same social climate of the mass psychology of fascism in Pakistan that prevailed in Europe. The public intellectuals, the media, the so-called democratic political parties are silent and indifferent. Rather, they have played an active role in encouraging religious fascists to force the government to accept their illegal, unconstitutional and unreasonable demands. Since the ‘successful’ Faizabad dharna, the major parties—the PTI and the PPP—are courting the fascists, thinking they can be effective tool to bring down the elected government of Punjab. It is short-sighted, tunnel-vision politics.  Their opponents would use the same elements when they happen to be in power. Or just it is cynical politics—we are not in power, why should we allow you to be in power. This nonsense has only brought the military into politics; it will surely pave the way for another takeover. Undemocratic politics cannot produce democracy, let alone consolidating or strengthening it.



But where do I get the idea of rising fascism in a ‘democracy’ when we have legitimate, elected government, doing so well in the interest of the country and of course the people? First, there is a collapse of social order, and in its place we see an emerging anarchy, lawlessness, and loss of values. Second, we have been witnessing some frightening political beliefs that have been in the making—glorification of medieval Muslim kingdoms in the subcontinent, the lost Muslim glory, great periods of conquest and expansion. Third, we have seen how the idea of great leader and unbounded reverence to him has been practised in the religious dharna. The mainstream leaders have also created and lived by the personality cult. Fourth, at the popular level, there has always been a strong longing for a strong leader to get things right, fix the internal and external enemies and enforce an order. Fifth, the certitude of the politics of Islam, the way it is seen and interpreted by the religious groups. This idea of ultimate truth squeezes out pragmatic politics and even democratic freedoms, mentioned in the Constitution.

Finally, there are myths associated with the idea of Pakistan, its creation and rationale—the country was created in the name of Islam. Every major political leader and party and the military rulers, with the exception of Ayub Khan, have sustained this myth. It has been raised to the level of ‘undisputed’ ideology of Pakistan. The myth gives legitimacy to every wrong that is done by both the religious and other fascists in the name of Islam. It is not democracy producing more democracy, but fascism promoting more fascism.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2017.

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