Antidisestablish-mentarianism

We are in a period of ferment. Again. This, too, shall pass, say the cynics. Establishmentarianism will reign supreme. Students of English at the Government College, Lahore, in the 1960s, would recall the flair of Professor Bhatti for using long words to scare the hell out of the inattentive. The longest one heard was antidisestablishmentarianism. We did not quite understand it then. Now we don’t need to understand. We see it right there in front of us. Establishment referred to the Church of England and the disestablishmentarian was the Liberal Party seeking the end of the state patronage for the church. The movement against it in the 19^th century was labelled as antidisestablishmentarianism.

Establishment in this land of the pure is not quite the Church of England. It has popular roots in its main recruiting ground. Folks sleep tight in the belief that a part of them is burning the midnight oil on the borders. That the top stays in the corridors of power, disguised or otherwise, is of no concern to those too busy keeping the body and soul together. The affluent find this wielding of the sword a necessary evil to deal with the errant from the not-so-pure parts of the land, our own “Wales” and “Ireland”. Business sees it as the only guarantee against uncertainty. We witnessed that a prime minister whose clenched fist was enough to deter the enemy, was murdered in broad daylight. Another, who raised the morale of the nation after a humiliating surrender, was executed in the darkness of the night. His daughter was eliminated in the same arena where the first prime minister was targeted. Yet another had to exit three times before it was time. Some think it is different this time. Disestablishmentarians are unified, if not uniform. The dominant face is the main political party from the traditional base of the establishmentarians. But they are reading too much in the ongoing movement against the establishment. The establishment need do nothing. There is an antidisestablishmentarian government in place. It has gone all out in support of the establishment. No-confidence motions have in the past needed the support of the establishment. The opposition cannot count on this. As a matter of fact, the opposition has provided the government an opportunity to divert attention away from its abject failure to ensure routine governance, what to speak of the much promised reform. It has also put a gloss over the historic lows of all things economic. Sky-rocketing prices of essentials do provide fodder for riots, but not an input to sustained mobilisation. The cruel treatment meted out to farmers in Lahore is an exemplar of what lies in the works. In any case, the only mobiliser in the camp is a past master at rallying the faithful around extra-economic issues. They can congregate in the capital for as long as they want. Such congregations require a go-between. No chance this time. In the past such cases, the go-between could not deliver the fall of the government.

Let’s not forget. Antidisestablishmentarians had won in England (read Punjab), while disestablishmentarians had success in Wales and Ireland, the equivalent of our smaller provinces. This is not to say that the cause of upholding the Constitution in letter and spirit should be abandoned. Negotiation, dialogue and consensus building is the only route. It may be slow but steadiness requires it. Some gains are already visible. The corruption mantra to discredit politicians has run its course. The appetite for outright takeover has been lost. Building on these gains is the real Pakistan Democratic Movement.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2020.

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