In praise of revolution

There are two ways to transform a decaying human society and put it on the right path of development and progress. One is evolution; the other, revolution. Evolution is a gradual development of something and is a slow process which takes years, and sometimes even decades, to bear the intended results. Revolution, on the other hand, is an abrupt and fast change that usually achieves what it at aims for in a shorter span of time.

The ramifications that the two means of change entail also vary. Being a course of action often chosen by the pacifists and the patient, evolution is almost always peaceful and does not cause any sudden damage. Revolution is the path pursued by the less patient, or the impassionate, who cannot bear the forces of oppression any further and want a quick end to the misery of the masses. Revolution, therefore, is often violent.

As far as the effectiveness of the two is concerned, revolution has been the more effective of the two throughout the history of the human civilisation. Human history is dotted with great revolutions that changed the fate of nations and transformed them from being subservient and poor to becoming the leaders of the world. One such example of the great revolutions is the French Revolution of 1789. Beginning with the convocation of the Estates-General (The Third Estate) by The King and the Assembly of Notables 1887, the revolution reached its zenith with the passage of The Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen by the parliament in 1989. It was the first formal recognition by a monarch of the right of equality of men. Although marred by violence and bloodshed — as almost all revolutions are — the French revolution, nevertheless, laid the foundation of the modern fundamental rights of man. It also proved to be a harbinger of social and political change that was to blow across Europe and the world at large bringing rights to people that seemed unimaginable before the revolution.

The American Revolution of 1776 is another example of how revolution changed the fate of a nation and transformed it from being a colonised nation to become a colonising force of the present age. Although a forerunner of the French revolution, it is lesser in importance to the French revolution because it was a national revolt against a foreign nation that had occupied a place, and its impact was limited to the former colonies of the Britain. Irked by the levy of the tax through The Stamp Act of 1965, the colonists rose in open revolt in 1773 when the British parliament levied another, Tea-Tax, to establish a monopoly of the East India Company over the sale of tea in the colonies. The event is known as The Boston Tea Party in American history and is said to be the cornerstone of American war of independence that followed.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 is another revolution in the list of great revolutions that put nations on the path of progress and led them to becoming world leaders. It was a revolt against the reactionary and authoritarian rule of Czar Nicholas II which had weakened the once mightiest power of the world so much as to be defeated by a much lesser force of Japan in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905. Although reforms had been initiated after the war, the plunging of the nation into the Great War in 1914 and the resultant destruction proved to be the tipping point for the outbreak of the revolution. The twin revolutions that followed — which were again violent and bloody — put the Soviet Union on a course that led it to become one of the superpowers of the world.

Any discussion of the history of revolutions without mentioning the Communist Revolution of China is incomplete. Although a revolution occurred in China in 1912 that overthrew the monarchy and set up a nationalist government, but the real revolution took place in 1949 when the Communists took the reins of power from the Nationalists and set up the People’s Republic of China. Under the leadership of the great communist leader Mao Zedong, the communists completely overhauled the socio-economic structure of the country through such campaigns as ‘The Great Leap Forward’, during which efforts were made to industrialise the nation, and ‘The Cultural Revolution’, which was undertaken in order to weed out outdated norms, ideas and customs of the Chinese society. The Revolution resulted in the emancipation of the peasants from the clutches of barons and landlords, the provision of equal rights to women and, more importantly, in the change of the outlook of the people who now took upon themselves the task of making their country economically prosperous and politically independent. Consequently, China transformed from a nation that was virtually colonised by the great powers and had to enter unequal treaties with the Western powers to safeguard its territorial integrity in the 19^th century, to a state that is a candidate to become the next superpower of the world in the 21^st century.

Although revolutions take place in different countries under varied circumstances, there are a few common variables that are prevalent in the societies right before the onset of revolutions. The state in which a revolution takes place is usually politically instable, economically weak, and socially polarised. It is under such conditions that mass protests and popular uprisings erupt to topple the repressive regimes. In Pakistan, all the prerequisites of a revolution are present. It is now up to the people whether they want to set on the cumbersome, but effective, course of revolution, or the convenient, but ineffective, course of evolution to change their circumstances.

Vladimir Lenin once said,” There are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen.” Considering the present situation in Pakistan where there is general unrest among the people against the incumbent government and absolutely no faith in the political parties that are the only viable alternative, we might be on the verge of the “weeks where decades happen”.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2021.

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