Can Pakistan get rid of slavery by a long march?

In order to be rid of slavery, there is a need to say ‘absolutely not’ to the borrowed ideas

The notion of slavery has become quite popular in the Pakistani politics after the ouster of the PTI government. Former PM Imran Khan appears to have systematically developed a political narrative that he will not accept slavery by means of Western dictations. The May 25 long march, as per media reports, has the same grumbling message that Imran Khan’s government was replaced by corrupt politicians as he pursued independent foreign policy. As the narrative of ‘not accepting slavery’ is gaining momentum, it is important to understand the real inherent meaning of the term ‘slavery’ in its socioeconomic context. Slavery is generally understood as a condition in which one individual is owned and dictated by another individual. In ancient times, a wealthy person could buy a slave from the market reflecting how powerful money is. Slaves are usually deprived of the rights ordinarily held by free individuals. This suggests that an individual’s failure to assert power on another individual generates fear; fear creates dependency; and dependency gives rise to mental, if not physical, slavery. Same is the case with nations, countries and regions.

In a 1978 book Orientalism, Professor Edward Said coined the notions of Orient and Occident on the basis of the sense of Western scholarship about the Eastern World. The Orient, living the East, were treated as backward while the Occident, living in the West, were perceived as culturally advanced. Right or wrong, this is indeed a political discourse that discursively defines slavery in the countries backward in scholarship. There is hardly any disagreement that knowledge is the biggest source of power at individual, national and international levels. Within the domain of knowledge, ‘practical knowledge’ is a kind of knowledge that has direct relevance with peoples’ daily affairs and thus has the potential to kickstart economic activities. Practical knowledge is usually gained through research and development (R&D) activities, and informal practices, in the form of innovation.

Lack of R&D culture has made Pakistan dependent on Western countries. Their power comes from continuous research that provides a strong base for invincible knowledge-based economy deriving its strength from innovation. This suggests that the real fight against slavery starts from laboratories, experiments, research and analyses. For all practical purposes, a long march may only result in a regime change but liberation from Western dependence is only possible through innovation and research.

Canada’s recent deviation from the American model of innovation, aimed at curtailing its dependence on the US, could be analysed as a case study. According to a Nature article published in April this year, Canada is lagging behind its peers in the G7 group of wealthy nations in terms of business spending on R&D. Feeling heat of the US dependence, Canada decided to buck a trend of countries replicating well-known US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) model. The Canadian government decided to create a new funding agency focusing on innovation in science and technology with an investment of over one billion Canadian dollars. The new agency, according to the article, will be modelled in line with innovation agencies in Finland and Israel rather than the US. The co-director of Innovation Policy Lab at the University of Toronto Dan Breznitz noted that 30 years ago Finland had similar dependence problems as today faced by Canada. The country spent less on R&D and depended more on neighboring Russia for selling its natural resources. Therefore the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES) was viewed as a better model for reducing Canada’s dependence on the US. Breznitz also noted that the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) responds more quickly than the government bureaucracy. Instead of following DARPA, the adoption of TEKES and IIA models by the Canadian government reflects how countries are changing their strategic directions for maximising innovation and reducing their dependence on other countries. Slavery, in metaphorical sense, is therefore not a political issue for nations; it is rather a fight against dependency through research and innovation.

In case of Pakistan, the R&D activities don’t seem to follow a vigorous framework that could align the research institutions’ direction towards innovation and businesses. There is hardly any notable study that could devise some mechanism in connecting emerging technological trends with the higher education being imparted in technical colleges and universities. The sluggard research ideas lack originality owing to absence of institutional culture of innovation. Following borrowed ideas in technology and research does not provide enough room for successfully connecting them with innovation and business. Innovation, as a rudimentary strategy of fostering economic growth, needs to be formally institutionalised. Instead of erratically joining the bandwagon of the countries trying to replicate the DARPA model, Pakistan has to critically evaluate the local challenges before setting its strategic direction. The admissions to PhD in local universities, for example, could predominantly be linked with ongoing projects in industries and organisations. An effective university-industry collaboration on ongoing projects will naturally have more potential to fetch R&D funds. An institutional push is needed for encouraging industries to establish exclusive cells of innovation in collaboration with universities. Over the last two decades, Pakistan has made huge investments in producing PhD scholars and researchers. Their energies now need to be diverted towards innovation in research and emerging technologies. The principle of practical wisdom remains the main driver behind innovation and the same needs to be institutionally acknowledged so that practical relevance of research could be optimised.

In order to get rid of slavery, there is a need to say ‘absolutely not’ to the borrowed ideas by ensuring originality in research. Political will has a bigger role to play in this transformation process. The entire political leadership of the country, including Imran Khan, need to play a strategic role in sensitising the people that the real liberation from slavery is possible through innovative businesses. The Nature article concludes by quoting Breznitz as saying: “That change will not come quickly. If you want to fix a system failure, that’s not something you change by next year. But, in a decade, you might look back and say, ‘Wow’.” Similarly, emancipation from slavery and Western dependence is not possible through a long march; it is rather a long R&D march for which right steps need to be taken now to reap its benefits after a decade.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2022.

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