The democratic divide


Rasul Bakhsh Rais July 11, 2010

The unanimous resolution of the Punjab Assembly against the media on May 9 is more than an emotional outburst by the legislators. It is reflective of a deeper divide between the old, conventional ruling classes of Pakistan and the new society that the media, civil society and scores of professional associations represent.

This divide has two serious dimensions. The first is that of the class character of the two groups. The ruling classes predominantly come from tribal, caste and landowning elites. The groups that belong to these sections of society have dominated the electoral politics throughout our history and have been part of power politics under civilian as well as military rules.

The media and civil society represent the new urban middle classes that are better educated, more articulate, progressive and deeply interested in moving Pakistan forward. They represent essentially a modernist vision of Pakistan in espousing the cause of true democracy through rule of law, accountability and constitutionalism. I am not sure if we can say the same about the dominant section of the traditional ruling classes which regularly get elected.

Getting elected is part of the democratic process and the basis on which one can claim representation. We cannot question the representative status of members of parliament, period. But getting to the assembly means going through a procedure and not the final mark of democracy. Democracy as a political philosophy and system of governance is more than that and its demands are too many.

What leads to successful democracy? The answer is: rule of law, independence of judiciary and accountability of public office-holders, our elected representatives. On these counts, we have the history and experience of other democracies before us, as well as the present and previous record of our ‘democratic forces’ to draw a clear picture about what nurtures democracy and what stunts its growth.

The conventional ruling classes think of democracy less in substantive terms and more in a procedural sense; getting elected or finding a berth in the cabinet. Once in power, they have attempted to place vital state institutions, including police, law and judiciary under political influence and stifle the process of accountability against them.

It is this culture of arrogance and power above law of the ruling groups that has hurt democracy in the past and may also cripple it in future. The fundamental stake of the ruling groups of Pakistan is not as such in democracy as it is in obtaining and retaining power. Casting a look back on who were the ‘democratic’ allies of the four military dictators would tell everything about democratic convictions of our ruling classes.

One should then not be surprised by the way they have been reacting to media exposing their scandals of corruption, misuse of power and cheating. Our classes don’t want to be restrained by law, the courts or the media.

It will not be fair to place all legislators in the same category though. There are those who are genuinely committed to democracy and rule of law, but lack power and influence within their own parties. The media and civil society have consistently struggled for democracy and they appear disillusioned by the conduct of ruling groups, more recently by their ganging up on the question of fake degrees.

This divide or clash is essentially between two visions about democracy and the future of Pakistan. The consensual view is that building true democracy will not be possible without accountability through law and the media uncovering corruption, nepotism and influence-peddling by elected representatives. The old view that everything goes with democracy may not work in the interest of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2010.

COMMENTS (7)

talha | 13 years ago | Reply **Abdullah sb** The army is not an infant that the politician invite them and they came to rule without constitution, I just request you to let the democracy works in Pakistan and we will have good people within next 5 years. We have seen that the law breaks on merit, law breaks on roads, law breaks on sports, law breaks on senior appointment, law breaks on advertisement and law breaks on different Islamic laws but the media has never done a single notification on it where as if we need leadership for our country then they propagate against it. Our literacy rate is around 27% in realistic term and the leadership will only emerge from it. Just check it out how much we have PhD’s and Masters in real terms. We don’t have even writers for commerce and economics; we have to study Indians and Americans author’s in our Syllabus. The media has a window to show and that is why they create long programs on politicians for advertisement rather then on education and growth. Media can helps us by promoting the young generation and providing the latest education along with providing the news in the country. **Let the leadership emerge among us**
talha | 13 years ago | Reply **Pakistani Aloo** With all due respect it is **not** the duty of a media to expose cheating and lying of politicians. There are other segments of society for this check including the media. Politicians are the representative of the people of Pakistan where as media persons are appointed by the private sector. It is the freedom of speech in PAKISTAN that we are able to show the obnoxious stuff on the media without knowing their consequences on individuals. The media needs to be responsible and serious as it helps and provides guideline for the decision makers. Secondly in democracy it is the duty of the masses to vote for the right candidate that benefits their constituency. Later it is the parliament where Government and the Opposition work out for the legislation and implementation of rules. Thirdly if you want to check the honesty of politicians than who will check the honesty of journalist, as you know that many senior writers has confirmed that all journalists are not innocent. Last but not the least if you are talking about the vibrant democracy or free media than you have to compare all the other thing of those countries on the same level. We need education and recourses to reach that stage. Please keep it mind that whatever we are showing to our generation will definitely come out in future. **BIG RESPOSIBILITY LIES ON MEDIA FOR THE UPBRINGING OF NEXT GENERATION**. **Note:** The media or the mass communication is a vast subject and there is a degree program on it. I just request you to get in touch with the course outline for your under mentioned comments. (It is the job of the media to expose cheating and lying politicians.)
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