The writer is the recipient of the James A Wechsler Award for International Reporting and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism
It’s one thing to believe that you’re superior to other developing countries. It’s another matter entirely when some of us also consider ourselves superior to developed countries. Recently, I came across this status on Facebook from a friend: “To what extent is this true: in the Western world, when you’re in trouble — e.g. you lose a loved one, lose a job, fall sick etc. — then your family members and relatives don’t have much time or resources to come and ease your pain. They might pay you a short visit, but you have to bear most of it yourself?” If you read between the lines, this is a leading apologist line of argument, which argues that the strength of our family values compensate for our economic and social failures as a nation.
I have three issues with this school of thought. First, you can’t make sweeping generalisations about an entire civilisation based on actions by some individuals in the West who don’t spend their time or financial resources on family. The problem with using stereotypes to build your case is that you open yourself up to stereotypes as well. I’d be very offended if people in the West considered all Pakistani men to be violent, corrupt and ready to kill their younger sister if she defamed the family’s honour. If we don’t want to be judged by sensational stereotypes, we should stop judging other societies by their stereotypes.
The second issue I have with this school of thought is the false sense of superiority it projects onto Pakistan — almost as if it’s okay to be an economic disaster and a global problem child — as long as you don’t send your aging parents to an old person’s home. When I responded to my friend’s status by arguing against establishing a false sense of superiority, I was given a list of studies establishing loneliness and depression as a problem in the West. Frankly, most people would rather live in a society where the worst thing that can happen to them is being lonely at night rather than a society where they can accidentally die in a bomb blast.
The worst thing about Pakistan’s superiority complex isn’t the needless comparisons with other countries but the fact that establishing our superiority on such lightweight arguments drives our attention away from improving ourselves. A funny manifestation of this was visible last weekend when we lost the Asia Cup final but many people posted statuses on Facebook arguing that we were successful in the tournament because we beat India.
The third and the most polarising issue I have with this school of thought is the celebration of the idea that Pakistan is one of the most charitable countries in the world and families help one another out in tough times. I’m of the opinion that this shows our collective failure as a society. When someone in the West is sick or loses a job, the government pays for their treatment/unemployment benefits. In Pakistan, friends and family are the only way to pay for such unfortunate events. We think this shows that we’re a charitable people but actually, it just shows our state has failed. While I always encourage people to give as much charity as they can, giving out large sums of money publicly as charity, while not paying your taxes privately, is hypocrisy at its best. Pakistan doesn’t need our charity. Pakistan simply needs us to pay our taxes.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (36)
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Why has ET not published my comment?
I couldn't agree more with the author,i think we should stop blowing our own trumpet and looking down upon west on basis of our social,cultural,religious and moral values .If we think we are above them because of our culture then we are living in a bubble because they have their own culture and are proud of it.
@Baba Ji: While I fully agree with you on the gang rape part, please don't compare yourselves with us on other areas..and did you include education and healthcare??
Buddy, even cricket is out of bounds for you now..If India (read BCCI) decides, PCB can be turned into another Zimbabwe..As you saw in the recently signed resolution by ICC, Pakistan does not really matter..
Cheers,
My dear Indian trolls ... just for a moment, please think with a neutral mind ... what you have got which we haven't ? I guess we have a common share of poverty, hunger, rape (though we are lagging a bit in the gang rape arena), poor education, "out of this world" health care, corruption, "honest" politicians etc. etc. ... Please ... no superiority complex here but I guess we are doing fairly well against all odds ... can't we settle this on cricket ?
@chodhary: Actually the author is not BASING his argument on a Facebook status. He said the status was a manifestation of superiority complex of Pakistanis. There is a difference and quiet a clear one actually.
@Vectra: and facebook opened it's first office outside US in India long time back. It is high time that Pakistan should eradicate all India centric activities including support for jihadis and more concentrate on its development. Good luck.
I am surprised that the Tribune published this article. My comments criticizing Pakistan on similar issues are moderated out.
Anyway, I totally agree with the author and a somewhat similar thing we are always guilty of is deflecting the criticism. Say that corruption is bad in Pakistan, and the immediate response is that its worse in India. Say that medical services are bad in Pakistan, and the response is that its worse in Somalia. You get the gist,
Until we stand up, recognize and acknowledge the issues in our society, nothing is going to change.
Superiority complex is the bane of all South Asians,I recently met a Bangladeshi Vendor on the street of Florence,Italy.He started telling me all the ills of Western Country although I did not understand why he was living in Italy and then he has loads of good thing about Bangladesh export of garments and the large number of Indian restaurants owned by Bangladeshi in London.
I have seen great variations in attitudes of Pakistanis. When Pakistanis sit together, we call ourselves worse than even Congo. . The moment some 'foreigner' joins, we start bragging.
Superiority complex! That's just an overcompensated inferiority complex! But maybe Pakistan does not have a complex. Maybe it really is inferior! That clears up many matters.
Which essentially proves the point of my initial comment!
@ Jatt well put
Doesn't agree what's written in the last paragraph. There is no point in paying taxes to some one who cannot justify / cannot make proper use of our tax rupee. Rest of the article is like " couldn't agree more"
The author has hit the nail on the head. He has perhaps deliberately eschewed the issue of 'otherness' (anybody slightly different in any way, for example belonging to a different sect, status or area) that is reflected in people's behaviour around the country. This 'superiority' attitude is becoming the reason for the unravelling of Pakistani society. @Lal Din likened it (a large proportion of Pakistanis) to a frog in a well whose vision is limited. I suggest it can also be likened to a frog that is put in cold water and is gradually boiled - it adapts to the heating environment.
agree with @chodhary.
A very promising premise, which could have been sparked by the post, turned out to be simply a very op-ed riposte to that friend of yours (or is it 'friend'). If this article had fleshed out the superiority complex of Pakistanis in all matters trivial, this would have been excellent. Disappointed.
Pakistan Zindabad.
" When someone in the West is sick or loses a job, the government pays for their treatment/unemployment benefits. In Pakistan, friends and family are the only way to pay for such unfortunate events. We think this shows that we’re a charitable people but actually, it just shows our state has failed. "
Im from the west, unlike you. It is NOT the governments role to step in at every level. You say its a failure that the government in Pakistan doesnt step in, well its not. When the government steps in, thats where the failure and problems usually begins, and over time, you will get a bloated welfare state. Which leads to failure. We're seeing the effects of that here in Europe right now.
After 9/11 I saw those women in pants and jeans and without hijab that I have never seen in my life. Those who never ever wore western dresses came out from the woodwork and called themselves Indians. We all including my own siblings became Indians overnight. Setting up records in things that do not require education, dedication, hard work, commitment and patience is not our cup of tea. We set records in trivia to overcome our inferiority complex. In all lazy games we can dominate if other countries do not play them. However, soccer, boxing, wrestling (real not fake with big stomach) tennis, basketball, and all those games that require real hard work and quickness we don't even qualify. We have more guns in the street but in the Olympic shooting and fencing we are nowhere to be found.
When I was young and addicted to movies from the Wild West in America starring the likes of John Wyne,Clint Eastwood, Yul Brynner etc I always thought that America was a very dangerous place where everybody carried a gun and would shoot from the hip on the slightest provocation.
Military might has got conflated with Power and superiority, though the world has changed so much over the centuries. Today a scientific temper, free thinking and a thirst for knowledge is likely to separate the winners and losers on any scale. Superiority is the ability to adapt, innovate and solve complex issues seamlessly without pandering to the basest instincts of humans or resort to violence. Duplicity and deceit are the manifestation of the fault lines created by these contradictions. Sadly, many have embraced religious ritual and preaching without understanding that it can never be a substitute for moral rectitude or human values.
You call it "superiority complex"? It is in fact the other way around. For 66 years, Pakistan has been debating: 1. Why was it created? 2. Was it supposed to be a secular liberal country or a theocratic state? 3. What is it's history? Should it begin with MBQ or should Ashoka be included in it? 4. Are we Arabs or Indians genetically? 5. Is religion a good enough glue to bind people of different ethnicities? 6. Fall of Dhaka was totally Indian conspiracy and propaganda. 7. Pakistan is fortress of Islam and leader of Islamic world. The islamic world hardly bothers about it. 8. Kashmir is ours for two reasons; one all rivers flow into Pakistan and it is a majority Muslim state. 9. Is US our friend or foe? 10. Allah will do things for us, we need not work towards prosperity. 11. Are we a welfare state or a security state?
What is the reason for the superiority complex? Cultural, religious or both? It certainly is not material wealth or positive achievements. One of the primary reasons for the partition was the inability of some Muslims to live on equal terms (one person, one vote) with Non Muslims. How could a people that had conquered and ruled be on par be with a 'lesser' people. Muslims (not all) considered themselves to be special and fully deserving of a separate homeland to preserve their unique way of life. Once Pakistan came into being, this superiority was reflected in nazariya Pakistan. One Pakistani soldier was considered equal to ten Baniya soldiers. Defeats in wars were turned into victories because Hindus (Indians) were liars. Genocide in East Pakistan was justified because Bangla Muslims and non were "inferior"races. The 1974 constitution preserved high offices for only Muslims.
One of the best articles I've come across in a long time. Congratulations to the author and may we have more such thought provoking pieces from him. Finally, someone has had the prescience to point out the hypocrisy that is eating away our vitals as a society, as a community, and as a nation.
On one hand you literally base your whole argument on a single facebook status update from one individual... and on the other hand you argue that one should not make sweeping generalisations about an entire civilisation based on actions by some individuals....
Amazing...
Great article - so true. We need to abandon this so-called superiority complex as a Nation and embrace the facts and realities on ground. Living in this bubble (complex) wouldn't let us rectify our shortcomings and we will be left behind ................
Same is the problem with Indians. Indians especially Elderly people visiting USA pride themselves of having superior family value and culture etc. I ask them, if that's the case then why does this collective accumulation of "better" culture and” superior” family value of 1 billion people make our country a Super Corrupt, poor and one with proportionately more dishonest people, businessmen, politicians and government employees than those in the western countries? USA spends billion dollars in providing roof over millions of their citizens (public housing complexes) who do not earn enough to rent private apartments and several billions in providing food stamps to feed children in home and in schools. US Federal Law mandates private or public hospitals to provide emergency medical care to anyone who walks in without asking if they can pay for services or not. Compare that to any South Asian country where people are born and die on streets without having a roof on their head all their life, People and children go hungry on a regular basis They die if they do not have money (especially cancer, stroke, heart attack and diseases that require organ transplant high cost care and medicines). Rich enslave poor to work for them for meager wages. South Asians also claim to have superior "Moral" value (add religion too). Cheating, lying, stealing dishonesty in business selfishness disregard of common laws (including traffic), bribery are not included in the definition of Moral values. Our Morality means not to have sex when unmarried. Most Western people are exactly opposite and therefore collectively their countries are prosperous and advanced. They however do have sex when unmarried
when some of us also consider ourselves superior to developed countries This superiority complex also creeps up in daily living. For e.g. Most Pakistani Muslim who live in western countries and make living dealing with white people will have very low opinion of white people and white females in particular. Sooner or later they will say a phrase that we are not like these people. This attitute will change in a heart beat if she is willing to cozy up to the same person even just for false pretense. Similarly, number of surveys have shown that hijab wearing lady thinks she is superior to other non hijab wearing females (read white females in particular). Incidentally this superiority complex disappears in a heart beat under some special circumstance. During 9/11 and after death of OBL there was mass conversion overnight, practically all Pakistani became Indian.
I am sure the author has heard of that frog who never came out of a pond and thought it is an ocean. Ignorance coupled with arrogance makes one act in a strange way. So is the story of our compatriots.
I like that: While I always encourage people to give as much charity as they can, giving out large sums of money publicly as charity, while not paying your taxes privately, is hypocrisy at its best. Pakistan doesn’t need our charity. Pakistan simply needs us to pay our taxes. Now a days one should be careful who receives our charity contributions. I hear many organizations are front line for supporting terrorists in the name of faith. Having superiority feelings is only good if we are working to distance ouirselves from anti state activities and support law and order and a democratic set up.