‘The Perils of Adrenalin’

In 1994, historian Andrew Roberts wrote his acclaimed work, Eminent Churchillians. In the book there was a chapter entitled, Lord Mountbatten and the Perils of Adrenalin, which was a scathing comment on Lord Mountbatten’s Viceroyalty of India. In the chapter Roberts argued that it was Mountbatten’s ambition and recklessness which caused the mayhem of 1947-8, and that a more qualified and measured viceroy would have done a much better job. Hindsight is 20/20 but Roberts’ estimation does carry weight when compared against the historical account that a number of personal decisions of Mountbatten (like bringing forward the date of the Transfer of Power, keeping the Boundary Commission Award unannounced till August 17, and being ill-prepared for the mass exodus and killings), led to the carnage which cost upwards of a million lives. If Pakistan’s official texts are to be believed, the bad hand which was dealt to Pakistan at the time of its creation unleashed such powers of instability that Pakistan is still, in a way, reeling from them.

Roberts’s article makes it plain what adrenalin can do. While India’s independence, and Pakistan’s creation was a foregone conclusion by the arrival of Lord Mountbatten in March 1947, its execution in the wrong manner led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Nothing really can justify the mass murder and pillage which the summer of 1947 witnessed.

At the moment, Pakistan is also going through an adrenalin phase. We have a politician who keeps comparing the life of a country to a game of cricket, a cleric who wants to overthrow the system, and a government which seems to be perpetually unsure about what it is doing. In the current scenario, therefore, it is only adrenalin which is running the show it seems.

Many commentators are lauding the fact that it seems that hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people have been mobilised by the Azadi and Inquilab marches. However, very few pundits have asked the question: to what end? Political mobilisation is good, but being directionless can cause a lot more harm than good. Imagine a mobilised military with no real aim: no matter how trained and well-equipped it might be, it will still lose battle because it will not know what to do and when. Such is the condition of the mobilised crowds in Pakistan presently. For the crowds, ‘Go Nawaz Go’ is a sane slogan, but what will happen if Nawaz resigns tomorrow? Will the PML-N automatically lose its majority in Parliament? Will the election commission suddenly become corruption free? Will we be able to immediately hold rigging-free elections? Obviously not. Raising hopes of millions in this way can only lead to disappointment and a re-emergence of general apathy towards the system since it is simply irrational to think that the resignation of one man (even his whole party) will precipitate some dramatic changes. Unless the Khan is hoping that overnight most Pakistanis will be exchanged by, say, the Scandinavians (perceived to be the least corrupt), nothing will change drastically.



The key word therefore should be ‘process’. The last month or so has also shown some positive points like the regular attendance of the prime minister in Parliament, the unity of all parties (except the PTI) on the principle of parliamentary supremacy and process, and the development of a general sense among people of standing up for their rights. Channelling such gains through the right process (like working through Parliament for improvement and change, working towards real land reforms, re-establishing local government with real powers, etc.) would be a sure way for lasting positive change and development. Torpedoing such gains in a high of adrenalin is simply a waste.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2014.

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