A possible powerful weapon
Sycophancy flourishes in the country
amina.jilani@tribune.com.pk
Sycophancy, carefully cultivated, can be a powerful weapon. It makes a sick society sicker. It debases and destroys nations, men and demi-gods. Parasites assume tiring postures; grovelling whilst climbing, sanctimonious when fallen, accusing others of which they are guilty. In our very own Islamic Republic, sycophancy flourishes. There is no way of shackling our ever-expanding herd of Uriah Heeps. They are legion, and they are manifestly damaging.
Some months ago a press report had it that one of our many top tycoons (most of whom have happily used that ‘powerful weapon’) addressed a letter to our prime minister telling him that “Pakistan is fortunate to have a leader like you who has dedication towards Islam and national ventures of Islamic natures and your kindness has encouraged me to submit my request… ”. Five hectares of amenity land in Islamabad to construct a museum.
Working backwards to one of the most dangerous and gross shows of mass sycophancy also featured that gentleman who “has dedication towards Islam”, Mian Nawaz Sharif, of the Third (and hopefully final) Coming. In October 1998, the Man of the Mundayte had the grovellers truly grovelling when his second assembly passed the 15th constitutional amendment showering upon him the chance of a lifetime — to be the amir-ul-momineen, the virtual dictator endowed by his “dedication to Islam”. It was a landslide, 151 wholeheartedly voted ‘yes’ but with 16 saying ‘no’. Our escape hatch was the Senate and General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. Destined to be passed after March 2000 by that honourable so-called upper house, the army chief struck in October 1999.
Back to 1975 and Lt General Ziaul Haq who “invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. After the function, Ziaul Haq met Bhutto and expressed his loyalty to him…”. Result: the next year Ziaul Haq leap-frogged a bunch of his seniors and was appointed COAS. A very smart piece of sycophancy, outsmarting ZAB who himself had used that “powerful weapon” on two well-known prior occasions to get himself steadily up and up the slippery pole.
In 1976 Bhutto, in a note to chosen officials, disclosed that in 1959, when President General Ayub Khan was somewhat worried about the intrigues and ambitions of certain generals, it was he who “rather cynically” advised the General that the perfect way, ensuring he remain head and shoulders above the others, was to elevate his own rank to Field Marshal. “[Ayub] thought it a brilliant idea. He was overjoyed.”
In 1958, in a letter to President Major General Iskander Mirza he assured him of his “imperishable and devoted loyalty,” and going seriously overboard in the art of sycophancy, wrote that “when the history of our country is written by objective historians your name will be placed even before that of Mr Jinnah”.
Staying in that felicitous era we have Pir Ali Muhammed Rashdi, a polished politician, as Pakistan’s ambassador to the Philippines from 1957-1961. After Ayub’s ascendancy in 1958, he had a dream one night (so he said) which he transferred to paper and diplomatically bagged a letter to Ayub. “Sir, the country needs a father,” he wrote and thereafter, expanding upon his dream, made an impassioned appeal to Ayub to convert himself into a king and establish a hereditary monarchy. His thesis, bulky and intrinsically sycophantic dwelt on many factors. One remark has held true: “ … the gamblers at a cock-fight have a deeper concern for, and more enduring attachment with their roosters than our nation has at any time for its leaders and rulers.”
The correspondence on the matter spanned nine months, with the foreign minister finally telling Rashdi that the monarchic scheme “is not workable”. Rashdi’s response: “I am relieved to find you have not attributed the endeavour on my part to sycophancy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2015.
Some months ago a press report had it that one of our many top tycoons (most of whom have happily used that ‘powerful weapon’) addressed a letter to our prime minister telling him that “Pakistan is fortunate to have a leader like you who has dedication towards Islam and national ventures of Islamic natures and your kindness has encouraged me to submit my request… ”. Five hectares of amenity land in Islamabad to construct a museum.
Working backwards to one of the most dangerous and gross shows of mass sycophancy also featured that gentleman who “has dedication towards Islam”, Mian Nawaz Sharif, of the Third (and hopefully final) Coming. In October 1998, the Man of the Mundayte had the grovellers truly grovelling when his second assembly passed the 15th constitutional amendment showering upon him the chance of a lifetime — to be the amir-ul-momineen, the virtual dictator endowed by his “dedication to Islam”. It was a landslide, 151 wholeheartedly voted ‘yes’ but with 16 saying ‘no’. Our escape hatch was the Senate and General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. Destined to be passed after March 2000 by that honourable so-called upper house, the army chief struck in October 1999.
Back to 1975 and Lt General Ziaul Haq who “invited Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Armoured Corps at Multan, using his tailor to stitch the Blue Patrols of his size. The next day, Bhutto was requested to climb a tank and engage a target, where the target was quite obviously hit. After the function, Ziaul Haq met Bhutto and expressed his loyalty to him…”. Result: the next year Ziaul Haq leap-frogged a bunch of his seniors and was appointed COAS. A very smart piece of sycophancy, outsmarting ZAB who himself had used that “powerful weapon” on two well-known prior occasions to get himself steadily up and up the slippery pole.
In 1976 Bhutto, in a note to chosen officials, disclosed that in 1959, when President General Ayub Khan was somewhat worried about the intrigues and ambitions of certain generals, it was he who “rather cynically” advised the General that the perfect way, ensuring he remain head and shoulders above the others, was to elevate his own rank to Field Marshal. “[Ayub] thought it a brilliant idea. He was overjoyed.”
In 1958, in a letter to President Major General Iskander Mirza he assured him of his “imperishable and devoted loyalty,” and going seriously overboard in the art of sycophancy, wrote that “when the history of our country is written by objective historians your name will be placed even before that of Mr Jinnah”.
Staying in that felicitous era we have Pir Ali Muhammed Rashdi, a polished politician, as Pakistan’s ambassador to the Philippines from 1957-1961. After Ayub’s ascendancy in 1958, he had a dream one night (so he said) which he transferred to paper and diplomatically bagged a letter to Ayub. “Sir, the country needs a father,” he wrote and thereafter, expanding upon his dream, made an impassioned appeal to Ayub to convert himself into a king and establish a hereditary monarchy. His thesis, bulky and intrinsically sycophantic dwelt on many factors. One remark has held true: “ … the gamblers at a cock-fight have a deeper concern for, and more enduring attachment with their roosters than our nation has at any time for its leaders and rulers.”
The correspondence on the matter spanned nine months, with the foreign minister finally telling Rashdi that the monarchic scheme “is not workable”. Rashdi’s response: “I am relieved to find you have not attributed the endeavour on my part to sycophancy.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2015.