111 510 510 libonline@riphah.edu.pk Contact

Whither democracy?

Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, general-turned-diplomat and Pakistan’s longest serving foreign minister, explained the raison d’etre of Saarc as a link in the chain of regional cooperation organisations that girdled the globe.

And Saarc has remained just that without achieving even modest goals. It is fashionable during Saarc meetings to cite the EU as a model of regional integration worthy of emulation. But that is a wish formulated and expressed in many regional forums. They all invariably talk of emulating the mother of all such organisations – the European Union. Lip service, you might say.

The latest Saarc summit held in Nepal should have served as a reminder of the misery and poverty that stalks one-fifth of humanity, which lives in the Subcontinent and Afghanistan. Instead, it was dominated by the excitement of a possible face-to-face meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi.

Contrary to what many South Asians may like to think, their region remains one of the most backward areas of the globe in terms of socio-economic development. This backwardness is also reflected in the minds of the people who are obsessed by individual or clan success rather than moving society as a whole towards progress.

Indian democracy, which has often been cited as a model, failed to live up to its promise. In the latest election, India’s left-leaning, secular-minded parties had to make way for a political ideology based on religion, nationalism and capitalism. On this side of the border, Pakistan’s premier party of the right, close to religious circles and business friendly to the core, completed its first year in office, only to be challenged for election irregularities and for ignoring the social sector to the benefit of physical infrastructure.

It is a matter of time before the BJP government comes under attack for favouring the rich. The so -alled free market economy offers great possibilities to the business and industrial sectors as well as to middlemen to manipulate prices, resulting in lower living standards for a vast majority of people. The South Asian model of democracy allows the elites to find new avenues to perpetuate their hold over the resources and wealth accumulated through a millenary system of exploitation.

The irony is that the poor of the Subcontinent are reproducing at a frightening pace, ensuring an endless supply of cheap labour for the foreseeable future. They believe in the deeply entrenched social structure of patronage and protection. The poor have no consciousness of their rights or capacity to stand up for those rights.

It is almost astonishing that in this age of advanced communications, a billion people cannot hold their rulers to account. The result is that the disfigured democracy of South Asia is marching ahead without a serious challenge. Shaikh Rasheed openly incites the masses to rise against the existing order but no one listens because the awam are convinced of the other side’s strength.

Looking back at 1947, Winston Churchill was furious over the Labour government’s “shameful flight” because according to him, India was not (yet?) fit for self-rule. How did he know that the legislative chambers of the Subcontinent will be filled with criminals and tax dodgers even three generations after independence? By local standards, Churchill should be declared a pir for having such premonitions.

There is no point in blaming any particular party for sustaining the prevailing model of democracy. How will the common people be helped if Imran Khan, the main challenger of the status quo, bends over backwards to induct people from the old parties? Once elected, they will be playing the same old games because that is how things have been done in these parts.

Let us not forget that Imran’s one time friend, Musharraf, too had plans to clean up the system. Within months, he had to compromise and with the passage of time was depending on the same lot he had vowed to get rid of. Imran Khan should be careful in what he promises, so as not to end up like the general whose prime minister he probably wanted to become.

The people understand when Imran promises them a fairer system. Others have done it before him, promising similar bliss – only to fail. PTI stalwarts can perhaps explain to Imran that a politician has only two priorities: to gain power and to retain power. Everything else is secondary including the visions of rose gardens or milk and honey he might have portrayed to the voters.

South Asia is characterised by unity in adversity, the unity of its political classes for enjoying power and privilege and the adversity faced by its masses. Millions were glued to their radios or TV screens, not to get a message of hope from their leaders but to witness the spectacle of a handshake. Is the arch-imperialist Churchill turning in his grave?

Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com

M Saeed Khalid, "Whither democracy?," The News. 2014-12-06.
Keywords: Political science , Political issues , Political ideology , Indian politics , Political classes , Politicians , Elections , Politics , Economy , Democracy , PM Narendra Modi , PM Nawaz Sharif , Winston Churchill , India , Pakistan , PTI , TV , EU