‘Today’ is relevant only in the context of yesterday and
tomorrow. For the wise the yesterday illuminates the path for tomorrow. The
majority lives for today. History has no space for them. The same is true of the
leaders. Those who cannot rise above the present get lost in the unknown past.
Our political behaviordespite all the inflictions of yesterdays has defied
growth and maturity. “The poor player that struts and frets his hour on the
stage and then is heard no more’, aptly describes the political heroes of today
who while reveling in their empty rhetoric forget the demagogues of the
seventies and their unenviable end.
‘The wise speak when they have something to say while the foolish speak because
they have to say something’. It is a cause or higher purpose that lifts the
vision and renders the narrative more focused and consistence. Without a cause
thegarrulous chatter nonstop and over-indulge in polemics.
Recklessness,unscrupulousness and shamelessness tarnish both the speech and the
character. It pains to hear a novice venture comments in the fields of knowledge
where the professionals would tread only with extreme caution. Blatant lies,
fake claims, unfulfilled promises and the ‘SELF’ dominate the political
landscape. Ill-gotten wealth is lavishly floated to hoodwink the system. Today
is all that matters. The yesterdays and tomorrows have no place in our
reckoning.
Ghulam Muhammad, a brilliant manipulator couldrule the roost only becausea
compliant judiciaryand a bunch of diffident politicians without a common
national agenda were more than willing to play a stooge in the hands of a willy
autocrat. Hence onwards the myopic, greedy, self-centered and squabbling
politicians gladly played the musical chairs orchestrated by the dictators,
civil and military.The people never figured in the matrix. They came into play
only during elections, to be coerced into voting for their boastful
‘Representatives’ andto be forgotten once again.Ayub, Zia and Musharraf were all
fully supported by the politicians they respected little.The politicians in turn
made heyleaving the entire blameto be borne by the dictators. If Ayub had put
Pakistan on the road to progress, ‘as the model of a developing country’, in his
truly ‘golden decade’, hisunparalleled achievements took no time to come to
naught in the glorious democratic era that followed.Democracy was gradually
assuming new and fatal connotations. It was to become an occupation of unlimited
profit. The institutions that could be a hinderance in accumulating wealth had
to be fully enslaved in the name of civil supremacy. The Supreme Court was
attacked,the military chiefs changed at will, accountability turned into a mere
farce and elections rigged, to grab total power and establish dictatorial
control.
George Washington was the first president of the United States. He was a general
who had won his nation its war of independence. He was a hero, considered the
best president ever. The slavery was still in fashion when he freed all his
slaves laying the foundations of the freedom movement that followed. People
loved him. They wanted him to take the third term of presidency. He refused. He
did not want to start with a wrong precedence. No one else after him ever tried
to take the third term except under the exceptions well defined in the
constitution. The other glaring examples from recent history were President
Charles De Gaulle and Nelson Mandela who had displayed absolute nonchalance
towards power. Mandela refused even a second term and gave away power
voluntarilyto dedicate his life to poverty alleviation and social justice. Once
branded a terrorist he was awarded a Nobel Prize for Peace, acclaimed great by
friends and foes alike.
The were great leaders who have left everlasting legacies. They deserve the
reverence of their people. They were able to raise themselves above the mundane
with their vision reaching for the stars.
A cause is the most powerful and enduring motivator for a leader. In pursuit of
the cause all the temptations that dazzle the ordinary, power, wealth, women and
famelose their meanings. Cause demands selflessness, absolute dedication and
sacrifice. Jinnah gave all his wealth and property to Pakistan. Liaqat Ali Khan
did not build a house for himself as there were millions of other homeless
immigrants. Helived poor while he was a Nawab, anoble by descent. That is why
one is known as Quaid e Azamand the other as Shaheed e Milat. Ayub allowed
himself to be overpowered by his greed.He lost an otherwise well-earned place in
history.Vested interest eats away the virtues. Fleeting good fortunes apart it
eventually meets infamous, ignoble and sometimes a violent end. It has no
future. That is why most of the leaders end up as non-entities.
Lust for power bifurcated Pakistan. The same killed the Bhuttos. Greed for money
has disgraced many.
A cause or purpose is often in conflict with the status quo.If the propounderof
a cause succeeded, he becomes a Mandela for his nation. If he died fighting, he
is Martin Luther King jr. The martyrs of a causenever die. Their failure becomes
their triumph as it continues for ever to torment the oppressor and his coming
generations.
The Parliamentary democracy of the Westminster type has hugely benefited an
inept politicalelite.Still the beneficiaries of democracy continue to cheat it
byseeking undemocratic solutions to political problems.This approach has invited
disasters before. It is putting democracy at risk once again.
The gladiators of political arena with more than one Mark Anthony need to pause
and reflect for a while. Honest introspection might unfold better options. The
political leadership must put behind the present hysterics, follow the norms of
sanity and allow democracy to function at all and any cost.Unambiguous
egocentricity alienates friends and escalates antagonism. This is the hour to
put our act together as time and tide wait for no one.
Maj Gen ®
Askari Raza Malik
Author, ‘Pakistan in Search of a Messiah’