Yes, truly !! I was up at 3am last morning and was extremely, though pleasantly surprised to see the Breaking News when the government agreed to the demands of the Pakistani people.
This mass democratic movement as of now seems to be the only hope for Pakistan. It is finally sowing and spreading the seeds of a democratic culture that is remarkably non-violent and built on the People’s power and mass mobilization. It’s also a counter to the culture of violence and terror that is corroding the foundations of that beleaguered nation.
Over the last few days, once again we sat in front of our TV screens, captivated by the teeming hundreds of thousands who took to the streets across Pakistan, challenging the might of the state and shouting slogans, similar to those that we chant in our country. I was also surprised to learn that the police had enforced Section 144 to stop the people from congregating. For a moment I laughed and then realised that it was part of our common colonial legacy.
The people refused to be provoked by the police and sat down in thousands of dharnas (demonstrations) across the streets and chowk’s of Pakistan, when they were stopped from proceeding to gherao or rather lay siege to their Parliament in Islamabad. The police by and large sensed the popular mood and decided not to take on the the masses, but there were a spate of midnight knocks, house arrests and also we were witness to tear gas shells to disperse the crowds, but the People carried on undaunted.
Remarkably Rehman Malik, the Interior Minister kept on threatening the exuberant crowds and warned them of the possibility of terror attacks. Thus he said that the police presence was there to protect the people from possible suicide bombers. What a joke !! Even during the time of the anti-Musharraf agitations, suicide bombers had attacked the rallies of both the opposition PPP and the PML-N as well as that of the lawyer’s. But not a single attack on the political meetings of Musharaff’s own party the PML-Q.
Remarkable !! It is very clear as to how the Pakistani state also uses terror as a weapon to control the masses.
As the agitation proceeded on the 12th of March, on the very next day, a deal was sought to be struck to restore the PML-N government in Punjab, but Nawaz Sharif refused to fall for that bait. He had decided to go all the way and he clearly has now arisen as the most popular leader in Pakistan with strong democratic credentials. The fact that he is now the “Lion of Punjab” is also important because he will have to take on the gauntlet of the spreading ideology of the Taliban in the south of Punjab as well.
In the last two years or so, the people of Pakistan have taken on the Military and Musharraf and won. Then a corrupt President Zardari and the state power that he could unleash – and won. These are victories that can and will change the trajectory of political events and the history of South Asia.
This movement again has galvanized the Middle classes and have included all classes, the women who were there on the streets of Lahore till early in the morning, the students & youth, the media and the overwhelming majority of civil society. Undoubtedly the PML-N, the Imran Khan led, Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Jamaat-I-Islami led by Qazi Ahmad Hussain, were also part of this struggle and this shows the complex political and social forces that constitute the democratic struggle in Pakistan.
Within the PPP, the schisms showed up early as this was the very party that has time and again spearheaded the democratic struggle and has made numerous sacrifices. The resignation of Sherry Rehman, the Minister for Broadcasting and Communications, when there was a clampdown on the media was admirable. Even the differences between the PM Gilani and President Zardari were there for all to see. In the end the democratic core of the PPP & it’s cadre prevailed and Zardari had to relent. Many hope to see the back of him and soon.
The venerable Wali Khan of the Awami National Party, too played a major role in pressuring the PPP to relent and from the very first day he took a position to both restore the government in Punjab and reinstate the Chief Justice and the Judges.
The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi & Abdul Ghaffar Khan – the Frontier Gandhi still endures and the “stayagrahis” on the streets of Lahore, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Karachi & across Pakistan are a testament to their vision of a South Asian people with common bonds of language, culture, religion, resistance and a glorious history.
Also the total absence of the clergy and other religious elements in this struggle was very visible and rather telling.
It is the secular and the modernist elements who are leading this struggle for the democratization of Pakistan and this should be noted by all those who try to reduce Pakistani society to a Talibanized society with no hope whatsoever.
I beg to differ.
The Taliban are a result of the dehumanization of a society wrecked by more than three decades of war and mayhem. The intervention by the USSR and then the resultant role and disastrous policies of the USA to establish an imperial stronghold in a region, that by reason of geography has been victim of the “great game” on a “grand chess board” strategies, of all the Empires of recent years or rather centuries.
The Taliban are abnormal in their understanding of human nature and I am convinced that Pakistani civil society has both the will and the vision to redeem Pakistan from this obscurantist and backward version of Islam, that has no roots in the Quran & it’s message of emancipation, universal brotherhood, respect for all religions, the rights of women and their empowerment and a God of all creation that is merciful, loving and gracious.
The Taliban is far removed from the core of the Quranic message and thus they are an exception and not the rule. As Pakistani society begins to rebuild itself on principles thus enunciated, Talibanization will wither away. But they will not go away without a sustained struggle and the withdrawal of the US from the region, for this is a must.
As we in India do not need the US to fight the RSS-Bajrangdal-ization of our society, similarly each society has the latent power within to combat the forces of obscurantism and religious extremism.
The collective & inexorable trajectory of human society is for democratic and secular societies where religions have a role in adherence to universal principles. the secularism of Asia, Africa and South America is about the principle of “Sarva Dharma Samabhava” and where religion is a living force within the people and their culture.
The reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary will have once again established the Judiciary and the rule of law as one of the pillars of Pakistani democracy. The media and the people are playing their role to perfection. The military has withdrawn to the barracks. It is now upto the political class and leadership to play and honest role and not fritter away the gains of this struggle. If this historic opportunity is lost, they will be solely to blame.
But the price of liberty is eternal vigilance and the people of Pakistan will have to continue to play that role if democracy & freedom have to strike deep roots across Pakistan.
On our part, we the people of India, should come out in public support of the Pakistani people and offer our solidarity with their struggle. This will further strengthen the resolve of the Pakistani nation to resist and triumph.
The Indian media was trying to portray it all as further proof of the seeming “march into chaos & turmoil”, but fortunately we had some very good experts (KS Singh for example) who stated that this was in fact the need of the hour for Pakistan and the fact that this democratic struggle needs to be welcomed and supported by the Indian people.
For all those who though that the Pakistani military would step in, they have been proved wrong. The military is far too hated and far more corrupt than even the political class.
This democratic movement has the capacity to fight three battles that are now crucial to the future of Pakistan:
1) The fight for the deepening of the democratic roots that have been time and again weeded out either by the military or a myopic & corrupt political elite.
2) The battle against religious obscurantist forces led and symbolized by the Taliban. The battle is between a modernist egalitarian, gender just and democratic Islam vs the revanchist version propagated by the Taliban.
3) The battle against US-Zionist Imperialism that has been the bane of both Pakistan and Afghanistan & all of South Asia for that matter. The Pakistani civil society movement that is now at the forefront to restore democracy in their country will now have to focus their power of mass mobilization to force the US from:
a) Ending its bogus war on terror, that has only led to the destabilization of the Pakistan, Afghanistan as well as India and all of South Asia. It is not a War ON Terror that the US and it’s allies are pursuing, but it is a War on the people and nations of the World BY Terror.
and,
b) Finally evict the US and NATO from our region.
This will thus require an alliance between the anti-imperialist masses and political forces of India and Pakistan and the rest of the South Asian nations. This movement will have to build fraternal bonds with the resistance movements across the Middle East as well and with Russia, China, Iran and the Central Asian nations. The larger struggle is for the freedom of the Asian people and our continent that has been the cradle of all of the major civilizations, religions and cultures. This is the Asian century and will give rise to a egalitarian and multi-polar world order. A new international architecture will emerge and Asia will be at the core of this.
The key is to fight these battles, both against the forces of religious extremism, casteism, chauvinism and Imperialism & they will have to be fought simultaneously for the simple reason that the attacks are varied and none of these struggles can be postponed.
Across South Asia, their all welcome winds of change. The democratic struggle in Nepal has broken the back of the monarchy and the casteist hierarchy. The Maoist democratic revolution has liberated the masses of Nepal.
In Bangladesh, the recent elections gave a defining victory to the forces of secularism and defeated the anti-liberation forces backed by the military and the forces of religious extremism.
In Sri Lanka though, we hope to see a political and a federal solution to emerge, one that can finally resolve the Tamil – Sinhala issue.
In Afghanistan, the US by it’s own admission has lost the war. In what manner will the US extricate itself from a quagmire of it’s own making, will also determine the course of events in our region. Though clearly the solution is political and not that of a military nature.
A political solution and dialogue that involves and includes all of the ethnic, religious and sectarian diversities in Afghanistan will go to ensure a move towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
For this to happen the withdrawal of the US and NATO from Afghanistan and the rest of the South Asian region is a must.
In order to maintain peace, between the warring parties, UN peace keeping troops drawn in from Third World nations, should be asked into to move in and take over the task.
Troops from all European nations as well as allies like Japan and South Korea will have to leave.
From this position, a system of drafting a new constitution to ensure sharing of power, protection of minorities as well as the key questions of women’s rights and the basis for a federal polity, will have to be mirrored in the Constitution.
I am sure that the Indian experience and our constitution will prove of immense help to the Afghan quest for a collective nationhood that can address the complexities as well as the recent violent history of the Afghan people.
The key is India though.
Unfortunately whilst in the rest of the region, the US and Israel stand exposed, the Indian elite with its erred vision is intent on embracing the US Imperial designs for the region, as it’s junior partner as was evident during the shennanigans over the Indo-US nuclear deal and the plethora of joint military exercises.
But again the hope here lies in the Indian people and they are aware of the destruction that the US has wrought on Pakistan as well the potential for the same to happen to our very own nation.
Moreover in India, the Parliamentary forces themselves led by the LEFT as well as Socialists and regional parties constitute a formidable challenge and opposition to the US and Israeli designs. For India to free itself from the talons of the Eagle is critical, not only to South Asia but also to the balance global geo-politics.
The people of India and the rest of South Asia have a common & glorious anti-colonial history and it is back to those common roots that we have to delve and seek our unity.
The need is of the hour is to create a South Asian Union from Afghanistan to Bangladesh and from Nepal to Sri Lanka. The seven countries back as a Union, is the solution which will resolve most of the major outstanding issues ranging from religious fanaticism to extreme poverty plaguing each of our nations.
We once again congratulate & salute the People of Pakistan in their hour of triumph, which is a victory for all of South Asia.
Jai Ho !!
South Asia ki Ekta Zindabad !! Zindabad !!
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Feroze Mithiborwala is associated with Awami Bharat [http://awamibharat.blogspot.com/ ]