Adil Najam
I have written too many depressing posts recently. I want to make this one different. Actually, I want you to help me write this post.
I have quickly jotted down my list of wishes for Pakistan for 2008. New Year Wish Lists are supposed to be short and succinct. They need not be entirely achievable – they are, after all, “wish” lists.
Here is my wish list. Seven seems like a nice number for the list. But, please add to it if you wish. And, then, please let us all work together towards turning a few of them into reality!
#1. Human Dignity. Human rights are all about dignity. So is development. Indeed, development is nothing except human dignity. Dignity comes from one’s work and worth being respected by others. Dignity comes from all of the other things I mention in this list. It is the sense that one is a full and equal member of society and also that society recognizes this fact. I wish that no Pakistani – rich or poor, but especially the poor – would even be deprived of human dignity.
#2. Living Livelihoods and Wellbeing. Economic growth, bullish stock markets, tall skyscrapers, booming highways are impressive things. But what I wish for is decent livelihoods for all Pakistanis. Livelihoods that give them the material resources that can create a decent quality of life. Livelihoods that afford them the human development and well-being that should be everyone’s right.
#3. Peace. World peace will be nice too and I do pray for peace everywhere and for everyone. But let us start at least with peace within our hearts and within our society. An end to the culture of anger and the politics of violence that has beset us.
#4. Tolerance. I wish that each one of us will be secure enough in who we are that we would not feel threatened by those who are different. I wish that we will have enough confidence in our beliefs, our identities, our values that we will neither be threatened by nor will we threaten the beliefs, identities and values of those who differ from us.
#5. Justice. The root of my name, Adil, is ‘Adl’ (meaning justice). I take my name seriously. I take justice even more seriously. You cannot have a good society until you have a society that is ‘just’ in every dimension of that word. I wish 2008 will see the restoration of the Judiciary, but I wish for deeper manifestations of economic and social justice too. Ours was not a very just society even when these judges were in office and it will take much more than their restoration to achieve a just society. But their restoration is a necessary first step we must take.
#6. Democracy. Democracy is a very simple concept. It is the proposition that if any decision is going to effect me then I have the right to effect how that decision is made and by whom. Free and fair elections do not give you democracy by itself. But while elections are not a sufficient condition for democracy, they are usually a necessary condition. So, I wish for free and fair elections and an end to military rule. Equally important is an institutionalized respect for the Constitution. So, I wish for the restoration of the Constitution – ideally to its original 1973 content. Democracy cannot come without the freedom of speech and information. So, I wish for the unshackling of the media.
#7. Jurat-i-Tehkik. When Faiz Ahmed Faiz raised his hands in prayer one of the things he asked for was “Jurat-i-Tehkik.” A literal translation would be something like “to dare to research.” I understand the intent to be the search for knowledge. To dare to know – to find – that which we do not know. To dare to find out that which might threaten the things which we think we know. My final wish is for this quest of knowledge, even if it overturns the dogmas that imprison our intellect. Without Jurat-i-Tehkik we can never truly progress; all we can do is to slip back to the recesses of the imagined glories of the past.
(Note: The links provided above are notional and not literal; they link to posts that are generally related to the issue highlight, but may not be direct discussions on the same).
Our problem is we don’t find solutions but like to stick to status quo no matter what the circumstances demand. If any of us suggests a solution which is some what deviant from status quo he/she is immediately termed a traitor. The result is that eventually others find and implement even worst solutions for us which we hate even more but have no choice but to accept in the end.
Its time that we understand that sometimes things can not be left as they are if we need to fix things for the long run. For instance its time we take look at relations between provinces. We must let provinces run their own system as they wish and inter province relation should be limited to economic relations only. No more nazriyyatee BS
Pakistan Wish List is only meaningful, IF such noble endeavors are undertaken with IMAN (faith; in our case, affirming with heart, testifying with the tongue and acting with the limbs. The actions of the limbs are from the completeness of Iman); and AQEEDAH (that which binds or that which is rooted in the heart – firm belief and principles).
Adil sahab
New year wish lists by, (consider humor – no offence)
Musharraf:
Bush awards him Congressional Medal of Freedom and nominates him for Nobel peace prize for the most important “front line state”. Also gets the awars for Statesman par excellence / Time person of the year / Leader of the free world in Asia / Hottest President of the year / the founder of the Kalabagh Dam / Visionanry of Gawadar etc etc.
Nawaz Sharif:
Becomes Ameerul Momineen in Pakistan and makes a killing exporting his sugar to India / China / Middle East and buys up Buckinghum Palace
Pervez Elahi:
Gujarat becomes the new centre of the world (a la New York) and PE is Prime Minister for next 100 years and becomes Amerul Momineen (keep it secret from NS) and makes a killing exporting his sugar to India / China / Middle East and buys up Bombay with its Bollywood studios
Asif Zardari:
Becomes Prime Minister with full imunity and takes cent per cent in all contracts for year 2008 and next 100 years. Reema / Meera are promoted to Minister level and accompany to all local and foreign trips
Imran Khan:
Has yet another crush on a 20 year old blond from London, becomes PM and sets up 10000 cancer hospitals all over Pakistan
Army:
Every Pakistani joins the army and the those who cannot are moved over to the silly democracy of India. All Pakistan is divided into one and two kanal plots and declared DHA of Pakistan and ballot is held for these plots on the internet so that all people across the world can bid. A strech, perhaps, would be to annouce a DHA on the moon, start selling the files now and annouce completion date in 2099.
Jihadi Militants:
Suicide attacks in every village, town, Tehsil, Toba, Chak, District, corner of Pakistan – so that every one goes to heaven and such that there is a waiting line outside the gates from heaven to hell
Dr. Adil Najam:
replaces Mushahid Hussain, Hossain Haqqani, Ayaz Amir etc as the most established authority on anything that goes in Pakistan
Jamshed Nazar:
Gets 100% paid by his firm with overtime for all the time in 2008 that he spends surfung on the internet websites
While Azra’s wishes are great, I’d like to add a few points–not necessarily ‘wishes’ but not necessarily ‘acts’ of volition either.
1) There cannot be a ‘normal’ Pakistan unless Pakistan ceases to be a ‘Security State’ dominated by military. A Security State also makes Pakistan a ‘Client State’. Both of these cannot be avoided unless there is credible, sustained peace/detente with India..
2) In a normal society there is always an ultimate conviction of throwing off of your rulers by use of ballot. In that sense alone India is far ahead of Pakistan. In case of Pakistan, that goal seems within sight after the defiance on March 8, 2007. It has faced serious setbacks since Nov. 3rd. But it is still achievable.
3) The chatter on this blogspace of ‘we’ making right decision and electing the ‘right’ candidates/leaders and bemoaning corrupt/feudal politicians often takes the form of political naivete or, worse, outright disenfranchisement of the poor Pakistanis who kept being accused of voting for the ‘corrupt’ politicians. That a poor Allah Dutta voting for a corrupt leader is as rightful as a university professor voting for a ‘clean’ Imran Khan; this point has to be accepted with full understanding.
4) American embrace is a poison in our affairs and in our region at large. This does not mean hating Americans but working with millions of informed (via the Internet) to influence their govt.
5) On a practical note, I think Pakistan can use a govt. of national unity for next 10-15 years to sort out the issues facing the nation including the role of the military, the issue of Kashmir, the inter-provincial disputes, and the role of religion.
I have a wish and a prediction for 2008.
That the big names in politics will disappear and a new generation will take over. Maybe Bilawal will be one of them, maybe not. But the time for this current crowd is over. They need to all go.