Monday, August 27, 2012

Z.A.BHUTTO:The Paradise of Politics Lies Under the Feet of the People

A letter from a death cell written by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to My dearest daughter stated these words of a leader of masses… I give only one message. It is the message of the morrow, the message of history. Believe only in the people, work only for their emancipation and equality. The paradise of God lies under the feet of your mother. The paradise of politics lies under the feet of the people. I have quite a few achievements to my credit in the public life of the Sub-continent but, in my memory, the most rewarding achievements have been those which have brought smiles of joy to the weary faces of our miserable masses, achievements which have brought a twinkle to the melancholy eye of a villager. With such words Bhutto still lives in hearts of many people and he was the symbol of democracy and raised voice against dictatorship. His political figure is matchless; his political sagacity, practicality gave Pakistan a political party system (earlier, Ayub crushed political parties), socioeconomic development, nuclear deterrence, Constitution of 1973, economic independence, land reforms and a parliamentary system. A hopeless in the prison still hopeful in his last days, the revolutionary who was once envisioned as the leader of the third world had been abridged to a politico gambit of the Martial Law dictators. We should salute to his struggle and bravery as he gave his life without any compromise and being guilty over the fake case and Bhutto was an undoubted champion of democracy and the rights of the poor in Pakistan. He was a real beacon of light to promote democracy and kept it on with the sacrifice of his life but did not bow before dictatorship. One can’t deny the army’s tyranny of an abusive parent and one can even finds many an argument in favor of and justifying the Memo-gate if proven true that it highlights the desperado attempt of a civilian government to avert another coup. If the army is to be denied any future undertakings then the conformist way forward was and has always been for our elected leaders to cultivate an environment of trust fostering a meticulous and undistracted inquiry into the issues that make us paralyzed. If such a positive activity if conducted by an educated and progressive group of credible officers who is in-tune with the sentiments of the people they represent will be a genuine step forward to change in the current system. These steps will cement in our psyche that a government of the people, by the people and for the people is the righteous path to prosperity through democracy. The democratic government Sandwiched between the shadow governance of our “heroic” army and the umbrella conspiracies of the western powers the status is of a frustrated insolence stripped naked of any morals and courtesy. It is obvious in the current system any kind substantial investment towards any institution for the common good is viewed by the parliament to local government side as a wasteful exercise in futility. Under the present dilemma of governance the collective mindset is of a temporary opportunity so heavenly afforded in a narrow window of democracy. There is a Martin Seligman experiment done on animal-psychology of “learned helplessness” – where an animal is repeatedly exposed to hurt by an adverse stimulus which it cannot escape. It is observed that eventually the animal will stop trying to avoid the pain and behave as if it is totally helpless to change the situation. This experiment gave results that learning process is so successful even after the stimulus is stopped the behavior stays and when a chance to escape is given, the learned helplessness prevents any action. We are observing that in the present government, it miserably failed in all regards; if it is true that the democracy is the best revenge then this kind of democracy is a mockery of the martyrs and it will avenge nothing. In more wise words of the great Bhutto –If things do not change, there will be nothing left to change. Either power must pass to the people or everything will perish.

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