The road to the elections were a
truly phenomenal experience, and regardless of the outcome I must express my immense
gratitude to Imran Khan for making me part of it. The days leading up to it
were perhaps the greatest learning experience of my life.
In light of this, I feel I must
share some observations.
To start off, all you urban
middle-class, educated, mineral water drinking, Facebook warriors, well done!
Pat yourselves on the back. You have managed to send a resounding ‘Fuck you!’
to the hordes of pragmatic ‘intellectuals’ on both sides of the class divide;
all those who first taunted you for not having what it takes to participate in
political rallies, those who accused you of not having the strength to back
your convictions, those who essentially thought you would be busy tweeting
pictures of your dinner while the polls went on outside. You showed up to the
polls. You flew in from outside the country in droves, you drove to your
villages and when the system tried to discourage you with cheap tricks and
strong-arm tactics, you stood your ground. For the first time in my life, and I’m
sure in most of your lifetimes, you invested in the system and you should be
proud.
I still have a childhood memory
of Imran Khan’s first election. Everybody we knew trusted him and wanted him in
power. However, halfway through the polls, as it probably became apparent that
he was on course for a crashing defeat, a hastily prepared ad started appearing
on TV. It was the great man himself, standing alone, desperately pleading for
people to get out and vote. I don’t think anyone moved. Our generation can, at
least, be proud of learning from the mistakes of our parents.
Having said this, there is no
denying that the results initially came as a disappointment. Though everyone
knew practically that 20-30 seats would be a good showing for PTI, and though
we could probably guess that Imran Khan was indulging in psychological warfare
when he made tall claims, deep down somewhere, there was hope that the tsunami
just might come. The no show definitely hurt, but it highlights just how much
work remains to be done by the party. This brings me to my second and most
important point. Unfortunately, there is a huge social class divide in our
country. Canvassing for votes during this election reaffirmed my growing
realisation that the middle/upper-middle class is heavily isolated from the
rest of the country.
There has been a long held, and
oft-stated belief among the educated middle classes that democracy is not a
good model for an illiterate population. In recent times, intellectual
proponents of the democratic system have been viciously attacking this
perception, denouncing it as elitist and intolerant. They go even further to
criticise the middle class’s understanding of the situation, firmly attesting to
the inherent wisdom and maturity of the average voter. To this day, I had
usually fallen silent at this argument. Far be it from me to be a bigot!
However, today, after weeks of
speaking to voters, I would like to loudly and unequivocally call “Bullshit!” on these intellectual assessments. The fact of the matter is, most voters are
uneducated and isolated, and they are totally exploited by the Pakistani democratic
system. Politicians operate through a careful manipulation of disillusionment, fears
and misperceptions. Most voters are brow-beaten to the point where cash is good
alternative to ideology. Many are fed lies and conspiracy theories to keep them
on board. Some are threatened, some are bribed. All these analysts who talk
about illiteracy not hampering decision making are essentially pulling facts
out of their backsides.
But here is where the crucial
question arises. What next? Well, in Purana Pakistan, these urban educated
middle class voters would have thrown up their hands in despair and cursed themselves
for being associated with such a state. They are, after all, vastly outnumbered
(and one suspects, not by accident!). When it comes to democracy they can
easily be overwhelmed and disillusioned. A broken bureaucratic system used to,
and benefitting from, this state of affairs will also not up and vanish
overnight. To be honest, as I write this, it occurs to me for the first time that
Khan’s political rhetoric was not just rhetoric – this really was an attempt at
shaking up the status quo. So, the deck is stacked firmly against our educated
middle class heroes.
On the other hand, I hope in the
Naya Pakistan (or the repaired Pakistan, as many are calling it), things will
be different. After all, Imran Khan is nothing if not inspirational. He is renowned
for his dogged refusal to accept things as they are. That was what Naya
Pakistan was all about, a resolve to change the country to better serve its
citizens.
Fortunately, illiteracy and
ignorance are neither genetic nor incurable. Even without a PTI government at
the helm of affairs, we can still declare an education emergency. We may not all
be able to get involved in formal education, but we can certainly start by engaging
more with those around us; by leaving our cocooned lifestyles, by adopted
greater civic and political sense and by imparting it at every given
opportunity. It has now become essential that we take on this cause, not for
the betterment of other peoples’ lives, but for the sake of your own. In other
words, procreation isn’t the only way to swell your ranks!
Finally, as I write this, there
are reports of a protest going on against Saad Rafique’s now famous hooliganism
at NA125. This is another good sign. As more people get invested in the political
system, there is increasing awareness about rights and responsibilities. Thus
far, the educated middle class have been hamstrung by their inability to take the
final step of actually stepping on to the street. Many will try to
dissuade you, many will tell you that this is just about being a sore loser,
many will tell you it wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyway. They are
wrong! This is about sending a message to parliamentarians that such actions
are intolerable. Ideally, the police would have arrested him and he would be
facing charges. However, when the state machinery fails, it falls to citizens
to enforce their rights.
Too long have we been dictated by
people ‘who know better’. They don’t! If anything, they only know how the
system works. They have no idea about how it should. It’s high time we took
charge and started spending more time and energy into bettering our
surroundings.
