The Good Monster: Musharraf's Cultural Legacy

DashDot #18 "BUt they themselves have risen to bite the hand that feeds them."

I think you are confusing cause and effect - Mush was given his uniform, monthly pay, and soldiers to command by the Pakistani nation. It is this scoundrel who turned and bit the hand that fed him.

....musharraf's biggest achievement was appointing competent financial experts in major areas, and then giving them the freedom to operate.....which kept pakistan from falling off a cliff.....

......in the area of culture, all he did was to not re-implement zia's policies, and not control the media......the media and society in pakistan had matured to a point, where the freedom of press would have burst out anyways.....

......the tv. channels etc. are actually not a part of media independence....people don't set up tv channels for th love of freedom of information.......they set them up to make money.....they are businesses......as are newspapers etc.....as are fashion shows, for that matter......

........so the tv channels etc. were an off-shoot of a good economic policies......

........unfortunately, musharraf has over-written all of this with what he has done to the judiciary......countries with strong judicial systems are successful, always........countries with a lot of cultural events, are neither here nor there.......

the day pakistan has a strong legal system is that day everything will prosper.......it almost happened......perhaps it still can happen.....

Can’t really predict the kind of legacy he will leave, but we owe it to him to name some of our national landmarks after his highness. Naming a Rape Denial Center after Mushy will be a good sign of expressing our National Pride in him, just as we have honored our previous dictators by naming our Motorways and Airports after them. In Sargodha right next to our house is a Zia Barbar Shop. Near Bomb wala chowk. Culture my ass.

NFP - very correct - and there are not many who can see this. Indeed, there are not many on chowk itsself who have seen this development.

Mushy has been good for the chattering classes, and the artsy-pansy types. BUt they themselves have risen to bite the hand that feeds them.

maybe Zia had it correct afterall, and the mullahs (who hate the artsy-fansy types and would like to hang them all in the name of religion) have the correct idea - atleast from a self-preservation point of view...

hey nadeem,

your best in a long time.

cheers,

shandana

The part about ZAB is true since ZAB successfully achieved a durable popularity of folk culture and celebration of ethnic identities / languages plus respectability of local dress etc. in place of mimicking of kala saheb/gora saheb as in Ayub's time.

musharraf on the other hand tried to reverse the entire national identity through loot sale of mass-produced off-the- shelf 'enlightened moderation', and by his first official family photograph looking more like a debauched filipino vacationing in Hawaii than a Pakistani.

But for that, he had Lal Masjid, Waziristan and Swat (in that order), and yet to come is his being dragged in the streets (or whatever remains of him Falluja contractors' style) in lounge suit and all.

musharraf's culture: lie from sunrise to sunset. cling to your position until dragged away weeping and crying. joke about rape, than lie and claim you never joked. let mullahs loose on the population, and stop only when a foreign government pulls your ears. send armed men out to kill peaceful demonstrators.

musharraf represents "culture" no doubt - the culture of lies and deceipt and self-glorification.

A truly 'hands-on' write-up in his delightful style [NFP has been very contributive in "revival" of the cinema, and quite a voracious commentator on the 'culture-bug' of our younger generation.]
I personally agree that PM has been 'enthusing' our 'art lovers', encouraging a 'softening' of the veneer of unwanted, harsh conservatism in personal mores!
Thank you for your usual - and 'prancy' - read, NFP!

Re: # 12

Ijaz Gul Saheb,I did not see the word “cultural revolution” mentioned in this article at all. Wonder where you’re coming from? As I see it, by cultural legacy I think Paracha is commenting more on the culural implication’s of Mushy’s rule on the politics of urban, middle-class Pakistan.

Even though I’m not such a huge Mushy fan, but this is one of the most well written and sincere portrayal of at least the cultural aspect of Mushy’s dictatorial legacy. Well done NFP.

I do not think it is his cultural legacy. English newspapers were always more liberal due to the limited readership they have. So no change here. As for the vernacular press, it has been sieged many times.

Pakistani fashion designers like Bhatti etc had already made their mark abroad while Zia was still in power. Cultural liberation if you call it that way came in the form of girls wearing jeans and vests on TV, removal of dupatta and lowering of necklines.

Fashion shows were even then held but in confined and selected environments.

As for electronics media; a need was felt to counter Indian channels like Zee News, Sahara and Star world, During Kargil it was felt that PTV was just not up to it. So this media growth owes much more to a policy contour than to any conscience effort. It was also about generating more revenues and providing jobs to youngsters etc.

I do not understand what Cultural Revolution is Paracha talking of. If he implies rave parties etc, then its a different story.

Cheerios

Re: # 9 Muqaddam
Actually there is a very apt comparison between AtaTurk and Musharraf. Both truned out to be highly polarizing figures in the history of their countries.

Surprising there is no comparison of Musharraf with Kemal Attaturk. Mushy is a dwarf compared to him any way, so it is not surprising that there is no comparison of Musharraf with Kemal Attaturk

{In 1995 he {Imran Biyan Khan)denounced the West with its "fat women in miniskirts" (presumably the skinny ones in miniskirts Khan had dated were okay}
{ Khan Artist
Imran Khan, the man who sparked the Newsweek riots: Islamist politician by day, London playboy by night.}
{One charge constantly raised against Khan is that of hypocrisy and opportunism, especially in light of his vociferous criticism of President Musharraf after having supported his military takeover in 1999.}
{During his days as a cricketer, when he was once romantically linked to Susannah Constantine,[34] Khan was known as a London socialite and playboy.}
{Khan allegedly has an out-of-wedlock daughter, born a few years before his marriage, with British heiress Sita White, daughter of Gordon White, Baron White of Hull. He has denied paternity but a judge in the U.S. ruled him to be the father of Tyrian Jade White after he failed to appear for a DNA test}

"There are no plans to end curbs on Pakistan's private television channels with the lifting of the state of emergency" (Musharraf)

A 'timely' article indeed -- more culture to you NFP.

Nadeem, I do not understand the Pakistani art scene well enough to comment on this piece, but it represents an interesting change of pace from you. Interesting parallels between ZAB and the Mushy! Historically, many absolute monarchs – whatever the merits or demerits of their reign – have proved to be genuine patrons of arts. Perhaps in some little corner of his heart, the Mushy does believe in the freedom of expression – as long as it does not get in the way of other khaki-rules-the-roost expediencies!