In Defence of Benevolent Dictators

Bahmad#183

National integration was never sought in Pakistan.

Isnt it a little too early to deduce the failure. I don’t blame you for that, being away for quite a while and banking maily on yolk of egg yellow media.Yes the viloence has been attributed-imposed and give the dog a bad name and shoot it.

There are three types of intelligent people in the world:

1. Those who learn from other peoples’ experiences.

2. Those who learn from their own experiences.

3. Those who don’t learn even from their experiences.

Regard

Tariqlodi.

Re PM #: 188

You seem to blame the lack of economic development on democracy. That is not the case. The fact is that economic development depends on sound policies, not just a dictator telling people to march in one direction. When people look at the economic miracles in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand, they come to the conclusion that the only thing common to all of them is dictatorship, military or civilian. Why do such people ignore Japan which has not had a dictatorship after WWII and had to totally rebuild its industrial base after the destruction of WWII and the resulting conclusion that democracy is NOT antithetical to economic development? If you talk about the corrupt democracies of South Asia, how can we forget the scandals that have brought down several prime ministers in Japan?

It is true that the people of the East Asian Tiger economies put (or were forced to put) their political aspirations on hold so as to recover from the ravages of war (Korea, Taiwan, Singapore) or economic underdevelopment (Thailand). But, given the chance to express their opinions, they have come out resoundingly against those same dictators who have given them so much material wealth. One might argue, in the case of Thailand and South Korea, that the wealth did not dribble down to all segments of society and that was the cause for the dissatisfaction of the masses. How about Singapore, where full employment is the norm, all types of food and consumer goods are cheap and readily available, and 90% of the population lives in government housing far superior to middle-class homes in South Asia? That country still elects opposition members to Parliament as a mark of displeasure with the authoritarian nature of the government.

Even in South Asia, hasn`t Bangladesh (the basketcase of the world, according to Kissinger) shown that they would much rather elect their leaders than put up with military dictatorships? Doesn`t the electoral loss of Indira Gandhi after the 1975-76 Emergency in India (when the middle-class enthusiastically supported the Emergency as a much needed dose of discipline) prove that people do have a need to express themselves politically? Why, in God`s name, do some people claim Pakistan is different?

The issue that exercises the arm-chair pundits in South Asia is corruption in public life. This has nothing to do with democracy. Are you telling us there was no corruption in Pakistan during periods of military rule? Can you name the politicians who were jailed, who were made to pay restitution, in almost 30 years of various military dictatorships?

The fact is that the British left behind a system of governance that has two hallmarks. The first is that the civil service and the top leadership ruled the country as an occupying power, with an antagonistic relationship between the rulers and the ruled. The fact that the level of rapaciousness was considerably less than that encountered by the subcontinent`s people under native rulers does not alter this fact. Secondly, the British authorities in India were under the watchful eyes of the British government and were held to strict standards of probity. When the British left, we have chosen to keep the former and discard the latter, wheras the expectation was the reverse would be the case once we attained independence. This is the real cause of dissatisfaction with the political process in the subcontinent. The people are still treated as being irrelevant and the politicians and civil servants are able to amass wealth through corrupt means. We have reverted back to the days of the Nawabs and the Maharajas.

In such a situation, the one chance the common man has to humble the neo-Nawabs is the election process. At least during that time, the politicians have to go to the slums, walk through garbage-ridden alleys, breathe the foul air, and ask for the votes. A dictatorship under the current rules of engagement relieves those in power of having to do even this.

If Musharraf would put in rules of accountability similar to what one finds in Singapore (where anyone can call in complaints about corruption and several ministers/politicians have been jailed or have committed suicide in order to avoid prosecution) and provides a government that is responsive to people, one could say that the military coup was justified, even if the economic lot of the common man does not improve one whit. But so long as the rules of engagement do not change drastically, then you have taken away the one chance the voter gets every 5 or so years to rub the noses of the powerful in the dirt.

[There is fine line between imposing our liberal values on others and acting responsibly to protect any segment of population (women, the poor, children) from an abuse of their rights to a full

personhood.]

You do that by enacting and enforcing laws that ensure economic and social rights for individuals. You spread the knowledge among people that such laws exist to protect them by village outreach programs. You inculcate the respect for such laws by educating the next generation of children. But, if you do not do any of these, then you will always have the need for a ``benevolent`` dictator, the Great White Father in the US, the Burra Sahib in India, to whom the dispossessed can look in order to redress their grievances; that is, if such grievances ever reach his ears.

[So, Pu Li, it is not always with a patronizing superiority that we more influential (you say ‘educated’) urbanites seek to secure the rights of

those without voices or whose voices are held at ransom by their lords and masters—whoever they may be.]

Yes, it is. And you know better than to advance this argument. It IS patronizing to tell somebody that you, not he, will be in charge of his life and destiny. It does NOT matter that in actuality you know better.

Wasn`t this the same argument the British advanced why they should rule over India?

[Puh-leez, Pu-Li!! It’s laughable that you should suggest that the ‘elite and privileged’ should be angered by the end of the farce put up by politicians. While there may be a tiny grain of truth in that claim, you would have had to be pretty out of tune to the spirit on the streets to

suggest that the underprivileged were not in favour of this takeover.]

By `the privileged few`, I do not mean the super-rich who anyway really run the country because they can buy off anybody, including Musharraf. (If you point out that Saigol has been jailed by Musharraf, I will point out that Kirloskar was jailed by Indira Gandhi for income-tax evasion in 1975. Kirloskar and his family are still running his companies and his wealth is bigger than before. I am sure Saigol will be out soon.) It is the middle-class that suffers the most in any system because they have to abide by the rules. If there are quotas in admission to professional colleges based on caste, domicile, etc., the rich circumvent that by sending their children to schools abroad. The middle-class loses out to the favored community: rural Sindhis in Karachi, Backward Classes in India. The middle-class is the most aggrieved party in any society and these are the people who welcome dictatorships because it brings a semblance of order and they value order over anything else.

[... you have unwittingly betrayed how much yourself have bought into the essentially Western deification of democracy. That may be an idea that

fits well their current position in history, but in blindly suggesting its applicability to all cultures, aren’t you yourself guilty of that imposing your own urban, western ideas on others?]

I am just for individual liberty. The statement by Thomas Jefferson ``I have sworn eternal enmity against all forms of tyranny over the mind of Man`` is something that I personally cherish. If you consider that deification of democracy, so be it. Anything other than democracy is tyranny over the mind of Man.

[Personally, I see it (democracy) as little more than fashionable dogma. Go sell it to the growing number of unemployed youth prone to suicide during our flirtation with democracy, Pu Li.]

Is Musharraf guaranteeing full employment with a living wage?

May God save the comman man of Pakistan from all those people who mean him so well.

Re. Pu Li (#174) & SameerJB (#179)

(#176): [Trust the people, poor and illiterate though they might be. We trust them to produce the food we eat and will starve without them. Why do we feel that, just because of our schooling, we have a right to tell them how to run their lives? As it is, we do that in the economic sphere. Doing that in the political sphere as well is nothing more than slavery in a different form.]

(/ *sniffle/ *) Excuse me while I wipe the tears… :)

The issues on the table clearly need to be restated I think: Nobody is suggesting that we ‘educated’ folk tell the village folk how to run their lives. You seem to be working on the unquestioned assumption that the village folks WANT democracy at his stage. It would be interesting to have a referendum on the question. Could the masses not make the democratic choice of (at least temporarily) having a dictatorship? My observation of the natural outpouring of support for the military takeover from ALL sectors of society suggests that that indeed was the mandate given by the masses.

You seem to romanticize the life of the villager. True, they are certainly more honest and even more humane than many of us city slickers. But let’s not our own disgust for the dehumanizing influences of the city blind us from the harsh realities of life in the village... grinding poverty, lack of basic health care, and massive exploitation by landlords… leading to urban migration and harsher realities. Let’s not kid ourselves about the ‘simple’ lifestyle of our rural brethren... many of them work on killing fields.

Now it doesn’t take a sage to see the possibility maintaining the ‘simplicity’ factor while weeding out the dehumanizing conditions that exist in the countryside. It is all very well to say that many of these folks don’t want it any different, because they don’t know it any different. But remember, this is the type of irresponsible reasoning that many otherwise concerned folks used against abolition of slavery in the US, since most slaves, in fact, didn’t particularly cherish freedom. Ditto women’s rights in rural Pakistan. There is fine line between imposing our liberal values on others and acting responsibly to protect any segment of population (women, the poor, children) from an abuse of their rights to a full personhood.

So, Pu Li, it is not always with a patronizing superiority that we more influential (you say ‘educated’) urbanites seek to secure the rights of those without voices or whose voices are held at ransom by their lords and masters—whoever they may be.

You ask: “How much of this anger against politicians and democracy is really a reaction to the slipping of power from the hands of the elite and privileged few? A little bit of soul searching is in order.”

Puh-leez, Pu-Li!! It’s laughable that you should suggest that the ‘elite and privileged’ should be angered by the end of the farce put up by politicians. While there may be a tiny grain of truth in that claim, you would have had to be pretty out of tune to the spirit on the streets to suggest that the underprivileged were not in favour of this takeover.

And finally, in supporting the following statements:

[whatever you may say, the fact remains that howsoever imperfect democracy may be as a system, it has no alternative. the only remedy for failure of democracy is more democracy, and not any dictatorship howsoever benevolent or well-meaning it appear at the first stage],

you have unwittingly betrayed how much yourself have bought into the essentially Western deification of democracy. That may be an idea that fits well their current position in history, but in blindly suggesting its applicability to all cultures, aren’t you yourself guilty of that imposing your own urban, western ideas on others?

I am all for democracy as an ideal. But if a contorted version of democracy robs people of their roti, kapra and makaan, we need to find another way.

The platitude that “The only remedy for democracy is more democracy” may just be another of those popular myths that has a nice ring to it. It’s origins, I assure you, are not neither eastern, rural, or of the poor. Personally, I see it as little more than fashionable dogma. Go sell it to the growing number of unemployed youth prone to suicide during our flirtation with democracy, Pu Li.

regards,

PM

Re. SameerJB (#179)

Deny it all you will, buddy, but you DO have the choice to give up your comfy but stress-laden city-slicker life for one of the simple labourer or villager. I suspect that when you go beyond the outward appearances, you find they have their own set of problems. You seem to be suggesting that the absence of democracy is liable to corrupt (urbanize?) these simple folk, and conversely, that democracy will empower and them and help them retain their simplicity. History suggests otherwise I think.

To be sure, you say ‘real democracy’ but that really is a pipe dream in Pakistan. Your statement “There is no alternative to real democracy!!!” sounds a little like the oft heard plea that in Pakistan, everything would be hunky dory. if only the “True Islam’ were followed.

all:

correction to my previous post -

i was actually referring to this particular article on the same site.

www.mnet.fr/aiindex/zaidi2dec99.html

bahmad, zeemax, umairr and others:

i wonder if you guys have read this article -

www.mnet.fr/aiindex/Pakcoup.html

Re: #180 Jay

Jay Saab,

Anything that can dampen your ramblings would be ok with me. Mohammed Krishna does sound like a nice name. How about renaming other dieties also-If that`s ok with you? Let`s see Ali Ganesh- No -Ganesh Ali sounds better.

Amir

In response to tariqlodi (Reply # 177)

Dear Tariq:

The human history is full of examples where the poor masses have risen and they have turned the table upside down, though often temporarily. Unfortunately, these situations lead to a lot of bloodshed and violence. In disorganized societies, if and when such situations arise, it is extremely hard to stop the process. A good example in the recent past is the struggle of Mohajirs in Karachi. The origin, growth, and apparent failure of this struggle clearly suggests a failure of national integration in Pakistan. We saw that violence led to more and more violence. Is this not sufficient to open the eyes of our ruling elite? Perhaps not. Why can`t we, as a nation, learn from the experiences of other nations around the world? Is it inevitable that we also repeat history in its many different guises?

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

P.S. ``Mein to na manoon`` approach has allowed Musharraf to so easily throw Sharif out of power (and in due course of time. . . .?).

Ref jay #: 180

You report{She (Kamala Das) says in her heart she has converted Krishna to Islam and now ``calls`` him Mohammed.}

Does she plan to translate all the tales of the Ras Lila into Urdu? Are we going to tell our brethren in Pakistan that Krishna was making love to the wives of all the cowherds of Mathura? Would this mean that adultery would be no longer punishable by stoning to death in Islamic countries? Would women willingly seek adulterous relationships in Pakistan? Will the limit of 4 wives be abolished?

Man, the possibilities are endless!

Extracts from my post # 169 of Dec 15th.

[There was someone else in the cockpit instructing the pilot not to land. When the pilot wasn`t listening to ground control, then who was in control of the plane ? ....You can imagine what shape this case can take if these questions are answered. That is why we feel that the contents of the black box will never be revealed.]

It has all come true. The black boxes .. all three of them, have been wiped clean. Voices, flight data, fuel position, chronology of plane´s movements ... all.

The intentions of the generals are openly sinisiter. I think we´re in for a long period of suppression, that is if the federation does not break up first.

IN SUPPORT OF BLASPHEMY LAWS in india.

As a devout hindu I am pained to see my God krishna, has been forcefully converted to Islam by Kamala Das per the report in India Today

A ``devout Hindu`` has sent her a lawyer`s notice for hurting Hindu sentiments by saying her favourite God, Krishna, was no longer resident in Guruvayoor Temple. She says in her heart she has converted Krishna to Islam and now ``calls`` him Mohammed.

On second thoughts, one can have the christian system of two names. May be the god can be called Mohammed Krishna, if it is OK with the muslims.

Pu Li # 176

(Trust the people, poor and illiterate though they might be. We trust them to produce the food we eat and will starve without them. Why do we feel that, just because of our schooling, we have a right to tell them how to run their lives? As it is, we do that in the economic sphere. Doing that in the political sphere as well is nothing more than slavery in a different form.)

You have summarized `the case for benevolent farmers` very well. Yet it is strange that their elected representatives are often the elites` bogey men, the feudal lords. The village culture is the bastion of our traditional values. It is the villagers and their representatives who have kept the society from being totally ripped apart by the extremes of rightists and leftists. I can only speak of Panjabi villages where religious bigotry is minimal. They are generally self sustaining entities and take almost nothing from the governments. They provide bulk of the cheap labor as well as soldiers.

In my personal experiences, I have found them more honest, humble, simple, devoted, loving, caring and less materialist. They may be illiterate, yet better human beings in many respects.

However, on the negative side, they are more responsible for high birth and lower literacy rates which does not matter as much to them as it is to us.

Sometimes when I am stuck in the rush hour traffic, I envy their life because they are not bound by the standards and boundary conditions we take for granted.

Yes, Anil Sharma, they deserve as much respect and empowerment as the urbanites. There is no alternative to real democracy!!!

GET LOST GENERAL MUTTERRAF

Your economic package was a total disappointment, and so was you attempted accountability. It is time for military to leave honourably restoring Nawaz Sharif`s government. Read the writing on the wall, general Mutterraf your kins will not find your remains if you dealy your departure. Leave at once.

Roohi A Ditta

anil sharm & bahmad,#174/175.

You have said it. You may need a hammer drill to make any dent. Alas MEIN NA MANOON.

tariqlodi

Re anilsharma #: 174

[the chattering classes of pakistan and their supporters based abroad in free western socieities should show some abiding faith in the masses and give them the opportunity to exercise their democratic chocies. what ever you may say, the fact remains that howsoever imperfect demcracy may be as a system, it has no alternative. the only remedy for failure of democracy is more democracy,and not any dictatorship hosoever

benevolent or well-meaning it appear at the first stage]

Bravo! Well said!

How much of this anger against politicians and democracy is really a reaction to the slipping of power from the hands of the elite and privileged few? A little bit of soul searching is in order.

India for instance has undergone, and is still undergoing, changes that most people do not like. Sometimes, it manifests itself as this extremist RSS ideology. Nevertheless, the people there are willing to give democracy the opportunity to correct itself. As opposed to the stability (5-year terms for governments) of the 1947-1972 era, India now has 1-2 years for the federal government. Indians have taken that in stride and yet this is being pointed out as a fault of democracy in Pakistan. We have to give people the means to express themselves so that, in their genius, they will find the way to govern themselves. Trust the people, poor and illiterate though they might be. We trust them to produce the food we eat and will starve without them. Why do we feel that, just because of our schooling, we have a right to tell them how to run their lives? As it is, we do that in the economic sphere. Doing that in the political sphere as well is nothing more than slavery in a different form.

In response to anilsharma (Reply # 174)

Dear Anil:

I applaud you for writing the last two paragraphs of your post. Your reference to your mother reminded me of my mother and Maxim Gorki`s masterpiece novel ``The Mother.`` Gorki`s novel was translated in Urdu and sold in Pakistan at an extremely nominal price in the early 1960`s.

It is a myth that the so-called illiterates cannot manage the affairs of their eveyday lives. In fact, it is a violence imposed upon them by our mentally bankrupt ruling elite.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad