[Reader-list] Fwd: Let us not squander this moment (The NEWS)

[inder salim]

Let us not squander this moment (The NEWS)

Thursday, March 06, 2008
Raza Rumi

The prophets of doom are back in business. As the euphoria following
the February 18 election subsides, there are more and more
predictions, displays of that typical thick wall of cynicism that
shapes, or at least influences, the public discourse in Pakistan. This
is the third moment in our recent history when the media gurus, the
doyens of public opinion in the independent, apolitical quarters are
singing a familiar tune. The byline of this ungraceful song is: these
politicians are incapable of resolving their differences and even if
they work together for the immediate removal of the president, they
will resort to their old tricks and confrontations. No one is even
mentioning that some other powerful and invisible quarters may already
be resorting to the old governance paradigm: give the dogs a bad name
and then hang them.

In 1988, the 'moment' for the lack of a better term, frittered away at
the altar of confrontational politics and the creation of tussles
entailing Punjab versus the federation, patriotism versus security
risk (read the late Benazir Bhutto) and corruption narratives. The
media, the technocrats and the apolitical urban middle class accepted
this storyline only to see the whole system crashing in 1999 -- the
second key moment in this argument.

The 1999 upheaval was peculiar not just that a wide section of
ostensibly democratic sections welcomed the coup but also lent a
helping hand to the project of eliminating 'bad' and dirty politics.
There were voices of protest as the corrupt and bickering politicians
needed to be held accountable and the Augean stables of political
process required cleansing. The rest is history as one after the other
all the middle class ambitions were given up, or distorted to an
extent that accountability, corruption and real democracy became more
than sardonic jokes under the Gujrat syndicate backed by showcased
prime ministers and turncoats.

By early 2007, this cleansing and re-engineering project had outlived
its utility for effective domestic governance, and for fulfilling the
imperatives of a frontline, (or a client), state. Hence the
negotiation with the largest political party commenced against several
odds. And, the biggest challenge to this course of transition emerged
not from the establishment even though there was no shortage of
detractors there. The loudest proponents of the "sell out" theory were
precisely the forces that legitimized the 1999 coup and gave it the
political, constitutional legitimacy. And, the new phase of distrust
on corrupt politicians ensued. Mian Nawaz Sharif had to face a similar
fate when he entered the electoral arena and appeared to be playing
the 'game'. It was Benazir's tragic death that has somewhat halted her
constant media trial.

Since 2007, the refreshing difference to the old script is the
lawyers' movement; and the urban consensus on the independence of the
judiciary. The principled conduct of now deposed judges has given
impetus to this movement as without the 60 odd resignations this stage
would not have arrived. To give due credit to the leadership of the
lawyers had been struggling against the constitutional deviations much
before 2007. But the events of March 2007 provided a centripetal push
towards the office of the chief justice.

The leadership of the lawyers has yet again proved its mettle in the
present uncertainty of political winds. Flexibility, central to the
success of a movement, has been displayed by Mr Aitzaz Ahsan who has
called off the long march to Islamabad given that the new assembly has
not even sworn in.

However, the bulk of hitherto disengaged, and now politically
energised sections of the middle class view the lawyers' movement as
an alternative or even a replacement for mainstream politics. This is
not a deliberate act; perhaps it echoes the frustration of the 1990s
decade, the dynastic and familial control over party leaderships that
apparently excludes the increasingly articulate and professionally
sound middle classes whose number ironically have grown under
Musharraf's Pakistan.

Now the third moment has arrived. The actors are the same, the
configurations have changed. There is a shared sense of regret; and a
commitment reflected in the ambitious Charter of Democracy. Yes, the
challenges have grown and so has the responsibility of the non-state
actors to let this phase move in a direction that we have longed for
but not really experienced. This is why the cacophony of the
television talk shows and pessimism of opinion mongers is unsettling.
The TV hosts echoing the middle class voice raise the same questions
again and again. The PML and the PPP are being grilled on their past
record completely ignoring the decade when they were out in the dock
and demonized to the hilt.

For those who expect miracles must realise one clear imperative.
Bourgeois democracy is not about revolutions or structural
transformations. Reform is a long process that can take decades like
the experience in India where the Dalits have entered the mainstream
with a strong voice after decades of participation. Constitutional
democracy in Pakistan overshadowed by the baggage of authoritarianism
will need the continuation of the democratic process. This is well
known but rarely accepted by those who are predicting that coalitions
will fall.

Unfamiliar territories breed skepticism but why not give this crucial
moment a chance whilst not forgetting that the elected cannot be put
on a trial until they have been given a full term. And, that they have
to be guided and when needed pressurized. But not maligned and
demonized as this would suit the agenda of those who hold, to use the
classic Iskander Mirza doctrine, that democracy does not suit the
genius of Pakistanis.

Given the internal and external realities -- waning federalism, long
queues of would-be suicide bombers, institutional imbalances etc--
there is no choice but to make the impending coalitions work in the
centre and provinces. If this can happen in India and other parts of
the world, why can't it work here? Absolute single party rules (1970s
and 1990s) have not worked that well either. If there is any modality
that is needed by the fractured polity, it is that of a bipartisan,
cooperative model that retains its essential strength in the face of
overdeveloped state agencies, foreign occupation in the neighbourhood
and grim economic crises.

Participatory politics requires that elusive commodity 'the people"
and their voices all make this work and do not settle for any other
alternative howsoever attractive it might be to individual parties.
This is why the PML-N should share power and represent its national
and not just the provincial voters.

The bitter lessons of history are clear; only if we have the will to
learn from them.



The writer is a freelance contributor who blogs at www.razarumi.com
and Lahore Nama.

-- 
www.razarumi.com



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