As the legend goes, the town of Hamelin, Germany in the Middle Ages was infested with rats, threatening a plague. While the town was unable to grapple with the situation, a piper dressed in multi-coloured (“pied”) clothing appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the Mayor a solution to their problem. Sick and tired of the rats’ infection, the Mayor, hired him for payment for removal of the rats. Playing his magic pipe, he lured the rats into the (Weser) West River, where they all drowned.
The town was overjoyed disappearance of the rats but the Mayorreneged on his promise and refused to pay him the sum promised or agreed to pay only part of it (say 3.5 years out of the 5 years promised). Enraged, the Piper stormed out of the town, vowing to return later to take revenge. On Saint John and Paul’s day, while the adults were in church, the Piper returned, dressed in green like a hunter and playing his pipe. In so doing, he attracted the town’s children. 130 children followed him out of town into a cave.
Three children (which our Piper referred to as the “three stooges”) remained behind: one was lame and could not follow quickly enough, the second was deaf and therefore could not hear the music, and the last was blind and therefore unable to see where he was going. These three informed the villagers of what had happened when they came out from the church. The earliest known record of the legend is depicted in a stained-glass window created for the church of Hamelin, which dates back to around 1300 CE.
Read more: Senate Elections – Welcome to Pakistan Politics!
There are many contradictory theories about the Pied Piper
Some suggest he was a symbol of hope to the people of Hamelin (Pakistan), which had been attacked by rats (previous political regimes) causing plague; he drove the rats from Hamelin, saving the people from the epidemic.Other versions say that the Pied Piper led the children to utopia at the top of Koppelberg Hill, where he took them to a beautiful land, still others claim that he made them walk into the Weser as he did with the rats, and they all drowned.
Some versions state that the Piper returned the children after the villagers paid several times the original amount of gold (or a two-thirds majority in the Parliament for the foreseeable future). Hamelin street named Bungelosenstrasse (“street without drums”) or D-Chowk is believed to be the last place that the children were seen. Ever since, music or dancing is not allowed on this street.
The ruler and the network
“Red Oleander”, Rabindranath Tagore:
Voice: “One day, Nandini, in a far-off land, I saw a mountain as weary as myself. I could not guess that all its stones were aching inwardly. One night I heard a noise, as if some giant’s evil dream had moaned and suddenly snapped asunder. Next morning, I found the mountain had disappeared in the chasm of a yawning earthquake. That made me understand how overgrown power crushes itself inwardly by its own weight.”
The voice was the ruler King of Yaksha town that spoke from behind the veil. It remained deep and hidden while operating through a network that was symbol of his isolation from the rest of the town that he ruled. The people of Yaksha were oppressed souls of a mining town who had forgotten the beauty of their surroundings, the rivers the meadows that they were blessed with. The town people had lost love, tenderness and empathy as the King had transformed the town into a fort where the inhabitants were reduced to miners who would dig for gold in the dark. The “awam” had no mind of their own but to subscribe to the ideas and fulfill the selfish motives of the King. They didn’t know any other way of life as conspiracy theories abound perpetuating a constant fear in the hearts through a network that was ruthless and didn’t allow dissent. The King of Red Oleanderhas all the power that human civilization has generated but that has turned dead and perverse.
Folklore and reality
Tired of the (actual, perceived and painted) rats, the MAYOR decided to hire the Pied Piper. Someone dressed in an exotic dress with charisma, a background, claiming to have mystic powers and divine authority to rule, armed with(or married to) a “magical” pipe. Portrayed by the Mayor to be the Messiah, (the word comes from Hebrew Mashiaḥ, “anointed”, in Judaism, the expected king of the Davidic line (no relation to the first wife lineage) who would deliver Israel (read Pakistan) from foreign bondage (the US, other Western powers and their local agents) and restore the glories of its golden age (Riasat e Madinah). The rats were painted black as the devil and the Messiah, white as an angel.
Years after years we saw a repeat of the same narratives, strategies and storyline pointing towards intellectual bankruptcy alongside rigidity of the militablishment to accommodate or align itself with global, regional or even national realities, priorities and shifts. The nation that grew up on the lullabies of “the invincible, number One” underwent something different. Domestically, the military was promoted as a role model for the Pakistani people through print and electronic media including the education curriculum.
Read more: Behind the façade in Pakistan’s politics
As per Stephen Cohen, the narrative is that India is an existential threat to Pakistan and an arch enemy out to dismember Pakistan and return to previous geographical boundaries. 1971, sort of validated that argument and narratives to cover up the consistent failure of military and civil bureaucracy to address genuine concerns of East Pakistan. Since India was a bigger enemy, Pakistan had to enter military alliances with the West and Muslim States for survival.
No one could perceive that the country has developed a sizeable educated middle class despite all efforts to keep it in a chaotic and confused state. The hero that was created with the perfection of Michael Angelo that carried the classical definition of Mills and Boons, “Tall, Dark and Handsome” with a tinge of Western education, a hint of half-baked religion, a touch of mysticism to attract the Brelvi school, a pro-Taliban narrative to keep the Deobandis behind him, a glorious past as a playboy sports icon to bring together the recent reverts, the charity givers who felt relieved of their sins after donating to Shaukat Khanum Trust, a heart throb that captured the mothers who were college going when Imran’s charm was at the peak and now had their teenagers worship him as their hero. It was nothing short of a Greek God sent to the colored people of Pakistan as a Messiah. Similar Messiahs, who preceded him (the Good, the Bad and the Ugly) included Ayub Khan, Bhutto, Zia, Benazir, Nawaz Sharif, Musharraf and then some.
Do Mayors bear the sole responsibility of where Pakistan now is or are there other culprits too? Establishment, national, regional and global powers and environments, inept political class, who except for minuscule period, never got the chance to learn and rule?
Information technology and a double edge sword
Information Technology Revolution began in 1945 when Alan Mathison Turing invented the Turing Machine which can be considered a model of a general-purpose computer. Between then and now are the first personal computer (Altair 8800, 1974), World Wide Web 1989, IBM’s Smartphone 1992, Amazon.com 1994, Google 1998, Wikipedia 2001, Facebook 2004, Twitter 2006 and Apple smartphone apps 2008. Global Internet traffic exceeded 10 trillion megabytes/month by 2008,63% of the global population (5 Billion) areusing the Internet today.
We thought the world has finally escaped state-controlled media (1984, George Orwell“War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is blessing”) but didn’t foresee the unfortunate by-product- expansion of fake news, disinformation, rise in intolerance, anarchy, leaking of personal, banking, confidential information, hackings, viruses, influencing elections, revolutions (Arab Spring) and the birth of Generation Z.
Illegitimate and authoritarian rulers have always targeted existing political structures to further their regimes through corruption laws, trumped-up charges (PRODA, EBDO, Ehtesab, NAB-I and II) and silencing media (print to start with, the state-controlled electronic media followed). Most of the charges, from goat thefts to murder in Pakistan are politically motivated.
Read more: Understanding FATF politics against Pakistan
The independence that the internet and smartphone gave the citizens of the world was short-lived. States, ruled by repressive regimes soon found ways to control Social Media contents by blocking, banning and monitoring certain Social Media platforms, persecuting and prosecuting bloggers and introducing “trolls” (a person who posts inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in online communities, such as social media, newsgroups, forums, chatrooms or blogs, with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses, or manipulating others’ perception). This is sometimes for the troll’s amusement but could be to achieve specific results such as disrupting a rival’s online activities or manipulating a political process. Internet trolling can also be defined as purposefully causing confusion or harm to other users online, for no reason at all.
In came the internet whistle blowers and leakers-from Edward Snowden, the NSA surveillance revelations whistle-blower, to Julian Assange.
Religion is regarded by the common man people as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful- Seneca (4BC-65AD), Roman Philosopher
The first use of stirring a Jihad in the Muslim world was against the British, Italian and French Muslim colonies and was envisaged by the Germans during the First World War. The German Kaiser, William II romanticised Islam and on his return from Near East in 1898, he confided in his cousin, Tsar Nicholas II that if he had no religion, he would have turned “Mahometan”. This kind of Islamophobia was fashionable among the German scholars too. The second was during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan where the Afghan-Soviet war was turned into a Jihad. “Religion card” has been used, misused and abused for wars, conquest, occupation since birth of religion. In Pakistan, it has been done with impunity and now with devastating impact.
“The surest was to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently”, Friedrich Nietzsche
During the last decade or so, Social Media has become a powerful tool. Its use by political parties, state agencies, foreign powers has had, both rewarding as well as catastrophic results and consequences. Flood of fake news, disinformation has led to violence, mayhem, anarchic situations and murders. Add to the milieu, the use of religion as a lethal tool. Most Pakistani intelligentsia, establishment, political parties, media and general population(me and you included), by design or default are instigating polarisation, conflict, extremism, terrorism even state-sponsored chaos that may very soon turn into a civil war. In their zest for gaining political advantages, everyone appears to be oblivious to the perils of the misadventure. All appear to be caught in a fast stream, oblivious of the future.
Read more: Why Pakistan rejects bloc politics?
“DON’T FORGET: BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS NEED CLOUDY SKIES”, Paulo Coelho
- Internal mechanisms that originate from the people’s philosophy and culture are potent tools to sustain peaceful co-existence between them.
- Recurring conflict results where policies are not formulated and implemented for the benefit of citizens.
Dr. Watson hardly has an answer to the prevalent situation of Pakistan
He fears that Pakistan is on a warpath with itself, an implosion, calamity seems ready to strike at the highest levels of the state, all in the name of “freedom” from one another. Looks far-fetched? May be but can we find the person who would bell the cat, some figure or sector to rise above self-interests.
Allow me to draw a few scenarios for the readers to conclude:
The military that most of the times acted as a balancer, an “Umpire” (as Gen. WaheedKakar in 1993) has become a party and a target. The military has to learn from the Chinese proverb, “The man who chases two rabbits catches neither”. Pulse of the people is “too much for too long”. Fissures within the military establishment with topmost retired Generals siding with the anti-military narrative and are sounding ominous bites. They have now mostly been neutralised through military intervention but the voices have been heard and the anti-military sides satisfied, if not encouraged. Is the military actually ready to concede the space back to the political establishment or are they sitting back and enjoying the drama, waiting for more of the same?
Thinking within the military is, how can the angel, so pure and so white be painted a devil, so corrupt and so black in such a short span of time. The Fallen Angel’s (angels who sinned and were expelled from heavens; such angels often tempt humans to sin) narrative is, for the time selling and not the militaries.
These are worrying times for the military leadership as polarisation on political issues, that has engulfed the society is now reaching the military that has lived in a cocoon. Military officers have defended their mother institution in more adverse situations than the one we are facing today. Not anymore! Are they sacrificing their commitment and discipline at the altar of a political entity or will the senior leadership forgot their petty self-interests and decide in favour of a harmonious military, the state and the society? Some quarters feel that the military has tasted power and would not yield that authority, others are only praying and hoping that they might.
The current PM has to change himself from a manager to a pacifier, he has to make the first move and extend an olive branch to Imran; he may not take it or the ruling Alliance may not be ready to give any leeway to the man who left not stone unturned to ridicule, charge and jail them or political expediencies and their future might prohibit them to go for it. The cardinal principle “two wrongs don’t make one right” has to be applied.
PPP has over the years developed an image for itself for being anti-establishment (questionable right now), believing in the Constitution and sanctity of the Parliament (present conduct notwithstanding). Do they have the capacity to rise above and stand on the right side of the Constitution, Parliament and history? Could the smooth-talking, mercurial, enigmatic (painted very black for very long by the establishment), with a penchant for alliance making play a role (for his own pound of flesh, of course)?
Pakistan has for a long time been talking of a South African style Truth and Reconciliation Commission but is yet to find its Bishop Desmond Tutu. Zardari, the Sharifs, Fazal Rehman, and Asfandyar Wali have all lined up their successors, not Imran. His children are living abroad and have shown no interest in Pakistan politics. He feels that his time is running out and that it is now and today. Can he, whether for the love of the country or the fear of persecution over real on concocted charges, rise above and extend or hold the olive branch if extended?
In the realm of media, considered as the fourth pillar of the state, whereas unbridled social media has added to the polarisation and anti-everything hysteria, mainstream media has not been far behind. Hate lessons from 7 to 12 pm, have had a numbing effect on the cable TV viewers whereas the tickers bombardment has had an emotional effect on the country. Will the media houses sacrifice ratings for the nation?
We have often lamented the inadequacies of democracy and failing institutions. Fact remains that there are strong linkages between democracies and institutions as institutions constitute and sustain democracies and to craft democracies is to craft institutions. In countries with fledgling democracies, institutions shape the choices available to political actors. Especially, where society is more deeply divided along ethnic, regional, or religious and sectarian lines, political institutions take on even greater importance. The reason for the absence of collective national effort to face these challenges is that those who can make a difference are preoccupied with their own personal or institutional battle for survival or for supremacy.
The Messiah will not descend from the heavens but has to come from the limited options available within. There are adequate conflict resolution mechanisms available but onus of conflict resolution in a diverse and polarised society like Pakistan is resting with self-centred pigmies where giants are needed.
The writer is an Inspector General of Police (Retired) and Former National Coordinator of National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) Pakistan. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.