A recent video discussion in a show featuring Pakistanis Dr. Moeed Pirzada and Dr. Hussain Nadim, anchored by Mehlaqa Samdani, shows the total superficiality and inanity of the so-called ‘intellectuals’ of the Indian subcontinent.
The discussion was about the ‘democratic deficit’ in Pakistan.
I heard the entire video, which was almost one and a half hours long, and found it totally inane and superficial, consisting of just blah blah blah and a lot of twaddle, claptrap, drivel, empty rhetoric, and hot air. So I will not waste my time discussing what was said but will instead give my own views.
Democracy was defined by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln as government by the people, of the people, and for the people.
In the Indian subcontinent, there cannot be a government by or of the people because the vast majority of our people have backward, feudal mindsets, full of casteism, religious bigotry, and superstitions, so they are not fit to rule themselves.
For instance, in India, there is parliamentary democracy, but everyone knows it runs largely on the basis of caste and communal vote banks. When 90% of Indians go to vote, they do not see the merit of the candidate—whether they are a good person or bad, educated or not—but only consider their caste or religion or the caste or religion that the candidate’s party claims to represent. That is why there are so many MPs and MLAs in our legislatures with criminal backgrounds.
Most Indians, when casting their votes, overlook real issues like poverty, unemployment, price rises, malnutrition, lack of healthcare, and good education, focusing instead on caste and religion.
Casteism and communalism are feudal forces that must be destroyed if India is to progress, but parliamentary democracy further entrenches them (because it runs on their basis).
As for Pakistan, democracy is a joke there, as was proved by the national elections held on February 8, 2024, which were massively rigged under the direction of the Pakistan Army, the real rulers of Pakistan.
In the Indian subcontinent, democracy can only mean a government for the people, not of or by the people—that is, a government that works for the welfare of the people. Such a government has never existed in India, since our politicians only seek power and pelf (for which they polarize society on caste and communal lines by inciting hatred) and have no genuine love for the people.
Democracy in India and Pakistan cannot mean a government by the people because the vast majority of the people have backward, feudal mindsets and are like children who do not know what is good for them. So they are unfit to rule, just as a child is unfit to take major decisions and must be controlled by their parents.
We must have a government consisting of a tiny minority of people who are totally patriotic, selfless, modern-minded, and determined to establish a political and social order that fosters rapid industrialization and modernization, steadily raises the standard of living, and ensures people have decent lives.
The test of every political activity and political system is one and only one: does it give people better lives? Democracy and freedom cannot be ends in themselves. They can only be means to an end, and that end must be raising the standard of living and improving people’s lives.
If freedom helps in giving people better lives, it is a good thing, but not otherwise. For instance, people should not have the freedom to deny education to girls (as is often done in Afghanistan by the Taliban). So there cannot be total freedom for the people.
Moreover, the video discussion mentioned above totally ignored what I have repeatedly emphasized: this world is not really one world but is divided into two—the developed countries and the underdeveloped countries.
There is a secret rule among the developed countries (which they will never speak about) that underdeveloped countries (like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) must never be allowed to become developed. If that happens, underdeveloped countries with their cheap labor will undersell the products of industries in developed countries, making those industries collapse (as they will be unable to compete with industries in underdeveloped countries that benefit from cheap labor), throwing millions into unemployment.
To prevent this transformation of underdeveloped countries into developed ones, the developed countries will make people in underdeveloped countries fight each other on the basis of religion, caste, race, language, etc. (as they are doing).
Evidently, the participants in the above discussion were totally ignorant and oblivious to all this. Their discussion reminded me of a line in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Markandey Katju is an Indian jurist and former Supreme Court judge of India who served as chairman for the Press Council of India. He has also worked as Standing Counsel for the Income Tax Department. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.