Imran KhI share my thoughts with an acute awareness that by choosing to write about Imran Khan, I would have to embrace the identity of a “simp” or cultist. But we must talk about him: not because he was once a renowned cricketer, not because he was prepossessing, a playboy that every girl of the eighties from the cricket-playing world wanted to court—at least that’s the impression Pakistani media propagates, not because he was an Oxford graduate, not because under his captaincy Pakistan won its first world cup, not even because he built the first state-of-the-art cancer hospital and later two universities in Pakistan, even though his latter achievements merit many accolades.
No, we shouldn’t talk about him for any of these reasons, and yet all of these reasons give validity to his story to be a good moral tale of human heroism, reminiscent of Socrates, Odysseus, and the like. This week, Imran Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison over a series of false charges, and his refusal to strike a deal with Pakistan’s establishment for bail further solidifies his image as a hero in Pakistanis’ eyes.
Whether a true hero or not, having the support of 192 million people, and that’s just within Pakistan, makes Imran Khan one of the most revered politicians in the world, acknowledged by the Times magazine. And by the definition of the word, this is what makes someone a hero. But do we still need heroes?
Do We Still Need Heroes in Modern Times?
It has been two hundred and some years since Thomas Carlyle championed hero and heroism, but to today’s generation, his lectures may be thousands of years old. That’s how fast the world is moving. If recent social movements like Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street have taught us anything, it is that we do not need “Great Men,” “living-light fountains,” anymore to “enlighten the darkness of the world.”
We don’t need the guidance of a saintly figure to bring a change in this world, and an eighteen-year-old with a TikTok and X account can be as influential and inspirational as Gandhi. However, in this A.I.-generated, 21-second attention span world, Khan’s popularity is proof that good old-fashioned heroism still pulls at our heartstrings. Donald Trump’s return to the presidency is also a good case in point. Parallels are usually drawn between the two politicians, the most significant being their nationalistic views.
However, what separates them is Khan’s philosophical politics, voiced in his vision of transforming Pakistan into a “Riyasata-Medina,” an Islamic version of the Plato-Aristotelian Republic. His political agenda of bringing the rich and powerful under the rule of law echoes classical wisdom, but of course, it is not an easy task for a country ranked highly corrupt by the Corruption Perceptions Index.
For more than two decades, Khan’s been fighting for Pakistan’s reformation, and even now, he seems adamant about winning his battle through just means. If studied closely, Khan’s altruism and selflessness, which his opponents claim are a sham, are reminiscent of Plato’s Philosopher King. Some analysts, a handful of them, for example, Sajjad Suhail-Sindhu, have also made this connection. Does Imran Khan see himself as a Philosopher King? Perhaps he does. Khan was once a student of philosophy, so maybe consciously or unconsciously he fashions himself after Plato’s hypothetical ruler.
The Many Faces of Imran Khan
Contemplating further Khan’s life, one can continue to make such analogies. Khan is popular not only because of his legendary cricket career but also for his commitment to the welfare of his people. For Pakistanis, his biggest sacrifice was to quit swashbuckling and return to his homeland. In his nostos, homecoming, he is Odysseus. Like Odysseus, he left Aeaea, London, and ended his relationship with Circe, British heiress Jemima Khan, all for the love of his people and his country. Nostos is an esteemed heroic trait in Greek mythology. A true hero would not only return home but continue to maintain his character upon returning home.
Today, 72-year-old incarcerated Imran Khan, preferring hemlock over compromise with his ideology, is a Socrates reincarnate. Giving strength to this analogy is the charge against him and his political party, among other 200 charges, that he was corrupting youth. Is Imran Khan truly a hero? Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. But one thing is certain at this point: the death of Imran Khan in jail today, plotted or natural, would be the birth of a hero. As Two-Face rightly said in The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
Author teaches first-year college writing at the University of Tennessee and Dalton State College in Georgia. Her work has been previously published in Litro, Dark Winters, and RIC Journal.