Every country in the world exists because of some collective interest, but Pakistan is the only country that came into existence to protect the personal interests of individuals. Only the priority of collective interest over personal interest can lead this country on the road to becoming a free and independent country.
These views were expressed by economist Dr Kaiser Bengali in his speech at a two-day international conference on the transformation of ideas in Pakistan’s political culture on Wednesday.
The event was jointly organised by the Department of Political Science of the University of Karachi and the Institute of Business Management at the KU Chinese Teachers Memorial Auditorium.
Dr Bengali told the audience that in the election held in 1937, the Muslim League won only two out of seven seats in Punjab, while in 1946, it was the only party to win 75 seats from the same region of Punjab.
He said the main reason was Jawaharlal Nehru’s statement that his party would bring land reforms at the end of British rule. “So, all those feudal and landlords who had problems with land reforms turned towards the Muslim League,” he commented, adding that the same was the case with Sindhis and Muhajirs, and they also became part of the Muslim League to protect their interests. “We are the nation that has not chosen its own language to date.”
He explained the benefits of technology and said that only because of technology the access to information is at our one click away, but which information is authentic out of so much information has become a difficult task. Therefore, a lot of thought and judgment is required while receiving information forming an opinion and reacting to the received information, he added.
At the end of the conference, the participants observed that there was an unmistakable sign that the behaviour pattern of political parties would soon change with the expansion of the middle class, and the introduction of high-speed internet has already put political parties under pressure to look for new ways to provide meaningful political representation.
They said that integrity, wisdom, perseverance and vision must be adopted to shift from backwardness and corruption. They mentioned that there is a need to strengthen democracy, a political process of pluralism and tolerance, avoiding feudal, tribal, and ultra-conservative attitudes from the political culture and society. They stressed adopting a positive approach and professionalism and asked to spread education throughout the country and improve the work ethics. They asked that the public know legal matters and foreign affairs, and law and its application.