I find it hard to dispel the thought that this column is to be published on sixteenth of December. So how does one contend with the excruciatingly painful memories that are awakened on this ignominious date?
At one level, of course, we deal with our national anniversaries in a ritualistic sense. There are some that we celebrate with a day off from work, such as Independence Day. There is a repetition of some ceremonies that are meant to be covered by the media. But we are generally not bothered about the significance of that particular day.
Sixteenth of December is different in terms of the messages it brings every year. Because we have learnt to live in denial, expectations that this day would inspire serious introspection and soul-searching in any formal way have not been realised.
That is how we have lived our lives. It has certainly been a long time since 1971. You may tabulate the percentage of our present population that was not born when that surrender in Dhaka took place, behind the media curtain drawn around what is now the entire Pakistan. I am tempted to mention the media blockade of that time because of reasons that I will not go into in this column.
In any case, Pakistan has traversed almost an era in our history since 1971, and one can easily demonstrate that we have not yet understood what that time meant and whether we have to reinvent or re-imagine the country that we have now.
Incidentally, today’s date marks another anniversary of our shame – and that was not that long ago. Four years have passed since that unbearable, unthinkable massacre of our schoolchildren in Peshawar. The deep wounds have not yet healed. It may be said that we are still in a state of bereavement. But how do we relate to a tragedy that is plugged into the larger structure of how our national security policies have been designed and executed?
Still, this was another divine command for us to try and learn from history. Yes, the Army Public School tragedy also shocked the nation and made it think. There was a new resolve to confront the menace of terrorism and to deal with, in a sense, the enemy within. A National Action Plan was quickly framed but sadly was not properly implemented.
That is where we are, with a lot of unfinished business in the sphere of national security, and without a sense of direction. Where we go from here, on a charted course or crookedly, taking or not taking any U-turns, will depend on how we can learn from history. When you think of 1971, we have obviously not learnt our lessons. Why will it be different with 2014?
It may be argued that on this sixteenth of December, the situation has changed. We have been plagued with civil-military imbalances throughout our history. But now we are told that the present government is on the same page with the military and all other national institutions.
So much so that the incumbent prime minister can assert in a public statement that the military supports his political party’s manifesto and the spokesman of the military can explain what this statement actually meant. One cannot be sure if this alliance is of a strategic or tactical nature but we should wait for some evidence of how it deals with, say, the nation’s drift towards extremism and intolerance.
In a larger perspective, however, it is all about learning from our tragedies. In that respect, we fortunately had an opportunity this week to underline some of the most pressing lessons of history that have also been meticulously identified. I am referring to the launch in Karachi on Tuesday of Nasim Zehra’s truly remarkable book: ‘From Kargil to the Coup’, with its subheading ‘Events that shook Pakistan’.
There has already been some talk about the book after its publication a few months ago. A number of reviews have appeared in the media. It was previously launched in Islamabad and Lahore. But this Karachi launch became timely. This is particularly the season of remembrance of the past and not just because of the anniversaries of the sixteenth of December and another one, just as painful, that comes 11 days later.
Nasim Zehra’s study of a tragedy that encompasses various aspects of our national security policies, with particular reference to relations between India and Pakistan, stands out as the only expert and exhaustive investigation of a major national event.
Let me quote just one sentence from historian Ayesha Jalal’s blurb on the dust cover: “A gripping account of the Kargil war as it unfolded surreptitiously and then flagrantly, this study puts to rest myths about the relative strengths of the military decision-making process in Pakistan compared to its civilian counterpart, underscoring the imperative need to streamline both with a view to facilitating more cooperative relations between them, especially in the realm of strategic security”.
I happened to be one of the speakers at this launch and wondered why even the folly of Kargil had not forced our rulers to review and change their fundamental ideas. I know that there will be differing opinions about the passions and fixations of our rulers in dealing with what they perceive as threats to our national security. But will it be an exaggeration to suggest that the very obsessions that our rulers have failed to exorcise from their mindset constitute a threat at least to our progress and well-being as a nation?
These are issues for experts and scholars to ponder. What I have seen and learnt as a journalist who is old enough to remember the infamy of 1971 makes me believe that we have not yet been able to internalise the meaning of 1971. Nor have we taken cognisance of the fact that Pakistan is essentially a South Asian country and this has certain strategic implications.
The bottom line, in my view, is the status we have achieved in our region. Most of the economic, social and cultural indicators that are framed in global surveys and assessments tell us that Pakistan lags behind so many other developing countries. It would be instructive for our rulers to compare Pakistan with Bangladesh in key areas of social development, and try to understand what it means.
Our dilemma also is that our ruling ideas have nurtured orthodox and obscurantist forces. We get angry when others tell us about how we treat our minorities but the dark passions that have been aroused now affect not just the minorities.
The writer is a senior journalist.
Email: ghazi_salahuddin
hotmail.com