A question of authenticity

December 6, 2020

The first and the foremost thing young politicians must embrace is not to be like somebody other than themselves

Politics in Pakistan may have touched extreme levels of absurdity in the past but the fake and spurious it has turned out to be recently is just mind-boggling. Ishaq Dar provided a manifestation of such absurdity and intellectual triviality when he was quizzed in BBC’s programme, Hard Talk, the other day.

It’s a pity that such people were at the helm for so long in this country. Many worry even more however over the sense of irresponsibility evinced by certain political stalwarts imbued with the idea of being superior to the common Pakistani folk.

The public meeting at Multan amid the coronavirus epidemic is a case in point. When it comes to family function(s) like Bakhtawar’s engagement a totally different protocol is followed. Remember that all guests were asked to undergo a Covid-19 test before coming to the event? For the public meeting, the attitude was callously different.

The public meetings being held by the PDM, do not appear to reflect the aspirations of the general masses. They have become a bizarre if not a superfluous exercise. They show that our political elite is totally self-serving. Obviously, nothing good can be expected from damp squibs like Fazal ur Rehman and a couple of juvenile political dynasts.

But in this column, I want to rivet my focus on something different, the amateurish attempt to emulate Benazir Bhutto and her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. These two have been iconic figures in the political history of Pakistan. Trying to be their replica has, in fact, been a permanent strain in Pakistani politics.

A PML-N stalwart once called Maryam Nawaz Sharif a political re-incarnation of Benazir Bhutto. Earlier, her father had tried to emulate Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Shahbaz Sharif too imitated his style but in doing so made a mockery of himself. Bilawal Bhutto can at best be described as falling somewhere between his mother and his grandfather. Donning black shalwar kamis with his cuff un-buttoned, he tries to re-enact Bhutto’s posture. His style of speech, however, resembles his mother.

His sister, Aseefa Bhutto, was no different in the Multan jalsa. She tried to look like her mother, not realising that her mother became a leader after going through the rough and tumble of politics. Bilawal and Aseefa have not gone through that process. What they can do at best is to try to be like her.

The choice to be a lookalike for someone else, even if that person is one’s mother or a grandfather, speaks of inauthentic selves of these novices in the realm of politics. This has made evident a lack of originality not only in style but also a proper understanding of the challenges plaguing Pakistan and its populace and the inability to come up with any prognosis.

What is their diagnosis of the prevailing situation in Pakistan and what do they have up their sleeves to rectify the ills that have permeated to the very core of this society and the state institutions?

Choreographed performances that look more like antics than anything else, and speeches written by somebody else (Sherry Rehman and Irfan Siddiqi), are not likely to get these novices anywhere. I have suggested earlier in one of my columns that those aspiring to be politicians should be required to start at the local government level. They should then move up the ladder, to the provincial assembly and then the parliament.

Those taking the route would have a chance to rub shoulders with the masses. This might provide them the necessary exposure to the problems that the lower and lower-middle echelons of the society are beset with. This can also impart them the necessary training in local politics and enable them to acquire vision with some measure of originality. Today, Bilawal and Aseefa - even Maryam Nawaz Sharif - talk about national issues without having any inkling of the regional or sub-regional realities.

Besides, mostly, they are tutored and the practical experience in field is regarded superfluous. This prevents their being original and authentic. Among the juvenile political dynasts, no one seems to have any idea about popular politics. They have been thrown into the politics of resistance without a prior understanding of popular politics. Resistance without having any idea of how to mobilise the populace is no better than a figment of quixotic imagination.

After listening to them at public meetings or their interviews, which are mostly choreographed and stage-managed, their deficiencies became far too apparent for one to ignore. The first and the foremost thing that they must embrace is not to be like somebody other than themselves. They must project their genuine selves. This should also reflect in their speech and their actions.

What is their diagnosis of the prevailing situation in Pakistan and what do they have up their sleeves to rectify the ills that have permeated to the very core of this society and the state institutions? How will they lead people from the state of irresponsibility into law-abiding and conscientious citizenry?

So far, they seem to have no clue to these vital questions. All one hears is vitriol and diatribe against the incumbent and pleadings for the lost cases of their elders. They must gradually distance themselves from the preceding generations and devise their own strategies for a kind of politics that reflects hope, positivity and their authentic selves. They must learn from Rahul Gandhi who became redundant just because he lacked originality.

On a concluding note, I wish to emphasise that the Election Commission of Pakistan must make the criteria for the establishment of new political parties more stringent. A plethora of political parties has so far contributed only to chaos and instability. That point deserves an exhaustive piece which I intend to do in future.

(to be continued)


The writer is Professor in the faculty of Liberal Arts at the Beaconhouse National University, Lahore

A question of authenticity