Chowrangi

Every day I meet so-called educated people who have a degree but who have never read a book after they graduated. Unable to reason, they too support the recent constitutional deviations, the sacking of the judges, and the muzzling of the media. They simply want the status quo to be maintained, because they think Pakistan will not progress if real democracy replaces the present mode of governance. Most of them believe that the judiciary is also corrupt, and that GEO TV was actually being funded by Jews to destabilize Pakistan. What the hell has happened to these people? Don’t they realize that if they accept dictatorship or rigged elections, future generations will never forgive them?

In my opinion, the true heroes of the nation are the judges who refused to bend when threatened, and the lawyers who’re struggling for the restoration of the judiciary, as well as the fearless reporters of the print and electronic media.

It would be understandable if this apathy were displayed by the vast majority of the poor people, who don’t know how to get their next meals. They will only vote for whoever gives them a free lunch. But those who’re able to think, those who can see that the country will break up unless fundamental rights are restored and corruption curtailed, those are the people who should do something, rather than sitting in their drawing rooms and pontificating on how good the present situation is.

I remember that in the 1971 crisis, when it was apparent to the rest of the world that we were going to lose East Pakistan, the same drawing room chattering classes were loudly proclaiming that Pakistan was winning the war. It’s good to see students and academics of prestigious colleges and universities in Lahore taking part in demonstrations to restore the judiciary. One hopes that students in other parts of the country will also join them.

Other posts by Shakir Lakhani

• No limit on foreign exchange taken out of Pakistan - November 12th, 2008
• Some questions about the "forex" scandal - November 11th, 2008
• Enjoying life after sixty - November 7th, 2008
• A Hussein in the White House - November 5th, 2008
• Why are poor Pakistanis always punished? - October 31st, 2008
• Pakistan's Economic Crisis: we're responsible - October 29th, 2008
• How Wall Street operates - October 23rd, 2008
• We’ll always have corruption - October 19th, 2008
• If Pakistan goes to war with United States of America - October 9th, 2008
• Killing of Christians in Secular India - October 1st, 2008