Only If!

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” George Orwell

I am free and am going to exercise this right today since the best kind of freedom is not granted from without but rises from within.

The Long March is upon us. At this crucial time when the whole nation holds its breath, when every man, woman and child looks at the unfolding of an adventurous saga with a mixture of awe, hope and fear, I have decided to step forward and burst a few bubbles.

But first, let me accept the fact that I am delighted at the way the people of this country have rallied together for a common cause (that more than half of them don’t understand the cause is immaterial at this point). I have always felt frustrated at the indifference and apathy of us Pakistanis. We seemed to be a lethargic nation that did not bother to utter a syllable of protest no matter how gross an injustice was being perpetrated on us. Not anymore. We have changed and changed for the better.

Also, let’s give the devil his due. I feel that, for this awakening, we should be grateful to President Musharraf’s decision to grant freedom to the media. That the General himself became a victim of the events that ensued from this freedom is testimony to its usefulness.

Now, back to bursting the bubble. Sometimes I feel that we, as a nation, are like innocent children. We fight over trivial matters, show extreme laziness in certain areas and unfathomable urgency in others and, as seen in the case of this movement for the restoration of judiciary, sometimes we start congratulating ourselves too soon. As I have admitted earlier, it is delightful to watch our countrymen uniting for a cause, but it is the beginning of an awakening, not the end. We have a long way to go before we can make sense of things and reach rational conclusions.

We must not forget that we celebrated with great zeal the coming to power of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, we danced with joy when Benazir became our Prime Minister, we ecstatically hugged each other when Mian Nawaz Sharif replaced her and distributed sweets when Musharraf overthrew the Mian. We, like children, take every change as a sign of better times. This may be because we are always waiting for messiahs and hope that every new face in the government is exactly that.

Starting from Khawaja Nazimuddin, Pakistan has a not-so-proud history of leaders becoming unpopular soon after coming into power. Protest rallies were not uncommon against the supposed democrat Z.A. Bhutto. Protests continuously simmered against General Zia though they could never let out steam due to the dictatorial nature of the regime. Opposition parties continued to engage in marches and rallies against the PPP and PML-N whichever was in power at the time. Finally, PML-Q faced mellow criticism in the first few years of its reign and some of the worst protest in the history of Pakistan, in its last year.

So, protests are nothing new. Also, it is about time we forgot the fantastic notion that the elections of 2008 were some sort of a revolution. Democracy in Pakistan has never witnessed a political party retaining majority in the legislatures for two consecutive terms. The government has always lost and this is exactly what happened to the PML-Q government. We did not bring any revolution, we just did what we habitually do every election, that is, vote for the opposition.

Furthermore, let’s do away with all the high and mighty ideas we have about this movement for the restoration of judges too. Each and every opposition in our history has tried to rally the support of the masses to overthrow the government. The fact that this time, the masses have come out in huge numbers should not negate the truth of this.

The lawyers and civil society, charged up by the constant bombardment of emotional jargon from their TV screens and fiery speeches by their leaders, have given this movement a more interesting face, but this should be taken as it is, without adding too much spice (which is almost a cultural necessity for us).

The fact is simply this. PPP and PML-N combined forces against the rule of Gen. Musharraf, forgetting all their differences because that was the way they could return to the corridors of power. PPP ended up more successful in this pursuit whereas PML-N was left at its mercy. As long as PML-N believed that it had something to gain from this marriage of convenience, it continued its support for the PPP government, first as a coalition partner and then as an enlightened opposition. However, when the leaders of PML-N were disqualified and barred from contesting elections, the party faced the prospect of losing not only this government but also any chance of forming one in the future. This was when they decided to come out firing (or marching) on all cylinders and take Islamabad by storm.

Now we have a situation where the PML-N has nothing to lose and appears to be prepared to go all the way to regain power whereas the PPP has everything to lose and is making preparations to take every possible step (and a few impossible ones) to stop this maneuver. That is what this is. As always, a struggle for power, and that is what it should be viewed as. Unless ………

Unless, we the people of this poor old land, realize that we are the power behind these people. The common man is out on the streets in huge numbers. That is what can make this protest any different. Only if the common man can keep a clear head. Only if the common man does not forget that he is not fighting to get his hands on the reins of power. Only if the common man realizes that it is he who decides the future of this country. Only if the common man puts his foot down and raises his voice, not against an individual or a party, neither for any individual or party, but for justice and against injustice, regardless of the face behind it.

I am not in favour of this Long March. I am not against it either. I am all for the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan. And I am against all tyranny, injustice and selfish, brutal lust for power. I am just waiting to find out which one of the two this Long March turns out to be.

We are the crossroads. The battle is not between PPP and PML-N, nor is it between the deposed judiciary and the forces of oligarchy. The battle is between the common man fighting for his actual right to freedom and the usual classes fighting for their perceived right to rule. Unfortunately, the battle lines are not that clearly drawn. Only if we keep our eyes open and fight the enemy within as bravely as that in front can we make this movement any different from the others. Only then can we take pride in the struggle. And only then can we take the liberty of actually congratulating ourselves on a job well done.

Allah bless us with wisdom, courage and success.