Of Affluents And Sycophants

 

The idiom that feeble specie éwithout an aficionado é has no worth on the earth planet is, by and large turning into an intact fastidiousness. My friend-cum a town-fellow Masood Hasan é in his newest piece of par excellence – joggled me on Sunday with his annotations that ‘don’t be poor and don’t be a women é if you are both, you are finished.’ Obviously this is a traumatic point of reference towards the stupor-ridden IQs by the event of June the 22nd in a secluded village in Muzaffargarh district, where an adolescent girl was gang raped on the unholy orders of a Panchayat, comprising the ‘top’ so-called-intellectuals with the pretext of her teen-aged brother’s alleged ‘affair’ (of love), prima facie with a super-class female. Since the pitiable girl ( made victim ) did not have any patronage of a dominant, she had to face the cataclysm of soaring scale in the 21st century when equilibrium is being promised é as a yardstick plus parameter – for all irrespective of private leanings (obviously not political as it’s an astringent fruit), status, cast or credo. One owes optimal thanks to the apex Supreme Court which took sou moto notice of the Meerawala abysmal episode, putting every one é in the police uniform é at sky-scraping vigilance.

No one knows how many cases like this take place in the society é eager to move swiftly towards a path of headway to meet the challenges of the new millennium – with the advent of every dawn. Had this incident not been beamed out of the ill-fated petite village by a foreign news network, it too would have gone overlooked. The occurrence authenticates the words of the philosopher Gullen Hightower that ‘freedom without discipline is é chaos.’ Do we really have a discipline, an icon of an idyllic society? I think we shall have to go a long way to inject it into the souls, which find-out the alleyway of a human being solitarily with a malevolence or gentility.

Perhaps, such a wicked incident did not take place even in the stone – age when the mankind decided to use tree-leafs as cover-up of their figures. Of course such incidents did take place é but centuries ago- as has been listed by a celebrated columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee who narrates a story of the Earl of Chester, Lord of the City back in the year of Grace 1057 wherein a lady é moved by the poverty of the people é was to face an agony (almost close to the monstrous tale of Meerawala episode) “with a vow by the Earl that he would lift the (newly imposed) levy if she would ride naked through the streets of the city. The good lady Godiva — covered completely by her long, full tresses, rode her steed through the deserted streets of Coventry – deserted because the people in recognition of Lady Godiva’s sacrifice remained cloistered in their houses with their doors and windows firmly shut —The Earl and the lady lived to a ripe old age in the midst of their grateful people.”

Yet in Meerawala it didn’t happen so as (seemingly) there were copious on-lookers of the iniquitous event, when the guiltless lady (except for being a poor creature) was made target of an abysmal sinful heinous act through the decree of the atrocious Panchayat. It is a firm credence of each and every citizens of Pakistan é inhabiting on this sacred soil or elsewhere é that those guilty for the vile act é irrespective of their stature- shall be taken to task as culprits and hanged-to-death so that such an obnoxious incident does not re-occur.

No doubt we do have plenty of laws to govern the society é in the contemporary era – in a genteel way but where are they applied, is a question mark? It’s an intervallic view that such diktats are meant to shield those who have ‘expertise’ one way or the other. Those without a back up é just like the victim of the jurors of the Meerwala Panchayat é are waiting for an identical notice vis-é-vis some other aspects. Thus in line with Abraham Lincoln’s observation ‘ no matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be a plenty of kittens’ conditions are, prima facie surfacing without a let or hindrance. And negating thinker Zig Ziegler’s thought that ‘ it is your attitude and not your aptitude that determines your attitude’, the affluent have ample vistas to flourish because most of them have a clutch to get them placed (customarily in the post-retirement days as the charisma of lust for a chair is an irretrievable human psyche é beyond ones’ grip ) elevated even to the lofty ! slots like consultants, advisors or coordinators é irrespective of their age, intellect , caliber or academic feat (alike politicians who have been barred to contest an election if they are not Bachelor { it has nothing to do with nuptials} é but of Arts or Science). Such ‘favorites’, (I mean lucky-ones, in essence blessed with atypical fancy) are guaranteed to keep-up until the irrefutable ‘journey to the eternity’.

Whereas the private sector é by and large – dejects this variety of kinship, the others (mostly the self-ruling public sector bodies) give it an impetus setting-aside a dismal concern that é such a concord é not only puts a hefty encumber on their exchequer but simultaneously keeps the youth, carrying degrees and credentials in their pouch, edgily looking for a jiffy for a good luck to sanctify them with a fine news for their career. Such a set of 60-plus (in age) may not be in five figures but I am sure that they do have the distinctive benefit of being ‘drawers of packages’ in five-figs and in some cases may be more than that. This is in fact one facet or a paradigm of those having ‘gracious linkage’. This trait é if one analyzes meticulously é is perceptibly breathing in every sphere of life. Isn’t it apt to let such species relax and lead a fret éfree life at home if not in the ‘elder’s dwellings’ like those at mix spaces in the West? Touching such a scenario, theorist Hoff had said long ago “in the time of drastic change (an obvious reference to the 21st century) it is the learners who survive, the ‘learned’ find themselves fully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.” It’s é of course é an apparent signal towards the dead-woods and sycophants. And Oscar Wilde had thus beyond doubt concluded that “I am not young enough to know everything.”

Well done Mr. CJ for taking an instantaneous notice of the Meerawala case, which will be illustrated by historians in scintillating words. Would you be kind enough to take a analogous view about other features, having the national significance, as is being é time and again pinpointed by an evaluator of the national exchequer, Mr. H. U. Beg along with a guileless team that comprises, among others, members like Lt. Gen. (R) Talat Masood, Syed Shoukat Kazmi, Mr. Ahadullah Akmal, who are unveiling the misdemeanours of the gone-by era é through an in-depth analysis of each and every fiscal topic almost day after day.

At the same time one can hope that a straightforward, chivalrous and above all realistic Head of the State like General Pervez Musharrif é with his candid and bravura team – will take a spontaneous cognizance of the situation ( to be more explicit about the outlast staffers plus law and order scenario), with his matchless steadfastness to turn Pakistan into a true Islamic welfare state é to meet efficiently all the wants, rising with the emergence of Sun every day on the inception of a exigent century-cum millennium, which entails a juvenile brain power as well as an ‘expeditious justice to all é purely on merit’ to put the country onto the trail of advancement and magnificence é with the innovative and novel inputs of the radiant cum alluring youth – an earnest aspiration the President is blessed with. This shall é ultimately é bring the people’s apathy – wherever it exists in the populace – to a permanent end, opening manifold sparkling avenues for our beloved homeland – Pakistan to thrive é in every sphere with a silky sailingé for all times to come.

The author is a noted journalist, political analyst and ex-Director News Pakistan TV.