POLITICIANS, like generals, never seem to die. They just fade away, unless, of course, they happen to be in Pakistan where they can be hanged, shot or blown up.

But if you don’t upset the army or the Taliban, you can expect to be in harness well into your dotage. Indeed, the senior member of the Chaudhry clan can barely utter a coherent sentence, but still makes the headlines.

The point here is that by clinging on to their party positions, these old fogies have prevented the younger generation from rising up the ranks. Even Imran Khan inducted a bunch of ageing rejects from other parties rather than giving his younger supporters an opportunity.

So where are the fresh faces Pakistani politics so desperately needs? The only visible ones are the scions of political dynasties like the Bhuttos, the Chaudhries and the Sharifs. And the reason they have parachuted to the top of the pile is an accident of birth as thus far, they have done little to earn their spurs.

Younger people are prevented from rising up the ranks.

Even lesser politicians pass on their feudal parliamentary seats like precious heirlooms to be closely guarded within the family. While they are happy to have enthusiastic jiyalas and cheering supporters bring colour and noise to their rallies, they certainly don’t want to include them in any serious decision-making.

There was a time, many years ago, when the PPP attracted young idealists to its ranks. Since those days of broken dreams, the party is seen as just another venal bunch that has run out of ideas as well as ideals.

I have often been asked by well-meaning young people for advice on which party they should join, and have responded by suggesting they join the one closest to their way of thinking. They object that all the major parties are corrupt; I have no counter-argument except to say they must engage in politics, if only to change the system by their presence.

The fact is that few young people now see politics as a career option as all the top slots have been permanently occupied by a dynastic network in which merit has no place. Also, they mostly see politics as a dirty business they would rather stay away from. Hence the preponderance of white and dyed hair across the political spectrum.

Unlike most professions, there is no retirement age in politics. So old warhorses plod along in their eternal quest for corner plots and bank loans they can have written off. By supporting other golden oldies, they maintain a creaking superstructure of senility and cynicism.

Another factor at work here is the subcontinental respect for age: the young mostly defer to their elders, and avoid challenging them. In the investigation following the tragic Air Blue crash near Islamabad in 2010, it was found that the captain ignored repeated warnings from ground control. Equally telling was the voice recorder that indicated that the first officer passively accepted the captain’s actions instead of taking the initiative and changing the aircraft’s trajectory.

All too often, we too are passive in the face of bad decisions taken by those in authority. Occasionally, we act as cheerleaders as we are led to disaster. Older readers will recall the pride and the hysteria that overtook Pakistan in the run-up to both the 1965 and 1971 wars.

This attitude is deeply ingrained in us, and starts from our earliest years when we are taught to obey our parents unquestioningly. This obedience is transferred to our teachers, and then to our superiors at work. And when we in turn become parents and bosses, we demand the same submission from our children and our subordinates.

Then there is the tendency of tech-savvy young people to take their protests online. Instead of agitating for change on the streets, they have abandoned public space to the clerics and their violent supporters and taken to the social media. While electronic petitions do play an important role, they are no substitutes for organised political action.

In the absence of structures and institutions, our political parties have no system to induct and encourage young entrants. Perhaps an ideological party like the Jamaat-i-Islami is an exception to this rule, but the others tend towards forming dynasties.

Imran Khan’s greatest contribution to politics has been to motivate the young to get involved. However, by leading his supporters to the streets every time he disagrees with the government, he is inspiring them to subvert the system that he has chosen to be part of. But at least we can rest assured that he will not be handing over his party to his sons…

irfan.husain@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2014