August 18, 2002

Change and its management is a domain of the Progressives. It is time for the comrades to reunite and reorganize themselves. With selfless struggle and an efficient system, the Progressives will be able to out-perform the selfish political parties in the country

AT the time of its creation, Pakistan inherited a reasonable population of anti-status-quo Progressives. Even within the Muslim League (ML), there was a forward bloc headed by comrades like Mian Iftikharuddin of Baghbanpur, who was also the owner of Progressive Papers Limited (PPL) which published The Pakistan Times. It was a great newspaper and a nursery of outstanding comrades. Even after the hostile take-over of the paper by Gen. Ayub Khan, its tilt to the Left remained.

Faiz Ahmed Fiaz based his poetry on Progressive thinking. The Progressive Writers’ Movement was another outstanding intellectual effort. Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Habib Jalib, Munir Niazi, Ahmed Faraz, Ehsan Danish, all made significant impressions. Till the seventies, the Progressives were organized and growing. The Progressives made significant contribution to the rise of Peoples Party (PPP) and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB). In the 1970 elections, Dr Mubashir Hasan polled the highest number of votes in the country, Mairaj Mohammed Khan was elected from Karachi. Several comrades were included in the first cabinet of ZAB. Till today, the 1970 Assembly stands out as the most able groups of legislators.

In the 1977 elections, ZAB decided to do away with the Progressives as they were uncompromising in their beliefs. After the fall of ZAB, the entire establishment turned against the ‘comrades of change’ and decided to eliminate the only dissent left in the country. The collapse of the Mighty Soviet Socialist Empire proved to be the last straw for the Progressive Order worldwide. Capitalism had finally prevailed. The Islamic Mujahideen defeated the Communist forces of the Left. The Right took total control of the world economy and its resources. A new order had emerged.

The Progressive in Pakistan were disillusioned and in total dismay. Gen Zia decided to crush the Progressive Movement in order to preserve and perpetuate his status-quo. So blatant were the establishment’s abuses against the soldiers of change that even dissent became risky. As a nation, Pakistan became stagnant and has remained in that position for over two decades. In order to survive, most comrades either left the country, went underground or joined NGO’s (non-Government Organizations). As a political order, the Progressive Movement became inoperative.

After the exit of the Progressives from the political arena, politics has not been the same. No one is talking about change. The status-quo of Gen Zia has been so deeply entrenched that the two main political parties, PPP and PML, have either given in or joined its ranks. In the stagnant political scenario of today, perhaps General Musharraf is the only major player talking about change in his own unique manner. He is calling it continuity of reforms. There seems to be an understanding in Islamabad that the reform package is popular and working, which actually it is not.

The Army is a functional institution where there is unity of command. The civil administration is non-functional. Delivery mechanisms do not exist. On paper, the General’s team is sound but the ground realities remain unchanged. In the seventies, the government of ZAB introduced the system of National Identity Cards (NIC). At the time, the population of country was smaller and the task simpler. Khan Qayyum Khan, as the Interior Minister, supervised the NIC programme. The applicants were only required to fill forms and provide photographs, the rest was taken care by the local postman who knew the people. He not only attested the papers but also delivered the completed cards. The system worked.

By contrast, the Computerized NIC programme has been a disaster, mainly due to lack of systems. I submitted four applications on July 30, 2001, and was given a delivery date of Sept 19, 2001. The first card arrived in March 2002, the second in April 2002. Then a postcard arrived asking me to collect my card from the Abbot Road office. On reaching the said office, I was told that the card had been sent to the Post Office. Finally, my card arrived on May 21, 2002. The fourth one is still awaited.

Change and its management is a domain of the Progressives. Followers and beneficiaries of status-quo cannot deliver change. It is time for the comrades to regroup and organize themselves. Progressive thought has to be reintroduced. The youth has to be made a part of the change process. There has to be a ‘National Comrade Convention’ to forge a platform for change and to shatter the status-quo. The comrades are now different from what they used to be. Most carry scars of Zia’s tyranny. Others were left abandoned in jails to perish, some actually disappeared never to be seen again. The nurseries of Progressive thought were replaced by hatcheries of status-quo. Most comrades are in their middle-ages. What if they leave without passing on the baton? Who will then be left to fight for the much-needed change. Who will fight for ideology, instead of power?

The youth of today seems to be uninterested in ideological indoctrination. Marketability and economics has taken over. Globalization seems to be the new order and is being projected as the elixir of grandeur. Young IT graduates in Pakistan can now actually dream of settling in the hi-tech Silicon Valley. The promise of globalization is overwhelming. No one in the Third World is preparing for the challenges of the new world with no frontiers. Eventually, the globe will belong to the multinational companies (MNCs). Elected governments and world bodies will be subservient to the corporate boards. Resistance has already started in the West, the anti-globalization movement is getting organized. It is indeed very strange that the World Trade Organization (WTO), after failing to get their resolution passed in a democratic country, had to move to the oildom of Qatar, where finally, with police controlling the sects, the WTO resolution was passed.

Riots in Seattle should have given a wakeup call to the Progressives in the Third World countries, including Pakistan. The dreaded establishment in the country is no longer against the comrades of change, in fact it is undoing the Zia status-quo, making room for the Progressives to play their role.

Historically, the media in Pakistan has been dominated by the Progressives. Instead of using the old methods of reaching out, the media can be used effectively to convey the Progressive message of change. The people of Pakistan are fully aware that the state-controlled media is braised. BBC is trusted more than PTV or PBC. A new Progressive TV channel or radio station can earn the credibility of the nation with honest reporting and analysis. Private stations and production houses have come up to bridge the gap, only the comrades lag behind.

The new world order has brought deregulation. Resources and logistics play an important role in any movement. The two main political parties in the country have developed frameworks, despite the government’s campaign, their support has not vanished mainly due to their grassroots contact with the masses. Perceptions play an important role. It is now being called: ‘Engineered Consent.’

Progressives lack resources. In the past, their struggle has been against the capital which is now needed to steer the movement. Capitalism is brutal but efficient. Socialism has not been able to match the efficiency of the capitalist world. For any social order to succeed it must be hurdled efficiently. The failure of the government is a living proof of this approach. After failing to run the Public Sector Enterprises, now the government is unable to privatise them. The Progressives must develop the efficiency of the corporate world and utilize it for the collective good of the society, they must pool in and build their resources. With selfless struggle and an efficient system, the Progressives will be able to out-perform the selfish political parties in the country.

Time maybe running out for any Progressive Movement to take shape. Globalization is moving fast to strangulate the poor Third World nations. Limited resources are fast running out. A new Progressive order should emerge, unified and united for the goodwill of the people. It should focus on democracy, equality and justice. Resolutions no longer come through the banners of guns. Workers of the world must unite, but they should be able to identify the invisible chains of the 21st century. Meanwhile, the search for the Progressives in the country will continue.

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