June 29, 2003

‘If our political parties continue to fail in translating the aspirations of the people into practical actions, the non-conformists will some day form their own parties,’ hopes Salima Hashmi

SUPPRESSION of political activities for long periods of time is to blame for the prevailing rot in society, says Salima Hashmi, the painter-artist-educationist par excellence. A cultural icon in her own right, Salima spoke to Dawn Magazine recently on a range of issues that agitate the mind of many. The following are excerpts:

Q: What has shaped the culture that we today have in the country?

A: Primarily it is the feudal structure that could not be taken care of in the formative years of Pakistan. Our society has undergone changes only because of some events that have made a huge impact. The events of 1971, for instance, changed the socio-economic patterns because of the role of the emerging forces that had come by as a result of the interaction between the industrialist class and the feudals. Change also took place because of the role played by the armed forces which first emerged on the political scene in 1958. All these developments have shaped the present public culture.

Q: The Muslim League’s election manifesto in1946 was fairly progressive. What happened afterwards?

A: Yes, that manifesto was quite progressive and enlightened, but it was never put into practice. On paper, this was a document, which gave universal suffrage to women, but the general attitude towards women was ambiguous, as it never took women in confidence at the implementation stage. It was because the general attitude of parliamentarians and the political party was feudal. So, it is not surprising that the manifesto was not implemented even when there were people like Mian Iftikharuddin and Mumtaz Daultana.

Q: In short, it was the failure of liberal forces in the early days that allowed the things to drift away?

A: Yes, certainly they were weak. The Muslim League was not a grassroots organization and it was the passion of the movement that the middle class and students joined it. Subsequently, there was no organized effort to mobilize the people. Even powerful parties like the Awami League were unable to really translate themselves into organizations to enjoy a steady support.

Q: What is our national identity; has it been shaped by the religion, colonialism or feudalism? A: First, it was the history of the region. Then, in 1947 two geographic entities, separated by a thousand miles and which had their own histories, became one component of the cultural identity. The third element was that of the British colonial legacy. Besides, there were certain common bonds that brought about the nation-state of Pakistan.

These components were never analyzed for what they were worth. It was not realized fully that Muslims everywhere were different from one another. We have thousands of years of history, one of the most ancient civilizations, but we never looked at this aspect either. We did not care for the richness that was ours.

Today, some of the ancient languages of the north are disappearing because the national and international languages are suppressing them. We were so obsessed by the ideology that we did not take care of these glorious aspects of our national life. We failed to come to terms with the colonial legacy. We became ‘brown babus’ and, worse still, continue to behave that way.

Q: What, in your view, is behind such a state of affairs?

A: There are various factors. Sometimes it was a false sense of ideology, and at others something else. What we forgot was that we are a society that had all classes. We discriminated against some of them. We forgot the minorities, and the fact that Islam takes good care of the minorities and recognizes their role in shaping a society. We also forgot various ethnic races that populate Pakistan. We assumed that all speak the same language, all share the same tastes in terms of food and everything else. We were, and remain, misdirected.

Q: What about our obsession with personalities?

A: It is an ancient culture and desire. The kings and queens of mythologies and stories have been replaced by charismatic leaders in modern times, and they have become a collective dream. But these heroes and heroines today have to come to the people and this remain foreign to us. When the voice of the people is suppressed, the only recourse for them is to look for something to fall from the heavens.

Q: This, in turn, has affected the process of institution building?

A: Yes, it has. I think the major institution that has been demolished is the Judiciary. It is sad to see how the judiciary has been assaulted. Surely, the Doctrine of Necessity is not what it is spelt out to be. It was not in such a state in the early years of the country. It has rich traditions because judges like Rustam Kiani had a voice of sustained logic, the understanding of issues and tremendous courage.

This institution was shaken by the military. The first martial law laid the foundation and subsequent regimes capitalized on it. But even before the first military rule, the manipulation of the judiciary had started. But what we forgot was that we were not destroying just one institution, but the whole body of which we happen to be a part.

Q: What about the political parties? Do they stand to share the blame?

A: Each martial law made its own contribution to damage the political parties. They were made either to join hands with the establishment or be reduced to non-entities. This become such a constant that even when there is no martial law, the ruling party always looks towards the establishment to set the political direction, and the opposition becomes a bunch of pygmies who do not show statesmanship of gathering the forces of dissent. This attitude has made a political party behave like dictators when it comes to power.

A change in such a behaviour has now become very difficult. At least it cannot take place in a hurry. Democratic ways and behaviours are difficult to inculcate in the people and political parties. Political parties themselves are not democratic. But they have to grow, we cannot afford them to continue like this. A democratic behaviour has to be nurtured in them as well as in the state structure.

Q: On a more social level, children are generally taught not to question, or argue. To what extent this is responsible for the degeneration of the nation?

A: This attitude comes from the feudal structure. But this starts from the classroom where the teacher doesn’t feel happy being questioned by the students. The teacher has one correct answer and every student has to produce that correct answer. This is a negation of education.

But even before this stage, such a behaviour starts from the family where the father is the font of all orders and disciplines. It is, thus, a part of a network that breeds a person, a citizen, who learns to say ‘yes’ and does not question.

However, there are people who do question even though they are usually branded as outcasts, rebels and misfits. These are the creative, non-conformist people. We have plenty of them, and they are making a valuable contribution to make a worthy civil society.

To get such people to organize themselves is a task generally done political parties. If our political parties continue to fail in translating the aspirations of the people into practical actions, the people will have to form other parties.

Q: The education system, many argue, is churning out intolerant souls. What can be done to reform this vital sector?

A: Education is in a very difficult transition. The government seems to have more or less abdicated the responsibility in this vital field. The investment in public education is meaningless; the public schools, their facilities, the salary of the teacher, all are in a bad shape. See what children are being taught; their textbooks are pathetic. They are being taught hatred and intolerance; they are being taught stupidity. There is virtually no history, no geography.

Students in Pakistan are painfully ignorant about their own country. Their knowledge is confined to textbooks that have been written either with a jaundiced view or by those who wilfully keep the youth ignorant of realities. This is no learning. This is no education.

Now we have a two-tier system in Pakistan. People want their children to be educated in English-medium schools even if it costs them much more than they can afford. This is highly damaging and only the government is to blame. Highly insufficient investments in education means that we are least concerned about the future of our children. This means that 80 per cent of children are going to schools that are below par. Thus, it is the education for the privileged. This seems to be the state policy.

Q: Do we have a middle class, an intelligentsia strong enough to agitate and offer an alternative?

A: This depicts a gloomy picture. Yet there is a silver lining; the women. This is reflected in all fields of life because women are yet to join the rat-race. We have witnessed over the last ten to fifteen years that women have been coming forward, though they still form a tiny pool of society and have few opportunities. Still they are pushing and this is heartening.

However, women are yet to reach the top, join the policy-making and decision-making hierarchy. This is because women continue to face discrimination and are not given adequate opportunity at any level of working and representation. But it is only a matter of time; women have quality, are bold in taking initiative, and have the potential to emerge as a force to be reckoned with.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)