Illustration by Abro

Generally, it is believed that individuals are ambitious for power and authority in order to be able to distinguish themselves from others. Power changes character, behaviour, attitude, the way of living and the use of language. It creates arrogance and rudeness. Those who wield power prefer to be surrounded by sycophants who shower praise upon them. This throws them in a delusion and intoxicates them with false glorification.

There are many different kinds of authority and power. In the first category is the personality of the king. In history, there were ruling dynasties who inherited the power to rule over people by right of birth. In some cases, it was sanctioned by divinity and people were duty bound to obey the king and to resist all rebellion against him. To strengthen their position, they supported the class of nobility who served them faithfully. They excluded other classes from power sharing.

The second category of power is military dictatorship. In this case, an ambitious army officer usurps power after overthrowing the established government. Legitimising his rule on the pretext of political instability and disorder, he promises to restore law and order in the country. One of the examples is of Napoleon, who grasped power in 1799 at a time when France was disturbed politically and socially. He was so power-hungry that he declared himself the emperor by using his imperial authority and appointed his brothers, generals and other relatives as the rulers of the countries which he conquered.

In the case of Pakistan, we have had military rulers such as Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf who assumed power by removing legal governments and used their authority against the interest of the people.

In the third category are individuals and parties who captured institutions of the state in order to implement their ideology. Lenin and his Communist party came into power after the revolution in 1917 with a definite programme to implement Leninism. The object of the party and his leaders was to establish a welfare state. Lenin did not get any personal benefits or advantage. He devoted his whole life for a cause. Other revolutionary leaders such as Mao, Ho Chi Minh, Castro and Che Guevara followed this tradition and sincerely worked for the cause of revolution.

Power, like a desolating pestilence, pollutes whate’er it touches — Percy Bysshe Shelly, Queen Mab

On the other hand, Hitler after winning election in 1933, adopted absolute power and made efforts to re-build Germany on the ideology of purifying the Aryan race by eliminating the Jews and the gypsies. Hitler was not corrupt financially and did not accumulate wealth or acquire property. He did not bestow his relatives with favours or undue benefits. However, he involved Germany in a war in order to make it an Imperial State by occupying other European countries. He could not fulfil his ambitions because Germany was defeated in the war and Hitler committed suicide to escape from humiliation as a prisoner of war.

In the fourth category, there are political leaders who come to power as a result of a democratic process. They understand that the duration of power is limited which they have to pass on to the next elected candidate. The nature of power in democracy is different because it is challenged, questioned and held accountable by the parliament as well as the people. There is no absolutism in this category of power.

Monarchs and dictators enjoy absolute power, being unaccountable to any institution or authority. However, when they lose power, it immediately changes their status and brings them from top to bottom. When the Mughal emperor Farrukh Siyar was overthrown by the Sayyid brothers who were known as ‘kingmakers’, he lost all his power and imperial glory. As an ordinary prisoner, he requested and beseeched his guards to give him some food, drink and some new clothes to wear. His request was turned down and his guards ridiculed his miserable condition. Finally, he was dragged from his cell and killed mercilessly.

A recent example is of Sadam Hussain, who was a ruthless and brutal dictator. He murdered his opponents and bombarded the population of Kurds without any hesitation. Once he lost his power and became a prisoner, it changed his entire personality and he became an ordinary person with no power and authority.

In such cases, one cannot imagine how these people must have felt pain and suffering at the hands of those who were once their subordinates. The lesson of history is that the power is as slippery as an eel and cannot assure permanence to the person who wields it.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine July 26th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play