TRIBALISM is an attitude whose main characteristic is loyalty to a group based on caste, colour, creed even at the cost of one’s rational judgment. It divides people as ‘them and us’ and causes conflicts. Pakistan is an excellent example of tribal politics; facts are ignored and discarded, while loyalty gains priority in decision-making.

With everything that we have as a consequence of practising that variety of politics, it is obvious that we need to get rid of it. Voting on the basis of facts, understanding instead of loyalty, and demanding constitutional rights, not loyalty, is the kind of politics we need. In tribal politics, people do not think; they see what the majority, especially the elders, want them to see.

Similarly, one group considers its value system normal, while the activities of other groups look odd. And this is true of all such groups because each of them considers its value system as the standard, while everything else automatically becomes at least substandard, if not wrong. The only possible outcome is rigidity of attitude and actions.

However, Pakistan is not alone in its backwardness. If anything, the mania has been seen to be gripping more and more people around the world in recent times. The narrative of populist Narendra Modi, for instance, is welcomed by his followers despite its own contradictions simply because they are loyal to him.

The revival of white supremacists in the West is also a case in point. It also gets reflecting in the rising tide of xenophobia. Many white supremacists believe there is an active and covert process to replace the white population with that of non-whites. They term it a ‘refugee invasion’ and call it the ‘great replacement theory’.

In Pakistan, even major mainstream political parties appear to be there to serve the interest of one person or one family. No matter what, their words, actions and even blunders are justified by their followers. When it comes to casting votes, political loyalty dictates terms. Hardly anybody makes a calculated move to work out who made what promises in the past and then what happened to those promises. With caste and ethnicity being the determining factors, development remains a distant dream, and the sufferings continue.

Tribal politics has a divisive influence on people, and Karachi is a tragic example of it, with thousands of precious lives having being lost over the years, and countless families continuing to suffer.

It is time we respected rationality, and encouraged people to behave like rational minds capable of making sound decisions. The decision they make will have a significant impact on their lives and society. They should take decisions based on facts, throwing away irrational, blind loyalty to a group based on caste, ethnicity and any other association.

Muhammad Usman
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2022

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