This is apropos of Irfan Husain's 'The feudal as a role model' (May 8). I cannot agree more with the writer's views on the whole governance module Pakistan has been following since its birth. We as urban citizens have been hearing the word 'feudal lord' and putting up with their way of governance.

When it comes to social inequalities in society, many of us have experienced obstacles in progress because of these influential feudal lords and their privileged familial connections that they use for vested interests; be it in school, college, employment or any government-related work.

This country is still stuck with feudals who are still technically ruling their areas and are feudal lords.

They will remain so unless a group of people in society move with a conscious objective to embark on a revolutionised transformation.

Political landscape is inundated with feudal mentality and approach most of the representatives of people sitting in parliament are either ancestral landlords or are owners of large businesses and belong to aristocratic industrial elite.

How can these people even understand the problems of the poor and deprived people, let alone resolve them?

These parliamentarians have reduced the parliament to just be a place to meet and 'discuss' issues, pass the buck, create committees, subcommittees, etc., and end up not doing much. Most proceedings and findings of those committees are not even made public.

The reason for Pakistan's present-day turbulent and volatile democracy is the feudal mentality which is ingrained right from the top to bottom.

And as democracy and feudalism are like chalk and cheese, they cannot function together.

The country's mainstay is agriculture and it is not easy to disassociate or break from this powerful and dominant feature, but nothing is impossible.

ANAS A. KHAN
Canada