Daily Times

The words in the land of the pure are spoken yet the ears have not gone dumb. The flabbergasted Zarathustra held hostage to silence kept wondering about the fate of sanity while the clergy jigged, lisped and danced as it inflicted its wanton wrath on God’s creature with impunity and might.

According to the established norms, the might and monopoly of violence rest with the state, yet in the land of paradox, the state in the form of government found itself wanting in coercing the rag-tag religious perverts into submission. Violence cannot be inflicted without having a monopoly upon the implements of violence. The Pretorian guards alone are in possession of these implements and they claim the ‘ethical right’ of choosing the moment of violence as well. When the status quo was threatened by the artificial forces, to guard their interests the gladiators of ruling class eyed albeit suspiciously, to the Cromwells girding their swords, but were nudged into a corner to negotiate with a Nietzschean abyss gazing at them.

At a certain moment of history, the balance of forces among the hegemonic classes tilts in such a way that an absolute destruction of all sides seems the only outcome. In these monstrous moments, the emergence of a third force, a Gramscian Caesarism becomes the most likely solution. In underdeveloped countries, the phenomenon can recede to replicate the era of Napoleon III, a coup d’état determines the nature of the balance of force.

The outcome of the conflict between different powers can be progressive if to transcend the catastrophic phase the two distinct belligerent forces are capable of reaching a fusion once certain objectives are achieved. The change in this case can prove to be both quantitative and qualitative. The transition of state from one form to the other is completed. The other form of Caesarism is the outcome of a “momentary political deficiency of the traditional dominant force and not by any necessarily insuperable organic deficiency”. The struggle of ‘group interests’ factiously divides the dominant class into multiple groups. Since the existing form has yet to surpass its possibilities, the form of change remains quantitative or more of the same.

The establishment of Salfist and Deobandi factions as brands had left another void, a gaping ideological wound to be filled by the most powerful brand of Sunnis, a faith owned by the majority of Pakistani populace

In recent past, Pakistani ruling class passing through a new phase of capitalistic mutation has undergone a phase of ‘momentary political deficiency’. The deteriorating economy and a struggle for a bigger pound of flesh in the ever-reducing resources have brought the warring ruling factions into a head-on collision with each other. All three state pillars are contesting for their institutional hegemony over one another. However, as Gramsci unequivocally mentions that in this struggle for dominance, “the interplay of relations between the groups (of various kinds, socio-economic and technical-economic) of the fundamental classes and the auxiliary forces directed by, or subjected to, their hegemonic influence” play a significant role too. The same is replicated here.

To the determent of all other factions the army, in possession of the implements of violence is always in a better position to secure help from or even create the auxiliary force which it did not hesitate to bring forth in the present scenario.

A huge lumpen proletariat is always available which in the name of religion can be exploited to further the nefarious ends. The idea was further augmented and concretised by the commodity structure of the society. The establishment of Salfist and Deobandi factions as brands had left another void, a gaping ideological wound to be filled by the most powerful brand of Sunnis, a faith owned by the majority of Pakistani populace.

The gory murder of former governor Salman Taseer had set the precedence of orgy of killing ablaze, now this killing has become the trademark which is branded and sold in the name of blasphemy. No one has the slightest idea about the nature of this pathology, least of all those who inflict it. However, the more the humanity bleeds the better the trade flourishes. Finding it beneficial, once the state itself comes to promote the pathology, a national commodity can be used in local and international markets not only for the satisfaction of clergy but for the consumption of international Shylocks as well.

The lumpen elements promoted as auxiliary groups would most likely end up forming multiple warring factions which will bark and bite on the behest of the military might. The fact is known to the mentor, but what is little known is that every command carries a date of expiry, after which the subservient force tends to become autonomous and out of its ash a Frankenstein is invariably born which comes to haunt its own mentor.

In this latest fiasco, the anti-people character of the military might and its all auxiliary forces including that of a political party widely alleged as its product or cohort has been completely exposed to the masses. The corrupt civilian authority which has already lost its credibility to rule has come to another grief, but the defeat is not utterly futile nor the victory of the Pretorian guards is untainted. People have seen the undisguised face of the power that breads terrorism according to its own needs. One cannot fool all the people all the time; even indoctrination has its limits.

Under the given conditions, these rag tag warring factions having a nuisance value will be kept alive when required with infusion of fresh blood to shed more. They will be unleashed on any political government which refuses to conform to the established norms laid down by the Pretorian guards. This is the punishment of a society that fails to advance the impulse of a revolution. The states that lack revolutionary situation are condemned to face a civil war which itself remains a class war albeit its forms can be deceptive. For long Pakistan is wallowing in it and despite suffering misery, the utter lack of consciousness is making the plight protracted and long. Any possibility of redemption can be assessed and measured by the extent of consciousness gained by the people while emerging through the perdition about the expropriators, responsible for keeping them in the misery.

The writer is based in Australia and has authored books on socialism and history. He can be reached at saulatnagi@hotmail.com

Published in Daily Times, December 11^th 2017.