Daily Times

For his efforts in the freedom movement my father was bestowed with the Tehreek-e-Pakistan gold medal on August 14, 1990. Today, as the Youm-e-Azadi (Independence Day) approaches, I write this article looking at his ‘Medal of Freedom’. Looking back at the struggle he had to endure for an honest living in the new land, I am not sure where we stand today-‘free’ or ‘enslaved’ to colonial institutions that remained behind, intact with full force and unaccountable authority.

The struggle for freedom seems to be slipping out of the hands of the first born free generation of the nation. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has talked about this uphill task faced by his government. Unfortunately, the march to freedom has been disrupted many times in the land of the pure. Ayub Khan’s Elected Bodies Disqualification Ordinance, after his takeover in October 1958, proved to be a major disruption of this journey, which resulted in the break-up of Quaid’s Pakistan.

Those who were supposed to lead the transition to freedom were pushed out of the arena to be replaced by managers who had served the Raj well. I started my educational innings at Cathedral High School, located on the Mall. When I was old enough, I was allowed to walk back home on my own. Wearing my solar hat as protection against heatstroke, I managed several detours into the colonial structures on the way, meandering through the institutions that functioned there. The Lahore High Court (LHC) was across the street from the school. Later, the Supreme Court of Pakistan was also housed in the same building before Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto moved it to Rawalpindi in the 1970s. It was here that his appeal against his conviction was rejected, and he was sent to the gallows in the Chaklala prison, not for away from this location. The court was then moved to its present custom built building in Islamabad.

The LHC looked like a big circus to a young mind. Judges wearing robes and grey wigs walked behind ushers to enter courtrooms where legal battles were fought. Of particular interest were the judges known to me. Justice Karam Elahi Chauhan was the father of my class fellow, Tauseef Elahi Chauhan; Justice Malik Akram was known to my father; and Justice Sardar Iqbal was my father’s lawyer before being elevated to the bench. Justice Muhammad Munir’s granddaughter, Ayla Munir was also in our class.

At home, my father talked about battles with Congress activists in his hometown Ludhiana. He talked about his defence of the neighbourhood during the partition, followed by his conviction and escape to the new land to start life all over again.

The visit to the General Post Office (GPO) was the last activity of the day. While my father sat in the car, I carried his stamped letters to be defaced inside the building, which was a great colonial structure. While my old man struggled to re-establish his business, little did I know that we would have to fight to regain our freedom usurped by a tyrant.

Nations must learn from history. Freedom has to be earned and then protected. With colonial institutions and practices our freedom will always remain threatened

While still in our teens, we came on the streets to protest against the dictator. Earlier, the election challenge of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and the 1965 debacle had weakened the Ayub stranglehold on power. There were pitched battles outside the GPO and LHC, while our target was the Governor’s House, the ultimate symbol of colonial power. During his election campaign, Kaptaan did promise to tear down the walls of this building, followed by moving the residence of the governor to a respectable place where he could operate as a representative of the people instead of a colonial ruler of the Raj.

After the fall of the first two tyrants, Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan, the elected assembly framed the 1973 constitution. It is an agreement between the ruler and the ruled that has been repeatedly violated both by the usurpers that followed -Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf-and their tailcoats. The elected government of Bhutto tried to re-establish our freedom struggle, and several steps were taken for the common good. One such move was the passport reforms. Based on national identity cards new standard operating procedures with time deadlines were enforced. Right to travel was established. Today the country is being sustained by the remittances of those expatriates who were able to avail that facility.

Only three PMs have stood up for Pakistan-Liaquat Ali Khan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, and now Imran Khan. All others were unable to do so. Unfortunately, for an emerging democracy like ours, the enemy is both external and internal. In case of the first two PMs, the colonial establishment got together to get rid of them. Kaptaan is walking a fine line while he struggles to restore civilian supremacy. For about the last forty years, 1977 to 2018, the enemy is more within. In the words of the PM, we have to fight against mafias, both in politics and the state institutions that they control.

Nations must learn from history. Freedom has to be earned and then protected. With colonial institutions and practices our freedom will always remain threatened. Workers of the freedom movement invariably fought back as they understood it was an ongoing struggle to strengthen and consolidate what Mohammad Ali Jinnah had delivered. After the lawyers’ movement, the colonial judiciary has been liberated to a great extent, but the bureaucracy remains lethal as ever, including the police force. There has been massive over and under-staffing to make them non-functional; as a result, there is no growth or mentorship. Merit has been seriously compromised. The state exists to serve itself not the people. The stalled march to freedom has to be restarted and kept alive.

On my father’s tombstone is written this verse: “We have steered the ship out of troubled waters.” For him to rest in peace this verse is appropriate, but in reality, the storm is not over yet. The struggle for freedom remains inconclusive and incomplete. The fight goes on.

The writer is the former chairman of the Pakistan Science Foundation