Daily Times

The predicament of Sindh is not too complex to be understood. It is easily identifiable, and has been identified many times. Thousands of written words go into the vernacular papers every day begging for remedy to the woes of this land; battles have been fought in legal fields; court decisions on urgent matters obtained. All this has failed to loosen the hold of the fear of the modern Tatars on the populace – the power of which weighed on the political beliefs of Edmund Burke. “When bad men combine, the good must associate”, he used to exhort his countrymen. Why good men do not do so in my land. Why they are so resigned to their land’s occupation by Tatars.

Sindh has been colonized by its own elite – landlords, tribal chiefs, pirs, sajadahnashins, Shaheeds, politicians and religious factionalists – all its own sons and daughters – firmly allied in a vicious nexus to suck the blood of their fellow Sindhis. They have systematically enslaved their minds reducing them to pathetic resignation to sufferance, subordination, poverty, ignorance, powerlessness and hopelessness grabbing from them the right to education, healthcare, dignified living, and depriving them of their sense of being and existence, and of their dream to be counted as citizens of this land, as humans, a living mass of blood, flesh and soul, co-sharers of this land and its resources; to feel secure; exercise their free will; move freely without the fear of the oppression of police, goons of landlord, fanatic devotees of pir and sajadahnashin.

Our new colonial masters have swifter minds and surpass their ancestors in subtle exploitation of their fellow citizens. Their ancestors plundered this land but left lasting legacies behind – Lloyd Barrage of Sukkur, canals, bridges, postal service, railway, telephones, Bungalows, circuit houses, revenue record, ports, developed cities and a capital with architectural wonders. They were aliens and their purpose was exploring new lands and grabbing resources. They needed privileged gangs to support their power and they created this motely crowd of landed gentry, tribal chiefs, sajadahnashins, political and religious leaders. They returned to their land leaving behind these monsters to grab power. They kept growing in their monstrosity, viciousness and greed in the past seven decades.

Democracy is a good system of governance if the voter is educated and aware of his power and rights. We have a weak and vulnerable democracy based on seeking and casting votes

They are quicker than chameleons in changing colour, swifter than jugglers in adopting new guises, more shameless than liars, thugs and fraudsters. They are as comfortable in partnership with dictators, autocrats, plutocrats as feigning great democrats; they do plea bargain in the court, and raise victory sign outside; they amass illegitimate wealth, live in palatial houses, and spend billions on the marriages of their children, and talk of the woes of underprivileged. The poor see all this and do not react. They do not recall the power they possess as the real owners of power; they are unable to see the erosion of their rights. They need to be taken out of this stupor, this sense of helplessness and hopelessness; they are to be made aware of their power to be master of their destiny.

What is the way out of this sorrow state or how to shake the people out of this utter apathy and resignation? Democracy is a good system of governance if the voter is educated and aware of his power and rights. We have a weak and vulnerable democracy based on seeking and casting votes. We have a workable Constitution. If followed in letter and spirit, it can ensure good governance. The courts are the custodians of the Constitution. They can enforce the constitutional clauses admonishing, warning and punishing the deviant rulers and bureaucrats promoting norms and practices of good governance. But the lord judges, as evident from their salaries, pensions and privileges, are also beneficiaries of this rotting and exploitative system.

The civil society has played wonders in promoting good governance in developed societies. Here, the civil society is not so developed and strong. It is weaker in provinces particularly in Sindh because of the well-entrenched tribalism and tribal traditions. A well-developed media could be an effective check against misgovernance. The electronic and print media is beholden to the heartless rulers for patronage. The national media is almost indifferent to the woes of Sindh. The media as a whole has been unable to resist the coercion or inducements by the regimes. The vernacular print and electronic media in Sindh is handmaid to the government. They shudder to print any article harshly critical of rulers.

All this leaves us with a fewer options – 1) constitutional, political, economic and administrative reforms; 2) mass campaign for public education and awareness to throw out the modern Tatars in a democratic way; 3) keep shaming them in an organized way by all conscious sons and daughters of Sindh by written and spoken word, seminars, workshops and conferences attacking the factors, myths, clientele politics, ignorance, fear etc. For reforms, we have to wait for a Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a Lee Kwan or Mahathir Muhammad to emerge. The present lot of politicians has already squandered their chances to have laurels as builders of this nation in the footprints of these legendary icons.

The second option needs all the political factions – nationalists, liberal, leftists, reformists – join hands in a new political party and launch an intensive campaign for public education and awareness. The question is who will bring them together!! The third option is relatively easy and could be sustainably carried out with the help of the conscious sons and daughters of the province. Given the political divide in the province, these two options are even daunting and require resources, struggle, political battles, coercion, arrests and jails. However, this will not be a heavy price for the sake of this land.

The last option is that of apathy. We lay back and watch with impotency the sorrowful plunder of this land. This option costs nothing but, in its wake, will bring unbearable regret, self-laceration, shame, sorrow and a mortifying sense of guilt for being disloyal to our land and people. The choice is with us.

The author was a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books