
By
Zaigham Khan
July 22,
2019
Hujra Shah
Muqeem, a small town in the Okara district, is known for the tomb of a 16th
century saint and a poem associated with him. This poem that almost everyone in
Punjab can narrate to some degree is the story of a woman who has come to the
saint with a wish. She desires everyone in her town to die so that she and her
lover (Mirza Yaar) could roam free in the deserted streets without any human or
canine interference. The saint listens patiently and then comments on why she
herself should not die instead. The story ends as the woman falls downs and
dies, then and there.
Millions of
people have recounted this poem to each other for many centuries as a reminder
that a curse follows those who want the streets empty of their rivals. In many
cases, a similar curse follows those governments that want -- and sometimes
achieve -- a deserted political arena. Poisoning the well is a very
short-sighted, self-defeating strategy. What's worse, a whole nation may suffer
when a government's energies are consumed by the relentless effort to
consolidate its power, ignoring the long-term destiny of its people.
Five years
ago, behavioural economist Sendhil Mullainathan and cognitive psychologist
Eldar Shafir joined hands to write 'Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So
Much'. This excellent book is an intriguing account of how we experience
scarcity in our minds. Their definition of scarcity is simple: it is having
less than you feel you need.
They offer
a hypothesis: scarcity captures the mind. They argue that we interpret the
world differently when operating from a scarcity mindset. Our single-mindedness
can cause us to neglect things that might matter most to us. Sendhil and
Mullainathan propose that scarcity imposes a kind of bandwidth tax on us. The
poor, for example, are not just short on cash; they are often short on
bandwidth. Faced with pressures to take care of basic human needs, there may be
reduced cognitive capacities for the demands of work, parenting and self-care.
Just as no
wealthy person feels that he is rich enough, no person in power thinks he is
powerful enough. Power, in fact, is a far stronger motive of human actions than
greed for wealth. The worst atrocities in the five thousand years of human
history have been caused by the all-consuming search for power, rather than
search for gold.
A
government may feel that it has less power than it should have and it has less
control over state and society than it should enjoy "to function
effectively". This may create a scarcity mindset, making a government --
the executive -- attack other pillars of state or its political rivals. This attitude
may result in excesses, violation of rights and a crisis of legitimacy.
In some
cases, governments may succeed in establishing long-lasting authoritarian
regime. In most cases, such efforts lead to self-defeating political
instability. Such a strategy may badly backfire as the fragmented opposition
and the sections of society that lose their voice gang up and turn into a
ferocious political entity.
It is hard
to imagine today why Z A Bhutto went after his weak political opposition and
humiliated his political rivals. Why on earth did he rig an election that he
was clearly going to win? Why was he so desperate to win his constituency
uncontested rather than beating an incognisant contender with a huge margin. We
know that his efforts did not result in deserted streets where he could roam
free with the goddess of power. His humiliated opponents turned themselves into
a vengeful mob and chased him to the graveyard.
Bhutto was
neither the first nor the last Pakistani leader to make such an effort. His
example is relevant because he was the most charismatic leader after Jinnah and
perhaps the most intelligent and qualified leader we have ever had.
A PML-N
leader told me recently how Nawaz Sharif spurned any suggestions for reforming
the accountability system because he believed that the system of Ehtesab he
had himself founded in the 1990s would only ensnare his political opponents.
Many
factors limit the policy bandwidth of our governments. Geo-strategic crises,
real or imagined, always cry for attention. A naughty neighbourhood, where wars
and insurgencies have become a rule rather than an exception, throws a new
challenge every day. As institutional boundaries have not been defined, other
institutions constantly encroach upon the space of political governments. Cyclical
economic crises put every government into a fire-fighting mode for a good part
of their tenures, crippling their capacity to think and plan long term.
Anyone can
see how the greater cause of the national development has been ignored due to
the tunnel vision of successive governments. While our policymaking remained
trapped in the mindset of the cold-war era, we have missed the whole age of
globalization. In the last two decades, developing nations grew their economies
exponentially due to the opportunities provided by the free movement of goods
and services. While China and India are cited as great success stories of
globalisation, even Bangladesh stole a march on Pakistan and many African
countries, once considered basket cases, made tremendous achievements.
We are
marching into the twenty-first century with a bizarre theory that everything is
linked to corruption and we are the most corrupt country on earth. Miracles
haven't happened after we put the twenty-first century's cleanest lot at the
top. We know that almost every single claim that Imran Khan made before getting
elected has proved untrue. Two-hundred billion dollars do not exist; seven
billion dollars are not laundered to foreign lands every year and investors are
not rushing to Pakistan with camel loads of dollars just because we have a
clean government.
The
government appears intent on making some long overdue structural changes
because we have hit the limits of solving our problems through begging and
borrowing. The government's excellent taxation drive has pitched it against the
powerful forces of the bazaar. As an importing, consuming nation, the powerful
trader class has dictated its terms upon every government since the Zia era,
and has thwarted every effort aimed at documentation and taxation. If the PTI
succeeds in documenting the economy, there should be no doubt that the bazaar
will have its revenge when it gets the opportunity.
The
religious lobby is warming up as Maulana Fazlur Rehman has sounded the bugle of
war. Only fool would take the Maulana non-seriously. He is head of Pakistan's
Deoband madrasas. Millions of students and hundreds of thousands of religious
scholars look to him as their leader. Other religious forces can also gather
behind him. The combined forces of the bazaar and the madrasa had proved the
undoing of Bhutto at a time when they were far less powerful.
Even in the
best-case scenario, the combined forces of the opposition can create enough
instability to keep foreign investors scared of setting shop in the country. We
know that there is no way that Pakistan could overcome its number one crisis of
current account deficit without attracting foreign investors in its export
sector.
The curse
of Hujra Shah Muqeem is upon us -- once again. Twenty-five million
out-of-school children will have to wait till the streets are completely
deserted.
Zaigham Khan is an anthropologist and development
professional.
Source: The News, Pakistan
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/zaigham-khan/a-curse-follows-those-who-want-the-streets-empty-of-their-rivals/d/119271
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/501788-wishing-for-deserted-streets