The society is starting to unravel the seeds of a grave tendency of the brazen committal of the most heinous of crimes and the frightening display of impunity from the law. The massacres at Mughalpura, Jauharabad, Southern Punjab, Karachi etc and the rapid recurrence of incidents of gang rape, violence against women, etc are far more threatening than happenings across the border. The President, at least on two occasions quoted an Urdu couplet about the gravity of threats from inside as being more dangerious than from outside. He must have meant all internal elements that threatened the country. But one considers forces of discord and hatred as the biggest danger to integrity and progress of the nation. Tragedy of our situation, in this respect, is well known. Attitude towards fellow beings and the persons perpetrating crimes against society are products of a long period of autocratic regimes as are the oppression and tyranny used for subjugating other humans, including the destruction of the sources of sustenance and blocking avenues of gathering strength again. We pretend to hate acts of violence if they are directed against populations belonging to our faith and ideology, but do not hesitate to .apply them generously to our own people, to keep them in bondage of the elite, and their cronies and agents. Public humiliation, dishonouring of women and family elders, burning of property, destruction of homes, torturing in the presence of family members and rivals etc are standard methods of intimidating people and extinguishing even the feeblest flame of indepenence and dissent.
The Pakistani society today is experiencing a revival of the methods used by barbaric hordes of yore and absolute monarychs, their courtiers and servants. The civilizing influence of education, contacts with the contemporary world, improvements in educational standards, increase in health coverage and modern health facilities, explosion of communications, should have weakened the sway of autocratic and arrogant attitudes developed over centuries of despotic rule. But factors like the disruption of democratic process, perpetuation of feudal mentality and traditions, and a sharp turn of social values in the direction of materialism and rapid gains strengthened lawlessness and arrogance. The weakening of institutions triggered by selfishness and greed paved way for the rampant ocean of corruption. That was sufficient to sweep away the last vestiges of moral values and the fear of accountability before men and God. Developments since our involvement in the Afghan war afforded every body the opportunity to make windfall profits over meagre innvestments. The holy warrior got his heaven besides Klashinkov and the accolades. The merchants made their fortunes through new opportunities offered by Pakistan, besides a market flourishing among the refugees. A whopping demand for transport gave rise to a huge community of wealthy transporters. Illegal movement of weapons and equipment in the region spewed a tremendous smuggling trade. The value of human life touched rock bottom due to fighting and the ‘collateral’ damage. The most lethal development was the emergence of a new class of uncouth and unprincipled affluent persons led by invigorated landed and political families of a by-gone era who had been keeping a low profile due to sporadic chants of democracy, human rights, socialism, capitalism, etc.
Quietly but methodically, the elite – old and new – created a new class of modern well-educated young men and women within the four walls of their households. The formidable group thus produced had no problem in gliding into national and provincial legislatures or the district governments, once the opportunity was there. Since only the college graduates could become members of these august houses, the members were expected to be more enlightened and people-friendly. But the college degrees could not mend autocratic traditions, arrogance and lust for power, property and wealth. The norm of free-for-all established in the late 1980s and the 1990s also trained a gendarme of grabbers, go-betweens and heartless operators. They immediately volunteered to act as thugs and hired killers. They are the lot who are committing the most heartless of crimes and go scot-free due to patronizing hand of their custodians and masters. They are not a part of the crowd of religious zealots but they do supplement their efforts without realizing it.
The recent surge in crimes against humanity and social values comprises many elements. There is the greed of the bigwigs. There is the desire to maintain supremacy in one’s area. There is the urge to impress the powerful elite and win a place in the government. There is the yearning for showing off one’s riches. There is the dream of sneaking into the annals of history even if it involved the cutting of throats. There is the itch to emulate past kings in pomp, splendour and generosity. Ultimately, there is the resolve to rule one’s domain as a sovereign and a despot who is feared – though detested.
There are the usual economic and social factors in social crimes: The unemployed attach themselves to ‘bosses’ constituting the main body of the local ‘crowd’; they have to perform by murdering and maiming. There are also ‘policing’ functions to intimidate people. Judicial role is assumed through local outfits or ‘seniority’ in the community to extract favourable decisions and to make people realize how helpless they are in their own community. There is the factor of deprivations of the common people. If they need respite or assistance, they will have to bend their will according to desires of the boss. The poor are also made to realize that their share in the next largesse to the area will depend upon the satisfaction of boss’s wishes – and that ew everything in a poor person’s home belongs to the lord of the area and can be called for service any time!
It, all, looks sordid. In fact it is so. Preoccupation of the administration with a leader’s visit, a political meeting by the opposition, building of development plans with or without resources – and the will, the hunt for terrorists, or preparations fo the next elections, etc cannot condone the failure in controlling murders, rapes, gang rapes, parading naked women in the streets.
And what is required is a quick capture of criminals, rapid disposal of legal procedures, fast delivery of justice and setting an example by not succumbing to the wishes of the influential, and government functionaries. One agrees with the Presiden that it is the internal danger that one should be careful about. People do not bring up little girls and small boys to get then mangled and devoured by wolves!
May 27, 2004
Tags: Corruption, Crime in the Pakistani Society, Pakistani Society
