Sometimes, clues to big issues affecting entire nations and cultures spanning whole regions lie in seemingly insignificant gestures and traits. While looking for causes of underdevelopment, poverty and intellectual backwardness in poor countries of the world, one is struck by a characteristic, perhaps as one of the major reasons for failing to build a national resolve for improving the quality of life: It is the lack of respect for life – including one’s own.
There is a carnage going around us all the time. The common people in these societies develop fatalistic attitudes towards life and their circumstances. Owing to their own experience and the experience of their elders, they succeed in convincing themselves that they were born to be poor, destined to be deprived of every good thing in life and remaining disadvantaged and impoverished. As a consequence, they are relegated to a mass of humanity, whose only business in life is to eke out the minimum of the bounties of this world just to sustain life, leaving the bulk to those who determine the limits of their world.
Pakistan is no exception to this rule. It is not an economic circumstance, which has allowed the poverty to increase inspite of all the encouraging macro-economic indicators during the past years. It may not be wrong to conclude that the lack of collective efforts for eradication of poverty and building a respectable and prosperous future is due to a low valuation of one’s own life and place in society, leading to lack of confidence in one’s skills and ability to stand out in society.
The culture of suppression and submission is the product of the system of subjugation of people by despots in whatever form they come. Even the most benevolent of rulers did not tolerate dissent, insubordination or agitation even if they were to protest injustice and tyranny as they were supposed to create ripples in governance. Court of the sovereign and their agents devised methods, which did not permit unpleasant news to reach the rulers as they could result in reprimand of officials for their failure to manage their areas of responsibility smoothly. The chain produced by this hierarchy reached the lowest levels of society repressing, on the way, lower tiers of the people. Basic tactic in the process was to destroy the last kernel of self-respect and confidence among the poor. The method continued with vengeance during the colonial era.
The situation did not change after Independence, as all the instruments in vogue during the pre-independence period continued to operate. In fact, many of them became worse in their treatment of the common man due to a shift in ends – instead of serving only the crown, the official machinery was made to protect not only the interests of the government but also become subservient to ‘landed gentry’ and elite of various descriptions. This additional obligation led only to greater suppression of the people. The class system thus produced was further strengthened by alliance of religious leadership with other institutions involved in governance. Freedom from foreign rule, logically, should have granted citizens the right to carve their destiny and improve their situation. But the change was contrary to the expectations. Whatever independence and the limited freedom of decision-making individual families enjoyed under secular dispensation of the liberal colonisers was replaced by an array of demands that contradicted each other. The scattering of attention and energy had to result in a loose law and order situation and a an indifference towards interests of nation and the community annihilating the sense of respect for people and the self.
Respect for individuals is essential to revitalise society. It grants people the courage to think of the future, take bold actions to fulfill goals and create a surge of enthusiasm for taking the nation ahead of its competitors. It makes people more productive, more responsible and highly motivated to excel. Denuding one of respect has to have the opposite effect. One does not have to go far to see its impact. It is all around us. We pay respect only to those in power and who are rich and influential. The rest, in our eyes do not deserve consideration, affection or respect – the hoi polloi of this earth. The poor, the unemployed, the destitute are not considered to have any respect, as the rough patch in their lives is thought to be of their own making. Even sickness and death are supposed to be the result of one’s deeds in life! All these are excuses for not recognising those with a low social status as equal members of society, even when the codes of conduct in all religions of the World exhort their followers to show consideration for the frail and the needy. And all the past and present and present civilisations have been following the same.
It is a tragedy that nobody in our society has tried to introduce respect for the individuals as a basic tenet of civilised behaviour. The Asian value system, due to its direct links with ancient civilisations, derives its strength from the principle of mutual respect, love and; helpfulness. Every old world language has a title or expression for all occasions and interactions. There is an element of courtesy in the Eastern cultures which should be preserved rather encouraged. Any other attitude will be repugnant to the basics of our culture and tradition. It will only create tension and misunderstandings.
I did not start this article to deliver a sermon on imorality. However, I did intend to highlight a foundation block of our culture, which needs to be adopted to put every member of society to work for collective good of society. Many of us have been emphasising the conflict between the old values which are eroding and the Western values, which are taking root. But nobody, to my’ knowledge, has suggested a solution for resolving the conflict which is denting our efforts to develop – from education to savings and investment; and from law and order situation to security on our borders.
Solutions for a major modification like changing the mode of dealing with other members of society may look time consuming. But a slight change in correspondence, the media, court decisions, and proceedings of legislature may do the trick: The Western way of calling by the first name or addressing colleagues on the media without the traditional prefixes or suffixes like Sahib or Sahiba are not akin to our traditions or culture. Likewise, nobody has the right to treat ‘suspect’ like a criminal unless so proven. Islamic emphasis on good manners, generosity, soft speech and acknowledgement of a favour are widely taught as a part of modern techniques for winning others. Let us keep them intact as a cherished inheritance.
September 16, 2004
Tags: Individual Freedom, Individuality, Liberalism, Pakistani Society
