Why are we as a nation and state declining since 1947 and why has the speed of decline gained momentum from mid-80s onwards. In our societal matters civility and cultural interaction is vanishing fast. And who does not know about the deteriorating economic conditions of the state! Since the inception the masses have been politically exploited conceptually distracted and ideologically miss-guided, hence the entire social fabric is in peril. Who should be blamed, the regimented forces that enter into power corridor too often, apathetic executives, unorganised democratic forces or the ineffective institutional mechanism of the state.
Why consciously or otherwise the intelligentsia also participated throughout in creating an environment of deception for the state and society is another big question. From the very beginning deception is ruling over, from top to bottom, all those minds that matter. The irony is that even the concept of a progressive state has been made controversial by design. The driving ideology “two nations theory” which had significance in attaining an independent state, was given unnecessarily a religious dimension even after achieving independence. Unwise internal forces with the support of external elements played a significant role to strengthen the deceptive perception of the religious dimension of our nationhood and that affected eventually every segment of society. Different schools of religion started shaping the political scenario to their advantage and according to their religious beliefs and perceptions and that finally influenced the state system. The role of various power groups other than the religious ones was equally harmful. They, using the cultural and linguistic divisions to their advantage, created or adjusted their space in developing situations. The feudalism and tribalism being the dominating factors jeopardized the whole scenario to safeguard their interests. Consequently divergent multiplicity instead of becoming an advantage was converted into the most acute problem for the state. A non-harmonized system wherein religious bigots and various interest groups acted on their own and in their own interests without caring for the national interests facilitated visionless people to have a hold over the state affairs. So bad governance was a natural outcome and that resulted in creating feelings of dissatisfaction and resentment in the people, who thus lost trust in government and also in the state institutions. It is not matter of examination, it is very much a reality that the prevailing system is not compensating the poor masses; it is rather protecting the interests of the elite only. This gross imbalance in social equilibrium is tearing apart the social fabric. Our rulers’ ultimate objective from the day first was to achieve power, wealth and ability to dominate the others. They planned and thought about evolving things on the basis of personal loyalties and not for common or national causes. The particular environment that came into being due to the thinking and working of the religious ideologues, various interest groups and the ruling elites alienated progressive forces from civil society and helped combine the reactionary forces like the feudal lords, wayward capitalists, land mafias and the opportunists. This environment has turned the culture of whole society incoherent by wisdom and views and by attitudes also. We are not clear on the fundamentals of the state and its future orientation; we are in an illusion about our future vision of the state. We stand divided on every issue. We are a confused lot that cannot differentiate between the black and the white. We do not know what we want to be, the free market traders or inhabitants of a welfare state, moderates or conservatives, and hard or soft liners; and we are also stuck between the authoritarian or democratic way of governance. All this had to create confusion about future destination and formulation of the state and national direction. And that happened should not be a surprise. The promotion and protection of the political and religious extremism and unjust economic order are two of the core problems. The global movers and shakers of political chessboard become the beneficiaries of these anomalies. Religious extremism is the product of our wrong policies and shortsightedness. The prevailing anomalies of the state’s system have given birth for deceptive perception of religion. It has been done by design and global nexus of geo-political players had presumed that un-stable and chaotic Pakistan can serve the interests of regional and international players. According to the agenda they are interested to keep Pakistan as buffer state. This has made the whole scenario difficult to address. Unfortunately we are neither formulating our policies in accordance with the regional and global environment nor addressing the problem properly or neutralizing the world impression. Economic deprivation, bad governance, no vision, no direction to the nation and particularly self-centeredness of our ruling elite and selfishness of bureaucracy has strengthened the ideology of extremism, and pushed the people in disarray. We have to formulate the national strategic framework to readjust our position in regional context, and national policies to meet the internal challenges. Religious extremism can be curtailed in two ways, (a) with full scale military action to eliminate the rogue elements (by tactical and guerrilla warfare). (b) State and its institutions should neutralise the sensitivity of religious groups by introducing the counter ideology encapsulating development and building the socio-political infrastructure in federally administrative areas. Government should enforce its writ and should not allow the minority to impose its ideology on the majority those are moderate liberal and progressive; law must be fallowed by every individual, group and institutions in totality. The task cannot be achieved without building consensus among the democratic forces firstly then within the nation and finally nation should be given the national agenda for future of state. The corrupt and inefficient judicial system has totally failed to deliver justice to the people. Administrative structure of the state’s institutions are suppressing the masses and serving the interest of dominating segment of society, capitalist elite only. Public has no faith and hope to get justice for their rights, which has compelled the society to opt for wrong and illegal means to manage their life affairs. Unfortunately the very perception dented the ethics, moral, nationalism and ruined the society so eventually corruption has become the part of culture. Corrupt, inefficient and incapable personnel and heads of the official department have no intention to serve the public; they are over rooting the rules and procedures of institutions for their ulterior motives, acting as masters and destroying the integrity of institutions. Their very attitude is not only destroying institutions but annihilating state and its writ. Corruption on the top levels of government, nepotism, mismanagement, incompetence and political favoritism has badly damaged and derailed the state’s system. The top appointments from ministerial to administrative levels are shadowed by political influence and affiliations. Most of the national projects have been failed or made ineffective because of the kick-backs managed by the corporate entities with the blessing of political elite. Power corruption and non-professional approaches are the end product of these irregularities; hence dented macro and micro circle of national economic development of the state. A majority of the masses were not provided education as there were not enough schools around. Even those who had access to the schools were again divided into different categories. We have schools of the kind such as the Urdu medium, English medium, and the madrasas; and for elites there are entirely different ones. Same is the condition of the universities and colleges. Even the technical skills and capacity of academic faculties are designed to suit class rater than national interests. Since the independence educational system has been used by the dominating groups as a tool to segregate the society and divide the masses into various classes. Such an irrelevant, stereotype system and thinking is still going on. And the apathy is that no one is planning to revisit this orthodox and coercive system, which is producing a non-productive crop for nation’s future. Top appointments should be made in accordance with the merit with strict measures of accountability. Non-productive and un-just governing system, fragmented non-institutional political structure and non-rational policy formulation mechanisms need to be restructured. The approach can promise developing, progressive nation of the world community. Political parties are the vital source to craft the policies for socio-economic prosperity, internal cohesion, national unity, good governance and coordinated working order between various states institutions in the best national interests. Without reforming the vital areas state cannot negotiate the national interest in better ways as well as external affairs. Nonprofessional institutional mechanism and short-term education policy is not only destroying the social culture, but also is supportive of extremism, which inculcate negative perception in national behaviour. The ongoing educational system by fanning the communal hatred is subverting the national interests also. The present policy direction and prevailing system would not help in building a bright future for us; it will rather accumulate problems and bring in national distraction during the days ahead. A unified policy and educational system can empower the masses which can build, civilize, moderate and progressive nation. Quality education and state of the art knowledge in science and technology along with continuity of research is essential to meet the challenges of 21st century. It is the vital medium to eliminate negativity, to ensure development of civil society and for broadening the mental horizon besides building the cultural harmony. Research based policy formulation; along with the best possible implementation mechanism are the prerequisites to overcome the problems we are confronting. Public awareness, communal development, their capacity building and engagement for enhancing the conceptual understanding about state and their own responsibilities are vital to meet the challenges. Coordination and re-structuring of internal institutions, insuring economic equality, economic justice and affective judicial system are the tools to create the harmony within society. State as factor should provide conducive environment to the nation and engage civil society for setting up national agenda. Political forces should formulate strategies on these dimensions along with the support of media. We do need to evolve research institutions and think tanks that can support the process of policy-making by bridging the gap between the ground realities and the policy makers. And can also provide rational analyses for readjustment in policy direction and for implementation mechanism. These institutions with the combination of media can exert the role of civil society for nation building and monitoring process. They should also aline and advance the networking with the regional and global counterparts for better understanding and for building country’s image. There is a dire need to change the asymmetrical relationship between the state and the society. These institutions can also play vital role to harmonize Pakistan’s interests with the rest of the world.
