Dawn Editorials (with Summary and Vocabulary)

 

DAWN EDITORIALS

January 20, 2024 (Saturday)

Day’s Vocabulary

• Staggering.           deeply shocking; astonishing
• Reincarnated.      having been reborn in another body
• Progeny.     a descendant or the descendants of a person, animal, or plant; offspring
• Despoiled.  steal or violently remove valuable or attractive possessions from; plunder:
• Pristine.      in its original condition; unspoiled
• Communalism.   allegiance to one's own ethnic group rather than to the wider society
• Abhorrent. inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant
• Exemplified.         be a typical example of
• Dazed.          unable to think or react properly; bewildered
• Scorned.     feel or express contempt or derision for
• Albeit.          Although
• Protent.     A portent is a sign that something bad is likely to happen in the future, such as an omen, a warning, or a prediction
• Intrigued.  arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate
• Tallying.     agree or correspond:
• Allusion.     an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
• Nuanced.    characterized by subtle shades of meaning or expression
• Devout.       having or showing deep religious feeling or commitment
• Eclecticism.          the practice of deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources
• Tenet.          a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy
• Smug.          having or showing an excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements
• Vindication.          the action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion
• Embroiled. involve (someone) deeply in an argument, conflict, or difficult situation
• Contestation.       the action or process of disputing or arguing
• Lingering. lasting for a long time or slow to end
• Dissolution.          the closing down or dismissal of an assembly, partnership, or official body
• Devastating.         highly destructive or damaging
• Ravaged.     severely damaged; devastated
• Inegalitarian.      characterized by or promoting inequality between people.
• Shindig.      a large, lively party, especially one celebrating something
• Hobnobbed.          mix socially, especially with those of higher social status
• Behemoths.           a huge or monstrous creature
• Jingoistic.  characterized by extreme patriotism, especially in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy
• Adept.          very skilled or proficient at something
• Subpar.       below an average level
• Haemorrhage.     an escape of blood from a ruptured blood vessel, especially when profuse

Ram Mandir – an ill protent

Summary

• A new Hindu temple, Ram Mandir, has been built on the site of the Babri Mosque in India.
• The Indian government is holding large-scale celebrations for the temple's consecration, including train and helicopter services for 100,000 sadhus and devotees.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the consecration ceremony and has urged all Indians to light a lamp in their homes to celebrate.
• Some Hindu priests are boycotting the event because they believe Modi is not qualified to perform the consecration ritual.
• The author argues that the construction of Ram Mandir and the surrounding celebrations are a sign of India's shift towards Hindu nationalism.
• He compares this to Pakistan's use of religion in politics and raises concerns about the future of secularism in both countries.

Article

Where the five-centuries-old Babri Mosque once stood, there now stands Ram Mandir. Around it, a new Vatican-like city is coming up.

A staggering $4.2 billion have been collected as donations, both official and private. Though the temple’s completion is years away, consecration ceremonies began days ago. RSS has distributed 50 million small food packets and the first seven tonnes of halwa have arrived.

The government is arranging train and helicopter services for 100,000 sadhus and devotees, contracts for new five-star hotels have been awarded, and schools are holding daily prayers. Muslims have been advised to limit their travel by bus and train.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Ayodhya. His recent message: “The whole world is waiting for the historic moment. With folded hands, I am requesting 140 crore people of the country that on Jan 22, when the consecration of Ramlalla’s idol takes place, light the Ram Jyoti in your house and celebrate Deepawali.” Hospitals in Uttar Pradesh report that dozens of pregnant women have requested C-sections so their child is born on this auspicious date.

The purpose of these celebrations — and the PM’s lead role — is ostensibly religious, but some senior priests dispute that. They will boycott the event because Modi is technically unqualified for performing the ‘pran-pratishtha’ (putting soul inside an idol) ritual. This scarcely matters, because Modi wants to signal once again that under him a new India has arrived, one bearing little or no resemblance to the India born in 1947.

Hindutva’s message targets two audiences. The first is India’s Muslims: reincarnated India is for Hindus, not for them. Just as Pakistan treats its Hindu population as inferior citizens with fewer rights, so too Muslims in India must never forget they are the unwanted progeny of invaders who despoiled a pristine land and robbed it of its glories.

Religious communalism in reincarnated India is no longer considered abhorrent.

Revenge — exemplified by destroying ancient structures — is Hindutva’s guiding principle. In March 2023, when a mob shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ burned down a century-old madressah and library containing ancient manuscripts, it was tit-for-tat for the sacking of Nalanda University by the 12th-century Muslim invader, Bakhtiyar Khilji. To avoid adverse consequences during the Ram Mandir consecration, RSS has recommended that Muslims chant “Shri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram” in mosques, dargahs and madressahs.

The second message is to BJP’s political opposition, principally Congress. Change your discourse from secular to religious and play on our turf. Else, be seen as anti-Hindu and lose out in the April 2024 elections, when Modi will seek his third term.

Ram Mandir’s inauguration has left Congress dazed. Just days earlier, its top leaders had scorned this ‘political event’ and refused to attend. But those below could not take the pressure and broke rank. They visited Ayodhya, took a holy dip in the river, and vowed they too want “Ram Rajya” — albeit a better one than BJP’s.

Mixing religion with politics — whether in the Hindu or Muslim way — won’t surprise those who know Pakistan’s history. Soon after the All India Muslim League suffered a crushing defeat in the 1937 elections, its leadership successfully weaponised religion and wove it into politics. It was reinjected with a double dose by Gen Ziaul Haq in the 1980s.

Today, in every Pakistani political party’s arsenal, religion is the weapon of choice for demolishing opponents. When in power, PTI used it repeatedly against PML-N and PPP. In retaliation, Maryam Nawaz’s media team has recently returned the favour — with markup — in attacking Imran Khan.

Still, to me, an infrequent visitor to India, secularism’s rapid retreat comes as a surprise. Twenty years ago, while visiting the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute for Advanced Research in Bangalore, I was intrigued by Nehru’s words inscribed on the foundation stone: “I too have worshipped at the shrine of science.” But I don’t see ‘worship’ and ‘shrine’ tallying well with modern science or the scientific temper associated with Nehru.

My hosts rushed to explain. Shrine of science, they said, was actually a metaphorical allusion to labs and research centres. Nehru, they proudly asserted, was an atheist and never went to temples. Later, I found he actually did visit temples as well as mosques. Further, as in his prison diary The Discovery of India, his view of religion is fairly nuanced.

Mani Shankar Aiyar recently argued that Nehru would have fought tooth and nail against making Hinduism India’s official religion. In December 1947, his cabinet decided to rebuild — at state expense — the Somnath temple plundered in the 11th century by Mahmud Ghazni. When Nehru found out, he was furious and had the minutes secretly altered. But so long as the state was not involved, he said, any private initiative was fine. In 1951, when president Rajendra Prasad sought to officially visit the restored temple, Nehru refused permission.

India’s other founder, Mahatma Gandhi, would also have roundly rejected making the grand new Ayodhya temple. Ramachandra Guha, his biographer, notes that whereas Gandhi called himself a devout Hindu, yet in the many years he lived in Ahmedabad, he did not visit any of the city’s temples. Why, said Gandhi, does God need a building or idol to be worshipped?

Gandhi’s eclecticism is evident from his prayer meeting of Nov 21, 1947: “As per the information I have received, about 137 mosques of Delhi have been virtually destroyed in the recent riots. Some of them have been turned into temples. In my opinion, this goes against every tenet of religion … The magnitude of this act cannot be mitigated by saying that Muslims in Pakistan have also despoiled Hindu temples or turned them into mosques.”

India’s descent into a Hindu rashtra generates a kind of smug satisfaction in Pakistan, a vindication of the two-nation theory that Hindus and Muslims cannot ever live together. But then, how shall the Muslims of India, and the few Hindus remaining in Pakistan, fare in times to come? Whether India can ever revert to its earlier, more accommodative and secular self, is an open question. For Pakistan, whose flirtation with liberal values ended in the 1970s, it appears even more difficult.

The crisis in Gilgit - Baltistan

Summary

• Widespread protests are taking place in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) against the federal government's decisions for the region.
• The protests are in their fourth week and are focused on the increase in the subsidized wheat price.
• The protesters are also demanding the abolishment of taxes, suspension of the Finance Act 2023, an end to power outages, a halt to the exploitation of GB's mineral resources, and a share in the NFC Award.
• The GB government's attempts to persuade the protesters to postpone their protests until after the February 8 elections have failed.
• The federal government's unilateral decision-making has been rejected by the locals, who want to be involved in the decision-making process.
• The protesters are planning to march towards Gilgit on January 24th.
• The federal government needs to revise its policies and build trust with the locals.

Article

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is embroiled in widespread protests yet again. In the past few years, these protests and sit-ins against the federal government’s decisions for the region have become more frequent. The current protests — against the increase in the subsidised wheat price — have entered their fourth week.

Protests across GB erupted on the call of the Awami Action Committee, an alliance of political and religious organisations, trade unions and CSOs in GB. Braving the harsh weather, the people have been consistently demanding a reversal of the government’s decision to increase the wheat price. People in Skardu have staged the largest sit-in, which entered its 23rd day on Jan 19.

Thousands are protesting in other districts, such as Diamer, Hunza, Ghizer, Ghanche and Nagar, as well. In Gilgit, the deputy commissioner banned demonstrations for three months. The move was challenged by lawyers in the Chief Court, who called the ban illegal.

The GB government’s attempt to persuade demonstrators to postpone their protests until the Feb 8 polls has failed. The assurance of GB Assembly member Fathullah Khan of raising the issue with the new government was not entertained. The efforts of the federal bureaucracy to convince the people have also been unsuccessful. The reason why locals are not convinced by the lawmakers and bureaucracy lies in the lack of trust in their institutions.

For the past few years, the federal government has been taking unilateral decisions for GB. The decisions have resulted in mass protests. GB, due to its disputed status and widespread poverty, was granted subsidy in the 1970s by the then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who initiated reforms in the region. The subsidies were for the prices of wheat, oil, PIA tickets, and some other essential items. Gradually, all subsidies were finished, except wheat.

Although the wheat subsidy issue has drawn the most attention, the list of demands also includes the abolishment of taxes and suspension of the Finance Act, 2023, an end to power outages and the exploitation of GB’s mineral resources, a share in the NFC Award, etc. Most of these demands are not new. In 2022, demonstrations across GB began on similar issues. Their reappearance and similar demonstrations proves the failure of the federal government to resolve the matter.

The GB government’s attempt to persuade demonstrators to postpone their protests until the Feb 8 polls has failed.

GB has been administered largely by the centre. The Finance Act, 2023, aims to generate revenue for GB through taxes and other mechanisms. However, the locals are demanding its suspension because of GB’s disputed status. The region does not have representation in the national legislature. Hence the slogan of ‘no taxation without representation’ is loud and clear.

The local people are also frustrated by the long power outages, which have disrupted businesses and increased their suffering. The absence of electricity has pushed people to rely on firewood for heating, thus putting pressure on the already depleted forests.

Over the past few years, contestation over GB’s land and mineral resources between the state and the people has been increasing. Since the region’s constitutional status is ambiguous, the locals argue that the land and mineral resources belong to the people of GB.

Common land has been used for grazing, collecting firewood and other purposes by the locals for centuries. The state, however, claims that land which is not transferred to any individual belongs to the Pakistani state. The locals believe that their right of rule (haq-i-hakimiyat) and right to ownership (haq-i-milkiyat) is being violated.

The delay by the federal government to resolve GB’s lingering issues is making matters worse. The locals are not just discontented with unresolved issues but also concerned about the mistreatment of the government towards local leaders. Those who raise their voice for rights are often booked under the infamous Schedule IV of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.

According to Ashfaq Ahmad, an advocate from Gilgit, the fourth schedule of the ATA is directed at those individuals who are either part of a proscribed organisation, or involved in terrorism, sectarian or anti-state activities. Such individuals are placed on the list to bar them from taking part in unlawful activities. Their bank accounts are frozen, their movement from one city to another is banned, they can’t address public rallies, and they are placed under surveillance.

However, in the past few years, even civil rights activists, including some religious leaders, have been placed under Schedule IV. In the recent protests, some prominent activists too are in the same position. The move is seen as an attempt by the state to silence local voices protesting for their rights.

The memory of the nine-year illegal imprisonment of Baba Jan, a political activist from Hunza, is still fresh. Baba Jan, due to his political activism in the wake of the Attabad disaster, was sentenced to 71 years’ imprisonment by the anti-terrorism court, despite being released by a civil court.

This unilateral decision-making by the federal government has been rejected by the locals, who want to be involved in the process. The GB Assembly and government should be empowered by the centre rather than being disempowered, as happened recently when the PTI lost its government at the centre and the chief secretary was emboldened to fill the vacuum. That is not how regions are administered.

The call by the protesters to march towards Gilgit on Jan 24 must be taken seriously. The delay will only lead them to adopt a hard-line position. They have already started calling for the dissolution of the present coalition government.

The centre needs to revise its policies and strive to build trust and credibility among the locals. Through dialogue, conciliation, and participatory approach, the chronic issues of GB can be resolved.

What Davos tells us

Summary

• Global capitalism reigns supreme: Powerful elites prioritize profit over addressing pressing issues like climate change and inequality.
• Davos summit: Rich and powerful gather to reinforce global capitalism despite conflicts and ecological devastation.
• Pakistani realities: Working class struggles with inflation, while elites play musical chairs in a patronage-based power structure.
• Marginalized groups ignored: Baloch women, Gilgit-Baltistanis, Pakhtuns, and ordinary citizens face neglect from both Pakistani and global elites.
• Ruling class apathy: Elites worldwide prioritize self-preservation through nationalism and profit-driven agendas over public well-being.

Article

Pakistan’s ethnic peripheries continue to burn. Working class households in peripheries and metropolitan areas alike continue to be strangulated by weekly inflation rates that top 40 per cent,and our militarised ruling class continues to loot, devastating already ravaged ecosystems, even as its members engage in palace intrigues in the lead-up to (s)elections.

Pakistan is not alone — more and more countries in our neighbourhood and world are increasingly militarised, inegalitarian and violent. But this is conveniently ignored when those who lead (and profit from) us gather for their annual shindig at the World Economic Forum in the dreamy Swiss resort town of Davos.

Our current caretaker prime minister, who is unlikely to enjoy another stint, has just returned from Davos. He and the rest of the delegation he headed enjoyed their time in the sun, while waxing lyrical (in Imran Khan-type fashion) about unparalleled media freedom in Pakistan and also signing some high-profile business deals with the Gulf monarchs.

All manner of business consultations and deals take place in Davos, featuring even those countries and corporations that are otherwise adversaries. Indeed, the caretaker PM and (newly minted enemy) Iran’s foreign minister had a meeting there. Meanwhile, a host of Muslim-majority and other country leaders hobnobbed with the Israeli president. And American corporate executives disclosed that they expect Donald Trump to be back in the White House by the end of the year and that capitalism would not be any worse off.

And therein lies the rub. Global capitalism continues to remain the game in town, and pretty much everyone who is rich and powerful continues to reinforce it. Yes, there are innumerable geopolitical conflicts, including genocidal wars, that litter the globe; but when push comes to shove, the world’s political and business leaders agree that the profiteering must continue unhindered, while making the occasional policy tweak here and there.

Do the world’s richest and most powerful people care?

Look at Palestine. Gaza has been reduced to rubble, but it is yesterday’s news. Business between the Israelis, neighbouring Arab countries, the Turks, and, of course, Western and Chinese superpowers, must carry on. Pakistan and Iran have been making headlines for their missile strikes, but by all accounts, the border remains open for the contraband that crosses both ways on a daily basis.

Beyond the everyday imperatives of keeping the compound growth cycle going, do the world’s richest and most powerful people who get together in Davos care about the medium- and long-term spectres of ecological breakdown and the prospect of mass upheaval due to ever intensifying class, ethnic and other forms of conflict? The answer, quite clearly, is no.

In case we forget, many of these same usual suspects gathered in the UAE for COP28 a few weeks ago. Almost laughingly, the climate summit was chaired by the head of the UAE’s state oil company. A vague agreement to phase out fossil fuels by 2050 toe-ended the event, but not before the said chair challenged scientists who link fossil fuel energy to climate change.

To put it bluntly, global summits like Davos and COP28 feature a whole lot of development-speak while essentially representing an opportunity for the rich and powerful to get together and plan how to split up the booty for the next 12-month cycle. This is not a cynical take. A cynical take is offered by those who believe the world will change because military-industrial establishments, propertied classes and corporate behemoths will develop an ‘elite consensus’ to do things differently.

To return to Pakistan, there is no evidence that any such ‘elite consensus’ is on the cards here except for the musical chairs, that is our khaki-coloured, patronage-based structure of power, to plod along, all players agreed on suppressing any fundamental challenge from below.

Let us not forget that Baloch women continue to sit in front of the Press Club in Islamabad waiting for anyone — including the mainstream parties who are currently in the establishment’s good books and are running campaigns to be (s)elected — to show up and at least acknowledge their existence.

The same could be said for the thousands who are on the streets of all major towns in Gilgit-Baltistan, or the hapless masses in Pakhtun tribal districts who face yet another wave of religious militancy. Or the ordinary working mass of people in cities and villages alike that are living through IMF-imposed austerity.

But the ruling class couldn’t care less. Just like respective ruling classes all over the world couldn’t care less about their respective populations. When legitimacy wanes, all of them know how to drum up jingoistic nationalism to fan the flames of hate. And then they all gather again in Davos to grease the wheels of profit.

Barrier to progress

Summary

• Corruption is a major barrier to progress in Pakistan, stifling economic growth and diverting resources from vital public services.
• State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a prime example, plagued by inefficiency due to political interference, nepotism, and job selling.
• This systemic corruption leads to financial losses (Rs200 billion in 2022-23) and ethical breakdown within SOEs.
• Solutions like budget cuts or increased taxation hurt the population, further hindering development.
• Corruption's opportunity cost is immense, with Rs200 billion enough to fund universal health coverage for two years.
• Tackling corruption is crucial for Pakistan's development, requiring systemic reforms and a shift away from scapegoating.

Article

In the discourse on economic stagnation in underdeveloped countries, corruption often emerges as a recurrent theme. Politicians, adept at exploiting socioeconomic fault lines, have wielded the concept of corruption as a populist slogan.

This narrative positions corruption as a convenient scapegoat for a nation’s developmental failures, allowing political figures to sidestep accountability. While politicians bask in the ease of inaction, corruption, normalised and unchecked, benefits a nexus of self-interested parties. This includes public servants enriching themselves illicitly, as well as NGOs continuously funded to combat the very underdevelopment perpetuated by this corruption.

State-owned enterprises in Pakistan provide a critical case study in understanding the complexity of the corruption-economic development nexus. SOEs are frequently criticised for their inefficiency. However, this critique seldom goes beyond surface-level analysis to interrogate the root causes of these inefficiencies. Is it due to outdated technologies, subpar business practices, or other factors? The convenient but simplistic answer often points to political interference, effectively sweeping the real issues under the rug.

In fiscal year 2022-23, Pakistan’s SOEs, such as PIA, the Railways, and Pakistan Steel Mills, reported a staggering combined loss of Rs200 billion. This financial haemorrhage can be attributed, in part, to deeply entrenched practices of political patronage and nepotism in these organisations. It is an open secret that job placements often hinge on political affiliations rather than merit, with positions either promised by parliamentarians as a quid pro quo for votes, or filled by individuals wielding political influence, regardless of their qualifications or the existence of job openings. These practices aren’t just ethically dubious, they also serve as lucrative ventures for those in power both within and outside these organisations — sell jobs, make money.

The fallout from systemic corruption extends beyond financial losses.

Such a landscape paints a grim picture of accountability, or rather, the lack thereof. While concrete empirical data might be elusive, the widespread belief that jobs are essentially ‘sold’ in these SOEs speaks volumes.

The financial cost is just one side of this issue. The moral and ethical degradation that accompanies such practices is equally alarming. Individuals hired through these corrupt channels are likely to perpetuate the cycle, engaging in further corrupt activities, such as manipulating procurement processes, unreported revenues, and inventory falsification. This results in a scenario where the entire operational framework of these SOEs is compromised, leading to their systematic downfall.

Confronted with the daunting task of compensating for the Rs200bn deficit incurred by SOEs, Pakistan faces a grim set of choices. The most probable solutions — budget cuts and increased taxation — come with their own severe repercussions. In a country grappling with poverty and limited resources, budget cuts imply a direct reduction in essential services to the populace, effectively subsidising the costs of corruption at the expense of the needy.

On the other hand, increasing the tax burden on an already strained population results in a vicious cycle of reduced disposable income, diminished savings, and lowered consumption — a basic macroeconomic spiral that further stifles economic growth.

To put this into perspective, the staggering sum of Rs200bn could alternatively finance universal health coverage for two years in Pakistan. Given that health is a primary indicator of development in all indices, the opportunity cost of corruption becomes starkly evident. This allocation of funds to cover losses due to corrupt practices directly un­dermines key developmental goals.

Thus, it becomes increasingly clear that corruption is not just an issue but a central barrier to progress. The example of the SOEs is a mere snapshot of a larger, more systemic problem. The fallout from such systemic corruption extends far beyond financial losses, eroding the ethical backbone of these institutions and perpetuating a culture of inefficiency and mismanagement.

This cycle of corruption, financial loss, and punitive fiscal policies not only stifles economic growth, but also diverts critical resources from vital public services like healthcare, which are essential for national development. Hence, corruption in Pakistan is not a mere by-product of political rhetoric; it is a tangible barrier to progress, deeply embedded in the nation’s economic fabric, undermining its development at every turn.