Dawn Editorials (with Summary and Vocabulary)
DAWN EDITORIALS
February
6, 2024 (Tuesday)
Day’s Vocabulary
- Fracas. a
noisy disturbance or quarrel
- Jostling. push,
elbow, or bump against (someone) roughly, typically in a crowd
- Vagaries. an
unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior
- Rout. a
disorderly retreat of defeated troops
- Purvey. provide
or supply (food, drink, or other goods) as one's business
- Usurped. take
(a position of power or importance) illegally or by force
- Parvenue. a
person of obscure origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity
- Voluble. (of
a person) talking fluently, readily, or incessantly
- Conflating. combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one
- Spurious. not
being what it purports to be; false or fake
- Rejuvenate. give new energy or vigor to; revitalize
- Bereft. deprived
of or lacking (something)
- Scrupulous. (of a person or process) diligent, thorough, and
extremely attentive to details
- Unfettered. unrestrained or uninhibited
- Aspersions. an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone
or something
Summary
- Political families are
increasingly jockeying for control within parties, leading to conflicts
and defections. This
is due to limited party tickets and growing pressure from within families
as they expand.
- This "dynastic
politics" creates resentment at the constituency level, as established families
block opportunities for newcomers. This was seen in the Multan by-election
loss and the Dar family's departure from PML-N.
- Political parties need to
address this issue by
distributing power more broadly, potentially through empowered local
governments. This would create more positions and satisfy more
stakeholders.
- Younger politicians recognize
the problem, but
it's unclear if party leaders will enact necessary changes.
Article
THIS is one election where it has been
more difficult than usual to keep track of candidates switching sides and
parties.
Even so, a recent induction into Jahangir Khan Tareen’s IPP was
surprising. Ayesha Rajab Ali who was till recently in the PML-N and even a
member of the 2018 parliament on a reserved seat met Tareen and joined the IPP.
Surprising to say the least, for this is really not the moment to leave Noon
and join IPP, even though JKT appears confident that his party will be working
with the PML-N, post-election. The happy ending is now a foregone conclusion.
This is not the only such incident; where families who dominate
constituencies for a party will face opposition from within, when one
generation replaces another and the aspirants or contenders for tickets
proliferate. And this is evident in the PML-N this time around as the PTI, the
other contender in Punjab, has already lost many of its electables.
One of the most unexpected fights that broke out during this
election cycle was the public falling out between the two PML-N heavyweights in
Narowal. Home to two National Assembly (NA) seats, the area is dominated by
Ahsan Iqbal and Daniyal Aziz.
As families
grow, the infighting over constituencies will increase.
According to media reports, the fracas broke out because
Iqbal was interested in the party ticket for a provincial assembly seat which
fell under the NA seat of Aziz while the latter wanted his say in the people
chosen for these seats. As the jostling for the tickets grew, so did the
verbal duelling.
Aziz’s public criticism of Iqbal ended with him losing the party
ticket. He is now contesting the seat as an independent candidate and faces a
PML-N candidate. On the other hand, Iqbal was awarded the provincial assembly
ticket he wanted — originally for his son though he is now contesting on it
himself.
While this story has been highlighted in the media, few ever
explained why Iqbal wanted a provincial assembly ticket in Aziz’s constituency
rather than one which fell under his own NA constituency. According to
journalists from Narowal, the provincial seats in his constituency are already
occupied by close colleagues and relatives who cannot be displaced. Hence, he
looked to the other constituency.
Take the Khar family in Muzaffargarh or the Leghari family in
D.G. Khan. Until recently, the Leghari family had one branch (Farooq Leghari’s
sons) in PML-N while Jaffer Leghari and his son-in-law Mohsin Leghari were
associated with the PTI.
The point here is that with time, as families grow, the
infighting over constituencies will increase; multiple candidates will also
mean further fragmentation of the biradari or family vote, which once was
consolidated or centralised enough to secure political victories.
But more important is the growing resentment from below. As
families dominate party tickets and constituencies, there is little room for
vertical growth for those who may over time aspire to party tickets. This is
also a major reason for the growing resentment against what is seen as
‘dynastic’ rule at the constituency level.
Indeed, while the national press tends to focus on dynastic rule
at the national level, politicians are aware that there is considerable
resentment towards dynasties at the constituency level because of the glass
ceiling it has created. This is seen to be one reason Meher Bano Qureshi lost
an NA by-election in Multan in 2022.
Of course, this is at one level part of an organic process. As
families grow and aspirants from within reduce their vote bank, it will provide
space for newcomers to come into the field.
More importantly though, it is also an issue for political
parties to recognise and address, if they don’t want to continue to lose
candidates and influence.
For instance, the Dar family in Sialkot parted ways with the
PML-N because it was not able to give them a ticket and thus the PTI’s roots
were established in the city. Since then, it has become a force to be reckoned
with, not just because of Imran Khan’s popularity but also because of the
effort put in by the Dar family.
Political parties have to not just recognise but also distribute
power in a way to create more space for more entrants. Empowered local
governments is one option. It will increase the number of positions a political
party can distribute in a particular region, and hence keep multiple political
stakeholders satisfied.
This is recognised by the younger generation of politicians,
across the board. Whether the leaderships prove far-sighted enough to push this
change through is another matter.
Looking
for signs of a Modi wave
Summary
- Historical examples of
unexpected electoral outcomes in India, including defeats of prominent
leaders like Indira Gandhi and A.B. Vajpayee, highlight the
unpredictability of Indian politics.
- The author questions the
existence of a "Modi wave" in India, suggesting that personal
biases and media consumption habits might influence perceptions of
political trends.
- Observations about the lack of
visible signs of a saffron wave (associated with BJP) in India, despite
claims made by supporters.
- Doubts raised about the
validity of recent electoral victories attributed to BJP, suggesting
potential rigging or manipulation.
- Concerns expressed over
communal tensions and religious polarization in India, particularly in the
context of recent temple constructions and mosque demolitions.
- Analysis of BJP's political
strategies, including inducements for defection and alliances, and
opposition responses.
- Skepticism regarding the
significance of BJP's electoral performance and the potential for
opposition coalition-building to challenge its dominance.
- Historical parallels drawn
with Hitler's electoral support in Germany to caution against
underestimating the impact of BJP's electoral base.
Article
THE moments come to mind when tutored
political perceptions got laid low by the electoral vagaries of India.
Indira Gandhi didn’t foresee the rout she faced
when calling the 1977 elections, believing she had tamed the opposition with
her whip hand.
Rajiv Gandhi, with a record 400-plus seats in the 1984 Lok
Sabha, never hoped to sit in the opposition as he did in 1989. A.B. Vajpayee’s
‘India Shining’ gambit in 2004 looked totally invincible but ate dust, and
Manmohan Singh returned for a surprise second term in 2009, undermining
nationalist narratives of failing to challenge Pakistan on the Mumbai carnage
of November 2008. Could the so-called Modi wave be different to what one keeps
hearing from harassed friends?
Yes, one has studiously shunned Indian news channels in recent
years because they only purvey unadulterated hate. And there haven’t
been the usual visits to Delhi’s Khan Market, usurped by parvenue
shoppers, a voluble base of the new crop of BJP’s urban feel-good
supporters.
Some friends would say that shunning TV news is akin to the
ostrich-dodging reality. A cartoonist may have come closer to the truth. “This
priest looks familiar,” says a man to another, observing a bare-chested,
dhoti-clad fellow running helter-skelter with a sandalwood mark on the
forehead. “He’s no priest. He’s a TV anchor,” came the reply.
Where else has the Modi wave been spotted? Was it evident in the
mayoral elections that even neutral observers say were rigged by the BJP last
week against a joint candidature of the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress party in
Chandigarh? Or was the fervour revealed in the somersault the Bihar chief
minister took to court the BJP, because the opposition didn’t tap him as
probable prime ministerial candidate?
There’s a risk of conflating common opportunism and
desperate rigging in an innocent mayoral election as signs of a wave, silent or
raging.
Was there a wave in Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan or even Madhya
Pradesh for the BJP or against the Congress recently? Then how did so many
opinion polls miss it? Does a difference of three per cent votes count as a
wave? Let’s accept it. Changes can happen quietly, unannounced and that’s
something we could discuss about the elections due in May. Which means the door
for a shock verdict remains open?
Liking Ram means loving Modi? The anchor would remember the
times when hundreds of thousands sat religiously glued to Doordarshan’s
Ramayana serial every Sunday morning in the 1980s, including in Lahore. A
friend, who has earned respect in the trade union movement over decades, seemed
overwhelmed by the surge in saffron flags and slogan-shouting hordes in the
neighbourhood, magnified by openly right-wing TV anchors.
Was there a
wave in Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan or even Madhya Pradesh for the BJP or against
the Congress recently?
The 78-year-old says he is happy not to be around for too long
to see the decimation of the India he loved and nurtured. Another friend of
about similar age was on Facebook to announce his trauma. The malaise seems
widespread, and the victims are mostly blameless even if their perception of
reality is conditioned by their daily intake of toxicity whether through TV or
at the club.
The housing society where Mani Shankar Aiyar’s daughter staged a
fast to protest the Ayodhya event wants the family to move out. Pervasive
communalism is no wave. Delhi authorities demolished a 700-year-old mosque last
week. In any country that cares for architecture as heritage, the mosque would
have been revered as a symbol of Hindu and Muslim artisanship.
Does the demolition signal a wave? The Babri Masjid was
demolished criminally. The supreme court said so. Then, for reasons not very
clear, the site of the razed mosque was handed to a religious body to build a
temple on.
The BJP had established its rule in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh
and Maharashtra and some other smaller states, by inducing defections. Now
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, says he has resisted pressure to
join the BJP to evade arrest on spurious charges in what resembles raids
on other opposition leaders to muster a majority.
The tribal chief minister of Jharkhand was arrested without a
hearing from the supreme court in a 2009 land deal he denies any knowledge of.
He, too, was under pressure to defect but promises to take the BJP head-on.
Were Modi really confident of winning, the opposition demand to use ballot
paper instead of the disputed EVMs would not be an issue.
Modi must create a wave where none exists. The opposition on its
part needs to coalesce and not be chuffed over the humble-looking 37pc votes Mr
Modi commands. The German opposition had misread Hitler’s 37pc.
Summary
- The upcoming elections may be
among the most rigged, potentially resulting in a weak government lacking
a strong mandate.
- Opinion polls suggest a hung
assembly.
- Manifestos
of major parties like PTI, PML-N, and PPP lack strong ideas and focus more
on catchy slogans and patronage.
- However, manifestos have
improved in length, presentation, and coverage compared to 2018.
- PTI's
manifesto is the longest and most comprehensive despite facing a state
crackdown.
- PML-N's
manifesto is the shortest, with much focus on large Sharif photos and
lacking in-depth analysis of issues.
- All three
manifestos fail to provide concrete economic strategies and lack strong
economic teams.
- The
manifestos overlook significant issues like insecurity due to terrorism
and societal extremism.
- Small
leftist parties offer detailed analysis of root causes of deprivation but
have minimal impact due to limited resources.
- There's
concern over the potential for a weak and rigged government lacking a
mandate to challenge elite-dominated systems.
Article
ELECTIONS can rejuvenate nations
if they are fair, parties present strong ideas and teams to the masses
competitively and the winners have a strong mandate to take the country
forward. Thursday’s polls may be among our most rigged, more so after Imran
Khan’s dubious convictions last week. Opinion polls suggest a hung assembly.
Thus, we may have a rigged and weak new government. This leaves the issue of
whether parties have strong ideas and teams.
To convince discerning voters, party manifestos must present an
in-depth analysis of why people suffer on account of major issues and the best
way of addressing them permanently. In the current scenario, where we face huge
economic and security challenges and, with the rest of the world, the impact of
climate change, there must be a special focus on these areas. I reviewed the
2024 manifestos of the PTI, PML-N and PPP on such key points. All three were
issued days before the elections, reflecting the limited role ideas play in our
polls as against catchy slogans and patronage flows. But all are better than
their 2018 iterations in terms of length, presentation and coverage. This is
especially credible for the PTI, which has the longest and most comprehensive
one, despite the state crackdown it faces.
The shortest is the PML-N’s, much of it wasted on large Sharif
photos. It is bereft of any in-depth analysis of the root causes of our
long-term or current problems, jumping straight into sectoral promises. The
PTI’s and PPP’s contain preambles that mention inequities as a root cause of
our problems and reflect on our economic and security problems. As expected,
the PTI’s reflects heavy religious ideology, but without linking it to concrete
policies. The PPP’s reflects no ideology despite its pro-poor rhetoric, its
socialist origins nixed long ago.
The PPP’s is the weakest on concrete economic ideas. It promises
the sky on increasing income, social services and housing, and aims to increase
investment and tax revenues for this purpose. But it hardly contains any
concrete ideas on how it would do so. The other two present more meso-level
concrete ideas in some economic areas. The PML-N talks rightly of merging
investment, industries and commerce to create a ministry of economy, which must
also include planning and IT. The PTI and PML-N both have some concrete
proposals for exports, investment, industry, etc. However, they fall short of a
new and coherent economic strategy that can remove the threat of default and
high inflation to attain sustainable and equitable progress. All three lack
strong economic teams to translate ideas into successful strategies. The PTI
has lost its capacity due to the crackdown it faces, while PML-N has alienated
talent by its family-centric politics.
Ideas play a
limited role in the manifestos of the three main parties.
The three say little on our second biggest threat, insecurity
due to terrorism by TTP and Baloch militants, or their root causes such as
societal extremism and genuine Baloch complaints. The PPP talks of its
Balochistan package that proved inadequate even the last time. But there is
little talk by the parties on solving Baloch complaints or talking to Baloch
groups or ending societal extremism. On the mother of all our problems —
civilian supremacy — the PML-N has removed the mild talk of its 2018 manifesto
but now PTI includes it mildly. Our Constitution needs an overhaul as many
anomalies have been unearthed in it in recent years. But the three only mention
limited changes. Lack of space does not let me review the other areas in their
manifestos. Readers must read them to form informed views.
If the larger parties lack strong ideas, what is the
alternative? The manifestos of small leftist outfits like the Awami Workers
Party, National Democratic Movement and Haqooq-i-Khalq party provide detailed
analysis of the root causes of deprivation due to inequities embedded in
capitalism. But as small and new parties with limited resources, they need more
time to develop concrete ideas and field large numbers of candidates who can
win. So, their impact on these polls will be minimal, though I will still vote
for them. Readers are encouraged to look more closely at such parties.
Thus, we may get a weak and rigged new regime that lacks strong
ideas and teams and is heavily dependent on the security establishment and
other elites. It will lack the strong links to or mandate from the masses to
challenge elites and make fundamental changes in our elite-dominated political
and economic order. So, we may go from one weak and rigged hybrid regime to
another that adds to our mounting problems and kicks the can further into the
future. This cannot go on forever and ultimately there may be a crash landing.
Summary
- Dictators
often hold disdain for politicians and question the judgment of the
masses.
- Undemocratic
interventions are often justified with reasons like political and economic
stability or good governance.
- The
crackdown on political parties violates constitutional rights, such as the
right to form and function as a political party.
- There
have been unjust detentions ofPTI members, with no detention orders upheld
as lawful.
- The
Supreme Court decision regarding PTI's election symbol undermines the
electoral process and hurts voters.
- Recent
convictions before the elections raise concerns about fair trials and the
weaponization of justice.
- There is
a call for people to vote despite attempts to instill fear and
disenfranchise voters.
Article
IN his autobiography Friends Not
Masters, Ayub Khan wrote “our people are mostly uneducated and our politicians
not so scrupulous. The people are capable of doing great things, but
they can also be easily misled. Unfettered democracy
can, therefore, prove dangerous”. As is the case with most dictators, the field
marshal held deep disdain for politicians, as well as the judgement of the
masses.
This utterly misguided narrative carries on, the essence of
which is that the people simply do not know what is good for them.
Historically, those interfering in the democratic process always
find a justification, ie, political and economic stability, good governance,
peace and order, or the ‘genius’ of the people. Every supposed ‘reason’ is a
cover for undemocratic interventions, whether overt or covert.
There is no past wrong which justifies the dismantling going on
today. The Constitution guarantees that every citizen shall have the right to
form or be a member of a political party. The courts have held that the right
to form a political party includes the right to function as a political party.
In violation of these rights, across provinces, there has been a crackdown on
PTI workers. Attempts have been made to disrupt the election campaign of PTI
candidates. Even virtual events have been met with internet disruption.
There is no
past wrong which justifies the present dismantling.
The maintenance of public order laws have been used to keep
politicians in custody. In the detailed judgement setting aside various
detention orders, Justice Babar Sattar observed that between May and September
2023, the “overwhelming majority” of detainees were either leaders or members
of the PTI. “Of the detention orders that were challenged before Islamabad High
Court, not one order has been upheld as having been passed in accordance with
law,” per Justice Sattar. Not one detention order. Either the deputy
commissioner would withdraw the detention order, or the court would set it
aside, or the detention period would lapse.
For anyone living in Pakistan this past year, it would be no
surprise that the ECP took particular interest in the PTI’s intra-party
elections. The Peshawar High Court rightly restored PTI’s election symbol, and
held that the ECP could not question the intra-party election process. Instead
of accepting the decision of the Peshawar High Court, the ECP was so determined
that it took the matter right up to the Supreme Court.
Then, in a quest to supposedly uphold democracy within political
parties, the Supreme Court was seen to undermine the electoral process in the
country. It found that PTI failed to hold intra-party elections, and would,
therefore, lose its election symbol. The most inexplicable part of this
decision was that the law does not expressly contemplate depriving a political
party of its election symbol on account of intra-party elections. This decision
has done nothing except hurt the ordinary voter. This was not a case about an
individual or a political party, it was about the disenfranchisement of
millions of voters. Weeks after this regrettable decision, Justice Mansoor Ali
Shah was entirely correct in holding, “electoral laws must be interpreted in
favour of enfranchisement rather than disenfranchisement”.
Mere days before the elections, convictions in one case after
another are being announced. In the cipher case, Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood
Qureshi were denied the right to be represented by the counsel of their choice,
and, instead, represented by state counsel. In the Toshakhana reference, the
judge closed the right to cross-examine witnesses. At the heart of a fair trial
is the right to be represented by the counsel of one’s choice, and to properly
defend oneself. Hearings have been conducted well past court hours, and the
great urgency with which these convictions are being announced is beyond any
reasonable justification. It is clear that there has been no fair, impartial
process in these cases.
The conviction in the ‘unlawful marriage’ case manifests the
tragic extent of the weaponisation of justice. Unjustifiable aspersions
have been cast on a woman’s character, and individuals have been forced into a
courtroom to defend private decisions they made. The decision attacks the right
to dignity, which the Constitution and the Supreme Court distinctly provide is
an absolute right. There can be no restrictions on the right to dignity.
Those adamant on overriding the will of the people continue with their dismantling, instil fear, mock the voter, and make it seem that it is not worth one’s while to exercise their right to vote. But everyone must cast their vote on Feb 8. It is the day the people have a chance to make their voice heard, and for the future of our country, it is something we must all do.
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