How change can occur?
by, Dr. Nasir Hussain Bukhari
Since the news of the sugar mafia scandal has broken, the electronic and print media has been busy digging out the role of personalities in this mega scandal. However, no one is making any effort to expose the root cause of such scandals which were pointed out but they were buried in the graveyard of ignorance.
The sugar mafia scandal is an eye opener for Pakistani intelligentsia and academia to educate the masses about the evil nexus of a small class for occupying the public decision making process for their vested interests. Pakistanis need to be educated that we have to struggle hard for creating awareness against these heirs to colonialism.
We would like to launch an awareness campaign to make the masses understand how these looters have occupied power corridors, how one family member is in PPP, other in PTI and the third one is supporting PML(N). Some are in bureaucracy and other ones are part of the establishment.
Where are standing “source of powers?” No one talks about education for all, women empowerment, space for all, reforms in Pakistan, implementation of intra party elections.
Political parties owe the dynasties, constituencies have become small princely states of the political families. Poor peasants, farmers, labour are serfs. So-called pseudo mukhdums, pirs, mullahs, maliks, ets., are mainly responsible for this kind of loot.
They have alliances with king makers like alliance of clergy and monarchy of Europe before the era of rebirth of knowledge usher in Europe.
Knowledge and philosophy began to replace orthodox thoughts, social taboos and rituals. Europeans got rid of the dark age only due to the spread of rationalism, logic and scientific inventions.
Who did this miracle? No one, except teachers, scholars, philosophers. Unfortunately in our homeland, the restrictions, which apparently seem imposed by clergy, but tactfully it is the state which is playing gimmicks with masses.
If rebirth of knowledge takes place, education for all prevails, masses will be able to raise voice for their rights.
The unfortunate scenario is that if fraudsters of one political party are exposed, the other political party tries to seek refuge in that scandal to give impressions perhaps they did nothing or were lesser evil.
The current political system and political scenario has entirely disappointed the nation in Pakistan. National Accountability Bureau NAB’s reputation has been put at stake due to losing cases despite giving hype to those cases. Political parties lack any internal accountability mechanism against corrupt elements.
The Pakistani society needs comprehensive drastic reforms. The reforms must be implemented indiscriminately. The nationalization of education, health and industry is the only solution. If weapons industry in Pakistan is being run successfully by the state then the industry of common commodities, and public goods like education, health and public transport can also be managed efficiently.
Now Pakistan has trained manpower working in the industrial and commercial sector, therefore, if these above-mentioned industries are nationalised, the skilled managerial and financial expertise are available.
This time nationalisation must be done using the national hybrid public private partnership model. The owner of nationalised industries should be allowed to have 35% shares.
It is a fact that after the Corona crisis, states all over the world have to revisit their current economic systems, particularly the states like Pakistan.
Pakistan is one of the nation states that whole heartedly adopted the neoliberal globalisation capitalism model of economy based on the notion of protection of private business.
However, this model has proven a failure particularly in this era of pandemic.
The inefficiency and insufficiency of the health system. Privatisation of education has deprived the majority of our kids from education. The lack of uniform education has caused social fragmentation in Pakistan.
If Pakistanis would seriously like to bring substantial and long lasting change in society to get rid of the political dynastic system, the only remedy is education for all.
Education enlightens the minds of the masses, it changes the status quo evolutionarily.
It is imperative to make the masses aware about the nexus of media, government, opposition and personalities create confusion artistically that truth loses in the dust of diverse discourse which is repeatedly presented to instill in the minds of the people. The media tries to create the impression that the lesser or greater than the previous ones, ultimately, masses begin to think that it happens in Pakistan.
But the question is how long? Who will educate the masses. Undoubtedly, the elder population of Pakistan has accepted such scandals as fait accompli. However, we must unearth the root cause that until illiteracy is not uprooted, real change cannot occur.
Now in the 21st century, our political parties and the state must be forced by public opinion that we want education, and uniform education for all.
The author is the president of PPF ThinkTank and is a freelance analyst of globalisation. He is a Ph.D in Education from the Institute of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing. He is currently serving as the associate professor of education at OPF Girls College, Islamabad, Pakistan.