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Pakistan and India’s Leaders Mark
Freedom from British Colonialism: But Masses look for Navigational Change
Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
British imperialism was not accidental but a planned scheme of things to
perpetuate its cultural and political dominance over the weak and most
vulnerable people of the globe. Its aims were no different in the Subcontinent
of India-Pakistan. The immediate focal aim was to destroy the existing culture
of the established Mughal Empire and divide and rule the whole of India.
Remember, imperialism was an unadulterated civilization on its own with massive
possibilities and material possessions to control the masses. The
1857 belligerent war on Mughal India and its occupation is referred to as
“Mutiny” in imperial history. Bahdur Shah Zafar, the last emperor
was arrested, his son’s head chopped off and exiled to be imprisoned in a
garage in Rangoon, Burma. It is estimated that two millions Indians mostly
Muslims were killed by the invading British armies. It was the beginning of
rethinking as how to expel the British and freedom to be restored to the
Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs and other minorities in India. You should
know that truth explained in full clarity becomes indisputable. British
imperialism took India from the Mughals and robbed their wealth, moral and
spiritual cultural development of eight centuries. Not much has changed of the
legacy of British rule. For over 73 years, Indian and Pakistani people try to
celebrate the Independence Day, not in peace but with missing objectivity of
the national freedom movement. Both nations somehow lost the sense of political
reality and are overburdened with a sickening mental microscope of unreality.
Both are in desperate need of political change and reformation, not revolution
to imagine the historic freedom from British imperialism. Plato made it clear
that “thinking is man’s natural instrument for problem solving, and any problem
could be solved by thought…”
Towards Thinking of Reasoned Political Change and Unthinking
of Extremism and Occupation of Kashmir
Indian and Pakistani politicians remained buried in the past. For change
and future-making, they urgently need people of new ideas, new vision and
proactive intellect. Revolution is not the answer as it is a configuration of
mostly passion and national emotions subject to transitory feelings, time and
place. A reasoned thinking is often the sparking guideline for sustainable
human relationships. Anarchy of absolutism or nationalism is as dangerous today
as it was centuries earlier - causing the Two WW and killings and
dehumanization of millions and millions across the globe. What is
the way out to reason and rationality for problem-solving and normalcy of
relationships? Kashmir is at the heart of conflicts between India and Pakistan
which was left unresolved by the departing British colonialism.
The political leaders in India and Pakistan have no rational sense of
their strengths and weaknesses. The spirit of democracy, secularism and respect
for equal rights is tormented by anarchy of absolutism. Both are the nuclear
nations and often remind the people of the world – what could go wrong when
nuclear option is miscalculated for one-sided peace as it happened at Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in 1945. Could men of knowledge and genius rise
up against the obvious political odds and ignorance that violations of human
rights is ‘a crime against humanity’ and that wars could not resolve the
problem without catastrophic human destruction?
India and Pakistan are not
ruled by the wisest or brightest politicians. The masses suffer by neglect and
anarchy. Truth is One and the same unchanging as it was many
centuries earlier. Contrary to historic India under Mughal Empire, we are
seeing in India, denial of human rights and freedom and prolonged captivity of
the people of Jammu and Kashmir - a framework of extreme Hinduism ideology. The
masses of Kashmir seek their rights to freedom, not forced captivity. What if
they had the freedom to express their will, if they want freedom from India or
want to join Pakistan? Historically, Kashmir was never a part of British Raj
but a separate entity and its geography and socio-economic lifelines run
through Pakistan, not India. India after military confrontation with China will
look for escape from reality to confront Pakistan. Kashmir is not a
domestic issue of India or Pakistan. Conscientious Indian thinkers and people
of conscience oppose the RSS Hinduism strategy. In a recent article, Arundhati
Roy – an acclaimed international peace activist and author of “The
Ministry of Utmost Happiness” and “My Seditious Heart.” (“The Silence is the
Loudest Sound”-New York Times: August 15, 2019), makes this candid
observation:
Amid these vulgar celebrations the loudest sound, however, is the deathly silence from Kashmir’s patrolled, barricaded
streets and its approximately seven million caged, humiliated
people, stitched down by razor wire, spied on by drones, living under a
complete communications blackout…. Today Kashmir is one of the most or
perhaps the most densely militarized zone in the world. More
than a half-million soldiers have been deployed to counter what the army itself
admits is now just a handful of “terrorists.” If there were any doubt earlier
it should be abundantly clear by now that their real enemy is the Kashmiri
people. What India has done in Kashmir over the last 30 years is unforgivable.
An estimated 70,000 people, civilians, militants and security forces have been
killed in the conflict. Thousands have been “disappeared,” and
tens of thousands have passed through torture chambers that dot the valley
like a network of small-scale Abu Ghraibs…..
The danger will come from many directions. The most powerful organization in
India, the far-right Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or the R.S.S., with
more than 600,000 members including Narendra Modi and many of his ministers, has
a trained “volunteer” militia, inspired by Mussolini’s Black Shirts. With each
passing day, the R.S.S. tightens its grip on every institution of the Indian
state. In truth, it has reached a point when it more or less is the
state.
Pakistan’s Masses Hope for Political Change
and Future-Making
Since 1947, first time under fair elections, Pakistani masses elected
Imran Khan- a cricketer and outspoken supporter of rights of freedom for the
ten millions people of Kashmir. He claims to be an ambassador for the
besieged people of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian administration since
1947. One wonders why Pakistani leaders could never think to hold an
international conference on Kashmir? Does Pakistan have competent diplomats to
argue for the rights of Kashmiri people in global forums? Pakistani diplomats
in North America are a misfit – a shame to enhance our national interest.
For over 50 years, Pakistan had a junk history of Bhuttos, Zardari,
Sharif and Musharaf- all thugs, wicked and indicted criminals to rule a moral
sensitive nation of values and spiritual history. PM Imran Khan, the first
elected leader should focus on rebuilding the essential moral-intellectual
capacity of the governance, unity and security of the diverse regions,
institutional development for public services and recruit educated and
intelligent people of new generation – people of ideas and vision rather than
thumb lickers and “yes men” in his governing circle. So far, he does not seem
to have any educated person of international integrity and strategic planning
to uplift Pakistan from a non-productive political economy and governance to a
status that could advance its originality of the freedom movement and a
stronger and politically viable Pakistan. He needs to address the issues of
missing public service, political accountability, law and order and justice.
Mr. Khan, if you are a leader, you must have a defined PLAN for change and
future-making. If Pakistanis are intelligent enough they should start thinking
now - what is after Imran Khan?
The former political monsters are still free and active to reclaim lost
political power. The consequential punishment of their crimes is on hold via
NAB. They looted national wealth to buy palaces in Europe and Dubai and, time
and opportunities for change, yet, they claim to have done nothing wrong. If
Imran Khan could enlist morally and intellectually competent people to his
governance, the issue of Kashmir could ably be presented in global settings and
perhaps an exercise of referendum- plebiscite be practiced to ensure the
encompassing reality for the deprived masses of Kashmir. Stupid clichés of
freedom and casual allusion of political change and the UN resolution of
Kashmir will not make any difference on the ground. If Pakistani leaders have
individual conscience and reality of the history to organize a Strategic Action
PLAN, the issue of Kashmir could be amicably resolved. The essence of political
change lies in being strong, not weak or divided in policies and practices.
Challenge – How to become Effective Leaders?
Leaders create new leaders with vision and integrity to imagine the
universal phenomenon of change and futuristic developments. Human happiness and
progress move horizontally in peace-time, not in continuing warmongering and
irrational threats to other people and nations. In situation of crises,
responsible leaders provide assurances and comforts to the masses - would
leaders of India and Pakistan come out of the psychologically neurosis box and
see the enlightenment of the 21st century of informed humanity
and honor the rights of self-determination of the people of Kashmir and let
them decide their own future and freedom and once for all rewrite a history of
peaceful co-existence and friendship?
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