WE gained emancipation seventy-seven years ago and have been celebrating Independence Day ever since. Every time, while we hope for better days to come and replace the bad ones we’ve endured, our ruling elite continue to make the same promises. However, while our hopes have proved to be mere cries in the wilderness, the promises of our ruling elite have turned out to be nothing but colourful rainbows. Today, as we celebrate the day, we still hold the same hope, though now mixed with an element of desperation. Whatever claims our intelligentsia or political elites may make, the fact remains that the objectives our founding leaders outlined for the creation of this ‘land of the pure’ have not been achieved, and we still find ourselves at a crossroads with no clear destination in sight.
The matter isn’t too difficult to comprehend. In the United India, history tells us, the Muslims had their socio-economic conditions in tatters. Hence, as a step for their betterment, it was proposed to have a separate homeland for them to make their own decisions whatsoever expedient for their ‘better future’ — a future that may guarantee no starvation, no injustice and no discrimination for them. This was an idea or dream charming enough to evoke an overwhelming support from the Muslims for the proposed state when it was formally put into the then British Indian government in the shape of resolution of March 23, 1940. Then, the leadership provided by Muhammad Ali Jinnah was dynamic enough to transform this massive support into a mass-movement for independence. And the result was the emergence of Pakistan on the global map. But it was, truly speaking, not the sole objective.
The creation mainly manifested to arrange and ensure that none in this land feels insecure, none goes to bed hungry, none dies for want of medicine, none remains out of school, none gets discriminated and, in short, none gets deprived of what is sine qua non for a prestigious life. Alas, had it been so but unfortunately it isn’t the case. We have the economy too poor to afford provision of essentials of life to its citizens. Unemployment, low growth rate, low per capita income, unfavourable balance of trade and payment, widening gap between revenues and expenditures, irrational tax collections, ever increasing foreign and circular debts, low productivity and high inflation are almost persistent features of this economy.
Let’s have a look at our taxation regime also. It is really amazing. The rural feudal lords with thousands of acres of landed property in possession and the urban business and industrialists class — from whom are almost our political and ruling elites — by exercising their influence, evade tax on their property, wealth, income, etc., and thus turn ‘sacred cows’ on the count. On the contrary, however, the common salaried class, small business-men, daily wagers and the general masses are fixed an easy target to generate from howsoever revenue the government wants but at the cost of their enormous suffering. The most amazing is the electricity charges bill with haphazard hiking and varieties of taxes adding to. During the last couple of months, the bills of household consumers got almost doubled. Interestingly, in certain cases, the amount of the bill of a white collar employee exceeds the salary he gets. Then, the fallout is essentially the vicious cycle of poverty that goes on increasing every passing day. According to an authentic report, the ratio of people living below the poverty line has galloped to above forty percent. And, hence the starvation in the land. Misfortune seldom comes alone. While we already are in hot waters due to the financial crunch, militancy and terrorism is yet another dreadful monster that haunts the land every now and then and snatch from us the night’s slumber and the day’s hustle and bustle. In such a situation that is symbolised by horror and terror, suicidal bombing, gunning downs, sorrows, grief, pain and what not, we automatically forget our hunger and begin to mourn our martyrs, not in single or twos but in dozens and hundreds and that too day and night.
All these are the miseries we have been facing and almost accustomed to. Of course, these are attributed to the poor governance in the land. Yes, poor governance has given birth to a plethora of socio-political and administrative issues. The malady of corruption, for instance, is the foremost of those issues. It, for being the mother of other issues, should have since been eliminated from society. However, due to ineffectiveness of the institutions, it couldn’t be done. Instead, it flourished and got converted into the corruption culture that, in turn, paralysed all the state’s institutions to such an extent that these aren’t delivering to the masses.
Then, the rule of law is nowhere in the land. The law comes into action selectively as per whims of the haughty and mighty and the result is before us. It is anarchy and chaos in every nook and corner of the land with no one feeling secure. The foreign investors, for the same reasons, aren’t ready to visit the land even and what to speak of their investment here. The native investors too have either shifted their business to other countries or are about to do so in the near future. For boosting the economy, inter alia, it is imperative to have a peaceful and investment friendly environment in the land which, however, isn’t foreseen in prevailing scenario. And finally the political instability is yet another factor for our economic woes that essentially needs to come to an end. For this, however, is required political wisdom, maturity and will to bring into use which our ruling and political elites hardly have. Hence, while celebrating Independence Day, we essentially want to know when the dream for our better future, which our founding leaders had outlined prior to launching the mass-movement for creation of this land, would get actualised. Our political and ruling elites may respond to.
— The writer is a retired civil servant and freelance contributor based in Swat.
