Extension legacy

LAST Tuesday marked an unenviable end to six years of near-absolute power. Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa would not have wanted to go as he did, spurned by friend and foe alike. Even the general public – usually so enamoured of men in uniform – seemed unforgiving as he hung up his boots, with many taking to social media to express their criticism.

Photo by archer10 (Dennis)

However, in recent years my opinion about PTI began to change. For one thing, I had a chance to observe Imran Khan from a very close distance. And I found him to be a very humble and a courteous man. The second is that his ability to struggle is almost unequivocal. Apart from Hollywood movies, I have never really seen an example of so much human struggle in my entire life. He has been striving hard to reach the moment he is in today for the past twenty-two years. And he believed in his cause when nobody else did. If it had been any other person than him, he would have crippled, shattered and would have given in to the sheer pressure that Imran has faced in his life.

This is the moment of Imran Khan. His time has really come. His archrivals are in deep problems. And he alone, if at all, is the only hope for the democratic future of Pakistan. It is the kind of time in which he is seen as the sole celebrity in Pakistan. And if he managed things, a time may come when people would say that even if he gave his party’s ticket to a donkey, they’d vote for him. Such statements have been given before by the people of Pakistan in favor of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif.

This is one of the things that concerns me. That when that kind of a time will come on Imran Khan, how will he disburse his party’s tickets? That will mean a lot for his party. As a matter of fact, Imran has already hired a large bunch of donkeys who have been retiring from the rotting parties. If he hires more of such spent political workers, his credibility in the eyes of the public shall be compromised. And that would be catastrophic for his party. So the problem here is that how should Imran further develop his party.

The other concern that I have is that his party really does not have much penetration in the society. Even though he is revered by the people, there is much less a link between his party workers with the common man. This is something that some of the old parties such as PPP and PML-N are really good at.

So Imran should focus more on these two issues. Otherwise, no matter how much early or latter has his moment arrived, he shall fade away from the political canvas of our political landscape very quickly.

Photo by Joe Dyer

The question for me, then, becomes to think about a profession that is both thrilling and rewarding in some sense. Whenever I think about an example, politics comes to my mind. Politics is always hyped up in our society. It can be considered as a glamorous profession worldwide as politicians are normally found on the front pages of newspapers, even if they are being accused of fraud. Moreover, given the feudalistic mindset of our society, politics is looked up at very naturally as the most desirable profession. I have personally had a chance to meet a few very young people in their late teens, who for one reason or the other are mentally pre-occupied with the larger enterprise of politics. For instance, some people keep eyeing politics because they believe that the current breed of politicians is corrupt to the spine. Moreover, they find it incumbent upon themselves to plan their careers so as to climb the ladder of political leadership. And then, when they have the right authority, enough power, and ample opportunity, to straighten up our so much messed up political system.

In an early age, when an adolescent is transitioning to adulthood, he tries to find meaning in life. Then ambitions override the reality. He likes to fly too high. Touching the skies can become a goal. Someone must have motivated. And that motivation is now at work. The person can seek glory and fame. Many professions can sound mundane and zestless. Computer science, mathematics, writing code, doing experiments can sound more like child’s play. As the person looks to fulfill his ambitions, politics can appear such an enterprise that can lead him to the greatness of Alexander of Macedonia. Men can generally have this propensity. Whereas women, on the other hand, can still think and plan realistically.

Then there is another creed of people who seek political careers just for the opposite reasons. Such people believe that in our society, nothing can be achieved through the right means. And to become a high achiever, one needs to assume power. Entering a political party, and flaunting clout for them is something that can do wonders. And it indeed does wonders as well. Is it not uncommon that if you declare your affiliation with a well-known political party, you can get many doors opened for yourself. Any person with even a shallow awareness of our social mindset would testify this. This is how our society works. This is the norm. And this is kind of a belief.

This article is not for the third type of people, although they may also want to benefit. Crooks shall do what they have to do. But I think that I can provoke some alternative thoughts in the minds of the first kind of people or anyone who even slightly identifies with them.

For anyone who thinks about abandoning his profession as a computer scientist, or any such technical or academic discipline, just because they think that it is too mundane, unrewarding and cannot bring them fame or glory should possibly try to understand a few things. Glorious professions such as politics are not easy to undertake. They require a lot of handwork and planning. You have to meet many people, liaise with many, and ditch even a lot more. You have to spend a lot of money to climb the ladder of a political party. You have to climb that ladder so as to have an audience. The process of climbing that ladder is not easy. You have to spend an enormous amount of money, you have to coax many people. Eventually, you end up getting obliged by so many people that your decisions making becomes a function of their whims and desires.

At the end of the day, you have a bad family life. You begin to lose sincere friends. You get surrounded by so many opportunists. If glory comes your way momentarily in the form of a victory in an election or something, it passes away so quickly as well, especially in today’s too much fast-paced media life. Politics is not everyone’s cup of tea. It need not be everyone’s cup of tea. Much of the apparent glitter and glory associated with being famous and well-known is largely illusory.

I speak about politics for those of us who consider their academic professions mundane. I personally used to consider professorship of university a very boring experience of life. Obese professors, wearing old coats, roaming in balconies of academic campuses can deliver a really hackneyed image to a youngster so full of glamorous ambitions for his future.

Acting, to me, can be another professional choice that is glamorous. And indeed it is very glamorous. We all know about quite a few actors who are well known and many people like to be like them and stuff. But to become a good actor is not so easy. An actor has to work very hard at memorizing the script, conceiving the character, rehearsing it. He has to redo small scenes again and again on the set unless the director is happy with him. Sometimes junior actors even have to face bashing for not doing as they were supposed to do. There is a lot of ladder climbing that needs to be done in this feat as well. An actor needs a few blockbusters to come in the limelight.

We can think of other professions and we shall find that they are all demanding. In as much as we can consider Physics, Mathematics or Computer Science boring and bizarre, the truth is that many other professions can turn out to be a lot more boring and bizarre. Consider metalworking, plumbing, dishwashing, flying a plane, taxi driving, etc. There is a myriad of other such professions. It takes a long time to develop dexterity about these professions. Once dexterity is achieved, the profession can be dull and boring. The professional has to follow the same old routine chores day in and day out. Moreover, people who adopt such professions live in oblivion as well.

On the other hand, people associated with technical and academic professions can still try to make their professions interesting. There is an element of research associated with academia, for instance. Not many people care about it. And many just like to shrug their shoulders as soon as they hear about it. But it can make life a lot more fun to adopt experimentation in life. You can do something new every day of your life.

A long time ago, I was talking to a cousin of mine about my future plans. I had finished high school then. I remember that I said that I shall abandon my studies soon and start some kind of a hotel, in pursuit of lucre. I remember that as I revealed my true plans and ambitions, my cousin said to me that his plan was to study so long as someone could provide funds. And he did that. I took a little longer to understand that the easiest thing in the world is to study. The second easiest thing in the world possibly is to teach. Everything else requires a lot of hard work. And you may realize much later that everything else is actually so mundane.

Photo by YIM Hafiz