Bulletcracy or Ballotcracy

Pakistan is passing through an extremely crucial and dangerously uncertain phase. Threats, both from within and without, are looming large on the horizon. Our rulers, on the contrary, are hell-bent to ignore the harsh ground realities by their self-centered obsession for self-perpetuation, through ruthless employment of bullet…..intriguingly denying the only workable way-out…..free, fair and transparent ballot process.

Governance through bullet is coercively oppressive, victimizingly repressive and stifles mutual accommodation and voluntary adjustment. Difference of views is deemed as unforgettable and unforgivable. All such differences, minor or major, are attempted to be resolved through application of blind force, excessive might and piercing power of the bullet. Tolerance, consensus and flexible adjustment to varying viewpoints, are considered as a sign of weakness which dilutes the myth of violence, terror and similar dictatorial expressions thereof. It encourages totalitarian outlook and being accountable to none. There is no writ of law, no sanctity of the constitution, no system of checks and balances, no national institutions and their well-defined areas of responsibilities as enshrined in the constitution and no sense of accountability and responsiveness of government apparatus and state functionaries. There is only one unquestionable and indispensable writ….. the writ of bullet.

However, repressive use of bullet temporarily resolves only a few issues but permanently creates many more complex problems in the long run. It gives too little at too big a cost. Bullet is deaf, dumb and blind. It is mercilessly cruel and heartlessly blood-letting….. causing venomous hatred, spiteful enmity and unbridgeable divides. It causes bloodshed and gory wounds; leads to jolting ripples and dreadful upheavals; brings political uncertainty and institutional instability; engenders fear and shock-effect; brings deprivation, poverty, class-oriented cleavages and stinted growth/welfare; restricts freedom, civic liberties, inherent pride, honour and dignity; kills bonds of brotherhood, love, affection and mutual affinities; adds on to unhealthy disparities, yawning gaps, polarization, intolerance and extremism; disrupts elements of national power, resilience and clenched-fist response to internal/external challenges.

Governance through ballot operates in a settled manner, slowly and peacefully, as per the collective wisdom and aspirations of the people. The democratic charter, rules of the game and constitutional contract as a whole are amicably agreed to through mutual reconciliation and accommodation…..as a product of overall national consensus. It is a sacred and inviolable document on which the entire edifice of the state is built on. The fundamental rights and the sovereignty of the people are unquestionable and their supremacy stands unassailable. Ballot gives a message of inherent pride, mutual understanding, give and take, moderation and further strengthens harmonized bonds of unity. It works under the umbrella of writ of law, constitutional norms, justice, stability and overall sense of security. Basic liberties of all individuals are guaranteed; indiscriminate equality is ensured; their aspirations are promptly heeded to and honoured; their welfare / prosperity is consistently sought after; their self-respect, dignity and pride are unhesitatingly catered for and detailed plans for education, medicare and overall well-being are regularly manufactured and tailored for the people as well as their coming generations. The elected government is accountable to them and the entire state machinery is responsive to their demands and aspirations. All the national institutions are well aware of their powers and limitations, strictly as defined in the constitution. Anybody dare not overstep its specified borderlines. No state functionary has the right to whimsically frame the constitution, make arbitrary amendments therein and suspend or rubbish it altogether. Only the two-third majority of the genuinely elected representatives of the people have the right to do it…..that too after thorough deliberation and, above all, tacit ballot approval of the people. National budgets reflect see-through transparency. There are no hidden clauses, no discretionary powers and no un-auditable accounts. Developmental and welfare-oriented expenses are the maximum while absolutely bare minimum are the non-developmental ones. Arbitrary or princely allocations of funds are simply unheard of.

Nobody is above the laws. Everybody is equal and there is no category of more equals. Courts are free, fair, firm and easily accessible for prompt and indiscriminate dispensation of justice. Judiciary cannot be coerced, victimized and trashed. It proudly stands as a custodian of justice, guarantor of fundamental rights and protector of the constitution. People are sovereign and they can enthrone or dethrone their rulers through the power of ballot. They are not afraid of rulers. On the other hand, the rulers have to be extremely mindful of their views, reviews and perceptions. Such public assessments are thoroughly evaluated and remedial measures are initiated on top priority basis. There are no permanent rulers, no totalitarian dictators, no indispensable champions and no irremovable usurpers. The rulers sail into the corridors of power only through the civilized, lawful and constitutional channel of the people’s ballot. Illegal, unconstitutional, undemocratic and uncivilized ingress through power of bullet…..naked use of force …..is an act of high treason and punishable accordingly with exemplary firmness to effectively block the recurrence of such immoral violations and stinking unconstitutional transgressions.

Almost four centuries back, the whole world was ruled by despotic monarchs, feudal lords and the equally exploitative but so-called sacred cows of the degenerated clergymen. Their word was law, their power was limitless and their sway was boundless. The masses were rightless, miserably weak and terribly afraid of their sweeping powers. However, the people soon realized that their pathetic status was absolutely inhuman and revolted against such cruel exploitation. They waded through blood, paid the heaviest price through their innumerable sacrifices and ultimately succeeded to snatch their fundamental rights (duly documented and guaranteed by the powerful judiciary) by displaying united and determined power of their ballot. It has brought about a great revolutionary reversal of roles…..from injustice to justice, from slavery to freedom, from inequitable to equitable dispensation of opportunities, from suffocation to jubilation, from despair to pride, from grinding poverty to limitless richness and from rule of man through bullet to rule of law through ballot.

The entire Muslim world, on the other hand, continues to be under the strong grip of the bullet, let loose by the widely despised and unwanted so-called kings, monarchs, ‘amirs’ and dictators. Such rulers are cruel, undemocratic and unaccountable to the people. They are stooges of the colonial forces which provide them protection from their own people. The style of their governance is dictatorial, based on the deeply-entrenched network of police and intelligence agencies ….. of course, brute display of force of the bullet ….. and total negation of the people’s power of ballot. The net result is obvious. The Muslim world, in spite of its rich natural and human resources, is poor, ignorant, backward, illiterate, underdeveloped and oppressed. It has no role, not even insignificant, in the international arena; rather it is a laughing stock of the whole world.

Pakistan came into being through a democratic political system of dispensation. It is a product of the free will of the people, expressed through the ballot. Bullet had no role to play, whatsoever. Quaid-e-Azam was a great political leader who had blind faith in democracy, collective wisdom of the people, writ of law/constitution and indiscriminate welfare for all under the overall undiluted supremacy of the elected civilian representatives of the masses. This sacred vision of Pakistan was treacherously negated by the gang of insatiably greedy usurpers, who so unfortunately succeeded him. There has been a long list of illegitimate rulers, mainly from civil and military bureaucracy who worked in close collaboration with opportunistic elements of ‘wadera/pir shahi’, shameless turncoats/political orphans and characterless bunch of cronies/toadies. These ugly vultures have played havoc with the destiny of Pakistan and its hapless people through the force of the bullet, thereby destroying the free culture of ballot ….. supremacy of the constitution and sovereignty of the people. Today, Pakistan is anything but a democratic state. It is basically militocracy, ruling through bulletcracy and thereby, most brazenly, slaughtering democracy or ballotcracy.

Democracy has dynamics of its own. It flourishes if allowed to function without periodic interruptions of martial laws, PCOs/LFOs and the stinking “Law of Necessity”. If the tender sapling of democracy were not regularly uprooted and disrupted in 1958, 1969, 1977 and 1999, Pakistan would surely have matured into a constitutionally governed, democratically viable, politically stable, progressively forward-looking and welfare-oriented state by now.

Let us bury the unhealthy culture of militocracy and lethal practices of bulletcracy. Through the elections of 18 February 2008, the people of Pakistan have openly rejected bulletcracy. They have strongly voted for the system of ballotcracy, rule of law/constitution, independent Judiciary, good governance, justice, non-selective welfare for all and for upholding national pride in our dealings with the rest of the world. The verdict of the people is loud and unambiguous. The writings on the wall are visibly bold and clear. The rulers must learn from history of the world as well as that of our own and stop swimming against the popular will of the people. It is the age of graceful ballotcracy; dictatorial bulletcracy has become disgraceful and out-dated. The rulers must rise above their selfish power-game and the intrigues directed thereto. They are taking the country to a disastrous course of confrontation. Mr Musharraff must resign and quit to avert a showdown with the ballotcracy….. democratic verdict of the people.