No politics for the young

The last time a student union election was held in Pakistan was 1983, which means the previous generations to contest student union elections were the Boomers and Gen X, born between 1946-1965 and 1965-1980s. These two generations experienced democracy at the very grassroots level. They took part in student politics right from the word go.

Many great politicians came to fame in the national political sphere from student politics such as Jahangir Badar, Javed Hashmi, Amin Ul Haq, Liaqat Baloch, Abid Hasan Minto, Meraj Muhammad Khan, and many more. They later joined parties that suited their ideologies or were closest to them. These politicians were once elected student union leaders from their educational institution or student organization operating on a boarder scale i.e. NSF, DSF, JI, etc.

What made these leaders stand out from the rest of the crowd, mainly the status-quo politicians, was their ability to lead and their connection with the people.

How did they get their leadership qualities? Well, from participating in student politics, simple. Leading thousands of young people, fighting for their rights, day in and day out, keeping the university administration in check, presiding in meetings of their universities as members of the syndicate, taking part in important decision-making, and so on.

However, that breed of politicians is soon going to vanish as if it never existed – taking all the great precedents, norms, and political culture along with them.

So, now we have two generations – the Millennials born between 1981 and 1996, and the Gen Z born between 1997 and 2012 – are more than 50 per cent of the population, with zero political experience. These two generations haven’t taken part in student unions or local government elections. Also, by the looks of things Gen Alpha born between 2013-present might also not experience democracy while growing up.

So what do you get after two-three generations of de-politicization?

Leaders like the ones who joined the caretaker setup and later on got elected as senators, who parachuted their way into high offices using anything but democratic means. Then there are youth icons who are experts on issues ranging from black magic to women/transrights and everything under the great blue sky.

Now, coming to the serious bit of how the de-politicization of more than two generations can have some serious ramifications on the future.

For starters, the theoretical conception, practice, culture and norms of democracy are stalled. Even the living memory of institutions like student unions fade away. There’s no transfer of all these things to future generations, which results in the weakening of democracy in the country. When that happens, anti-democratic forces start to crawl up and take space. We have seen that happen in Pakistan – extremist organizations entering university spaces to recruit young boy and girls.

When new leadership isn’t reproduced, the existing status quo holds on to power without any competition. Those who came to hold key positions after the Zia martial law regime and resurgence of democracy, are still at the helm of affairs even after three decades. The same faces appear time and again with different cabinet portfolios. This shows how the system becomes decadent with no real growth or innovation.

This is not to just single out any one person; boomers have occupied everything in Pakistan. They are waiting to retire for the third time so they can snatch a young person’s job because their batch-mate is the one hiring for the position. But more importantly, politics in Pakistan is left to the rich and powerful. Industrialists, land owners, and political dynasties are the type that come to the assemblies and parliament, we seldom see someone from the grassroots or someone from the middle class make their way to the halls of power and represent.

Furthermore, the culture of acceptance and tolerance ends with de-politicization. Since the ban on student unions, ethnic councils and religious student organizations have taken over the space. Wouldn’t it have been better if a panel consisting of someone from a diverse faith, under-privileged socio-economic background, ethnicity, and gender were to contest someone of the same sort from a different group based on a different set of ideology instead of students contesting election based on exclusive ethnic vote bank, with members of Pashtun, Baloch, Sindh, Punjab councils having their own separate electorate? Where a student union election would have a Punjabi voting for a Pashtun or vice versa based on their ideology or their class solidarity.

Due to the very exclusive nature of politics, women and young people in general are considered an exception in politics rather than a norm. Previously we had women actively participating in student politics and young people coming forward to join the ranks of leadership. Now the majority of the women and young people come into politics because of their families’ political affiliation and status.

Moreover, with the 40-year ban on student politics and disruption in local government elections, the culture of accountability has also eroded. Those with power have been running the show unaccountably and with total impunity.

The boomer and X generations have let down multiple generations, and this critique isn’t just to single out politicians; it includes the bureaucracy as well and by bureaucracy, it doesn’t just mean the CSP babus – it goes far beyond that.

The worst thing is that, despite knowing what is to come, our boomer and GenX politicians fail to amend previous mistakes. They are not willing to do two things: let go of power and make way for younger generations, and devolve power from provinces to local government and students’ unions which are nurseries of democracy.

Those who thought banning student unions would solve the mess were not only short-sighted but also politically naive. Banning student unions has created a mess far beyond their ability to manage, and with the rise in extremism among the youth, this mess will get from bad to worse not better with time.

The writer is a youth activist. He tweets at @mustafa_wynne