On a collision course

Paradoxically, as and when a state becomes more powerful than the society it rules, it begins to fade. In the same way, a society trying to grab the state’s monopoly over coercive powers turns into anarchy.

It is simply unimaginable to find society-less states and stateless societies surviving for long. The test of statesmen and influential individuals is to strike a balance between the freedom of citizens (society’s fundamental demand) and state control over collective affairs.

Unfortunately, the state of Pakistan has yet to learn how and when to use coercive force for public good and society has yet to find civilized ways to express its aspirations and demands. The state intervenes time and again for the wrong reasons in societal affairs.

One cherished area for frequent interference is politics, extensively carried out on the pretext that politicians are incompetent and/or dishonest. However, history tells us that experiments of this kind do not always produce the desired results. It is primarily because of the complex interaction of many factors that one can hardly control. Institutions, like individuals, need autonomy as well as direction to evolve over time.

The response of society to what the state does or does not do is not civilized either. It is mostly frenzied in character and messy in approach. Dharnas, which have now become a new normal to dictate the state, create more problems than they might solve.

Dharna and for that matter any protest is a form of freedom of expression and most often it conveys the voice of an aggrieved party rather forcefully to those who are otherwise not prepared to listen. But it should not become a stepping stone towards violence and the subsequent paralysis of the state apparatus. What happened on the roads and streets across Pakistan, following the Supreme Court judgment in the Aasia Bibi case, is one example of how dreadful and catastrophic some protests can become.

The tremendous response dharnas receive in Pakistan may have many reasons. They may be an appropriate outlet for expression of anger emanating from economic deprivation, shift in social values, or frustration caused by unmet political expectations. Regardless of the motives behind dharnas, they have become a new tool and an innovative approach to negotiate terms with the state. Access to social media and a demagogue who promises salvation and paradise on earth are the two prerequisites for any dharna to succeed. A weak state apparatus and/or the will to act subsequently reinforce the participants of dharnas to replicate the success story in the future for another so-called ‘noble’ cause.

And for being noble, the cause need not be really noble; any excuse and justification during and after a dharna will do the trick if the participants are cult-followers. Strange explanations are given for blocking roads, putting vehicles on fire, and looting shops/carts during protests in Pakistan. In a funeral gathering, I heard one participants of a previous dharna saying that vehicles had to be burnt so that the owners could feel the pain of those whose faith and feelings had been brazenly wounded by the state.

The way state and society interact today should not become cherished tradition. It is dangerous for both. A local myth in the tribal region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is frequently alluded to during any discussion on pre-empting a threat to a tribe.

The myth says that a man was run over by a snake when he was about to sleep. After some time, he recalled the incident and started crying like a lost child. A passerby came by and asked sympathetically what the problem was and if he could help. The man thanked him and said he was weeping out of his worry that the snake might make it a habit to run over his body, and would eventually bite him to death. Let the snake of violence never make it a habit to run over the belly of Pakistan.

The writer teaches at SZABIST,Islamabad.

Email: dr.zeb@szabist-isb.edu.pk