Politics has always been seen as a profitable business in Pakistan where both political parties and politicians look for gainful opportunities rather than practicing and propagating some ideological orientation. Politics guided by ideology and principles has been very rare. Too often ideology and principles get overlooked or brushed aside for personal short term and petty gains. Thus, leaving a party for another, for personal gain, is more a norm than an exception in the political culture in the country.

Sheikh Muhammad Rashid (1915 – 2002) — popularly known as Baba-i-Socialism (Father of Socialism) — was an exception. Unlike most major political leaders he adhered to his socialist ideology and principles throughout his life and was swayed neither be lucrative offers nor threats and intimidation.

Rashid believed that the development of social institutions would naturally lead to socialism, provided that we work for it too. Thus, he toiled for a socialist democracy through incremental reform rather than attempt a revolution. He remained a part of the peasant organisation, political parties and governments without surrendering his ideological orientation.

He did switch parties but never compromised the ideology and principles he had been advocating even though he had to oppose stalwarts like Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Mian Iftikharuddin and Ghulam Mustafa Khar. His opposition to Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan’s move to be the prime minister of Pakistan and president of All Pakistan Muslim League at the same time led to his forced resignation from the League. He had argued that Khan could not head the government and the party simultaneously since it was a violation of the League constitution and would set a precedent for concentration of power rather than promote social democracy.

After resigning from the League, Rashid founded the Azad Pakistan Party (APP) in collaboration with Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan, Mian Mahmood Ali Qasoori, and Mian Iftikharuddin in 1950. That too, he had to leave over ideological differences with his co-founders. Iftikharuddin, for example, tried to bring Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan into the party fold. Protesting over this move, Rashid resigned from the party in 1954, alleging that Khan’s politics was based on parochial linguistic and ethnic loyalties rather than socialist principles.

Rashid was one of the founders of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — that was founded on November 30, 1967, at the house of Dr Mubashir Hassan. He says his Kissan Committee decided to join the PPP on receiving an assurance from ZA Bhutto that abolition of absentee landlordism and introduction of cooperative farming would be part of its manifesto. As a member of the committee that drafted the Foundation and Policy Document, he ensured that the manifesto was based on social egalitarianism.

While the PPP was initially dominated by Left-wing politicians and activists, the landed aristocrats soon flocked to the party. Upon joining the party, many of them were given important positions in the party cadre. Ghulam Mustafa Khar, a landlord from south Punjab, for example, was appointed as secretary-general of the Punjab chapter. However, the presence of the landed interests in the party could not compel Rashid, president of the Punjab chapter, to award party tickets to the landed elite. That is why a considerable number of members from the middle or lower classes got elected to the assemblies from the Punjab in the general elections in December 1970.

The presence of the landed interests in the PPP could neither influence nor compel Rashid, being president of the Punjab chapter of the party, to award party tickets to the landed aristocrats, for provincial and national assemblies. That is why a considerable number of members from the middle and lower classes got elected to the assemblies from the Punjab in the general elections in December 1970.

Being an advocate of the peasants’ rights, Rashid asked Bhutto to entrust him with the ministry of food, agriculture and agrarian reforms. Instead, he was given the ministry of health, mainly due to opposition from the landed interests who knew that Rashid was a socialist and could go to any extent to implement agrarian reforms. As health minister, Rashid introduced the famous generic names scheme that met with resistance from doctors, foreign drug manufacturers and their local partners, agent pharmaceutics, and civil and military drug dealers. Due to his daring stance and mounting pressure from the annoyed elements, Rashid was shunted to the ministry of food, agriculture and agrarian reforms that he had asked for earlier.

He was not only given the charge of the ministry but also appointed as second chairman of the Federal Land Commission. Its members were given judicial powers and authorised to review appeals against decisions of the Provincial Land Commissions. In addition, they were empowered to inquire about and review any case of land reforms they wished to. Instead of waiting for appeals and applications regarding violations, Rashid acted suo motu and acquired land from several landlords. Due to his active role in the implementation of land reforms, landed aristocrats turned against him and there was a plan to assassinate him. However, he escaped unhurt.

Rashid’s adherence to ideology and principles cost him his party office and a ticket for the general elections. During exile in the 1980s, he developed differences with Benazir Bhutto mainly over party organisation and the course of action in national politics. Due to the differences particularly and his socialist ideology generally, Benazir did not award him party tickets to contest elections to the Senate and the National Assembly. Despite this, he remained in the PPP although he could have joined some other party to become member of the parliament and minister.

As a reformist socialist, Rashid is still remembered as Baba-i-Socialism (Father of Socialism). He opted for the course of reforms rather than revolution to establish a socialist democracy. His death on September 12, 2002, brought an end to a long and honourable struggle.

Mazhar Abbas has a PhD in history from Shanghai University and is a lecturer at GCU, Faisalabad. He can be contacted at mazharabbasgondal87@gmail.com. He tweets at @MazharGondal87

Muhammad Abrar Zahoor has a PhD in history from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and is head of History Department, Sargodha University. He can be reached at abrar.zahoor@hotmail.com. He tweets at @AbrarZahoor1