Pak Tea House » Uncategorized » Imran Khan: A Rising Force???
Imran Khan: A Rising Force???
Raza Habib Raja
Before I start, let me admit one thing here that I got it wrong and underestimated Imran’s ability to actually bring his facebook supporters to the street. Ok, I admit this is something I had not imagined to be possible in the past. In fact I have been mocking PTI for a considerable period of time for being a political “nobody” apart from being a reactionary party. But no matter what spin I try to give, the fact is that PTI is a force to reckon with, at least in Urban Punjab. Yes one successful political rally does not mean that PTI has conquered Pakistan but it has shown itself to be a rising force in terms of popularity. Reactionary it may still be but it is somebody today!! And Imran deserves full credit for that.
About two days before his rally, I started to hear (on facebook again!!) from several of friends and cousins that they actually planned to attend PTI’s rally in Lahore. Most of them are either young or belong to the white collared urban middleclass which always has expressed severe doubts over the political process and democracy. Most of them have been extremely apolitical in their lives and to find out that they were actually taking the trouble to go to a rally was a big surprise. And despite the fact that I don’t approve of who they were supporting (Sorry I don’t politically support Imran ), a positive surprise.
Today I was watching the clips on the You Tube and was bewildered by the crowd and a huge number of youngsters who had shown up. Imran Khan has been able to galvanize the students and the youth, including those who are often categorised as “Generation X”. Despite having severe disagreement with Imran’s conservative outlook, I could not resist myself from being appreciative of the sight.
And what a sight it was! I will be dishonest if I say that it was not an impressive show. Youngsters, women, children and those who had long become “cynical” were all there. Whether they are backing the right horse is a separate question but the fact is that they were participating. And yes even from the blurry video of You Tube, I could feel what the crowd was feeling in those moments: Hope.
What was in front of my eyes was democracy at work. May be Imran Khan is ISI backed and therefore in essence shady in democratic credentials, but those who had gathered at the venue came their out of their own accord and tried to show their support through an essentially democratic process. Some of my friends have been working for months on galvanising support for today, a fact which has just come to my notice and they by no stretch of imagination have anything to do with ISI though you can argue that they are “influenced” by its narrative.
As a political person, I am interested not only in ideologies but also in the grand scheme of things. Democracy can only function in a sustained manner when apolitical becomes political and when youth starts to participate. Yes mistakes will be made and at times even “reactionaries” will become popular but that is the learning curve of the democratic process. Also if people who never bother to vote and are just busy in their professional lives, start participating in the political process then the democratic process is strengthened.
Now comes the big question? Why are previously apolitical people and youth supporting him? Is it because of his opposition of drone attacks? Is it because he often gives apologetic defence to the Taliban? Partly yes, but this is not the main reason behind the surge of popularity. I think the liberal press has become too obsessed with Imran’s pro Taliban statements to understand that not everyone who is supporting PTI is a Taliban supporter.
I know several who by no stretch of imagination are Taliban supporters but are supporting Imran. Their reason is that the present parties have misgoverned and lack “sincerity”. Imran’s surge in popularity in Urban Punjab is an outcome of complex interplay between changing demographics ( as number of young people have increased), the increasing power of the still nascent social media, potency of the electronic media and the “image” issue of the current political players. Most of the people who are supporting Imran are unanimous that he is sincere and honest so they want to give him a chance. For many of them their political support for Imran is the extension of their personal respect for Imran’s services to Pakistan and not because of Imran’s apologetic defence of Taliban. Yes a few do support him on that count also but that is not the major reason.
The first objection I get from several of my friends whenever I say anything against Imran is that he is a clean person who has rendered great services to Pakistan. They also remind me that in my youth I too used to worship Imran Khan and even used to copy his bowling action. It’s that cricketing and philanthropic record, which is untainted coupled with the fact that right now country is facing a severe load shedding and deteriorating governance quality, which explain his increasing popularity. My friends say that they want rule of law and Imran, being a sincere person will work sincerely to end nepotism and corrupt culture. In urban areas of Punjab, issues like corruption do matter and when finally a person with “clean” image starts looking electable, this may actually translate into some electoral success.
So does Mr. Khan have a political future? Well, in my opinion he will not sweep the elections, but IF HIS MOMENTUM CONTINUES (Folks election are still 1.5 years away and one Jalsa does not mean that you have conquered Pakistan), Urban Punjab will see a definite change and so will some areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhawa. And that is where the buck stops. I really don’t find that Imran Khan’s narrative swaying many in rural Punjab, Sindh (urban and rural) and Baluchistan. The demographics and the ideological bent there are too different. Rural Punjab can be dented somewhat if “strong” candidates join PTI. In future as urbanization grows, if momentum stays with Mr. Khan and provided he has time (he is already 58), yes there may be a permanent shift.
One of the lessons which need to be learnt by the main two parties is that governance is not merely an electronic media generated abstract but a real concern which the rising urban population will eventually factor in. If you don’t improve it, then you will find yourself ceding political advantage in CITIES to clean but reactionary politicians. So PPP and PML (N), I hope you do understand this and so do your supporters.
Filed under: Uncategorized · Tags: Imran, Imran Khan, political, PTI
128 Responses to "Imran Khan: A Rising Force???"
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May 24, 2013 at 11:31 am
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You first annoy a person to the hilt and then blame him for mishaving! Sir Geoffrey is an old chum who deserves respect, nothing less.
NC
Let’s be very cautious of those who demand that their statements/arguments not be held to any basic standards of common human decency, that they must receive ‘respect’ and not be annoyed – more than any others.
Presumably, everyone here is an honorable old/young person – chummy and fully deserving of respect in his or her own unique way.
KAALCHAKRA-JII:
i) I am one of those who does not even lightly insult just anyone, because that would catapult the lucky dude into becoming a footnote in history in spite of his (or herR!~!) hysteria and hypocrisy;
ii)I regard psueudonymous catcalling as a big-big laugh;
iii) You seem upset at the mention of presumptuous Virgin Bashing. My epistle (or my fiat) began with a big-big IF. Forgive me, you thought i was criticising your favourite premium AirLine. How many time did you ride Virgin (AirLine).I am sending them a bouquet of yellowed roses… cheer=up now.
read “does” not as does-does, doesdoesdoezzz… , but as “do”.
to all on PTH
Before you press the send button on this website, do read your post to check that no filthy language or insults or sex-related or perverse bogeys are contained in it.
That is my wish. I have stuck to this codex strictly.
As regards “islam bashing” – there is no bashing but only harsh and necessary criticism born out of a necessity that stretches back to 1400 years.
Christians had to survive underground for 300 years before capturing power. Mohammad had to wait for only 8 years and then he lived for only 2 years. After that no criticism of islam was possible. This led to a quick fascistization of this faith. Jinnah had to wait for only 10 years before becoming the boss of his Pakistan. And then he lived for only 1 year. That was yet another layer of fascistization.
Muslims have to learn the wisdom of encouraging criticism, praising and thanking the critic (of islam), realizing that the flatterer is not the true friend.
I doubt that they will learn this wisdom – but I am trying to inculcate it.
Sir Geoffery,
You stuff about deflowering a virgin and the attendant description is really quite disgusting, to say the least. Maybe it’s a generational thing because I have seen the resident Aristotle indulge in similar remarks, but please desist from such crude jokes. That may pass off as “jest” as some have suggested but it is extremely churlish to blithely pass off such statements, especially at your age. Plus, an artist is supposed to be sensitive and have refined feelings. You are giving hiob too much importance by indulging him.
Sir Geoffrey,
You should carry on undaunted (Hiob doesn’t deserve a response though). Just in case you have doubts what may or may not hurt the feelings of the youth (Indian youth in particular) check out some “oops” clips on TOI and Rediff. That will give you a reference point.
NC,
What is gained by race to the bottom? Should TOI and Rediff be taken as markers for this site?
BM,
Absolutely not. But when they are churning trash everyday and the younger generation including me are consuming with mirth, isn’t it a bit presumptuous to call it a generational thing? Plus I don’t know what your and Kaalchakra’s problems are with ‘deflowering a virgin’. If it’s the tone of male-chauvinism, well, from the comments in those two biggies nobody can beat our youth for sure.
NC,
Let me quote the exact words:
“some genuine virgin, you will recollect they keep on saying no. Resistence shrieks appeasement”
“Genuine”? “Resist(a)nce shrieks appeasement”? If you can find two women who find that kosher, I will take my words back. Everything has a context. The abuse of the prophet(which, to be honest, was not that egregious) hurts no one, least of all, the prophet, who is long gone. In the society where women, as a rule, have to bear more than their share of random abuse, that sort of “jest” is really not helpful, especially, coming from someone who had the benefit of education from the most enlightened places. This sort of jest is probably fine in a local mandi or the neighboring chai-khana, but not at a site that aims for a more refined discourse. Of course, we can agree to disagree. That’s just what I think.
As for the generational thing, I have always been fed this notion as to how polite the previous generation was blah, blah. I must say I have had second thoughts about this theory.
BM
Why do I mind if you abuse Ram (I don’t)? It’s because my father probably told me the Ramayana stories, my mother probably prays and sings to him every morning and every evening, my grandfather probably sang Ramacharitmanas to me when I was a child, so I associate Ram not just with me but also with my greater identity that includes my near and dear ones, where I grew up, everything. None of this is true for me personally, because, like many Bengalis, Ram has never been a big deal to me. But I would not hurt a north Indian (for instance), whose evenings are spent singing to Raghubeera, by unnecessarily abusing Ram. The same goes with prophet Muhammad.
NC
There is a fundamental conflict and almost total mutual disrespect between the teachings of Mohammad and the interests and inclinations of kaffirs. This mutual disrespect has dire consequences for the lives and life chances of individual human beings. Despite our best intentions, none of us can or should ignore it. Examples of Ram or Buddha merely confuse the issue.
——————-
Hiob
Two criticisms that I have already made in some forms -
(1) Your critique of Islam tends to be (or appears to me as) indiscriminating, promiscuous almost. You seem to view Islam as the the master narrative which justifies and spreads anti-kaffir bigotry. Even so, your contributions have a spam-like quality.
(2) Your criticisms read less like criticisms and more like denunciations. A person aiming for objectivity will see that as a weakness.
—————
Jaffry Ji
PTH currently has the advantage of having some pretty good people – genuinely interested in the betterment of Pakistan and its neighborhood. Let’s hop we can return the focus back to issues, away from individuals. Best.
kaalchakjra=jii of the united aiurlines of an\mericA.
I AGREE WITH YOU Totally.
=================================================================
as for baade mian ; he should become so excited, I was merely referring to the Excursion Class of Virgin AirLines of the United Kingdom.
===================================================================
Bottom line I do not marrow-line on Truth,,, I DO NOT WRITE PSeudonymously.
God! Show mercy on those wiseguys who dont because yet pine to eat my cakes while from other end of their big mouth they are kicking the As-of-Facts.
Sin Serially, MJIG(J) of Slarpore
To No-Communal
You write:
“You should carry on undaunted (Hiob doesn’t deserve a response though).”
Why do you wish that the PTH gangs up against me?
Everyone has his style of criticizing.
I have never used abusive words or sexual or faecal language, not even when provoked by others.
I criticize islam (less so the muslims) since it contains inherent fascism, totalitarianism and destruction of non-arab cultures and identities (a fact which muslims, and their protectors, will try to deny, but without success).
I agree with Kaalchakra that one should not relativize one person’s/religion’s sins, crimes and mistakes by bringing in other persons’/religions’ sins etc. Ram does not have today the negative influence in India (in spite of all his faults) that Mohammad has and will continue to have in muslim lands. Some hindus have resorted to Ram/Hanuman as a retaliation against islamic imperialism and its agents in India, but they are not going to Makkah to cause any mayhem there.
As I read pakistani newspapers today I had enough proofs on the hand that a good human society cannot be founded or maintained on the basis of islam and that is my everyday conclusion now since I started reading these newspapers.
No one is under any compulsion to use only the name given to him by his parents. Everyone has the right to choose his own name. Arguments are important, not the name of the person who brings them.
What does kafir mean? If you analyse that correctly then the muslims are the real kafirs and blasphemers.
The net provides a perfect platform for an interesting human compulsion: evangelism. So many people trying to save others from earthly or heavenly purgatory. It’s part of being human.
Hiob, your obsession with saving Pakistanis (and the wider world) from Islam and the tolerance afforded to your comments is a genuine part of the PTH experience.
to Tilsim
I wish to protect NON-MUSLIMS from being fooled or bribed or intimidated by islam and its agents and quislings. We have had enough of that nastiness since 1400 years. Saving Pakistan or muslims is not my primary goal. Their bad karma will accompany them anyway. Who am I to question the law of gravitation?
Pakistanis will be saved from themselves and this arab religion imposed on them as a side-effect.
Just read today’s newspapers from Pakistan and you will realize that I am not being unfair to them.
Let me thank you that you do not boycott me like the others who think the sun will not rise if one closes his eyes and pulls a blanket over his head.
kaalchakra
“Despite our best intentions, none of us can or should ignore it. Examples of Ram or Buddha merely confuse the issue.”
I am not confusing anything but you are. Why do you think you can suddenly tell me about Mohammed. Despite what you call “fundamental conflict”, “disrespect”, etc. some people may genuinely love prophet Mohammed for the same reasons a typical north Indian may love Ram. And don’t be surprised if some of them are even good people who ocassionally visit PTH. Please suspend your disbelief if they are perturbed by hiob’s constant hectoring and Raj too’s unprovoked abuse and may even lose temper. Don’t come out with all guns blazing when that happens. All these you correctly pointed out to hiob and Raj too, so I don’t know what we are talking about.
no-communal writes:
“…some people may genuinely love prophet Mohammed for the same reasons a typical north Indian may love Ram.”
SAME reasons???
No differences between these two persons? Where are your analytic abilities?
It’s like some muslims (=quislings of islam-arabic imperialism) referring to Raama and Krishna as “imams” in order to develop friendship/charity to hindus!
Do they want us to call Mohammad as the 20. incarnation of Indra or what?
Just mixing up things. To please whom?
NC,
You have a very sanitized view of the cowbelt. Ramayan and its characters’ nuances have been debated ad nauseam and you wouldn’t bring anything new by abusing any of those characters. Most of us, at some point in our lives, have heard/learned by heart the various parodies about Ram, Lakshman, Kabir. You cannot do a better job than that. Next time, when you go back to India, try to attend one such gathering, which, unfortunately, are becoming rarer now. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. It would be out of place to give a sample of such parodies here but I wish I could.
That aside, we are not discussing the moral questions of a particular act. We are discussing facts–inconvenient facts, but facts nonetheless. If that is considered abuse, then it’s a totally different matter. Of course, the relevance of such facts can definitely be debated.
Sir Geoffrey,
Thanks for your clarification.
no-communal
I dont think any Indic will bother about if Arabian custom of being proud Paedophile is morally justified or not but it does become the duty of Indics that this practice and reverance attached to it dont become the part of social norm/scene in India. There have been many news about old Arabs paying money to poor Musalmans in india and taking their under age daughters away to Holy Land of Muslims. IMHO, no kaffir has the right to criticise the Islamic practices as long as they are observed in Islamic lands but kaffirs must do utmost to stop them and keep them outside their borders. About the norm of padophelia, inbreeding etc , read the BBC report about most sexullay exploited children live in Islamic societies and prominancy of Pkistan in this field. Please try to imagine the fear of parents in such degenerative social mileu. There must be little truth in saying that Birds fly over Peshawar and Lahore using only one wing.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (leader of dalits and neo-buddhists) wrote scathing sentences about Rama. They were much publicized many times and discussed openly and no hindus (Rama worshippers) went about killing or burning as a reaction to it.
The same Dr. Ambedkar wrote clearly that muslims have no right to remain in India after 1947 partition. Those writings of his are however suppressed in India. Some muslims tried to tempt him to become a muslim before he became a buddhist. He rejected such offers decisively. He was clear that to be a muslim means to be a traitor to India, indianness and self-respect and to join a backward-oriented totalitarian ideology.
BM
I don’t have a sanitized view of the cow belt. I lived in Kanpur for a few years. Having a good laugh among friends (most Muslims don’t even do that, and that’s a problem for Islam as I see it), even publicly, is a different matter than receiving constant vitriol from members of the “other” side. It’s not what you say, more often it’s how you say it. If you don’t see it, reread the particular post, oh I forgot, it’s been deleted. Anyway, in my opinion the PTH Pakistanis have shown far more tolerance to religious abuse and vitriol than an average Indian Hindu. In the rare cases they lose it, it doesn’t make sense for Indian troops to come out with guns blazing.
The PTH was created by pakistanis who were sick of this religion from the west (i.e. Arabia). They knew it but dared not say so openly.
There is no religious abuse here. It is just harsh honest criticism of a harsh deceitful ideology that has no chance of being reformed and will do much destruction even henceforth. We (incl. the PTH managers) have a long fight in front of us.
Don’t mix up terminology. The muslim is a frightened-cowardized person through this harsh, arrogant, threatening, intrusive, stubborn, totalitarian ideology. Which intelligent sensitive pakistani can deny that? This ideology has a huge ability, practised, demonstrated and “pefected” over 1400 years, to keep human beings in grip for generations and generations. It proudly calls itself a “code for whole of and every aspect of life” – which is just anothere way of saying that it is a totalitarian system. The way it treats those who wish to escape shows its fascist might.
So who is doing the abuse? Persons from the 7th century are still abusing us with the help of their zombies of today. You just have to see pictures from muslim lands to see/hear their fierce threatening faces and war-cries.
Hiob
If I may, allow me to ask a question. If your goal is to protect kaffirs from the adverse impact of Islam, why do you focus your energies here on PTH?
It would seem that many Muslims on PTH are already attempting to limit the role of Islam in the lives of Pakistanis. Could it be that you are absorbing the energies of the very people who could be aligned with your goals, at least as far as the interests of Pakistani kaffirs are concerned?
Thanks in advance for your response.
NC,
I am well aware of the corrosive style of Raj’s writing and I have absolutely no issue with someone else replying in similar vein attacking **similar** things that may be dear to him. My prime objection was to the needless comment about deflowering and such stuff, which, Sir Geoffrey has since kindly clarified. It would have been entirely in the fitness of such dialogue had the renowned Sardar Khan jumped in with his whole Bandarstan routine, which, I must admit, I sorely miss. Now, as for Hiob, he has become sort of a court jester and his writings increasing sound like a munadi.
I can understand that the Pakistani Liberals are having a tough time in Pakistan.
Their problem is that they are living on top of a slide and the top is becoming ever smaller. Also the slide takes one all the way down to hell. Some may try to crawl their way up, but it is mentally-ideologically difficult.
This slide is programmed into the very DNA of Pakistan as a state, a state where Islam was going to be the only glue keeping the various ethnic groups together. There is nothing wrong is using glue to stitch up a country together. Not every nation is built on homogeneity. The problem arises because more and more of this glue is being used to keep Pakistan together.
The Pakistani Army courts Islamists because of their close connections to the Islamist networks embedded within society, and hopes that if everybody started thinking what is good for Islam, then everybody would also start supporting Pakistan’s unity. All that would have been okay, if it were not for the small aspect of the nature of Islam.
In Islam, power derives from supposed piousness, military strength and domination over the Kufr. It is neither based on good governance, or increase in productivity or technological advancement.
Arabs were traders and marauders. They controlled trade between East and West. Something that does not seem to be the case. These days they have Oil, and that Oil is financing the Muslim economy worldwide with a sprinkling of agricultural production. The dawas in Pakistan get their financing from the Arab Oil. It is not producing much. That suffices for the Islamists to tempt people to join their ranks. Plus they have a better organization and a more effective message.
So just because some dawa is promoted in Islam, it does not automatically means an Islamic Government would start providing good governance.
In Islam there is hardly any concept of productivity and innovation. The Muslim innovators of yesteryears usually did their research separated from the clerics, and because of earlier civilizational memes.
In Islam, the caliph, the ruler gets to control the treasury, and that is exactly what the rulers of Pakistan are doing without accountability.
So Islamists may try to put forward that they are all for effective governance, but the point is Islam does not encourage the memes to be successful in secular society.
Pakistan is stuck with Islamism. Pakistani Liberals have only a little space on top of the slide before everybody starts sliding into hell.
As an Indian I don’t mind if the last Pakistani slides into hell. It is your destiny.
The only advice that I can give, is that if you want to stop the slide, then you have to stop the application of more Islamic glue onto the Pakistani politics and society.
Let Pakistan break up into parts, such that the ethnic groups would naturally be able to feel ownership of their lands. Then there would be no further use of applying more and more Islam to the body polity of Pakistan.
That is the only solution. Others think of reform while keeping Pakistan together. That is simply not going to work, and you all know it.
As separate states, you all can cooperate with each other and exist peacefully. No more need for Islamism.
You can have One Pakistan which resembles Hell Pure, or you can have separate states with some modicum of civilized society, but not both.
to Kaal Chakra
Your questions are very relevant. I tried voicing my views in muslim websites and was eliminated for the slightest dissent against their viewpoint that islam is the final perfect unquestionable idea. They wanted only flattery of islam – they were used to that only.
Limiting the role of islam in politics in Pakistan is not possible. Islam does not allow that. Islam spoils politics and not the other way round. Islam profits from fascist politics and hence islam has no intention or possibility of giving up that profit-bringing factor.
What we need is a fundamental criticism of islam. If we accept islam’s claims (the great grand ones or the less grand ones – islam has no humble claims) then we can’t do that.
A true sentence like: “If an ideology/religion regards something/someone as final and unquestionable then that ideology/religion necessarily becomes fascism centred around this something/someone” – it cannot be put more mildly. But such a sentence inspires/helps the liberals (also in Pakistan) a lot because it tells them what the matter really is about. It is not about making small repairs.
The pakistani army will continue to be a force of islamic fascism (arrogance, ruthlessness). That is now the core of their (what they are taught to regard as) professionalism. To be a “good” pakistani soldier or officer or judge or police or govt. officer means to be fully dedicated to islamic fascism. The pakistani liberals have to confront that. The liberals must begin by telling these pakistani and muslim power-wielders that what they are doing IS fascism and islam and islam and fascism.
64 years of pakistani and islamic lies make for no other perspective.