When the Congress discussing about Jinnah's Lahore Plan of creating Pakistan, it was reported that CR termed it as, "A Medival Conception" (The Hindu March 27, 1940). The original idea was framed by Choudhary Rahmat Ali in 1933 at London, later took over by Jinnah&Co.The word coined out of muslim concerntrated provinces of Punjab, Kashmir,Sind and Baluchistan.
Following Advani now it is turn of moderate BJP leader Jaswant Singh attributing Nehru and Patel for the partition, but not entirely on Jinnah. After the defeat in the elections now Jaswant may be aiming at the Congress Party for its more than five decade rule and its impact on the country.
Pakistan has also passed 62 years of separate livelihood and developed a suspicious relationship with its neighbour. How far it is true that still Pakistan plagued by the ghost called Strong India? Why secularism still a taboo? Nepal through a revolutionary movement turned the Hindu country as a secular one. So, therefore Pakistan needs a democratic rather than a Proletarian Movement to change its identity?
On the dawn of the 14th August 1947, the world witnessed an unprecedented event- birth of Pakistan a nation based on religion, entirely!
As the country forwarded to the day, the eminent feature that endures is the fragile socio-political and economic disparities surface at large.
It past with 25 years of military rule composite of 50 years of existence, the ‘Land of Pure’, an admired part of Islamic world because of its possession of nuclear warheads and required technology, Pakistan, with its 160 million population, challenges its historical bound neighbor, India hegemonic and regional overheads.
However, today it faces a dilemma between democracy and stable ‘peaceful’ co-existence of poverty and affluence for a cross section of minority elite.
Pakistan’s experiment with truthful democracy survived for a decade in the post Zia era. Both Zia’s follower and opponent ruled in alternative with frequent elections. In 1999, Mush raff, then commander-in-chief captured power with a bloodless coup. Of course, not alone political solutions lacks with clarity but also entire system, which is pulled up by various socio-economic imbalances prevalent till the date.
The reason behind the political turmoil in Pakistan is said to be the socio-economic imbalances prevalent across the country.
Just look at some of the key figures below:
Total population in thousands 155400- 2005
Percentage urban population out of total population 34-2005.
Adult literacy rate 15+ years, total (percentage) 53- 2005
Per capita GNP ($) 736-2004
Unemployment in percent 7- 2005
GDP per capita 550-2003
Total expenditure on health (per capita) 13-2003
Why it is like that? While, going through some words of Sharif M Shuja written in News Week, 2000; the feudal prototype in Pakistan consists of property owners with large joint families possessing hundreds or even thousands of acres of land. They seldom make any direct contribution to agricultural production. Instead, peasants or tenants who live at subsistence level do all work.
The landlord, by virtue of his ownership and control of such vast amounts of land and human resources, is powerful enough to influence the distribution of water, fertilizers, tractor permits and agricultural credit and, consequently exercises considerable influence over the revenue, police and judicial administration of the area. The property owner is, thus, lord, and master. Such absolute power can easily corrupt, and it is no wonder that the feudal system there is humanly degrading.
In the agrarian sector, it is the landowner who is excluded from the production process, while in industry; domestic technology is almost absent or kept at bay. Industrialisation over the past five decades has, to a large extent, been established and operated with foreign capital, technology and raw materials. As a result, native technology has remained stagnant and the rest of the economy is not integrated with industry.
Today, Pakistan depends mostly on foreign aid for industrial raw materials and spare parts. This dependence has caused severe weakness to its economy. Coupled with these shortcomings, nationalisation in the industrial sector has brought further injuries. Many industries, after nationalisation, suffered substantially. Consequently, the industrial policy has not only failed to create a sound industrial base and employment opportunities, but has instead increased unemployment.
The Pakistani economy is basically reliant on a drip feed of foreign loans from multinational agencies, most notably the World Bank and the IMF. Both bodies have indicated that they are deeply concerned by the army takeover and are likely to withhold loans. Pakistan has a foreign debt of more than $30 billion and rapidly diminishing foreign currency reserves.
Today, unbalanced economy leads to imbalanced democratic stability in the country where other friendlier countries confused to help it out!
It has to get rid of vast military funding at first and increase domestic industrilisation and thirdly to strengthen democratic norms and try to less religious influence in every corner of country.
These are the agenda waiting before Zardari government for a long-term prosperity of the country.
Let Pakistan people as well who are interested in the stability of region work towards the agenda.