The celebrated anti-colonial leader and writer,
Frants Fanon in his essay, The
Pitfalls of National Consciousness holds that during the anti-colonial
resistance all the masses actively participate and make sacrifices for the
cause, but once the formal independence is declared, the fruits of independence
are not evenly distributed and never reach to the common masses. The
post-independence political scenario of the once colonized countries is
dominated by some powerful classes of the land who perpetuate the colonial
system and keep the masses away from the real form of independence, it ushers
into an era of neo-colonialism. In case of Indian freedom movement, especially Pakistan,
Pashtuns have been kept away from the real fruits of independence through
various ‘neo-colonial designs’. Their socio-economic and political rights and
needs have always been rickety with the federation of Pakistan. They have
really been turned into subalterns, as Guha and Spivak term such classes.
However, the rise of militancy on their soil, internal displacement and
stereotypical representation in the national mainstream discourses finally resulted
into the uprising, the immediate cause being the death of Naqeebullah Mehsud by
a state institution.
The good aspects of the uprising was its being
peaceful, and the demands put forward are in keeping with the law and the constitution
of the land. Briefly put, they demand security of life and limb, equal status
of citizenship like their co-citizens, free and fair trials, and punishment and
reward in accordance with the dictates of the law. No sane mind can negate the
legitimacy and urgency of the demands, and it was due to these reasons that
their stance was dully endorsed by human rights group and civil society both
inside and outside the country. No doubts, the movement challenged the mindset
which has been foisting a close ended format of political nationalism and
social homogeneity in the country, and even make use of fouls means like
oppression, negation of fundamental rights for the propagation and perpetuation
of their objectives. Federations across the globe, are formed by consensus of
its units and certain rules for running the business are unanimously agreed
upon by the stakeholders, focusing on
the rights and duties of the citizens, called a social contract , popularly
known as constitution. If a party to the contract or the institution formed
therein, fails doing its job and or exceeds
the designated authority, rest of the
stakeholders do preserve the right to
raise their voice against it. The exercise has been in vogue across the world,
and terms of engagements in the contracts are reviewed, readjusted and
grievances of the parties are redressed. However, in Pakistan such acts amount
to treason, foreign agenda and disloyalty to the state.
The recent sit- in was an unprecedented
manifestation of Pashtuns’ unity with convergence of interest, and reflected a
rise of national consciousness among them. The decades long oppression, harsh
and unjust treatment by the state, denial of fundamental rights, and
suppression of their voices, finally compelled them to take to streets. The
movement, however, for the time being has put five demands to the state, but if
even the demands are met, the movement should not die down and serve as an
active body of Pashtun representation. The movement, in order to live up to the
expectations, should incorporate the following:
·
It should be named
as Pashtun (better Pakhtun) Qami Malatar.
·
It should be
distanced from every kind of political affiliations, solely taking into
consideration Pashtuns’ cause and the protection of their interest.
·
It should stay
away from the electoral politics (at least for the time being).
·
It should be
given a strong and well-knit organization structure, at district levels in the
Pashtuns’ areas.
·
The Pashtun
diaspora should actively be engaged in the movement.
·
There should be
a regular fund raising, preferably through mobile phones. (The way charities
collect donations).
The struggle should not only be confined to the
political rights, it should also focus on the cultural, social and economic
aspects. There should be Social media team, legal team, and cultural experts
etc. members of the teams should be
selected from among the Pashtun educated class/ intelligentsia keeping in view their
areas of interest and academic field. The committees should check Pashtuns’ negative
representation, resist the Pashtuns’ ethnic profiling and stereotypical representation
especially in the main stream media of Pakistan. In case of issues, they should
give an intellectual response through ‘ Re-writing’ (as Edward Said calls it).
The struggle certainly seems an uphill task, hurdles
are all around, especially from the centrist forces of the state and the so
called institution of tribal Maliks , a white elephant, because the movement
will gradually sink their position and replace it with the active, energetic
and educated class. But perseverance , steadfastness and the spirit of serving
without any vested interest will certainly make it possible. One must be
hopeful, as long as Manzoor Pahteen continues to pursue Bacha Khan’s will, “My
nation now I have turned aged, can’t keep visiting your hamlets and give you
the lessons of social reformation and political awareness, now every Pashtun
should propagate the spirit of service, humanity and create awareness’.
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