Why are the dreamers, innovators, and builders of this land, silent?
Great leaders dream the impossible. The land that has become Pakistan, hosted one of the world’s earliest civilizations that developed around the river Indus. Since then it has also had its share of leadership with global ambitions which translated to world-leading security, prosperity, tolerance, and freedom for its people.
Two thousand five hundred years ago, a Persian shepherd named Cyrus was one such determined leader of epoch proportions. Some noted contemporary Islamic scholars think he is the one referred to as Dul Qurnain in the Quran. He brought together nomadic pastoral tribes to forge the world’s greatest and most influential civilization that provided unprecedented freedom, peace, and prosperity to its people. The first Persian empire included the land that is Pakistan and spanned all way to the Mediterranean Sea. It was the global superpower till an incompetent successor lost it in a single battle, a few centuries later. A famous quote by his conqueror Alexander underscores this point, '' If I had to choose between a single lion leading a hundred sheep and a hundred lions led by a single sheep, I would always choose the single loin’'.
Sometimes, these leaders were inspired and prepared by mentors. Of humble beginning, educated in Taxila and inspired by his teacher Chanakya, Chandragupta wrested control back from the Greek Satraps appointed by Alexander before taking on and conquering the powerful Nanda empire, which Alexander’s troops had refused to fight with due to their fierce reputation. He was the first individual who united all of India and made it into a global superpower. His empire built the grand trunk road, the world’s largest and best-equipped standing army, and the world’s first private-sector corporations. This leader seemed not interested in wealth or power but was a man on a mission. When he felt he had achieved it, he handed over power to his successor and lived out his remaining life as an ascetic. His son and successor, Ashoka the Great, did the same thing and the empire prospered for centuries. However, their successors eventually lost the vision, and soon after, their empire.
Sometime later in these lands, a minor tribal chief, Kanishka united refugee tribes fleeing from China and founded another state here that became a global superpower. His vision made the Kushan empire into a trading superpower with enabled wealth, freedom, rich urban life, and security to its people. The empire controlled the Silk Road trade and led the world in philosophy, art, and science for over five centuries before his incompetent successors divided the empire and caused its disintegration.
Another lame shepherd boy, Taimur, dreamed to resurrect the power of the Mongols under the banner of Islam. The pursuit of his vision built a superpower and that also spanned from Delhi all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Although born in violence, the greatest legacy of this superpower is in Islamic art and literature.
His descendent Baber, while hiding in the wilderness from his uncles who had usurped his throne upon his father’s death, dreamed the impossible: to unite and rule India or to die trying. He succeeded and his dynasty remains the most famous dynasty of India that greatly influenced Indian art, science, and culture and to this day defines its pre-colonial identity. The Mughal society at its peak was remarkably productive and responsible for 25% of the world’s GDP.
Sher Shah Suri, a Bengali Pathan with roots in Dera Ismail Khan, who started life as a private in the Mughal army, dared to challenge the same Mughal dynasty, and his determination put him on the throne. He made Emperor Humayun take refuge in the Safavi court where he was hosted by my ancestors, the Qazilbash. During his short 5-year rule, Sher Shah Suri set a new standard for development projects. He revived and expanded the Grand trunk road, introduced administrative reforms, the postal system, and a new currency called the rupee. These reforms were so efficient that the Mughals, after regaining their lost empire shortly after this death, continued them. They called Sher Shah, even though he was their enemy, Ustad-i-Badshahan, in admiration. Even the British developed their own colonial administrative system by borrowing many of its components, including the currency.
In the much-viewed Ertrugul series on TV, the Kayi were a small tribe surrounded by hostile superpowers that had recently subdued the Seljuk state formed by a tribe more powerful and possessing more resources than the Kayi. But Ertrugrul provided a vision of a new state that would uplift the warring shepherds, bandits, and merchants of Anatolia into the world’s most cohesive, advanced, and productive society. He offered an unwavering commitment to make it his life’s purpose and pay any price to fulfill it. And so he set the foundations of a new state which would be the world’s superpower for centuries.
Perhaps the greatest tragedy of colonization is that our leaders have stopped thinking of themselves as lions. Lions are uncompromising, not content to be less than the best, feared, and respected by all others, and always in control of their environment. At the same time, lions are patient, strategic, and efficient. You’ll always see a lion targeting the largest prey. But you’ll seldom see a lion pick a fight he can’t win.
Yet in Pakistan, all we hear our leaders limit the realm of possibilities for a national vision to single-digit GDP growth. We pat ourselves on the back if this number reaches 6 % or higher. We seem to be content with the implications – it does not seem to bother us that with such targets we can never be a contender for the global stage in our lifetimes. Why are the dreamers, innovators, and builders of this land, silent?
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Now, let us look at this rationally. Pakistan began with more than 90% of its population poor and illiterate. The majority of its population was rural-based with the economy dominated by agriculture. We had very little industry and our infrastructure was primitive. The majority of our citizens did not have access to adequate healthcare and suffered from chronic morbidity. The education system that we inherited was highly discriminatory and unequal. In the global context, we were the jhompri, not the mansion. Did we need leadership that was conservatively targeting 6% GDP improvements or one that was feeling compelled to develop a more ambitious vision?
The Quaide Azam died before he could fully communicate and implement his vision for the country. We are still confused about our identity. It’s clear that our founders did not envision a theocracy ruled by the religious elite but wanted power in the hands of the people’s representatives. But are we to be a liberal secular nation where Muslims live and practice their religion privately in a society that assimilates minorities with freedom and toleration? Or are we to be a conservative Islamist state that condones vigilante assassinations for perceived affronts to our religious sensitivities?
The greatest tragedy of this nation is that no one until now has been able to fill the vacuum left by our Quaid. This country has been running without a grand vision. The country is de-facto being managed by the institutions who control all the power and resources. These have run the country as institutions are expected to in the absence of leadership – maintain the status quo.
To be fair, you have to acknowledge that the institutions have done a remarkable job, maintaining the status quo for almost 75 years. For most intents and purposes our government retains its pre-partition colonial characteristics. Same laws, same rules and regulations, governance, and institutions that the British crown set up to meet their colonial goals and objectives.
But the vision catered to by institutions and governance setup to meet colonial goals and objectives was never designed to make Pakistan a superpower. On the contrary, the colonial mindset caused huge problems in Baluchistan, the northwest frontier, and caused the loss of our eastern wing. East Pakistan was a preventable tragedy. Initially, many Bengali leaders supported Pakistan but we alienated them by treating it as a colony. During the 50s, on average the allocation to East Pakistan from the federal budget was half that of the western wing, even though they had double the population. We forced a foreign language on them.
Much of our formal economy today revolves around the state and its institutions. Corruption has always increased in stagnant societies that are controlled by their institutions. The institutions have the regulatory power to control markets and ultimately decide who profits from sources of production and distribution but need political support to keep the status quo. This ensures a power-sharing nexus with a class of pliant politician businessmen who back the institution's desire to preserve the status quo for regulatory, procurement, or staffing favors. The institution's need for political control overrides its mandate for enforcing a level playing field which ultimately weakens governance and creates glass ceilings for those outside the symbiotic system.
Another carryover from the colonial past, the great game, has strained our relationship with Afghanistan externally and led to drugs and violent extremism enter our society. Meanwhile, other nations with comparable GDP or per capita income at independence have developed their state much better and provide significantly better per capita income, services, and infrastructure to their citizens. These include the countries that make up the Asian Tigers and BRICS.
The most successful example in front of us is China that had a comparable economy in the early 1950s. They focused on a single objective, to become a superpower and so became one, two decades ago. Today they are poised to quite possibly replace the US as the world’s dominant power and new guarantor of the world order.
Today, Pakistan’s political leadership is fighting in a media war that is threatening to spill over to the streets soon. The main debate seems to be over who is less incompetent and who is corrupt. Not one of them has presented an inspiring vision and a credible plan with a timeline that would solve Pakistan’s development challenges and turn it into a superpower within a lifetime. The development and economic growth is incremental with perhaps China and other international donors being seemingly more interested in our development than our own. Is this the best, our society is capable of? Why are the dreamers, innovators, and builders of this land, silent?