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Illustration by Faraz Aamer Khan
A thought came to mind as I stepped out of a shoe store. I had just spent more money on a pair of shoes than a large portion of Pakistanis have to survive on for a month.
Some of these people we know well. They cook for us, they drive us around, they clean our homes and take care of our every whim. These are the very same people who suffer the most from the skyrocketing inflation and the rise in food prices, but who also see the lifestyles of the people they serve improving.
It’s a thought that’s been bugging me constantly since I returned to Pakistan. I’ve found it hard to come to terms with the extent of inflation in the country and the explosive gap between the rich and poor.
Ever since the Great Recession of 2008, income inequality has become a global issue. People around the world have started to question the inherent immorality in our financial systems where the rules have not only been skewed to benefit those with money, but have created what Jon Stewart recently called a form of “incumbency” that ensures its perpetuity.
The central thesis behind the Occupy Movement has been to act as a pushback against corporate welfare, an unfair tax code and an expression of what many participants see as a system built on a foundation of financial and social inequality – essentially the feeling that it’s a system of the rich, for the rich and by the rich.
Pakistan, like most western governments, has an economy that is also in the hands of a few who also control the policies of government. And similarly, while the government may have the veneer of democracy, its decisions are actually taken without consulting the people of Pakistan.
It’s a country that has survived at the mercy of aid and loans by other countries — mainly the US — who have naturally leveraged this debtor-creditor relationship to benefit there own interests.
While in the US the argument may be about the one per cent and the 99 per cent, in our society it’s a minuscule fraction of the population — less than the one per cent — that controls the lion’s share of the wealth.
Wealth is a main determinant of power in Pakistan, where entrenched corruption of one sort or another is a way of life and where the wealthiest either see the poverty around them as a nuisance or are simply oblivious to it.
When Salman Taseer was tragically murdered by a member of his own security detail, a certain segment of the population championed Mumtaz Qadri as a torch bearer for those protecting Islam.
But there exists an element to Taseer’s murder that few people would like to admit, but it’s nonetheless worth considering. In my experience of talking to some of these people, a good portion of them admitted, in albeit in hushed tones, that it was also the symbolism of a poor man killing a rich man that appealed to them.
I wonder if that kind of class resentment resides in a much large portion of the masses. Rather, the question is how can it not?
Living in California I found out what it’s like when your life hangs on the paycheck at the end of the month. I worked retail jobs where customers would come in and spend twice what I made in a month in a single go. I felt the envy, the fascination, but I also felt that tinge of resentment. I got a taste of the life on the flip side of advantage.
In Pakistan, people seem to be at the whim of what Warren Buffet calls the “Ovarian Lottery” — the luck of having been born to your circumstances. Sadly, most Pakistanis come out on the losing end of it and worst yet, there’s no avenue to break the shackles of circumstance.
While our leadership is constantly embroiled in political farce over abstractions such as national security and sovereignty, Pakistan’s people are being crushed by the sheer struggle to survive.
We’ve spent untold billions on a nuclear arsenal, on one of the largest armies in the world, but at an inhuman cost. What good is sovereignty when the country cannot even feed its people? What good is a national defense when the country is disintegrating from within?
People are born to an unjust system without any opportunity, and the persistent unemployment of the youth is giving rise to resentment and unending frustrations, setting the stage for a violent explosion.
At what point will we have so trampled on, exploited and neglected our own people that they will resort to a bloody uprising? Or have we been so successful in extinguishing any form of hope that they’re resigned to accept their fate?
If the Arab Spring has taught us anything, it’s that people always have a breaking point at which they say “enough is enough.”
Those who don’t pay attention to history are destined to repeat it. The irony will be that if our country allows this go on — if ‘we’ let this go on — we’ll be culpable in our own demise, and we will have deserved it.
The writer is a reporter at Dawn.com
yes we can do it under the leadership of Imran Khan….
A thought provoking article by the author. No class revolution can succeed without a dynamic leader leading the masses which is quite evident from Egypt fiasco, having made no headway after a promising beginning. Pakistan's two important establishments ie political and military need to sit together and jointly chalk out a plan to take the country out of the woods otherwise a total collapse is round the corner.
My friends, revolution comes from middle class people and not from illiterate poor people. If there is sizeable number of educated middle or lower muddle class people and if they feel not that deprived to have revolution then it will never happen. In India in spite of 40% people leaving in abject poverty, there are 300 to 350 millions middle class people and therefore chances of revolution happening is remote but in Pakistan illiteratecy rate is over 80% and middle class people is about 10%and hence revolution is more likely.
Class revolution is very unlikely to happen in Pakistan, a country divided on ethnic and sectarian lines. With the passage of time crimes, brutality, indifference and callousness will continue to rise.
Very well written but I would partially disagree. It is true that there is un equal distribution of income and wealth. The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. But if you go to the rural areas, people there do not want to change. They embrace their landlords as supreme and superior beings and are happy the way they are. The landlords also take care of them and their families but the cost of that is minimal compared to their own spending. It is only in the urban areas that you see the frustration, amongst the poor, building.
What to do now?
I can think people like you and me should stand up, who are sufficently well off and who could think beyond their own needs. WE should take responsibility, because the governement will not, and do something for our fellow brothers and sisters, do something for the long term so that them become self sustaining and are able to bring up their children with a clear mindset that encourages hardwork and honesty.
I think that the Govt should take a decision to cut down the defense budget and spent it in human resources to enable the people to enter into technical work force. General public should make themselves aware of the ruling class and act strongly against any policy made against them. People should. not remain silent on policies made by rich which are against the poors. We should spend more money on education and also make educatioin indiscriminating, means same thing for all. In developed countries, people stear the Govt ship and make effective lobby groups to influence the
Govt against wrong policies.
Unfortunately defense budget has been spent on cantonements leaving cities in bad conditions, therefore making cantts as forts for influential people.
A well written article!
I personally think that this nation is not having the water required to bring any change. As we remained under slavery for good about a long time therefore the seeds are not that volatile and it requires a lot of energy to even come on the streets. For uprisings like the Arab revolt it might take a long time in changing the mind set of this politics ridden country.
I hate the word Arab spring, it is used by western world for their own interest where ever they want this Arab springf to succeed it does succee and where ever they want to curb it get curbed so forget about Arab spring. The only and true revolution of this century was Iranian revolution which is still hurting the enemies and they are playing all foul games to destroy that revolution. I do not want to see Arab spring type of revolution in Pakistan If it comes I want a true revolution which comes from the people without foreign intervention I know that would be very bloody but it will be fruitful and for ever to exist.
I am afraid Pakistan is heading into the direction of a class revolution. The article is quite relevant to the current scenario. I hope the ruling elite wake up to crisis which is staring us in the face.
Let us pray and hope that a bloody revolution does not take place. Give the democracy a chance. But at the same time practice a fundamental rule of democracy, i.e any man or woman in uniform can not give orders. Order should come from an elected official only. I live in United States and am moving to Pakista after 40 years. People tell me this is not a wise move. I say Pakistan is my home and has given me a lot. I was a dirt poor kid with nothing, not even proper clothes, had very little to eat. I was blessed with a desire to work hard and trust in God Almighty. Iworked my butt of and studied. I got where I wanted to be. I am going home and has promised myself, will never bribe, will help poor people in understanding the benefits of democracy. I will be standing on side walk with my wife demanding clean water and electrical power every day. God wiling others will follow me.Some day Karachi will be Karachi again. Do not promote the idea of bloody fight. We have suffered a lot already.
Dear Mr Ahmad, You lived abroad for 40 years so you must be quite old now . Pakistan has changed dramatically during the last 40 years. 40 years ago there was peace and tranquility but now people are afraid to get out and the well off keep armed guards. Crime and corruption is rife. If you have not amassed a fortune you would be lucky to get clean water and daily electricity. If you have become rich, soon you would do as the Romans do i.e. If you can'ft them , you join them.
I had many friends who had similar idealls like yours but when they returned to Pakistan, not one of them remained honest.
Thought provoking hypothesis. The point has been made in earlier comments – the situation is true in varying degrees in all nations, in USA, in Europe (across nations?) and in other south Asian nations. The squeezing of wage earners, fixed income earners and savers has been going on for 30+ years. It has to stop, either by a violent uprising or by a paradigm shift in defining a desirable way of living. It is a call to introspect and create a future that is acceptable to all of us.
Nothing is gonna happen in Pakistan, the pepole of Pakistan are practically dead.
I am afraid to say that the more time a Pakistani revolution is delayed, that more bloodier it will be.
Article is quite descriptive of current state of affairs in the country far and wide. I also echo the writer's fears of outbreak of class violence getting ever closer to its threshold. Also undoubtedly defense budget is number one killer of Pakistan's prosperity. However I only have one question: how are billions of rupees collected by the banks and other financial instituitions across the country being spent? I think that appropriate utilization of those funds would go significant ways to improve plight of the poor.
Intellectual change has to precede political change.People have to shed religious fanaticism and tribal culture to UNITE.
People have to embrace patience and perseverance to become DISCIPLINED.
People have to have FAITH in honesty,merit,hard work,education,justice for all,equal rights for all, before they can achieve the desired destiny.
Thought-provking article. A series of revolutions has been underway since partition. And because they are not 'bloody' revolutions they dont seem to register in the popular imaginaton as proper revolutions.
Excellent. It is a thought provoking article. This situation is not confined to Pakistan alone. Similar social inequality exists in the sub-continent be it India, Bangladesh, Srilanka or Myanmar. In these countries English educated people already think on the same lines as the Author, whereas people conversant with regional language alone may not be exposed enlightened reasoning. Therefore there is a need for this and similar articles to be translated into Urdu and other regional languages so that they too are exposed to thought provoking ideas rather than come to terms with their fate. Conditions of the poor will not improve as long as Politicians in these countries thrive on corruption and live off the poor. Political leaders are also leaders of Corruption.
The only way the anger of have-nots can be assuaged is by democracy, rule of law and effective governance. Now this is something which needs time to mature and be efficient. But one way or another, this is only how it is going to work.
"we’ll be culpable in our own demise, and we will have deserved it" This is true and we all should wake up on this.
Very well written! We will see good time soon inshallah. Blogs like these are the Sign of coming change that we will witness soon inshallah.
You need to write more in this domain and increase the scope from unemployed to the salaried class of employed youth's frustration towards double digit inflation who are prone to corruption to make the both ends meet. You need to increase awarness about the truth of fact that we can change our fate, or atleast our offspring's fate, yes we can change things we dont like…
zabardast!! Thumbs up to u sir and dawn for publishing such brilliant stuff!!
Well written. But there are so many other issues that our country is embroiled in we cannot take a stand on any one in particular really. There is a leadership vacuum, and this void needs to be filled by a sincere leaders whom the whole nation would trust to deliver.
I fear in a worst case scenario, a bloody revolution might occur, and the worst suffering would come to the ones who are in Pakistan, the leaders , elite, waderas and top army people would leave, and when things calm, this nation would welcome the corrupt back with garlands of roses.
It is sad and simplistic to think by killing off all elite or upper class pakistani's the poor will be better off. It is these elite who have survived the country economically and in western perception as they deny them the satisfaction of labelling everyone Taliban when they meet Bankers, Businessmen, Doctors etc of excellence. Yes, the corrupt, mafia, warlords are the cause of their pain. Pakistan only neds justice for all regardless of class and it will leap forward in all respects. Cricket team got cleaned up overnight they are winners-next election bring change of the correct parties and you will see the right kind of change begin.