The majority chunk of the global populace treasure democracy, yet for many, it still remains an elusive dream. Democracy as representation of the collective will of people cannot simply be functional by merely pushing a button, rather it is a process which the people initiate by conscious decisions and sustain it by subscribing to its principles in theory and practice.

In its modern form, representing the alterations necessitated by the onset of technology and human wisdom, democracy has evolved in accordance with the exigencies of the day. Yet, it just bears striking resemblance to 300BC, when it was first conceived, in ancient Greece. While democracy is sustained through constitutional and bureaucratic means, it requires an auxiliary socio-cultural climate to flourish.

The society must be constitutive of participatory governance, political pluralism, gender equality and an inclusive education system. There exists a reinforcing relationship between democracy and education, as only a learned mind possesses the magnanimity and intellect needed to grasp concepts such as liberty, equality, justice, law, the rights and responsibilities of the state and its people.

Ahmed Salim, a Punjabi poet, writer and researcher explains that while it is true that there is a nexus between parliamentary government and learning, the democratic system in order to flourish needs a political and critical mass as the public sphere remains to be its social constituency. “In order to survive and thrive social equality needs politically-motivated and committed citizens who have their stake in its survival and efficient functioning are the ones who sustain the system. Democracy, by and large, is more successful in those societies where the masses are politically conscious and aware of their rights as well as of their duties,” adds Salim Sahib.

Education and literacy both have a pivotal and transcendental potential to solidify democracy. The relationship between knowledge and power is explicitly addressed by Michel Foucault who posits that knowledge produces a certain type of society. And through his rationale, an education system based on principles of reason and logical thinking is likely to be recurred within the society as well.

On the contrary, if an educational system promotes mediocrity, bigotry, rote learning, siege mentality and intolerance towards other religions and minorities, the results would be disastrous for the country and democratic institutions as the citizenry would be narrow-minded and fanatical, seeing the world through the cynical lens.

“Our educational system” as Arshed Bhatti, a development practitioner argues, “is actually anti-democratic and does not promote the democratic system. In my view, instead of impacting any class harmony, it reinforces class divisions and biases, because of the conflicting streams of education, i.e., private, public and madressah education.

“Democracy is all about the space and encouragement to ask questions and our education system curbs even the tendency to question. Pluralism, co-existence of divergent views and tolerance of the ‘other’ are hallmark of democracies and these don’t find much breathing space here.”

This view is concurred by Mrs Zubeida Mustafa, a seasoned journalist, when she affirms, “Education is the basic requirement for democratic transition but not the kind of education which we have in our country which perpetuates the already entrenched class system. Secondly, the other very important role of education is to develop the capacity to think on a collective level which, unfortunately is also lacking.”

If one now is to critically evaluate the recent elections, which have been hailed as a watershed in the country’s political history, as for the very first time a democratic government has been allowed to finish its full term. Additionally, the participation of urban middle classes wholeheartedly participated in the elections was also an unprecedented event.

These developments have indeed been greeted cordially by many among the country’s intellectuals. The rise of youth in politics and Pakistan becoming more globalised have been cited as two important causes for this change in Pakistani politics. The youth saw elections as a means to institute changes in their lives for the better, and this confidence in democracy testifies Pakistan’s yearning for representation within a democratic framework of the country.

Another notable development within the Pakistani politics is that they rejected sectarianism and militancy and none of such political parties were able to rise to prominence. This again is a testament to the fact that despite lacking the educational capacities, Pakistanis still wish to expel alien values of violence and intolerance.

As Dr Abid Suleri, executive director of Sustainable Development Policy Institute, explicates, “I think magnitude of energy and the economic crisis facing the people of Pakistan is so severe that it affected everyone across the board. Unprecedented CNG, natural gas and electricity loadshedding during the last five years made the urban upper middle-class realise, perhaps for the first time, that their capacity to pay [economic access] would not ensure uninterrupted supply of energy. For them it was easy to establish linkage of energy crisis to governance issues and that is one of the reasons they decided to poll their vote.”

There are, however, a few who still believe that education is irrelevant to the development of a civilisation. As a seasoned journalist cynically proclaims, it was emergence of a one charismatic leader who stirred the country’s polity, and our youth who are, by and large, apolitical. They naively hoped that a former cricket captain will resolve all national problems and lead them to victory.

Democracy and education are two virtues congruent with each other, and if our democratic system reserves strong value for reason and rationality, we can help in establishing a more humane and literate society, which can stand against feudalism, religious fanaticism, social inequality and poverty, terrorism and discrimination.

The writer is a member of staff.

monizainam@gmail.com