I am glad some of you thought the class issue in Pakistan is worthy of discussion – maybe some of us will take steps, small steps maybe, to do whatever little they can. That alone, makes all this worthwhile. Let us not belittle or be distracted by cynics. Those who have lived and worked in Pakistan know that cynicism is a natural consequence of living in Pakistan and its onset is as certain as old age (with, of course some remarkable exceptions). As I have noted in my journal, I am not immune to the virus of cynicism, hence I will let my views be known now while the human within me still lives. I’ll try to be brief.
The class system is not the only disease in this society. Let us not channel this discussion whether fixing the class issue will fix all ills – it most certainly will not. Pakistan has multi-faceted and convoluted problems, all of which need to be addressed. Some consider education, or lack thereof, to be paramount - it certainly is an issue, let them work on it. Likewise, others consider the lack of healthcare, or the lack of democracy or whatever, as the basic root cause of all ills. Let us support all the good causes - by our time, money, our spoken or written word or at least by not opposing the people and organizations working on one of those problems. So, the class issue is not the problem, it is a problem.
In my original note, I recommended that we could help alleviate this Pakistani apartheid by reducing our reliance on domestic help. I argued that the “servant class” (sorry if I offend somebody by using this abominable term) in Pakistan is not given the dignity that, in my opinion, is a basic human right. I did not imply that communism (communal property and a pooling of resources), which puts an upper limit on capital accumulation and creation, is the way to go. I implied that there should be a limit below which no member of society should be allowed to sink. That lower limit is an arguable point and we should put our views forth in that regard. I would start by saying that nobody, absolutely nobody should starve; no child should go hungry for even a meal. Nobody should die of easily curable diseases, or in other words there should be basic healthcare for all. Once the entire population is guaranteed of these basic requirements they themselves will organize, demand and extract labor concessions, leading to a dignified existence that even the poorest have a right to. Keeping servants, on the other hand, perpetuates the hideous circle of servitude and dependence by discouraging the disadvantaged from trying to break out of this vicious cycle. By thinking that you are helping the poor by giving them just enough to survive is naive at best.
Now let me address some specific points raised in the debate.
Zulfiqar wrote:
Ali has pointed out an obvious and inherent difficulty in Salman’s and others’ argument. I have been guilty of that too, I confess. It seems to be impossible to get around that problem. That is the circular logic in devising solutions to the problems of ills in our society. I remember in the good old days we all “intellectual” types used to propose that if we fix education then everything is going to fall into place. Now we know (I hope) that it was a pipe dream. Education helps a lot but it is not the panacea.
There is no panacea. Let us not waste our breaths looking for one.
Secondly, we obviously all have different notions about the methodology to fix the problem. Ali seems to suggest that some form of revolution is needed. By that I mean either grass roots or leadership based change in a relatively short time. Sadly, if things seem to go the way they are going it may end up like that eventually.
Why are you sad about that particular possibility?
However, the most important issue for us right now is the question: if we cannot help solving this issue (and others like it) should we just shut up and be quiet (or be cynical as our culture taught us)? As far as I am concerned the answer is no.
An emphatic NO.
Ali Hashemi wrote:
BTW, I am also against child labor, serfdom in rural areas etc etc. Domestic servants are emphatically not in the same group. They are employees selling their labor power for wages, same as me or Zulfi or presumably you. Sometimes they move on to different jobs, sometimes they quit to sit at home, just like us. This phenomenon exists in the US too. We have a cleaning woman who comes to clean our house once a week, a guy who mows our lawn. Is there something morally wrong with that?
No. I don’t have a moral problem with hiring help. But I do have a problem with robbing people of their basic dignity. If you treat your cleaning lady like the servants in Pakistan then I do have a problem with that. So, just put yourself in the shoes of the servant. Your conscience will decide for you what is okay and what is morally repugnant. Let me illustrate – last year, we were in Istanbul and stayed in one hotel for the whole week. There were four or five faces we saw everyday, but it was only during the last day or two that we finally realized that two of the kids were hired help and the other two were the owners. They dressed about the same, sat on the same couches, ate at the same table etc. Another example – a friend of mine had a meal with the Sheikh of UAE (Sheikh An-Nahyaan or something) and was amazed to find his chauffeur and other servants at the same spread (dastarkhaan). Now please don’t tell me what is wrong with the gulf Arabs because that would be irrelevant to the point I am making. If sufficiently compensated, I won’t mind being the “servants†in Istanbul or indeed, in driving the Sheikh around.
Again, your article is long on outrage and short on specifics.
On the contrary, I spelled out exactly what I think we should do about it.
How do you propose to replace that family’s income other than saying “It would be painful in the beginning”.etc. Your sympathy does not put food on their table.
Very good point “ I have not addressed that in this thread. Ideally, the government should provide a safety net. We should raise our political voices to make it happen. Practically, we should form and run our own organizations, which will “teach people to fish”. The best examples are the micro credit schemes similar to Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank.
One last comment. You saw a sign at the Gymkhana? So you belong to that last “gora” institution, the most visible sign of the class divide in Pakistan?Hmmmmm! interesting.
I wish I belonged to this institution. How I miss playing golf!
What Zulfi took to be cynicism is merely a realistic approach. I have nothing but contempt for well meaning ‘liberals’ and ‘intellectuals’ like ourselves, who talk and talk and accomplish nothing.
Talking is necessary in order to generate a critical mass of like-minded individuals. No revolutions come about without talking. Plus, I know many people doing all sorts of wonderful things who also “talk and talk”.
If one wants to do something about this disease, it is necessary, first of all, to take a hard look at ourselves and see how we are all complicit in many different ways. Secondly, I pointed out the obvious solution: a radical economic and political restructuring of society so more people can share more of the resources that are the common property of everyone, not just the wealthy or powerful few. As with all revolutions, this one will not be led by the ‘intellectuals’ from the top, the ordinary people themselves will have to give their blood for it to happen. As long as the majority of people in society are content to have a job, make a living, ‘get ahead’ etc, things will not change.
Only partly true. More often than not, intellectuals play a pivotal role in revolutions. Have you forgotten Engels and Marx?
Phyll wrote:
I have to say that I am very glad that Salmaan picked up on the class issue in Pakistan.
When I returned from Pakistan earlier this year, this was the issue foremost in my mind. I wrote a small article about it ( for my wife and myself) lamenting the fact that we don’t even consider it worth talking about.
Now, I am a very poor typist and the article I wrote was the old fashioned way ( pencil and paper, anyone remember those two things?). I am going to try and type it, please stay tuned….
We are still tuned.
Salman Ahsan
All,
I think I agree with most of the points Salman has made in his detailed response.
Ali, my apologies. However, when I used the term “cynical” I did not mean to be pejorative or dismissive. Nonetheless, your response to the posts and your viewpoint does need an adjective – you can choose one for yourself. For no I am going to call it “different” – which I believe is quite neutral in its tone. I would also like to point out that when people talk about my being “a useless intellectual” they are also making some presumptions that may or may not be true. My point being it is okay to take some amount of personal hits. One of the biggest mistakes I made in college was to spend a lot of time worrying about what poeople would think about what I do. I am not going to make this mistake again!
Nauphyll, we are all holding our breaths for your input.
Others have been quiet on this. I hope some other intellectuals would join the fray soon!
Zulfiqar