|
|
|
|
 |
 |
   |
review The defiant
Niazi Zia Mohyeddin
column A timely endeavour to understand what is at stake in the present political crisis in the country Military Inc Inside Pakistan's Military Economy By Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa Published by Oxford University Press Pages:304 Price:Rs 595 There is little
intellectual discussion on the subject of Pakistan's armed forces in our
press. Therefore, writing a serious, researched book on the subject in this
country is too perilous; hence unthinkable. The author forcefully argues that in countries like Pakistan the military takes power to advance its business interests. In this country, the armed forces' business empire has already outgrown any other business house in the country. "The case of Pakistan provides an opportunity to understand the issues that emerge from the financial autonomy of apolitically powerful military. Pakistan's military today runs a huge commercial empire. Although it is not possible to give a definite value of the military internal economy because of the lack of transparency,the estimated worth runs into billions of dollars." With graphic details, the book narrates how the Pakistani military achieved this. The book primarily focuses on four subsidiaries of the armed forces -- the Fauji Foundation, the Army Welfare Trust, Shaheen Foundation, and Bahria Foundation. The military also directly controls three profit-making public sector departments, i.e. NLC, FWO and SCO. However, the military business extends far beyond them. The armed forces also carry out small and medium size profit-making activities. These small businesses include bakeries, cinemas, gas stations, commercial plazas and markets as well as imposing tolls on the highways and selling sands along the seashore. In short, there is hardly any business in which the armed forces of Pakistan do not have a stake. Most of these businesses were set up to provide welfare to the personnel of the Pakistani armed forces and by flouting many laws of the land. But, they ended up enriching the military personnel. They got tax holidays and financial support from the public sector for being the subsidiaries of the armed forces but could not still compete with the private industries. The book argues that the military business perpetuates the military's political predatory style. "The defining feature of such predatory capital is that it is concealed, not recorded as part of the defence budget, and entails unexplained and questionable transfer of resources from the public to the private sector, especially to individuals or groups of people connected with the armed forces. The value of such capital drawn by the military depends on the extent of its penetration into the economy and its influence over the state and society. Consequently, the profit is directly proportional to power." The second most important argument is that the military's economic predaceousness is directly linked to the totalitarian systems. "Motivated by personal gain, the officer cadres of the armed forces seek political and economic returns. The armed forces encourage policies and policy-making environment that multiply their economic opportunities." The third important argument put forward is that the military's economic predaceousness is "both a cause and effect of a feudal authoritarian and non-democratic, political system." She argues that the ruling "military exploits resources for the advantage of its personnel," which turns it into another distinct class. Behaving like any other predatory class, the military lets other ruling classes behave in a predatory manner. "The patronage of the military as part of the ruling elite becomes necessary for the survival of other weaker players, thus creating a strong patron-client relationship." Ayesha Siddiqa says the first phase of the rise of the military business in Pakistan started in 1947 and ended in 1977 although the 1971-77 period saw a lot of restraints on the rise of the military's economic empire. She argues that the Pakistani armed forces did not change the structure it inherited from the British-Indian army and retained former colonial army's biases. So much so that it even retained the ethnic composition of the armed forces, which was based on the myth of Punjabis and Pashtoons being martial races. This alienated the smaller nationalities, particularly the Baloch. During this period, Pakistani armed forces started building their business empire, particularly after Pakistan- US military alliance in 1954. They kept building the business empire unhindered from 1954 to 1971 when the political crisis in the country and, later, return to democracy temporarily halted this process. The second phase of the rise of military's business empire started in 1977 and continues to this day. It was in this period that the military emerged as a distinct class in its own right. She says that the military was coercive during the 1977-88 period after which it had a "thorny partnership" with the civilian governments from 1988 to 1999. It consolidated its power from 1999 to this day. She argues forcefully that the "looting and pillage of national resources by the ruling elite did not stop despite the claims made by successive military regimes that they were cleaning up the political and economic systems and establishing good governance. Pakistan's history bears witness to the fact that despite their being in control of the state for long years, the country's armed forces did not manage to bring substantive and structural change... The military has a tendency to feed itself and the interests of other key groups, whose cooperation is sought for the purpose of political legitimacy. Despite its image as an umpire, the military suffers from a lack of legitimacy in the long term. The generals attempt to plug this hole through bolstering the interests of other groups and creating new players." The rise of the military business empire has come at a cost to the state and society. As the generals became richer, their professional capabilities suffered. She writes, "As far as professionalism in the armed forces is concerned, Milbus [Military Business] serves as a double edged sword. The financial and other perks have increased competition in the armed forces, especially at the junior level and mid-level ranks. These officers understand that the bulk of the rewards await them if they manage to perform well and get promoted to the higher ranks. The door to greater opportunities opens once the officer reaches the rank of a brigadier (one star) and completely opens up with promotion to the rank of a major general (two-star). However, the competition does not always follow rules. In the military's system, which is completely controlled by the upper echelons, the will of the service chiefs and the senior officers is extremely important. In this environment, professionalism does not just depend on the acumen of an individual, but also on his ability to appease his seniors. This increases the risk of questionable decisions and is detrimental to the overall professional ethos..." This is surely a sad commentary on our defenders. As the press and media continue to be persecuted, Zamir Niazi remains relevant as ever "Dissent and defiance are two of the most sacred words in human vocabulary," writes Zamir Niazi in his wonderful book 'Press in Chains.' Following the footsteps of non-conformist journalists of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent who played a vital role in the national liberation movement, Niazi sahib fought authoritarianism until his death on June 11, 2004 despite odds and frail health. No other journalist so
succinctly chronicled the persecution of the press in Pakistan and became a Born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1932, Niazi sahib started his journalistic career in 1954 with the Dawn where he worked as a subeditor for eight years. In 1962, he joined Daily News, an evening newspaper published from Karachi as chief sub-editor and leader writer. In 1965, he joined Business Recorder where he worked for 25 years and retired as its news editor. It was during his association with Business Recorder that he started collecting 'press advices' from the notorious Information Department of the government of Pakistan that paved the way for his remarkable book 'Press in Chains,' published by Karachi Press Club in 1986 because no publisher was ready to take the risk of publishing it. "Those were the days when Altaf Gauhar, in the office of the Central Information Secretary, was the virtual 'Editor-in-Chief' of 1,597 dailies, weeklies, fortnightlies, monthlies and other periodicals, and the regional PID officials were the 'resident editors' of the papers in their jurisdiction. It was they who decided which story was to get full coverage and which was to be played down or totally ignored," writes Niazi sahib in the preface of 'Press in Chains.' The remarkable book, perhaps first of its kind in Pakistan, not only chronicles the evolution of regimentation in the country but also highlights the important role played by journalists in the freedom movement in undivided India. "Right from its launch some two decades ago the Press in undivided India, with a few exceptions, was of a non-conformist nature. The men who manned it had to pay a heavy price for their uncompromising principles without any murmur on their lips," writes Niazi sahib in the opening paragraph of his book Ironically, the 'press advices' were not confined to the era when military dictators ruled the roost; it was prevalent even during civilian governments. For instance, after Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's 'uncontested election' to the National Assembly from Larkana on January 19, 1977, the press was 'advised' to publish the portrait of Bhutto on page one with the caption 'The Supreme Leader, the Undisputed Leader, the Great Leader' and drop the press conference of Jamaat-i-Islami leader Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed and Shah Faridul Haq's statement regarding the abduction of the opposition candidate Maulana Jan Mohammad Abbasi before the filing of the nomination papers in the Larkana constituency, writes Niazi sahib. No wonder when military dictator General Ziaul Haq staged a coup in July 1977, regimentation of the press accentuated to the extent that journalists were flogged. "May 13, 1978, was the blackest day in the history of journalism in the subcontinent, when four newsmen were ordered to be flogged by summary military courts. Those ordered to be whipped were: Masudullah Khan, Iqbal Ahmed Jafri, Khawer Naeem Hashmi and Nisar Zaidi," writes Niazi sahib. Stern and uncompromising in his writings, as a person Niazi sahib was a soft-spoken person, always immersed in reading. He would ring up young journalists if he was pleased by any of their stories and correct them if there was any error in their pieces. This scribe remembers that Niazi sahib was very pleased when he read an article written by the scribe on eminent anthropologist and historian Syed Sibte Hasan on his first death anniversary in 1987 in the monthly Thirdworld International. He rang up Zia Moheyddin, a senior journalist who had a composing business and inquired about me. Later he mailed a copy of 'Press in Chains' for the sake of review in Thirdworld International. Later, he asked this scribe to join Business Recorder. In 1992, his book 'The Press Under Siege' was published and in 1994, came yet another book, 'The Web Of Censorship'. "Ban, censor, change, chop, cut, debar, disallow, forbid, interdict, kill, prevent, prohibit, proscribe, suppress. Such was the vocabulary of the people empowered to use the blue pencil, with little or no grey matter in their heads, sans any guidelines," writes Niazi sahib in 'The Web Of Censorship.' Niazi sahib was meticulous but unassuming. He would attentively listen to his young colleagues and if he found anything of interest, he would simply ask them to jot it down on a piece of paper without indicating anything about his plans. In 1988 this scribe narrated him an incident of self-censorship. He simply asked me to type it. It was astonishing that those paragraphs were included in 'The Web Of Censorship' when it was published in 1994. Niazi sahib was also an ardent supporter of peace. After India and Pakistan exploded nuclear bombs he wrote a book in Urdu 'Zameen ka Noha' that highlighted the importance of peace and detente. He authored yet another book in Urdu called 'Unglian Figar Apni.' Struck by a serious illness that made him bedridden for several years, he would nevertheless read all the newspapers and magazines, write while lying in the bed and his son Haris Zamir, now an illustrious journalist, would type it and return the papers to him for corrections. In fact, Niazi sahib was a man of steel nerves. Amazingly, he rarely travelled but his library was a treasure and he not only allowed his fellow journalists to benefit from the resource but very generously presented them with many books. As we observe the third death anniversary of Niazi sahib, and the civil society face tough times yet again, it's high time to uphold the banner of dissent and defiance that he carried throughout his life so proudly.
Zia Mohyeddin column Lalu Lalu Lalu La... Our delight in nonsense poetry has its roots in childhood when we string words together without having to bother about their meanings or implications. Akkar Bakkar Bumbay Bau/Ikee Nabbay Pooray Sau: I remember chanting this verse while running aimlessly when I was four. My father once told me the story of a man who was so lazy that when he was asked to uchro (utter) something. He replied "uchro muchro duchro" (muchro and duchro are just rhyming words like Bifzi Bafzi). It delighted me no end. It was a perfect release from all constraints and rules. Why hadn't I washed my hands? Why was I wrestling with the branch of a tree and not doing my homework? The answer, of course, was "Uchro muchro duchro." It didn't always prevent me from getting a smack on my bottom, but it was a temporary deliverance from the serious, adult life. Our own Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum produced delightful nonsense verse though it was confined to what is known as 'nursery rhymes'. He created a world in which dolls and animals and human beings are all friends who share each other's pains. It's a world in which snakes dance on trees and cats eat berries; mice sing classical ragas, tigers jump over the moon and lions and lambs go out boating. Sufi Tabassum's poem about a boy known as Tot Batot, is one of the most enchanting parables of our cultural lore, simply because it challenges the arbitrariness of the world determined by the propriety of logic. In this climate of fear and hatred I turn to Edward Lear. I do not know whether you are fond of this 19th century poet or not, I certainly am. He was a naturalist. His 'Nonsense Botany' has flowers like "Trickia Orologica" (with blossoms in the form of pocket watches), or "Shoebootia Utilis" (which grows boots and shoes). He also invented unheard of creatures which receive their existence from their names. 'His Younghy Bonghy - Bo', an adorable poem that I once knew by heart -- who inhabits the coast of Coromandel, 'Where the early pumpkins blow', who proposes to Lady Jingly because 'he is tired of living singly' is a magnificent creation of fantasy. Lady Jingly turns down his proposal because she is already committed to Handel Jones Esquire & Co. Heartbroken, Younghy Bonghy-Bo bids her farewell and goes away to his death through the silent ocean, but Lady Jingly stays on the coast of Coromandel and 'on that heap of stones she mourns' for the Younghy Bonghy-Bo. Poetry and cruelty, tenderness and destructiveness are closely linked in the nonsense verse of Edward Lear, as in this limerick: There was an old Person of Buda Whose conduct grew ruder and ruder Till at last, with a hammer, they silenced his clamour By smashing that Person of Buda Literature -- and the theatre in particular -- has, in an increasing manner, given room to that liberation through nonsense which the grim, bourgeois world would not admit in any guise. Nonsense verse gives a powerful release from the strictures of prudery and sanctimoniousness. It is not just children who love it, adults, too, have been enchanted by it for many centuries. When you find the rhetorical jargon incomprehensible, (or when you are landed with a dummy with no aces or kings) what better way to react than to quote Morgensterm: Bifzi Bafzi, hulalemi, quasti basti bo, Lalu Lalu Lalu la. The literature of verbal nonsense brings into focus the human condition itself. This is what gives it a dimension larger than mere playfulness. The real world is cruel; its inhabitants are crushed by accidents of birth or environment and they are unable to break the pattern which has been ordained for them. In the simplest language Lear says: There was an old man of Cape Horn Who wished he had never been born So he sat on a chair, till he died of despair That dolorous man of Cape Horn. It is not surprising that Lewis Carroll, one of the greatest exponents of nonsense verse and the author of those immortal 'Alice' books, was a logician. He was a man steeped in the world of syllogisms and equations, in which determinism of meaning could not be shaken off. So, he resorts to the absurd: "When I use a word" Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less". "The question is, said Alice, Whether you can make words mean so many different things". 'The question is', said, Humpty Dumpty, "which is master -- that's all". In 'Through the Looking Glass', there is a wood where things have no names and in this very wood, Alice, having forgotten her own name, meets a fawn who has also forgotten her identity. They walk on together, Alice's arms clasped round the soft neck of the fawn, but when they come out to an open field, the fawn suddenly shakes itself free from Alice's arm, leaps into the air -- and darts away. There is a suggestion here that when you have an identity defined by language, having a name, you have restrictions imposed upon you, but when you lose your name you gain freedom in some way. The field of nonsense poetry -- and prose -- is as large as it is fluid. Most of the works explore the mysteries of being and the self to the limits of anguish as well as absurdity. It portrays a sense of the senselessness of life, of the devaluation of ideals, purity and purpose and it strives to express the inadequacy of rational approach. In many ways nonsense poetry and prose is the direct antecedent of the 'Theatre of the Absurd', which doesn't argue about the absurdity of the human condition; it merely presents it in concrete theatre images. In our part of the world, there is an unending tirade of misused and overused words which are churned out day after day in the name of honour, valour and glory. Any one with the slightest sense of discernment knows that they have a trite, hollow ring to them. I am reminded of that marvellous passage from the 'Hunting of the Snack' (by Lewis Carroll) and I quote a few lines, not for those that they are aimed at (they never take any notice), but for those who think the printed word matters: 'To the horror of all those who were present that day He uprose in full evening dress And with senseless grimaces endeavoured to say What his tongue could no longer express Down he sank in his chair - ran his hands through his hair - And chanted in mimsiest tones Words whose utter inanity, proved his insanity, while he rattled a couple of bones'.
|
|
Breaking the taboo, Pakistan's leading expert on military matters Ayesha
Siddiqa explores the corporate interests of Pakistan's armed forces and how
they undermine the defence and the national interest in her second book.
'Military Inc.-- Inside Pakistan's Military Economy' is surely the best and a
timely book to understand the military mindset and what is at stake in the
present political crisis in the country.
role model for the entire community, especially its younger lot. True to the
traditions of the progressive movement in this part of the world, he
inculcated dignity, truthfulness and courage among his readers and taught
that dissent and defiance were the most beautiful of words.