By Zermeen Amira
This post is inspired by the likes of Muhammad Ali Jinnah who never broke the law and never went to prison while engaging in independence movement and the struggle for Pakistan. The post is also inspired by our tradition that says that if you see a wrong, the least thing one could do is to feel bad about it in ones heart, the next best thing is to say it loud that this is wrong and the most superior thing would be to do something practical to stop the unjust act.
Having said that I am appalled at the lack of ingenuity, resourcefulness and creativity of our political parties both PPP and PML included in mobilizing popular support. Take the example of Lahore, at every nook and corner people are talking about the unjust acts of government in Islamabad. Other moms talk about it incessantly when I go to pick up my kid from school. Even the kids in my fifth graders class are talking about it! Yet a major majority of these moms, their husbands, their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts etc would not be part of the Long March even if they support it whole heartedly. So should we declare all of these folks coward, non-patriotic, chickens or whatever? Absolutely not! Refer to the first paragraph, it is fully recognized that different people have different tolerance levels of how strongly they feel about something and what they are willing to do about it, ranging from feeling bad about an unjust act to actually trying to stop it with legal but physical means; physically participating in the Long March in this case.
That begs the question; can this energy be tapped by those leaders who feel that injustice has been done to them and to their country? Absolutely, however all mainstream parties suffer form not having deep roots in the populace and instead further their street cause through ‘jiyalas’ and the recipients of ‘patronage politics’. I wonder if they really believe in the strength of the united voice of the awam? Since the political parties haven’t been smart enough to figure out what they need to do to tap into the abundant energy, here are my top ten list of things a peaceful citizen can do to make his/her opinion heard. Some of these don’t even violate the section 144.
- Start wearing an arm band colored either black or green protesting the high handedness of the government in Islamabad. Do this at work and while being outside.
- Fly a black or green flag on your house indicating your support for democratic process. Perhaps put the picture of the scale on the flag to further emphasize your cause. What a scene would it be if you had tens of thousands of these flags flying in every city of Pakistan!
- Roll down your windows when driving your car, play patriotic songs while pumping up the volume to the loudest. I don’t believe it violates section 144.
- Same as 3 above but this time download or buy a CD of songs with poetry of Aitezaz Ahsan, Habib Jalib plus other variations on popular songs celebrating the cause of justice. Play it full volume with your windows down at intersections when driving. Keep extra copies with you and if someone at the next traffic light asks for one, give it to them.
- This one is for braver ones. Same as 4 above, but this time put a small 12 volt amplifier driven loudspeaker on the roof of your car (put a towel underneath the loud speaker so not to scratch your paint and tie loudspeaker with string). Loudspeaker, the amplifier and the whole rig can be had for a few thousand rupees from the likes of Hall Road in Lahore and equivalent places in Karachi/Rawalpindi. Such arrangements are widely used in rural mosques and this technology is simple to use. Just imagine only tens of such cars blaring the right kind of music on 15th or 16th on the streets in each of Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Jehlum and every small or big town in Pakistan. This one is inspired by Nasira Iqbal’s car in the previous year’s march in which I participated.
- Get green balloons and if you can get them painted with the picture of a scale. Coordinate with your neighbors and possibly with organizations/parties working towards Long March and release 100 or so of these from each house on the morning of 16th at 10 AM or the time of Dharna in Islamabad. If you can convince 1,000 households to do this (totally doable), you will have one lakh ballons in the sky the morning of 16th in each major city. What a spectacle!
- Start on-line petitions, send faxes to presidency, launch an SMS campaign. Don’t use any foul language. Be polite and make your point, it has a greater chance of making an impact and getting forwarded via SMS.
- 16th most probably will be announced as a holiday, children will probably not go to schools. Facepaint your kids with Pakistani flags, with the slogans you like. Go to the park in your local community; enjoy the outdoor while making a point.
- Basant is officially on in Lahore on the 15th. Fly green kites with the picture of a scale emblazoned on it. On your roof top, play patriotic music while enjoying Basant with your family and friends.
- I am running out of ideas, this one you will have to think for yourself.
Some of what is described above has the secondary benefits of educating your next generation to be politically conscious; some of these kids may get inspired to become the honest, down to earth leaders that we so dearly yearn for. Wouldn’t it be beautiful when you will have to explain to your little one why you are wearing a black arm band?
So come on folks. If you believe in this cause but fear baton charges and tear gas like I do, let’s at least do a few things to make our voice heard. At the least it will give support and heart to more brave amongst us who feel marginalized and the perception that we don’t care will be neutralized. All good starts from a small act of kindness. This may just start a revolution of conscious and true mass participatory politics. Let’s not feel paralyzed, talk endless about the gravity of our situation but not do anything about it. Please do our part if you believe in this effort. Likewise if you believe the other side of the story, by all means express yourself. Let’s make democracy beautiful and play as much of our part as we can bear, being couch potato watching TV and feeling bad doesn’t count for much.
Pakistan Zindabad. Long Live Pakistan even after I and many of my future generations have long departed the face of this earth.
Comments
13 responses to “To March or not to March, other ways to make your voice heard”
Solid.. I need her email… God from where she thought of those ideas… Mind blowing….
A perfect post Zermeen.
I's having the same discussion with two of my friends that we must go out if we want to make it happen but we are not going out and can't go out.
I asked them to do anything.. anything which could support the idea..
'Tweeting your voice' and 'Blogging what you think' was my two ideas which I had then to discuss..
By doing any or both of these, you could actually motivate some one who could have participated in the cause physically but needed some motivation.
You did the same thing and a part from blogging and tweeting I have a lot many ideas..
Thanks for the great post.
Great post.
Idea number 10: Lets wage a peaceful e-war against the culprits. If we could manage to get the phone numbers, fax numbers, email address of the government officials, and all their puppet polic officers etc we can do something on the lines of what happened during the Gaza tragedy. We can bombard, jam, flood all their gadgets with messages.
Regarding how do to this all anonymously, securely view: http://cli.gs/9jHynE
In fact, if it is possible to get some numbers, emails etc, we can start a proper well-organized campaign in this regard…
What do you guys think?
Harassing people is not going to change anyone’s mind for the better.
Do you think you’re anonymous? Think again.
Don’t underestimate the power of people-to-people ways to show your views, especially when it comes to engaging those who are not normally engaged in politics or who do not read the news.
@Zermeen Amira
"…The post is also inspired by our tradition that…" you have actually quoted hadith, and call it our tradition. Very true, following hadith is what our –real– tradition.
However, if you look at exact meaning (from Arabic) of the hadith's part which is famous as "…the least thing one could do is to feel bad about it in ones heart,…", it really is "To feel bad about it in ones heart, and try to approach those who can create the difference or take the action…", so Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) has asked to be responsible in any case, regardless of which courage level we are at the moment.
Your post is really responsible and response-able, keep throwing good stuff.
May Allah bless you and all of us in both worlds, Ameen.
Pakistan Zindabad!
i hope this answers the question many were asking what can we do?
Solution
Zarmeen – your observations are spot on.
There is a huge gap between operations of our institutions (political parties) and thoughts of our people.
To elaborate – our official rules are colonial and our institutions lack experience in compliance. Institutions including political parties lack independent thought and innovation. The leadership is dynastic, with backward and feudal thought. The establishment following such a leadeship is incompetent and fearful.
Our general public (educated, uneducated, elite, non elite) have evolved on the basis of access to better information, media and technology. People are increasingly using cell phones/pda's to access information and distribute/share information. Public without access to cell phones are using cable and TV to learn new behaviour and new avenues to express their thoughts.
This will lead to a clash of minds/generations. The problem is in some ways a demographic clash between old generation(regressive, feudal thought) vs new guard (young and ambitious).
Our instituitions need a makeover and for this they need help from people like us. There is a need to form local think tanks/information groups – similar to this site and then provide advise to political parties. If independent groups select their areas of expertise – health care, education, Human rights etc and come up with recommendations that are popular with masses the political parties will have to listen. This is one way to channel the energy/thoughts of the people. If left alone the instituions will continue to regress and rott.
Let's act now and work to create local think tanks. We may fail initially but will get it right after initial failure.
Solution
Zarmeen – your observations are spot on.
There is a huge gap between operations of our institutions (political parties) and thoughts of our people.
To elaborate – our official rules are colonial and our institutions lack experience in compliance. Institutions including political parties lack independent thought and innovation. The leadership is dynastic, with backward and feudal thought. The establishment following such a leadeship is incompetent and fearful.
Our general public (educated, uneducated, elite, non elite) have evolved on the basis of access to better information, media and technology. People are increasingly using cell phones/pda's to access information and distribute/share information. Public without access to cell phones are using cable and TV to learn new behaviour and new avenues to express their thoughts.
This will lead to a clash of minds/generations. The problem is in some ways a demographic clash between old generation(regressive, feudal thought) vs new guard (young and ambitious).
Our instituitions need a makeover and for this they need help from people like us. There is a need to form local think tanks/information groups – similar to this site and then provide advise to political parties. If independent groups select their areas of expertise – health care, education, Human rights etc and come up with recommendations that are popular with masses the political parties will have to listen. This is one way to channel the energy/thoughts of the people. If left alone the instituions will continue to regress and rott.
Let's act now and work to create local think tanks. We may fail initially but will get it right after initial failure.
BTW I love your blog!
@Eddie:
What i suggested is not harassment. And if it is, I think its a small price all the corrupt politicians and their puppets should pay.
The suggestion is specially valid for those who:
– do not dare to join the rallies
– can not join the rallies due to their location or due to the blockages etc..
@Eddie.
"Do you think you’re anonymous? Think again"
I have not really cared to stay anonymous. My blog link is a clear proof of that.
The guidelines regarding anonymity were for those who do care (and for valid reasons at times) to keep their personal details secret.
With great respect and appreciation for Zarmeen Amira, I would like to add an item to her list.
10. Help financially the needy families of the Long March activists, particularly the lawyers: We know that most of the pro-Iftikhar Chaudry lawyers and many involved activists belong, financially, to the so-called lower middle class. By boycotting the courts and having become almost full-time activists for the cause of justice, they are giving great sacrifice for a noble cause. I am sure their families are suffering financially and in many other ways.
In each locality, mahalla, office etc., let us look for such needy families, and help them financially and in other ways — in some appropriate manner. Let us treat their children and loved ones as our own children and loved ones. WE ARE INDEBTED TO THESE VALIANT AND SELF SACRIFICING IFTIKHARIST ACTIVISTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. THEY ARE OUR ASSET FOR THE FUTURE
………………………..
Let us not forget that the judicial-legal community, from the great Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry & like-minded judges to the participating most junior lawyers, is the backbone of the ongoing unique movement against tyranny in Pakistan. My gut feeling is that regardless of the immediate results of the March 16, 2009 Long March and Dharnaa, Pakistan will need what I call the 'Iftikharists'to remain active in the political field as an independent All Pakistan Force. After they are retired satisfactorily, I would like Justice Chaudhry and like-minded judges along with the presently activist lawyers think of forming a new progressive federalist political party which may be called, e.g., Sicial Justice Party.
Even in the case of having 100% desired results from this historic Long March, there will be need to keep an eye the ML-N and other parties so that they do not exploit the results and return to their old ways, though up to this point I have great respect for Nawaz Sharif.
Let me make it clear frankly that I continue to support the Baloch separatist movement.Yet, as a Baloch — and for various reasons — , though extremely bitter about the treatment of my people particularly by this scum of the earth Musharraf — , I would like to see some last efforts made to keep Balochistan within Pakistan. I think the Sharif Brothers are the only influential Pakistani politicians who MAY reconcile Balochistan with Pakistan.)
With Love & desire for Peace along with Social Justice for all of you,
Malek Towghi, Ph.D.,
Liason, Baloch Human Rights International — USA
GreatPost Zarmeen, where have you been so long. If I had a political party, you wud hav been its political strategist. I wonder our moron leaders cant even imagine how to harness potential of masses and make it count.
But then perhaps they do not want masses to think that they can accomplish something.its a matter of taking credits and controlling minds and actions. If masses get the bad idea that they can count and make things happen peacefully,it wud mean death of vested interests and daeth of these leaders. even our Maulvi party (JI) known for street power wud loose its charm.
U sure r a recipe of disaster for political interests.