People Themselves Are The Promoters Of Despotism

Extremely deteriorated law and order situation, drone attacks, suicide bombing, target killings, an alarming rise of street crimes, countless ethical, psychological and social problems in the society, scarcity of ingredients, prices’ hike, water and power shortage, hoarding and creating artificial scantiness of sugar by the sugar mafia…what is not there to arouse the people to give voice to their grievances and stand for protests, while the situation is enough to make the dead to rise from their graves? But they are putting up with all undesirable circumstances silently. They seem to be numbed by repeated disappointments. Tainted with the kickbacks, commissions and undue profits the corrupt nature of the ruling class has hit the ‘ibadah’ of pilgrimage to Makka this time. The man with portfolio of Religious Affair minister, could not save his turban and cloak, both signs of his thick religiosity, getting stained with the blames of fearlessly availing the opportunity of making money. The people who traveled for Hajj this year not only suffered greatly due to disarrangements but, were mercilessly looted and bribed by the authorities responsible to facilitate the process for Hajj.

Our Messenger of Allah SAW had long ago warned about this situation to happen. Once he dispatched Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah, so he arrived with the wealth from Bahrain. When the Ansar heard of arrival of Abu Ubaidah, they were attending Fajr prayer. When the Prophet SAW completed the prayer they assembled before him. The messenger of Allah smiled to see them and then said: “ I think you heard that Abu Ubaidah has arrived with something?  They said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said: “Then receive good news and hope for what will please you. By Allah! It is not poverty that I fear for you, but what I fear for you is that the world will be presented for you just as it was presented for those before you, then you will compete for it, just as they competed for it, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them.” (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)

Actually entire society has been poisoned with materialism. From a hawker and vendor to a shopkeeper, a trader to an industrialist, a lower grade to the top grade servant of the public and private sector, from a clerk to the person at secretary level and from a minister to the prime minister and the president, all are in the race to make fortunes. This is an awful feature of the materialism. Close relatives and even the siblings try to eliminate their closest kin from the competition for maximum gains. The more likely and ultimate result of this material race is nothing else but rivalries, enmities and then killing one another. The Messenger of Allah SAW did not censure his companions for their desire to get their portions from the tribute coming from Bahrain but what he advised them was to save themselves from sinking in the stagnant and dirty pool of destructive materialism. 

We have developed a democracy-coated brand of a ruthless centralized despotism and in our country. With parliamentary face actually we have presidential system. Power and force of will still lie with the party head, which is also the president of the country now. Seductive tricks and delusive ways of running the system have got painted to be the democracy. A new despotic form is to allow the Americans to kill as many people by their drone attacks as possible. Let the hooligans of different parties in Karachi shoot as many people in target killing as possible and give leave to disorderly elements in Balochistan to assassinate as many Punjabis as possible.

Casting the dust in the eyes of their followers some big Maulanas of different religious parties are popular players of unprincipled and expedient polity. Conscience is bidden and Faith is bought off in open markets in the name of principles. Actually such leaders think their people trivial and their will and wishes trifling. Wisdom, morality and manliness of the people are underestimated. They are believed to be so stupid, cowards and conscienceless that driving them to their disgrace is not a difficult thing to do. In our society the success of the devious tricks of the despot proves that what is assumed about lowness of the people is not incorrect. The people bear out through their silence and senselessness that they are not different from what they are thought to be. Their reaching such an ignominious level is result of their sinful and debouched behaviour. They willfully get bitten again from the same hole. No change unless they stop to be the promoters of despotism.