Under the law of Nature, everything either of chemical or of biological is destined to complete its life cycle. Even planets, starts, galaxies and fields of light and darkness in the space are born and die under innate process of deterministic universe, ancient and modern physicists theocratised since the time the intelligent life took the present shape. The same rule of law is applied on the emergence, rise, decline and death of civilisation, society, state and individual by the social scientists, philosophers and historians from Herodotus, Anaxagoras and Euripides to Ibn Khaldun, Hegel and Toynbee.
Cardinal reason among some other causes, Egypt’s pharaonic kingdom, Greco-Roman-Iranian Empires, Hindu Raj, Charlemagne’ Europe, Abbasids and Umayyad’ Caliphates, Mughal empire, Napoleon’s France, Hitler’s Germany did not only mysteriously disappear from worldly power scenes but also they were destroyed and enslaved by the mysterious forces of Nature. The holy Quran, time and again, forewarns the human beings that this world is not made for tyrannical nations but for merciful, peace loving and obedient to law creatures in the kingdoms of animals and men. Archeologists, biologists and physicists on basis of RNA, DNA and history among ruins reach the conclusion that the extinct species before the present time are thousand times more than the species that survive today. The killer species are enemies of their own generations. Dinosaurs were incapable of keeping difference between their families and offspring in the remote antiquity and carnivorous or predators like lions, leopards and even serpents like snakes are worst enemies of their own children. By their instinct, they do not know the law of mutual survival and harmonious life on the earth. For, they ever suffer adverse objective condition for their own life.
God apprises, in the holy Quran, man of His severest punishment when He annihilated the criminal, cruel and great violators of law in order to enable the law abiding nations to replace the punished ones. One of holistic providences in all divine books is this world is not a place to live forever. Out of billions and billions of years, man is bestowed a little glimpse of time and space to live on the earth, keeping in mind that he is answerable for the misdeeds committed thereby. If we study the philosophy of history, law of physics and divine books, simultaneously, we reach the conclusion that man lives in a regulated world, for he is given a chance for specific period to perform certain worldly things after which he have to prepare himself to handover the charge to the posterity well before the time his legs refuse to carry his burden, his body disallows him to move, and his mind remembers nothing but remorse and sense of guilt and fear. History of every human being, whether a king, or a slave, a rich or poor and a prominent or a commoner tells that wealth, power, status and prominence fail to defy the inevitable possessor of decay and death. Even with this compulsive reality, there are a fewer wise and prudent persons in every age who accept this innate law of Nature. Monarchs resisted the fast reaching end of time till they were made terminally-ill or killed by their servants, guards, brothers, cousins, wives, sons, or enemies. Though, it might be exaggerative account yet it forms part of the anal of history that during the last centuries of pharaonic Egypt, as many as seventy pharaohs were killed in seventy days. Despite this contestable account, this is unanimous view of most respectable historians that most of the pharaohs’ end of life was tragic as they were found dead in their beds in the palaces.
All huge empires, both in the East and West, had history showing that religious kings met with the same fate the pharaohs were destined to endure, because they blatantly refused to transfer the power till the last. Lust for luxury and power were insatiable, for they made all possible arrangements to occupy their thrones, accelerating the process of their deadly end. As they were afraid of leaving the crown and throne mostly due to escape the punishment of their wrong doings, crimes and sins as rulers, they never allowed any legal framework or constitution to fix the duration of kingship. Ironically, undecided tenure of a king was the main cause which generated a powerful crisis and challenges, not for the king but also for the kingdom. Out of continual chaos and instability in national politics of a kingdom, democracy emerges having complete mechanism for transfer of power, specifying tenure for the elected ruler. In America, only two or three presidents were allowed to become the American President for the third time consisting of only 12 years. Otherwise, 44 USA presidents served only for 8 or 4 years in the White House. They were sent to Capitol Hill under the American constitution and removed under it, too. The USA met with the catastrophic challenges owing to undeterred obedience to the constitution. At least during two bloodiest national crises, many independent states were created within USA and White House was burnt to ground; even then the presidential elections were held in accordance with the constitution. Contrary to this constitutional adherence, the Westminster parliamentary form of democracy curbed no restriction on the terms of a prime minister which now looks a main cause of internal political instability and unmanaged external challenges for the United Kingdom, resulting in a total collapse of the Great Britain during the first half of the 20th century.
USA replaced UK on the globe purely on the force of regulated and inviolable mechanism for transfer of power. Diametrically two different ideas of democracy remain operative in USA and UK. The former firmly believes and adherently acts on the theory that no one is inevitable and beyond the law; similarly, everyone is accountable in democracy. As far as their national politics is concerned, the Americans regard history and experience as a litmus test for their code of conduct. To the contrary, the later felled a victim of her misconception that history completes with the completion of the national history of the Great Britain. This fatalistic misconception produced UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill who ultimately had to face Mussolini and Hitler on one hand and the Japanese military on the other hand. Although, Churchill prima facie won the 2nd world wars through the allied powers, yet he lost victory in the elections generally and UK lost hegemony over the world in particular. Whereas the UK national history met with evident failure but history as a whole smiled on the ashes of fire and force the warriors caused in the first half of the 20th century. And at present, history gives a little room to UK as one of many subordinate states among the capitalistic democratic world. Today, UK obeyed what America decides in global politics, despite variants of her foreign policy.
Hundred years history of outgoing century carries amazing lessons one of them is that this world is not made for permanence, power, arrogance and lust. This lesson is not a new one but the reminder of the innate law of Nature that everything on the earth is given very little time to accomplish its agenda. For, it should prepare itself to leave this world or be ready to face the wrath of time and age. The same rule of history now looks forcefully reinforcing its principal on the first generation of politicians emerged and helped, and opposed or weakened during four decades of the post-July 5, 1977 era wherein constitutionally admitted law for transfer of power was violated, setting the wheel of lawless politics on motion in Pakistan. Primarily, the creator of the unconstitutional era, General Zia-ul-Haq refused to transfer the power to emerging forces even after his misrule of 11 year and suffered the tragic end. Although, General Zia died, yet his legacy continues even today among all politicians considering themselves great defenders of the constitution and democracy.
The writer is Ex-Director General (Translation), Senate of Pakistan
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