A R JERRAL There was a great clamour in Pakistan after what the British Prime Minister said in India about Pakistan. There was even a greater cry when he refused to apologise. Adding insult to injury, the British media published a disfigured flag of Pakistan. But the event passed without any untoward episode. Our President happily left for the tour of France and UK, despite some opposition. Our media and some quarters depicted these two events as an attack on our honour and pride, and after some time it was life as usual. Perhaps, a mild protest could have continued but the havoc caused by floods changed the focus of the entire nation. What are honour and pride? These are abstract concepts affecting individuals and society in relative terms. Pride comes with achievements and honour is retaining that pride against odds. People who value honour can die for that. But in Pakistan many acts are committed in the name of honour which relate to individuals like killing women without describing what is honourable in killing a woman. Pride too is relative. How does a nation feel honour and pride is a complex subject? A nation's honour and pride has to be a demonstration of its collective successes and achievements. It must also reflect its historical development in the past which affects its present and future? Does our past give us a reason to feel proud and honourable? Pakistan is a feudal society. Its feudal lords have a long history of allegiance to the dominant powers that have emerged in this region from time to time. It is situated in the area that has been path of history over which many invaders walked in their quest for wealth, power and domination. From the earliest Aryans to the Mughals, the local chieftains have been aiding and helping the invaders in their quest for material possessions and status. That is the reason why India in general and this area in particular has many families that take pride in their status of being of blue blood. There were only two classes; nawabs and their fiefs. These feudal lords had no conviction, the only instinct that moved them was 'the instinct to survive', and they are past masters in it. The characteristic of a feudal is that he gives unquestioning fealty to the strong and is ruthless to the weak. Their honour and pride lies in their wealth, status, their relationship to the strong and their ability to survive. Pakistan since its birth is ruled by these feudal. Pakistan Muslim League emerged as a political organ of Muslim feudal of India. A local English newspaper had published an edition in 2006 commemorating the 100th birthday of the party. The Muslim League manifest listed loyalty to the King-Emperor of India its first duty. On the birth of Pakistan, the feudal lord dominated the politics and became the movers and shakers of its political system. A dispassionate study of Pakistan's early history shows that these feudals never allowed the development of political institutions. Instead they supported the bureaucrats to rule the country. They had experienced the power in hands of civil bureaucracy during the Raj. They woke up to the stark reality after the Martial Law (ML) in Lahore in 1952. General Azam Khan, the ML Administrator, demanded and got the political control over the entire province. The civil bureaucracy simply crumbled. The feudal elite realised where actual power lay and they got on to patronise the military. The C-in-C, General Ayub was made a Cabinet member and enjoyed extensions. When the middle classes rallied around Khan Abdul Qayyum, who had political agenda to cut the feudal to size and led a 32 miles long procession, the elite got cold feet and manoeuvred the C-in-C to impose ML on entire country. The rest is history. In the following years, the urban elite, the big business houses and the industrialist joined the feudal elite and a nexus has emerged in both. Like the feudal lords, this elite is profit motivated with wealth as its objective which bestows honour. This rural-urban mix has created a leadership in Pakistan, who in all elections and ML administrations has always held on to power. A commoner definitely can neither have the resources, nor support to stand in competition with them. Same houses, same names have figured in all governments all the way. Their concept of honour and pride revolves around wealth, status, power and outward trappings of exuberance. They all hold property and fat bank balances abroad. These are status symbols which set them apart from the commons. Moreover, it just does not matter how these symbols were acquired. Irony is that they do not feel any remorse. When The Queen of England visited Pakistan our sitting Speaker of the National Assembly at that time, a scion of feudal family, Mr Somoro publicly proclaimed that his ancestors were the loyal subjects of her majesty and so was he. He forgot that Pakistan was an independent, sovereign state. That is the honour that our leaders understand. In this backdrop, despite public outcry our President left for a visit to the UK and France. He did not realise that his country was being maligned by the Prime Minister of the host country. In addition, there were many loyalists to offer reasons for his visit. All that the devastated, flood ridden people of his country got were pictures of his Chateau Rein Blanch, a prime property in France to cheer them up. The other leaders, who criticised him, too hold expensive properties in exclusive areas of London; one even advised to cancel his visit while living in London. They hold these as status symbols that bestow honour and prestige. We do not comprehend honour, dignity and pride in its classic sense. Money, power and subservience to the powerful bring these as our understanding goes. Our leadership bent backwards to beg the US President Bill Clinton to visit Pakistan, he came insulted the whole nation on our TV channels and we all stood by and applauded. This is our understanding of national honour and the whole nation is caught in this syndrome. If the US Embassy announces that it will give green cards to all who present themselves on a given day, the whole Pakistan will line up. Pride and honour will get relegated. It is just an emotional outburst and nothing more. Honour is a passion which makes men stand tall and hold their heads high; they can even die for it. The men who lead us excel at survival which demands compromise; however, there is no honour in compromise. The situation will not change till the commons realise their worth and discard the scions of urban and rural elite and choose educated, mature and honest people from among themselves to lead them. Otherwise, our perception of honour and pride will remain subservient to wealth, status and sycophancy. It is a dream; all we can do is hope and dream. The writer is a freelance columnist.