Quackery must protect quackery

A political tornado has hit Pakistan. The country is paralysed. In order to rescue the country, the politicians are doing whatever they are capable of doing. But unfortunately, the paralysis is getting worse and worse. One cant help believing that the politicians capabilities are incapable of coping with the situation. Their capabilities are capable only of achieving their own personal interests. The current paralysis is not a unique incident. Pakistans entire history is a history of paralyses. Whenever Pakistan was hit by a paralysis, the politicians did whatever they were capable of doing. But on each occasion their capabilities were incapable of curing the disease. Thus, Pakistans entire life is a paralysis-ridden life. Poor Pakistan The political history of the world reveals to us that there are two kinds of politicians: Genuine politicians and quack politicians. A genuine politician is a politician who sacrifices himself for the country. But a quack politician is a politician who sacrifices the country for himself. Under genuine politicians, the country is a paradise for the masses. But under quack politicians, the country is a hell for the masses. Unfortunately, most of the countries have been under quack rulers. No wonder, the masses in these countries have been extremely miserable. If the medical quacks in the East were to come to know about the prosperity of the political quacks, they would instantaneously renounce their medical quackery and embrace political quackery. In every Third World country, there are medical quacks as well as political quacks. Luckily, only a limited number of citizens fall victim to the medical quacks. But the masses, who constitute a large majority, are mercilessly exploited by the quack rulers. Normally, it is a moral and legal obligation of the rulers to ensure that medical quackery does not take root in the country. But when the rulers themselves happen to be political quacks, how can they have the audacity to harm the medical quacks? Robbers must protect robbers. Quackery must protect quackery. Numerous children regularly die of starvation and curable diseases in some of the African countries. The rulers blame Nature for the tragedy. They accuse Nature of holding back rains. Prolonged droughts petrify the agricultural land. Consequently, there are no crops. The grown-up citizens try to survive by eating dried-up shrubs. But the children are unable to do so. They must die. And they do die. Thus, according to the rulers, it is not they but Nature which is the real criminal. But the rulers themselves never have any food problem. They have lots and lots of nutritious and delicious food to eat. They spend substantial amount of national money to humour their stomachs. But what they spend on their food is just an iota of what they spend on their lifestyle. They wear expensive clothings when the masses are half naked. They move about in luxury cars when the masses wobble about on their thin legs. They sleep in luxurious palaces when the masses have only gutters for spending their nights in. The rulers can transmute their clothes and cars and palaces into food and medicine for the miserable masses and the children. But they dont do so. They dont do so because they worship their political quackery, which does not permit them to save the babies dying of starvation. The miserable masses of a country under quack rulers can be relieved of their misery only by a political revolution. But a genuine revolution can be brought about only by genuine politicians. Unfortunately, throughout human history, genuine politicians have been as rare as the phoenix. Most of the countries have always been under the jackboots of quack rulers. No wonder, the world has been predominantly a veritable hell. Greek philosopher Sophocles says: The happiest destiny is not to be born. Would that the philosopher knew that the happiest destiny is not to be born in a state which is ruled by political quacks. n The writer retired as Professor of the Department of English, Government College University, Lahore.