BY: Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
Every once so often the controversy over mega water projects in general, and Kalabagh Dam in particular, becomes front--page news. It is a reflection on the prevailing political discourse in Pakistan that every Urdu newspaper is dominated by statements either for or against the dam, while news of the clearly intensive military operation in Kohlu that has left dozens dead hardly makes the front page. Thus Kalabagh Dam fulfils at least two purposes for the ruling class. On the one hand it functions as a convenient distraction from more pressing issues and, on the other, allows elites of all shades the opportunity to aggressively demonstrate just how principled their politics really is, while in reality it is anything but.
The people of Pakistan are sick and tired of hearing about Kalabagh Dam given that it has been a recurring theme in political debate and the press for well over a decade. Yes, it is an emotive issue, and yes, it does stand to impact a large number of people. However, repeating the same polemics time and again serves only to reinforce in people’s minds the prevailing perception about the political process -- that there is no credibility associated with it, and that even people’s legitimate concerns are reduced to rhetorical exercises that never lead to fruitful conclusion.
That being said, it is the state that is primarily responsible for this state of affairs. It is the state that insists on stuffing the Kalabagh issue down everyone’s throats while its opponents are guilty only of reacting to the obfuscations of the ruling class. The state proudly clings on to its colonial legacy, refusing to acknowledge popular sentiment whilst also using brute force to crush any dissident activity. Kalabagh is the most obvious manifestation of the state’s nature.
The project has been rejected by provincial assemblies, social movements and intellectuals alike, yet the state continues to propagate the view that its construction -- and that of a handful of other highly controversial parallel projects -- is imperative in terms of meeting the country’s water needs.
Meanwhile, the state deploys troops to deal with so-called internal security problems as is presently the case in Balochistan. Lest one forget, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain made commitments only a few short months ago to reduce troop deployment in the province, and redress the multitude of grievances that the Baloch people feel against the Centre. On cue, however, the state has resorted to its age-old refrain that it is committed to bestowing development on the long-suffering Baloch people, and that its security operation is directed against the anti-progress feudal and tribal elements in Balochistan that are dead set against this beneficent plan.
And if Balochistan’s trials and tribulations have been relegated to secondary status in the press, the ongoing fiasco in Waziristan might as well be a tale of fiction given that there is virtually no news of it in the mainstream press. In a few weeks, when it will again suit our ruling class, a team of press people will be fed some story that another high-level al-Qaeda operative has been arrested in Waziristan and more mortar attacks are being planned against terrorist hideouts. And then we will hear about Waziristan for a few days before the same cycle is repeated once more.
To top it all off, an anecdote that reflects the virtual absurdity of the state of our country. An administrator at arguably the country’s best public-sector university, Quaid-e-Azam University, proclaims in a letter to the editor in one of the country’s leading English dailies that there is absolutely no political activity allowed on campus and that anyone engaged in such activity will face serious consequences. When politics is so openly and triumphantly suppressed, is it any surprise that its existing forms are so parochial and unproductive?
After the earthquake there was a genuine optimism that seemed to permeate the entire society in spite of the adversity that hundreds of thousands of people were facing. There was hope that the unbearable suffering could kick-start a truly substantive process of change that started first and foremost with people themselves espousing expansive and selfless values. But as the state fears political expression on university campuses, and the collective demands of oppressed nations, it could not bear the possibility that social mobilisation in response to a natural disaster might metamorphose into a political challenge. And so in the name of stopping the looting -- which was made into a much wider phenomenon than the scattered instances that actually took place -- and establishing a orderly relief operation, the all-mighty army stepped in and, within weeks, the widespread feeling of rejuvenation and self-help degenerated into despondency and disinterest.
Whether in the posturing over Kalabagh, the grotesque misrepresentation of conflicts in Balochistan and Waziristan or what would appear to be more benign issues such as student politics (or lack thereof), the state continues to demonstrate that it remains a force that seeks to subjugate society rather than respond to its needs. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Pakistanis have adopted the means and methods of the state, because everyone knows that gaining the state’s patronage is the only way of getting things done. So from the press and political parties to the ordinary person on the street, a vicious cycle of degeneration continues unabated.
The fact of the matter is that polarisation will only increase because the powers that be have never genuinely tried to redress the host of structural crises that plague Pakistani society. Nor are they interested in doing so. So the never-ending polemics over Kalabagh will continue even though its only supporters are the state, its imperialist patrons and those ordinary Pakistanis who have been pushed to one side of the fence on account of the promotion of bitter identity politics even though it does not represent their aspirations.
Meanwhile, operations in Balochistan and Waziristan will continue as the state becomes more and more obliged to meet the demands of multinational capital and the imperialist juggernaut. And any positive and organic politics that takes root can be expected to be brutally suppressed just because that is how the status quo is maintained. The real question is: will we just keep on watching the show or will we accept that stopping the rot is a long-term process that must start with a challenge to the state?
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