There was a time when there were neither so many traffic intersections in our urban centres, nor was Pakistan at a crossroads so very often. It has become almost a deafening, depressing cliché to contend that this 62-year-old Islamic republic is at the crossroads of its existence.
The intersections possibly mirror the urban strides that this society has taken, and the references to crossroads arguably reflect the conflicts and confrontations that that Pakistani society carries. And which have brought the country to yet another agonising stage in its troubled history. Two days later comes the 62nd anniversary of Pakistan's independence, and the familiarity of the sights and sounds of festivity have been there for many days now, and the conventional tempo is being created for the celebrations on Friday.
It is a public holiday, of course. And our love of holidays, national, regional and local is too obvious to be fussed about. Of course the 62nd Independence Day will bring official messages for the people, and Pakistan's media flooded with Pakistan Movement and Independence Day content will give those messages prominent display. There will be serious and sombre reflection and given the particular context of this day in 2009, the exceptional gravity of the situation remains obvious. One particular way of looking at the Independence Day this year is to compare it with the one that was celebrated last year-that is 2008.
The most significant difference is that the former dictator Pervez Musharraf is out of office and so is Shaukat Aziz, the former elusive Prime Minister. Both are in London today? And the happiest news for the people in the year has been the restoration of the deposed judiciary and the return of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. There is much to contemplate in this phenomenal change, as indeed there is in the contemplation of how the country has survived the various political crises, especially those created by military take overs.-called Martial Law.
However, on this Independence Day I find very distracting, while I write this column on Monday night, the worrying images that are presented to citizens at the various intersections on Karachi's roads, which may well be symbolising the state of Pakistani society in 2009. In fact for quite some time now, I have been distressed at the sadness of assorted images that are available even for the insensitive, indifferent citizens amongst us. There is no dearth of such callous, even cruel hearted people around us, it needs to be underlined.
One image that hits the eye at these traffic intersections is that of the transvestites (eunuchs) (in Urdu they are also called as Khawaja Sera) who have emerged as a much discussed theme in the media,-- and have been taken notice of by the judiciary-which has called for their first ever country wide registration. The reaction of drivers and the educated affluent occupants in private vehicles, for example, is one of amusement, or indifference, or contempt, or disdain. Little compassion, if at all.
These transvestites have been arguing their neglected case in society, through the media, primarily, and seeking a decent status for themselves. At these traffic intersections, in Clifton or elsewhere for example, like so many others they are also begging. I do not want to emphasise the role of the begging bowl in our national life here. That it has not yet been broken, is something that ordinary people often talk about.
There was a time when we did not have these transvestites walking about, asking for financial help. We do so in 2009.It is a disturbing image One estimate, from one of their outspoken leaders, puts the number at over 60,000 in the country. Almas Bobby who speaks reasonably communicative English stated this to the media, and stressed that the way they are ill treated was a human rights issue.
Bobby spoke of the harassment and humiliation that the transvestites have to face all over the country-and spoke with gratitude of the notice that had been taken by the higher judiciary. No identity cards, no names on voters lists, not easy to find a place for burials, police cruelty and harassment, and so on. These are some of the issues they face...and which are concealed behind the desperate way in which they seek a few rupees from the rich at these intersections. Or in our Bazaars also, I remember.
What about the children and women who ask for charity at these intersections? It is a matter of so much interpretation and analysis. Innocent little girls and boys sell flowers, and grown up boys and girls sell miscellaneous wares. (Child labour here too.) The police keep driving these street people away in vain. It is not only a poverty theme that is brought alive on these roads, but also that of deepening unemployment at all levels.
Of course, the subject of beggars and beggary is a long-standingly complex one and the solutions, once upon a time, were to send them to the Poor House. The poverty factor has become so large and aggravated to such an extent that even the official economists and powerful planners in Islamabad have no abiding answer, it seems. We have to ask for help from our donor friends.
It is generally feared that the beggars knocking at the car windows today will become louder, threatening and violent in the days to come. I am distracted by the images of physically handicapped, maimed beggars at these traffic signals, who also reflect the organised nature of the problem. Crowded or lonely intersections are also possible points for crime, where young men, find their prey amongst the people in the vehicles waiting for the signals to go green.
So when the red signals are on, these street crime merchants hit, and want cell phones, wallets, wristwatches, and other valuables. And what of those who violate traffic laws at these signals? Drivers of vehicles with influential number plates or flags, or tinted glasses, or young men on two wheelers drive defiantly ignoring red lights.
Does it not symbolise the overall disregard of the rule of law that is so manifest in Pakistan in 2009? A huge problem that Pakistan faces today has been caused by the disregard for the law that has begun from those who operate (read govern) from the top. It has filtered down, with a trickle effect, to the grassroots. The general perception is that the rule of law does not matter in real life. It does so only in theory. Will this change, and on time? On this will depend much of our future, if not all of it.
At these traffic intersections, also to be seen are evocative images of new, large imposing vehicles driven by arrogant people, whose occupants are protected by tinted windows, official number plates and flags. This is the contrast that hurts most when viewed against the deprivation and the denial that Pakistan's poor live with. And what better opportunity can there be for them than to protest, plead or cry for financial help at these vantage points.
And with Ramazanul Mubarak beginning next week end, these intersections will have that many more sad-looking, undernourished men, women children,, --and the nonchalant, uncaring short-sighted amongst us will blame the traffic police for their presence, which offsets their cherished five star illusions. Strange attitudes. Indeed, Pakistan is at a crossroads in its political journey, and its urban traffic intersections also reflect its many faceted poverty - and turbulent socio economic imbalance. Do these forecast any major storms ahead?
([email protected])
Comments
Comments are closed.