Return of the East India Company?

In the year 1874 the East India Company was dissolved. The British Parliament took direct control of the Indian Sub-continent sending home the board of directors of the company that ruled over the Crown Jewel of the Empire.

Till 1858 the Governor General was selected by the Court of Directors of the Company to whom he reported. Company rule in India was succeeded by the British Raj. Parliamentary oversight was initiated.

Under the Government of India Act 1935 two dominions were created after the partition of the Sub-continent in 1947. While Lord Louis Mountbatten continued as the Governor General of India, Muhammad Ali Jinnah took oath of office of the Governor General of Pakistan.

Jinnah then appointed Liaquat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister (PM). Oath was also administered to a six-Member cabinet. Thus; started the freedom journey of the first Islamic Republic of the world, a journey that has been repeatedly disrupted to which history is a witness.

There is a world of difference between the parliamentary oversight of the elected representatives of the people and the profit corporate board of a company.

The British colonialists realised about a century ago the importance of a humane touch to prevail over ruthless corporate strategies.

Major lessons were learnt after the uprising or revolt of 1857 also called the war of independence. While Muslims being at the forefront paid a heavy price, the Raj adopted a policy of divide and rule.

The princely states of the Sub-continent directly reported to the sovereign in London. All eyes were set on the British Parliament and its elected leadership. Jinnah after unsuccessfully trying for Hindu-Muslim unity, left for London to start his legal practise.

All India Muslim League (AIML) formed in 1906 in Decca (now Dhaka) largely remained ineffective till Allama Iqbal convinced Jinnah to return and lead the freedom movement for the down-trodden Muslims of the Sub-continent.

With its elected parliament, Pakistan started off well. Everyone was focused on building and running the newly founded Republic.

The 1956 constitution was a major milestone which changed the status of the country. Unfortunately, Iskander Mirza, the last Governor General and the first President conspired with the Sipah-e-Salar to derail the caravan of freedom. A new order started to emerge. Human development came to an end.

For a few it ushered in the best of times while for the rest it was the worst. Instead of elected oversight, corporatization took place. In one of his interviews the leading corporate leader of his times was asked about the lack of focus on human development during that period (1958 to 1969).

Prompt came the reply, we were only players, the referee had to blow the whistle to enforce the rules of the game. As a nation we lost track once the founding fathers faded away by mid eighties. Now course correction seems to be an uphill task after years of derailment.

The collapse of institutions is mind boggling. Recently, I read an article how WAPDA was destroyed with the formation of IPPs (Independent Power Producers) in the decade of the nineties which then continued resulting in circular debt. Pakistan Railways (PR) met a similar fate with the launch of the National Logistics Cell (NLC) in the decade of the eighties.

Not only did NLC poach and took away the profitable freight business of PR, it also destroyed the entire road network of the country with higher than permissible axle load of its trucks.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) by holding free and fair election without any disruption in the country has succeeded in saving the Indian democracy and its constitution.

The incumbent PM was hoping to win over 400 seats in the parliament to be in a position to amend the secular constitution of the union, instead he was confined to 240 members.

Badly bruised and hopefully chastened Narendra Modi has been forced to form a coalition government. Parliament has prevailed over the corporate control of the Republic. The New East India Company has bit the dust in India thanks to their Election Commission.

In its checkered political innings the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has succeeded in holding only one free and fair election: in the year 1970.

Despite the break-up of the country the truly elected representatives of the people performed exceptionally well. Two constitutions were framed (the 1972 provisional constitution and the 1973 constitution) during this period. Nuclear programme was launched with basic industrialization of the country together with major initiatives in Defence Production. Every election since then has been a farce. The parliament has been rendered ineffective. With no parliamentary oversight it seems the corporate board of East India Company has returned to call the shots once again.

Lessons from the 1857 war of independence and 1971 civil war have been conveniently forgotten. While in India no one is contesting the election outcome, in the Land of the Pure no one has accepted the results of the electoral contest. No country can be run as a corporate entity. Human compassion has to prevail over corporate profits mantra.

The corporate boards are free to do business as long as they follow the rules and obey laws of the land. Only genuinely elected representatives of the people can blow the whistle to keep the game fair.

Mian Muhammad Rafiq Saigol, the leading industrialist of the sixties, was honest enough to admit that he entered the arena to play and earn while the referee failed to blow the whistle. Where is the referee today? Pakistan needs true representation to contain corporatization of the failed and folded East India Company.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024