KARACHI CHRONICLE: Child voters

Unfortunately, it is exam time, otherwise many leading Karachi schools in the public and private sectors, in poor and affluent institutions would be holding mock elections. This is a practice in the democratic developed countries, particularly our patron the United States of America. The necessity of such an exercise is recognised as vital for developing democratic mentality at the grass roots.
Several educationists I spoke to unanimously agreed that holding mock election in schools in the season of general elections is important. One of them said they had held such an exercise during the 2007 general election. The students voted for parties contesting the general elections. The same election symbols were used and the exercise of secret ballot, marking an X and casting the vote in a ballot (shoe) box, followed by counting of votes and announcement of the results were held in all seriousness. But it was also great fun for the students and teachers.
Did the result of the vote count show any similarity to the actual results of the general election, I asked her. She laughed and said it was way off the mark in classes one to six as there was no political consciousness in the youngsters. They voted for whatever symbol attracted them. In the senior level the students were more aware but voted emotionally. The PPP swept the polls because in Karachi there was a great feeling of shock for tragic loss of Benazir Bhutto. Karachi children were deeply affected and saddened and therefore sentimentality played on their decision.
Another educationists friend said she would have liked to hold a mock vote in her school but was discouraged by the board of trustees for fear that the school would be criticised for indulging in politics.
Karachi citizens are very politically aware, but that is not the same thing as being democratically tuned in their mentality. The democratic mentality of tolerance, sharing and responsibility is absent. Hence, general elections become a time for mayhem, murder and ballot stuffing and, after the results are announced, loud cries of injustice, lack of fairness, victimisation. Violence, aggression and vengeance continue long after the polling is over. This is militant mentality.
Karachi's political parties PPP, MQM and JI, even though they are believers in adult franchise, have done nothing to create the democratic mentality. In fact, they have done the opposite. Each of them has a militant youth wing operating aggressively in colleges and universities. This has created party loyalties in the youth who express it in colleges and universities through violence ranging from an exchange of fisticuffs to serious law and order breakdown.
In America the democratic mentality is inculcated at the grass roots, in fact right at the time when pre-school begins. Mock elections are held in every school in an election year. At the age of five years an American child is a budding democrat. He or she knows who is who among the candidates and can express opinions which are surprisingly rational for a little child. In the USA a little child does not vote for a pretty symbol but for either Democrat or Republican parties. The child also learns political correctness. They are told not to use derogatory terms for anyone; not to say 'I hate' but say 'I dislike'. Not to call some one 'stupid' or 'nigger' or 'black' or 'white thrash'.
Pakistan's education policy-makers have not given a thought to moulding democratic mentality. They are more likely to agree with the board of trustees of one school which forbade mock voting for fear that the school would be criticised for indulging in politics. But the act of voting is a key to understanding democracy.
The right to vote is the first exercise in a country that wants to become a democratic nation. We have had several (if not regular) general elections, but unfortunately, they have not lead to democratic parties among the elected parliamentarians. Elections have merely thrown up civilian dictatorships. That is because nobody has a democratic mentality.
Nevertheless, the politicians have learnt one lesson: support the democratic practice as much as possible. If the PPP-led government was able to survive the last five years and complete its tenure, it is thanks to some tolerance from the opposition. It is not much of a gain, democratically speaking, but it is a small step in the right direction. It was a tiny demonstrations of tolerance, which is a characteristic of democracy.