The models of democracy differ in their approaches but share a similar characteristic of revolving around the concept of "government by the people". Whichever model is followed, democracy can not take place in its purest form unless the electoral process is free and fair, the models neglect this vital aspect of democracy. I would elaborate upon my statement taking an example of Pakistan mainly focusing on 3 major flaws in our electoral system leading to the inefficiency and failure of democracy.
Pakistan is a country which has inherited the colonial elements such as feudalism which is a threat to democracy. According to the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (PILER), five per cent of agricultural households in Pakistan own nearly two thirds of Pakistan’s farmland which means large families own lands in Pakistan[1], sometimes whole villages. Feudalism has penetrated in to bureaucracy, military and politics of Pakistan to an extent that Pakistan's "major political parties" have been termed "feudal-oriented" [2].Some prominent landed families in Pakistan include the Bhuttos, Zamindars, Jats, Jagirdars, Nawabs, Nawabzadas, Mansabdars, Arbabs, Makhdooms, and Sardars, these names are not alien to us because our assemblies are dominated by people from these families. The villagers or peasants who work on those lands swear allegiance to these Zamindars due to debt bondage, coercion, bribery or support them in the elections because they are trapped by false ideological consciousness. Human by nature is irrational, when the majority of our population does not vote for our national interest then how can Rousseau's concept of general will apply to Pakistan's democracy ?
The landed and the capitalist feudal dominate the military, economy and politics which means major national power resides with the elite who ensure that no challenge is posed towards their interests, general public being passive receptors of laws and policies, thus, supporting the elitist concept by C wright mills.
Coming to the urban population which only constitutes 36.3% (2011)[3] of the population but is relatively more educated, again, can not exercise their right to vote. Fabrication and manipulation of the voting result is common due to vote rigging and forced votes. Death threats are nothing absurd especially to me since I am from Karachi that has 7.1m registered voters [4] which is a significant number. In the elections of 2013 for instance, people were coerced to vote for parties against their choice on gun point. Similarly, incidents of rigging were proved when it was found that the voter turn out in some areas exceeded the registered number of voters.
If the system of election is not free and fair and if people are not voting in the national interest then how is democracy justified in Pakistan ? Illiteracy and feudalism have plagued the economic and social structure of Pakistan where personal interests of only a handful of families are being served. Pakistan is in an ideological crisis which can not be resolved unless the provision of education is ensured, only then can democracy function effectively.
Pakistan is a country which has inherited the colonial elements such as feudalism which is a threat to democracy. According to the Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (PILER), five per cent of agricultural households in Pakistan own nearly two thirds of Pakistan’s farmland which means large families own lands in Pakistan[1], sometimes whole villages. Feudalism has penetrated in to bureaucracy, military and politics of Pakistan to an extent that Pakistan's "major political parties" have been termed "feudal-oriented" [2].Some prominent landed families in Pakistan include the Bhuttos, Zamindars, Jats, Jagirdars, Nawabs, Nawabzadas, Mansabdars, Arbabs, Makhdooms, and Sardars, these names are not alien to us because our assemblies are dominated by people from these families. The villagers or peasants who work on those lands swear allegiance to these Zamindars due to debt bondage, coercion, bribery or support them in the elections because they are trapped by false ideological consciousness. Human by nature is irrational, when the majority of our population does not vote for our national interest then how can Rousseau's concept of general will apply to Pakistan's democracy ?
The landed and the capitalist feudal dominate the military, economy and politics which means major national power resides with the elite who ensure that no challenge is posed towards their interests, general public being passive receptors of laws and policies, thus, supporting the elitist concept by C wright mills.
Coming to the urban population which only constitutes 36.3% (2011)[3] of the population but is relatively more educated, again, can not exercise their right to vote. Fabrication and manipulation of the voting result is common due to vote rigging and forced votes. Death threats are nothing absurd especially to me since I am from Karachi that has 7.1m registered voters [4] which is a significant number. In the elections of 2013 for instance, people were coerced to vote for parties against their choice on gun point. Similarly, incidents of rigging were proved when it was found that the voter turn out in some areas exceeded the registered number of voters.
If the system of election is not free and fair and if people are not voting in the national interest then how is democracy justified in Pakistan ? Illiteracy and feudalism have plagued the economic and social structure of Pakistan where personal interests of only a handful of families are being served. Pakistan is in an ideological crisis which can not be resolved unless the provision of education is ensured, only then can democracy function effectively.
2 comments:
I completely support your view regarding feudalism and its effects on the voting system in the case of Pakistan. As long as influential families that own large chunks of land and so, to an extent, control the voting power of people working on that land continue to use manipulation/coercion to get votes from these workers or buy them off, Pakistan will never be a purely democratic state. Instead Pakistan is an oligrachic state disguised as a democracy.
Fatima - Your argument was very well structured. You have brought up a very important perspective of how colonial legacies impede the functioning of democracies in post-colonial states. You may find it interesting to look in to what other colonial legacies have permeated our political structure, for instance, rule of the minority, elite class.
Also, it may be enlightening to analyze voter behavior i,e,, why often people, educated or not, blindly support these feudal parties?
Lastly, apart from education, which certainly plays a substantial role, do you think the emergence of a stronger, autonomous civil society will curb the dominance of feudalism?
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