History apart from being a fascinating subject also provides us with a priceless tool of assessing a leader’s worth. Retrospection is that tool, which helps us dissect the myth from reality engulfing a particular historical figure.
A very strong case could be made that had Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah not joined politics, I would not have been sitting in Lahore, Pakistan. Instead, I would have been writing in Lahore, India. Further, without him the two communities of the sub-continent, often at loggerheads with each other, would have not come together on a single political platform, albeit temporarily, against the common enemy, the Raj. Without getting into all the political achievements of historic magnitude of Mr. Jinnah, which requires a book(s) and not a newspaper Op-ed, it suffices to say that a lot would have not happened in our lives, had he not joined politics.
Mahatma Gandhi, another of great Indian leaders, too, if had not joined politics, a case could be made, a lot of what actually happened in India would have not happened. It is a foregone conclusion that had Congress Party under the banner of anti-imperialism, socialism, secularism, self-rule and independence from the British and, the Muslim League under the banner of separate country for the Muslims of India, not raised the slogan of independence, the Raj might still have been rolling the roast here.
A bit further from our world, if Abraham Lincoln had not been the President of the United States, the north may have not won the civil war against the south, supported by the British. Today, while there may still have been “States of America” but not “United”! Had Kamal Ataturk not joined the Turkish army and had he not seen the rotting Ottoman Empire from within, Turkey would have not turned out to be ‘healthy man of Europe.’ Similarly, no Lenin, perhaps no Bolshevik Revolution! Without Hitler, no rise and ultimate fall of Germany. Perhaps, had he not orchestrated the massacre, popularly known as the Holocaust, there might have not been the birth of state of Israel. Had Dr. Ernesto Guevara continued with his medical career and not turned Che Guevara, there would have been no Cuban revolution and no romancing with international militant socialism. In short, certain historical figures shaped history in a particular way and had they not done what they did, history might have taken a different course. However, the priceless tool of retrospection leaves us with a sour taste when applied on our contemporary leaders.
Had Nawaz Sharif not quit the family steel business, what would have happened to Pakistan? I hate to say it, but not much. Apart from no mushroom growth in Sharif Clans industrial empire and Musharraf, not much! The man had two stabs at governance, and what fundamental changes did he bring to the infamous thana culture? Were the Petwari Raj curtailed and made more accountable to a common villager, 70% of our population? Was a national health policy drafted and implemented making universal health coverage a possibility for every Pakistani? Was the health system revamped on war fittings at the district level? Was a comprehensive education policy formulated and implemented in letter and spirit? No, is the answer to all these questions. Hence, for an average Pakistani even if he had kept on with the family business, nothing much would have matter.
Asif Zardari! This is really a no brainer. The pertinent question here is: Would Mr. Zardari had become the man he has now turned out to be, had he not married the late Benazir Bhutto! The nation has actually paid a heavy price since that marriage and some would argue that even the PPP has been made to pay the price. Asif Zardari, the politician, has not been able to bring about any meaningful change in an average Pakistanis’ life, simply put.
Altaf Hussain! Muhajir Qaumi Movement or present day Muttahidda and the politics of extreme violence! Is it all a mere co-incidence? A very strong case could be made that had he and his ‘oppressed lot from India’ not entered politics, Karachi would have been a safer place today. A man with a tunnel vision formed strictly an ethnic based party which never shies away from using violence to meet its objectives. An average Karachi wala, it could be argued, would have voiced his concerns perfectly well in the corridors of powers either or both through PPP and Jamat-a-Islami, even if there had been no Muttahidda!
In short, even if these “leaders” had not done what they ended up doing, not much would have changed in an average Pakistanis’ everyday life, matter of fact, a reverse would have been true! Retrospection could indeed be a very priceless tool of historical and present day’s analysis!
