This was quite unfortunately our last conversation with Aslam Azhar of his life that we never predicted even in our far thoughts. It was mid of December when we visited him and we thought to ask him to define certain political terms in his own unique style.
So we kept him asking and he was never tired of answering to us.
1- Democracy:
There are things called the will of civil society and wishes
of civil society and the aspirations and dreams of civil society. All of these
taken together combine to give us democracy.
Democracy is therefore an expression of dreams and
aspirations of civil society.
What is wrong with democracy today?.......We realize that civil
society is severely injured.
Therefore, civil society is unable to articulate
and express its dreams and aspirations. Civil Society is injured by not any one force but a
combination of forces. All of which are unsympathetic to the dreams of it and
these are not just army but mullahs as well.
Our Civil Society does not suit the American power structure to thrive in the third
world countries as it can overdevelop its muscles and control resources.
Without this control no power is possible.
2- Anarchy:
Anarchy is quite simply a complete absence of the rule of
power. In anarchy, there is no power center. In an anarchy there cannot be the
rule of law and no discipline.
Iraq is an example of democracy which is
ineffective and has no rule of law. Modern Pakistan has no example of anarchy but
in tribal belts of KP and in specifically in Balochistan provinces as no writ of the law
existed there in past somehow.
3- Capitalism:
There is no one definition of capitalism. It is made up of
number of embedded question or problems or issues. It is not just that
capitalism is the rule of the rich. How is it that the rich rule . They have
usurped something. That something is
the will of the people. This basically is an undemocratic society. This is around
the world less in Western countries. England we know is a pre-democratic
society for centuries. USA has only quite recently rare itself of slavery...how can slavery coexist with democracy...impossible!
Anarchy and capitalism together exist in Pakistan. In many
villages of Sindh and Punjab anarchy rules.
4- Dictatorship:
It is the suppression of democratic rights of the people by
those who hold and wheel the power. They are those who wheeled power are
cohesive forces sitting on top of common people.
5- Fascism:
Fascism is quite simply the absence of rule of law. There has to be some agency or authority that
exercises authority over the society.
For example, the Thai king is himself a democrat but not autocrat. A fascist ruler does not permit anarchic ruler to survive
or operate.
A liberal fascist is a contradiction within itself . There can
be NO LIBERAL FASCIST!
6-Progressive:
A progressive is one who seeks change from the present for
betterment.
7- Fundamentalism:
We cannot define this term unless describing fundamentalist itself.
A fundamentalist believes in and subscribes in small set of rules and
principles which are fundamental to his/her ideology. A fundamentalist is one who
totally and exclusively is committed to his /her own narrow vision.
8- Ideology:
It is the commitment to a narrow set of ideals that
comprise an ideology.
Marxism is not ideology to me. Marxism is set of principles
committed to a progressive idea. It is wrong even to call it Marx...Ism......
9- Monarchy:
It is the exclusive rule of the ruler (an un-elected ruler). A dictator
can be monarchical.
To give an example of Latin America where there are
monarchs.
10- Liberal:
A liberal is a person not committed to precisely defined of
rules and regulations of society. A liberal is one who thinks democratically. A
liberal has to be committed to democratic society without any exception.
A neo-liberal is someone who self defines oneself as
liberal.
11- Nationalism:
In one line, it is the set of rules and regulations or
ideology of a group of people committed to supremacy of their nation and
control over their own resources.
For instance, Baloch nationalism; which also is stuck at the federal govt. and
military levels as federal govt. wants its own rule over the province.
12- Racism:
Do you really need definition of RACSIM!!....doesn't the word
describe itself !
A race is committed primarily not exclusively to the
interest of its own set of birth rights. One who is committed to that certain
race is called racist.
13- Socialism:
In one line, it is the acknowledgement of socio-economic
rights of the mass of people and be a system that guarantees the bestow of
these rights on people.
14- State:
Today, the state is an entity that is contained within the
acknowledged and defined boundaries of a nation. A welfare state is one in which it is sought by the rulers
or those who are in opposition to rule as being set up for the benefit of the
people.
15- Feminism:
Feminism is acknowledging the rights of the women of a
society and after acknowledging seeking to set up a national system which
guarantees those rights to the females of the population.
16- Secularism:
A secularist is one who is committed to an ideology or set
of rules of belief and conduct which does not derive from any particular
religion. Or set of religious beliefs but purely on relationship of humans to
humans and terms of those relationship without any reference to religious ideals.
December 2015
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