Church must say thanks, History f Propaganda, Quotable Quotes, Woman As A Critic As Artist & Benazir Bhutto And The Military

Church must say thanks, History f Propaganda, Quotable Quotes, Woman As A Critic As Artist & Benazir Bhutto And The Military By Dr. Sohail Ansari

Conceived and worded by DR Sohail Ansari (originality of concepts and originality of words).

He believes that there can never be a zero scope for improvement and appreciates criticism if it is not for the sake of criticism.

{The most interesting feature of an election in the controlled democracy is that it never takes place; it is just the periodic exercise to lend spurious plausibility to ‘peoples’ representative’.}   

{Accentuated use of any one mental function renders others inoperative. Personality is like having the shadow run wild and an individual regresses into goal structures not acceptable to himself or the society}

The Church owes a debt of gratitude to the economists

·        The church should be grateful to economists because they have achieved something that has eluded it so far. Economists are the facilitator of learning the virtues of self-denial; we all become ascetics when we go shopping during inflation and are back after not having what we desire.

The use of History for propaganda

·        The political marketing practitioner uses history as a vehicle for expressing political commitment and is sufficiently paid for this ‘self-indulgence’: the urge to find out something that can serve certain ulterior motives. Political marketing consultant disagrees with other historians in a way scientist do, but as history deals with human values, so there is much more scope for disagreement; political marketing consultant exploits this scope by the fragmentary and intractable evidences and by the help of areas where uncertainty persists. Political marketing consultant harnesses a literary figures to give literary flourishes to his work and media figures to promote it so that the perception of his ‘an individual intellect and moral giant__ in consonance with his stance that  history can not be a co-operative enterprise and most humans do as the Romans do: following the biddings of rulers; and he is unfortunately the exception__ giving leadership to readers misguided so far by the steadily agreed knowledge emerged in the form of works of synthesis and text books. Political marketing consultant if is proven to be the subscriber to auteur theory_ glorying in his subjectivity__ he has his defence in words: ‘I am a mere human being and therefore fallible.’   

Quotable Quotes

·        Right moment to cheat or blackmail the person is when a person feels that you will feel guilty to cheat him or when a person loves you to the extent that he fears to lose you.

·        Travelling may not be charming for the person who does not find a better place to leave than the one he will ultimately return to.

·        Exploring the depth of inner life enables one to live in the full glow and color of life.

·        Silence is much friendlier than a false speech.

·        Social rank of man must be determined by the kind of life he lives.

·        In capitalism, capital accumulates so as to dominate the real producer of wealth.

Woman as a critic as artist

·       The defining characteristic of a critic is his ability to use a verifiable step for the objective analysis. Critic has to be a scientist to be a critic; though can act further as a poet by responding creatively and subjectively to words. Defining criticism as valid intellectual method permits everyone to be a critic; however, defining criticism as intuitive, privileged as art courts risks. Societies have their own preconceptions; the work of a woman that uses intuition and private experience as critical method and defense is vulnerable to the prejudices of stereotypic ideas. Women in many societies are charged with inability to be objectively analytical and critical, therefore dissuading women to be critic-as-artist may protect women but it must deprive society for a distinctive contribution to humanistic understanding, a contribution that is an important influence against sexism itself. Steering a delicate philosophical course and placing criticism within the framework of a general theory of the critical process that is neither purely objective nor purely intuitive may be a solution as then the contribution of woman may be evaluated with some degree of dispassionate distance.   

Points to ponder

·        Democracy sees man as a rational creature well equipped to achieve the good life by rational means and provides the most favorable conditions for achieving that end by those means.

·        We can not take the opposite of what a liar says to be the truth as falsehood unlike truth has limitless fields and shapes: there are the thousands ways of missing the bull’s eye only one of hitting it.

BENAZIR BHUTTO AND THE MILITARY:

Despite the military distrust of the PPP, Bhutto was allowed to assume power in 1988. But because of her government’s political and economic mismanagement, bitter confrontation with her political adversaries and attempt to use troops to settle its scores with political adversaries in Sindh soured her relation with military. Despite having a significant base of popular support… encroachment on provincial autonomy and indifference to democratic norms undermined Benazir’s government legitimacy. Her growing reliance on the military to squash dissention spelled the end of a brief democratic episode.                          

Inflation, devaluation, price hikes, poor fiscal management, corruption  human rights violation underscore the poor performance of  Benazir’s government of second term and eroded Benazir’s popular base. President having realized that Benazir was not amenable to advice sacked her.

 NAWAZ SHARIF AND MILITARY:

Nawaz’s  attempt to use army as an instrument to target PPP workers created tension between Nawaz and military which was worsened by allegations that the government tried to ‘buy off’ the Army Chief and senior commanders with substantial material rewards. Nawaz’s confrontation with president alienated military and it sided with latter when he who dismissed the government on charges of corruption, nepotism, terrorizing opponents, violating the Constitutions and subverting the armed forces authority.

Sharif returned to power in Feb 1997. Army cooperated with him on 13^th amendment; and Army Chief, General Jehangir Karamat. Did not object either at government decision to ask the Naval Chief to resign after his alleged involvement in defense-deal kickbacks. Army also refused to side with the President in his confrontation with Prime Minster, who consequently decided to resign.  The failure of Nawaz’s government to maintain economic and political stability and civic peace and order; and his intolerance toward other opposition leaders and lust for Power suited only to despot provoked military to exercise its capability to veto Pakistan’s transition to democracy on 12^th Oct 1999.    

Democracy from 1988 to 1999 was not controlled democracy. Army played the role of moderators. It interfered not to control but to correct politics and tried to convince the both rulers by appealing to their reasons; but democratic governments failed to civilianize their rule; and continued to pursue vendetta and witch hunt, and left no stone unturned in eliciting_ though failed__ the cooperation of army in this regard.

When parties cease to regard people as fountain of power; and seek perpetuation of power through heavy-handed tactics; media campaign automatically become superfluous and irrelevant.