F believing Sth false t believe Sth that is false, Narrow categorization. Points to ponder. Political marketing through Deconstruction. Revolution VS Evolution. Quote.

F believing Sth false t believe Sth that is false, Narrow categorization. Points to ponder. Political marketing through Deconstruction. Revolution VS Evolution. Quote.  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.

·       Unhappiness of others is often because of our happiness achieved through mistaken means.

·       Vices have no virtue but one can have vices of his virtue.

From believing something false to believe something that is false.  

·      People are assailed by doubts, if they believe something false. Flag operation technique is used to have doubts extinguished, so that people can believe something true that is false.

Narrow categorization  

·      Writers are readily categorized by the sensibilities and the subject matter. This categorization is too narrow. Structure is an important element. The subject matter of a writer is the sufferings of the people of Kashmir and in harmony with this choice are his social sensibilities but he cannot be called a Muslim writer or Kashmir writer if the work of his amplifies to something universal: it paints the life of people in Kashmir but has meaning to every oppressed elsewhere.

Points to ponder  

·      Despite each step in a chain of event is like so many dominos, one cannot make a factual slippery slope argument because uncertainty that defines future is so chaotic.

·      Assumption on the part of gay marriages that legalizing gay marriage will end the human race is hyperbolic; this prophecy is silly no doubt; it does not however mean as proponents say that it will not lead to the loss of morals in society.

Political marketing through Deconstruction   

·      There is a subtle switch from ‘there is nothing outside the text’ to everything is outside the text. Political marketing consultant begins his interpretation of text with non-textual reference so that reader knows it as the text of reality.

·      Political marketing consultant interprets a text trough creating its relationship to non-factual context or through wrong textual reference to generate distortion of meaning.

The revolution Vs evolution   

·      The revolution versus evolution assumes that revolution and evolution are opposite to each other. Revolution is a change from above; a philosophy is imposed, demanding a comprehensive compliance. Society is built into the desired image through institutionalized coercion: Evolution through revolution. Evolution means that words of saints and prophets permeate, filter into minds, and imbue every facet of society. People grow different and society evolves into something fundamentally different but better: Revolution through evolution. These two categories are inadequate. Revolution is needed after evolution, if coterie or junta is implacably opposed to philosophy that has taken root and flourishing in a society. There is a revolution that combines forces from above and below. Sufficient people feel the change of heart from both side of aisle and the convergence of desires for change brings change in a society.

Quote  

·      Best example of ‘victory is how you define it’ when both sides declare themselves winner.

Format:         Leader/Party-Information Format

Campaign:    1993

Newspaper:  Jung

From:             PPP

Ads:    Leader/Party ads

Ad N:16

Analysis:

It is clear that the picture depicted is not the person themselves nor their names are given anywhere. The fusion of picture code and the text code (point one and three; two has no pictorial representation and it gives different information regarding Nawaz), which formulates the basis of what ad wants readers to believe Nawaz is__ which depends largely on narrative techniques like implied use, allusion; for there is no placing of message at denotative level; and with out the means for drawing together codes; this ad would remain impenetrable.

The picture illustrates how well known development in relation between important people provides a frame of reference for interpreting the codes and become the basis of a symbolic association in which the relation of being child (protégé) of Baba (mentor) is conjured.

Now who is the child? Who is Baba? Who and why in April 1993 implored Baba for second term?

Point two “Who stuffed bags with money”? implicates Nawaz without mentioning his name in Cooperative scandal, thus build his image as the corrupt man, suggesting that impression of Nawaz as the God-fearing politicians was spurious? Then how this ‘spurious’ image was created? Who created it? Who sustained it? And if it translated itself into votes, then how? And what political implication this ‘charge of being corrupt’ will have for Nawaz? Ad gives no information regarding these question, and it needs not to, because it appeared in 1993, and was intended for the specialized audience (of that time) tuned in to realities of the political landscape; and quite easy to follow without any information, but at a distance for years, the transfer of significance without this information are much diminished; hence here is a brief account of background:

The emotive imagery of the suffering incurred on right-wing politicians by PPP during its rule from 1971 to 1977 served as a powerful rallying cry, and these politicians coalesced  around Nawaz and formed alliance IJI in the election of 1988, this alliance succeeded__ if not wining__ to stop PPP to have landslide victory, consequently hung parliament came into being, and out of four provinces of Pakistan__ Muslim League came into power and Nawaz at the helm of provincial government continued to spear-heading the campaign against PPP’s government.

Before 1988, Nawaz was on the cusp between small roles as the provincial leader and moderate fame at national level, but these two years of PPP’s rule catapulted him into the orbit of national politics as the new rising star__ an alternative to Benazeer. This enhanced and undreamed-of stature of Nawaz (described as a child in ad) would not be possible (implied by ad) if he did not have the mentor like Gulum Ishaq Khan (described as the Baba in ad), then president of Pakistan and the god father of bureaucracy who had extended his full tacit support to Nawaz in his struggle against PPP’s government as ad mentions (‘who had been the child of Baba for many years’) __ years when Nawaz was backed by Gulam. This point of ad has connotations of:

(A) Nawaz was planted and nurtured by establishment not grown independently as the politicians; and his rise was engineered to arrest the rise of Benazor.

(B) The chutzpah to Nawaz which apparently sustained him in his ‘gallant’ confrontation against the PPP government and built his image as the brave leader came from establishment; minus that support, he as a opposition leader would have fizzled out as the wet fire cracker.

Point three is the extension of point one and further reinforces the impressions created by it; literally translates as “a child of Baba” but figuratively speaking it means ‘the acquiescent acolyte of Gulum Isaq Khan’. The acquiescent acolyte of Gulum Ishaq Khan was the handy sobriquet for Nawaz coined by PPP to cast a slur on the status of Nawaz as the Prime minister; it insinuated that Nawaz was as compliant to Baba as the child to his father from the beginning of his struggle against PPP, and this compliance made him, first, the recipient of the unearned status of the leader of opposition (because no other leader of opposition had such support of President) and then led to his promotion to the status of Prime Minster. His status, therefore, as prime minister should be regarded as the quid pro quo for his ability to play toady to president and establishment not as the culmination of one’s political struggle, as becoming prime minister was the consummation of what PPP portrays as Benazeer’s struggle.

No doubt, Nawaz in the beginning of his tenure was too subservient to Gulum Ishaq, living up to sobriquet but then he grew assertive__ perhaps one of the reasons could be to slough off this image created rightly or wrongly by rivals and sustained by his own submissiveness__ and schism between President and him began to develop; the allusion to the possibility of not endorsing Ghulum Ishaq’s bid to extension of his term was the last straw to the Ghulum Ishaq who fomented unrest within the ranks of Muslim League, and due to that in April 1993 Nawaz went in person to Ghulum Ishaq and assured him of his full support (which point three of ad says ‘who implored Baba for second term).

The point three by implication underlines the validity of the charge that on the one hand, establishment was the author of Nawaz’s becoming the prime minister__ and when it grew estranged he went for groveling ‘implore for next term’__ and the head of Muslim League as the member of Muslim league switched allegiance to president in no time, cutting him down to political eunuch (pressure grew so intense that at times it was felt hat the Muslim league’s government might come apart at the seams).

Number of reasons helped Nawaz to have his portrait as the rightists and untainted person: ‘leader of squeaky clean image’. Four are the most important:

(A)       His early sorties into the world of politics became a great success due to the supervision of general Zia whose favor he kept relishing until Zia died in plane crash. Rightist journalist like Sallaudeen of magazine ‘Takbeer’( who was justifiably paranoid  against the possibility of another PPP’s rule whose first rule conjured up the memories of  torture he had borne for committing the audacity of being scathing about ‘Quaid-a-Awam’ as the editor of Newspaper Jasart and was firmly entrenched in the belief that Nawaz was the only leader capable of checkmating PPP) and Mugeeb-ur-Rehman Shami of ‘Zandigi’ were the great advocates of general Zia in the press due to his Islamization and support for Afghan Jihad, and after his demise began to wax eloquent on the            

person they saw not only as the projection of Zia but also in far more advantageous position as  political leader___ a leader who personifies the intertwined worlds of Pakistan politics and religion, possessing all the accoutrements sine qua non for leading ideological state__ to pursue those objectives of Zia.

(b)      The rightist and pro-Muslim league News Papers like Nawi Waquat saw in him the person who could bring about the renaissance of Muslim league_ long consignedto political dustbin. Rightist journalist and such newspapers painted Nawaz as the politicians of deep religious conviction.

Nawaz own impressive verbal dexterity for sound bites; his excessive quoting of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) as his paradigm to follow facilitated his parading as the devout muslin. Nawaz’s association with the rightist politicians and his prominence among them as their leader ‘amer ul momaneen’ allowed him to share an aura of piety attached with politician like Qazi Hussain Ahmed.These four reasons placed Nawaz in an invidious position, singling him out as the leader of having the sole monopoly of rightist vote. But this charge has devastating consequences as it implies that Nawaz, his spin doctors and exponents in press used the powers of sophistry to woo the rightist vote on his side; while, the seamy side of a coin was that Nawaz was just crook in the garb of the religious man, worshipping at the temple of Mammon.

NEGATIVES:

The sentence ‘arrow is directed toward reality!’ is punctuated with the exclamation mark; according to the advance learner dictionary ‘the exclamation mark is the mark that is written after the word or phrase to express sudden surprise, pain, etc; it means that it is surprising arrow is directed toward reality? Definitely that is not the meaning

PPP would like to convey; but the direction of arrow further underlines the exclamation point; the ad is in Urdu which is written from right to left; therefore the direction of arrow should be from right to left; but it is in the reverse direction (from left to right) which logically means that statements ‘Arrow is directed toward reality’ should not be taken at face value; for it means exactly reverse of what it appears to mean. And if arrow does not mean this, then why other smaller arrow which is below four line is in different direction (from right to left)?

The sentence ‘directed toward truth’ bears almost no or very vague relation to the content of ad; what does truth means? Does it mean that Benazeer is different from Nawaz? For that Ad has to draw comparison to underline several points; for example: Benazeer has never been the child of Baba? Her image is what she is; she became the Prime minister of country without any deal with establishment; she is not corrupt. If truth means all this, then what does directed mean? Does it mean that people should vote arrow which indicated these truth. It is for sure that this line intends to mean this; for there could be no other possible meaning; then text should have accentuated these differences between two leader by contrasting two leader but it does not, because it cannot, (reasons are given below) and let’s suppose had it managed anyhow, this line even would not have then been so appropriate ‘vote truth not lies; or ‘vote the leader not the puppet or stooge’ would be relevant to text.

Another inconsistency as well: ‘PPP the only party whose backers are people not the profiteers and pack of plunders/looters’. This ad depicts Nawaz as the person whose political survival owes a great deal to Gulum Ishaq; but Gulum Ishaq was bureaucrat not profiteers; ‘PPP who has the backing of people not bureaucrat’ would be better.

Furthermore; the line ‘profiteering and pack of plunders/looters’ suggests that group of people involved in profiteering and plundering were the backer of Nawaz; then who these people were? Ad does not indicate anything.

There is an illogical comparison which is apparently a mistake. This ad is tailored to tarnish the image of Nawaz not the party he leads (no point condemns Muslim league) therefore logically comparison should be between two leaders: Benazeer and Nawaz not between Nawaz and  PPP, as the line (below the arrow) ‘the only party whose backers are people’ compares Nawaz with PPP. On the one hand this illogical comparison is too obvious to escape the notice, and on the other, ‘only party’ could easily be replaced with ‘only leader’; therefore, was it mistake? Or ‘clever mistake’? was comparing not feasible? Comparing was possible, but it had one catch: Benazeer can not act as a foil to Nawaz; because as a matter of fact, there was no difference between them; for example, contrast would go as follow:

Nawaz was protégé of GIK, his rise was engineered; but Benizeer’s popularity is due to her long struggle; she became prime minister without any deal or compromise with the forces of status quo. But this comparison could create an interesting example of the pot calling the kettle black; therefore this is not mistake but a ‘clever mistake’ which achieves the purpose of proving one leader better by comparing leader with party not with another leader. This purpose is accomplished due to the operation of political code. In Pakistan almost all parties are just extension of leaders; leaders are not the part of parties rather parties are the part of leaders; the very word PPP evokes the picture of Benazeer; MQM of Altaf Hussein; therefore, when ad compares Nawaz with PPP, it automatically becomes comparison between Nawaz and Benazeer; therefore; ad anyhow succeeds to build the image of Nawazas representative of establishment wrongly perceived as the leader of people__ an accretion to the politics; exploiting religion and in fact a scar on the Islam.

And then encourages audience subliminally to take contrary view of Benzeer:

Benazeer is the reflector of popular consensus; a leader of integrity forged in the crucible of battle for democracy.

PECTORAL REPRESENTATION:    

As ad underscores two main points:

(A)       No matter how Nawaz dresses up his beliefs; he is a venal man.

(B)       Fictitious politicians of no backbone; who thrives on the support of Establishment.

Now dressing up of beliefs best be conveyed by dressing up the child in a religious way; but in picture child is wearing unislamic dress and appears to be the child of English medium school. Dependence makes man submissive, best be portrayed by bowed head; but the head of child shows casualness. Furthermore, child and old man, from the movement of their feet, appear to be going in different direction, and feet of child particularly left one seems to be suffering from polio. Child seems to be carrying something in his right hand which appear to be lolli-pop; text builds image of Nawa as the one who is (covertly) pursuing money; now this surreptitiousness and greed can be depicted by hand holding money in the back in a way that makes it partly visible; having lolli-pop in the hand makes no sense.