Feudal Mindset

One of Pakistan’s biggest problems is the diffusion of feudal mentality in the national fabric. Initially it was confined to the landed aristocracy which was created by the colonial masters and which still holds sway over the rural areas of the country, especially of Punjab and Sindh. Soon after the Independence, the bug of feudal mentality started to affect other sections of the society and the Pakistani bureaucracy was among its earliest adopters. Now, almost everyone from the politicians to civil servants to business community to military to academia somewhat exhibit the signs and symptoms of the ailment. Though this attitude has now suffused the country's national character, the grand scale feudal mentality remains the province of the landed aristocrats.

Those afflicted with feudal mentality can be spotted easily. When you meet such a person, you will encounter an ego on steroids, a person who will not tire of trying to prove the centrality of his being in the universe and consistently evincing a contempt of laws, rules, institutions and of social and legal systems. You can also tell immediately that you have sighted some feudal-mentality characters, when you see a bevy of private and police guards sitting in the open rears of double-cabin trucks under the scorching sun, while the so-called VIPs sit inside the air-conditioned cabins.

These people would betray several other symptoms of their affliction. For example, they consider below their station to stop at a traffic signal or obey the directions of a traffic warden. They barge unscheduled into government offices and want to get their matters “resolved” – unconcerned with their justification or legality. Impatience, short-termism, and vindictiveness are some of the main characteristics of such people. They detest rules and legal procedures, patronize cronies and sycophants, and discourage professionalism and integrity. They never have qualms about undermining the morale of competent and honest civil servants.

When in power, these people adopt non-visionary and expensive policies that are solely crafted to favor one or another of their lackeys or supporters or partners. The words “sustainability” and “long-term” are alien to them. Feudal lords hate government institutions and do their best to weaken them. In many cases, they have irretrievably damaged important institutions of the country.

Because these ruling elites are good at switching sides, they ultimately maneuver their entry into every government. This is a bitter and ominous fact that they are a perpetual ruling class. Pakistan cannot extricate itself from its current economic, political and institutional woes unless it seriously sets out to expose these demigods to some dose of “humanness.”