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Political dynasts and martyrdom

Dynastic politics is South Asia’s common currency. Whether it is Sri Lanka or India or Bangladesh or Pakistan, the dynastic principle seems effortlessly to defy the republicanism of constitutions, political systems, and democratic processes. It mocks the spirit of freedom struggles and movements against dictatorial rule. It seems peculiarly at home in parties that claim to be pro-poor, have ‘roti, kapda, makan’ (bread, clothing, shelter) as their mobilisi ng slogan, and tirelessly chant the mantra of popular democracy. The principle of dynastic privileging in the democratic arena naturally breeds a sense of entitlement to the republican throne — even among the most improbable of presumptive heirs. The tragic irony of 19-year-old Oxford student, Bilawal Zardari — catapulted by a brutal killing and the sacred principle of dynastic succession to the ‘chairmanship’ of the Pakistan People’s Party — extolling democracy as the best ‘revenge’ on those who assassinated his mother and urging that the party be run “democratically … for the poor and downtrodden people” of his country will be an enduring memory of 2007. Equally striking was what the young man said at the press conference about the sacrificial principle in dynastic politics: his father, Asif Ali Zardari, would not be succeeding to the top post (as his mother had willed) and he was taking up the job because “the chairmanship of the party is a position occupied by martyrs, and we do not know for how long my father will be able to keep his position.” It is a terrible thought but it can be substantiated with facts: in more than one South Asian case, dynastic successors have fallen victim to assassins’ bullets or bombs.

The tragic sacrifices, in turn, inspire millions of people, generate groundswells of sympathy, bring about sharp swings in the public mood, and power political parties to win elections. The political situation in Pakistan, caught in a maelstrom, has been transformed overnight by the martyrdom of Benazir Bhutto, a courageous but deeply flawed political leader whose record in opposition was far more creditable than her performance in office. Towards the end of her life, her popularity in Pakistan clearly suffered from the impression that she had struck a less than honourable deal with the discredited dictator, Pervez Musharraf, and that, unlike her chief political rival, Nawaz Sharif, she was willing to contest elections under dubious conditions in order to have a third term as Prime Minister. Post-Benazir, a PPP dominated by Asif Zardari is poised to make a clean sweep of the parliamentary election, which is scheduled for January 8 and cannot, in any case, be put off by more than a few weeks. Even though they are likely to be the losers, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and its chief, Mr. Sharif, have done the right thing in agreeing to reverse their decision to boycott the polls. Paradoxically, as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari might have implied, the martyrdom of his mother promises to provide a democratic and perhaps even bloodless way out of the deep crisis in which Pakistan finds itself.

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