Gandhi and Truth.

I just finished reading The Gandhi Reader. It was my first book on the topic. How I’ve gone so long without reading about this man and his ideas is a sentiment I’ve expressed many a times in the past with individuals I’ve come to admire – Said, Chomsky, Marcos, Shariati are just a handful that come to mind.

What’s impressive about Gandhi is not his passive resistance (a term he disliked) or even the wonders that he accomplished by simply fasting. No, what’s truly remarkable about Gandhi is his steadfast observance and life-long dedication to the immemorial goal of discovering truth. Truth,

“Not simply as we ordinarily understand it, not truth which merely answers the saying, ‘”Honesty is the best policy,’” implying that if it is not the best policy we may depart from it. Here Truth as it is conceived means that we may have to rule our life by this law of Truth at any cost…”

This may not seem notable to the student of Socrates or Plato but it’s astonishing when one observes how Gandhi zealously embraced truth in all walks of life: politics, law, economics, family, personal – everything. And no, don’t make the mistake of confusing his fixation with that of a pedantic – the latter talks a mean game and will burn the midnight oil discussing its virtues, but the former lived and died by it.

With truth, he knew what he had and did not have. There was no image or position to preserve. If he was in the right, then he would stand his ground and urged everyone to do the same regardless of the suffering that may ensue. That is how he brought to end the vicious colonial rule of the British empire in India; that is why he happily went to prison (too numerous to count) whenever he broke a law he deemed unjust; that is why he believed in boycotting imported cloth from Britain and then had the courage to go and talk to textile workers in London who were losing their jobs because of his boycott!

All that (and much much more) without once lifting a fist or making a threat or putting to use the sordid methods of politics to outmaneuver those he stood against. It was simply the courage and conviction in his cause that conquered all and which ultimately won him the admiration of millions around the world.

Gandhi was truly one of a kind. And I am glad to have discovered him.

Pakistanis are falling for it. Again.

It feels like 1990 again. The days when Pakistan was facing political and economic turmoil the likes of which can be found in the country today. The day when the president/chief of the army decided to impose a state of emergency to “curb extremism.”

I’ll be honest, I admired Musharraf for quite some time after he burst on to the political scene in the late 90s. He stood out. He decided he had had enough of the political graft, corruption, kick-backs, and every other word in the dictionary that means “stealing from the people and not getting anything done.” He was new and therefore couldn’t possibly be any worst than the last two. He seemed like a man of action and Pakistanis all around the world were happy to have him at the helm.

Alas, Pakistanis fell for it again.

After months of slowly losing political ground (and every other ground), he decided to shut the country down today. This after striking a deal with the woman he spoke vehemently against when he first came to power. Hell, he spoke out against her just a few months ago when he swore the likes of Bhutto and Sharif would face justice whenever they found the fortitude to return to the country.

Regardless, as is the case with power-hungry lunatics like him all over the world, he doesn’t want to let go and will do anything to hold on. Hence the reason why Bhutto is now in Pakistan and Sharif is still hiding in his hole somewhere in England, Dubai or Saudi Arabia.

Bhutto, the Harvard educated, moderate, modern, democratic woman who’s probably stolen more from the coffers of Pakistan than any other politician is now foaming at the mouth. She’s found the weakness that she’s been waiting for since her “self-imposed exile” began years ago, and is now days away from tearing apart the legacy of Musharraf and starting her own – again.

But Musharraf isn’t done yet. He has Western “backers” who are watching this very closely. They haven’t seen a General as obedient and resolute as this since the good ol’ days of the 80s in Central America. And they’re not going to let him fall this easily. But if he must go, then they will make sure he finds the right successor. This is where Bhutto will come in. Because regardless of the mud she’s thrown at Musharraf in the last few months, she is one of those few “moderates” in Pakistan that the West would love to have in power. She’s “anti-extremism,” pro-business, pro-West; everything but original, courageous or bold. The saddest thing about all this is that she and her party still have a substantial following in the country – so the worst is yet to come.

Deja vu.