I do not blindly follow any leader. I only seek to be led by the truth. But the truth is a mysterious and fickle love. From afar it seems clear, bold, and high as a mountain. But as you get closer it turns into a misty foggy forest, with no clear paths. But there are people who live in houses and castles built on lies. They fear, more than stones, guns, and tanks, a person willing to tell the truth. With a gun someone can steal their money. With a tank someone can steal their government. But with truth, their power can be utterly and completely destroyed. Nothing can stand in the way of a truly powerful idea. In the 80s Vital Signs sang soch se pehara uthalo. The line resonated with me because we all accepted so many lies back then, we didnt even know what the lies were. In 1997 Junnons song Ehtesaab was banned. This time we knew what the lies were, but nobody was willing to do anything about it. Everything changed with Musharaf. I am against military rule for the same reason I am against steroid injections for restoring the sick to good health. It may appear to work in the short run, but it destroys your health and ignores the source of sickness. Musharaf was illegitimate, but he gave this country many good things. The best thing he gave us was the truth. He was a man willing to call a spade a spade, whether he was berating the religious establishment or the political classes. I think I saw people getting hooked to the truth during his rule. People knew now what the lies were, and were willing to speak about them in their drawing rooms. That we had been ruled by thieves. In the end, Musharaf betrayed the truths he himself told us. He told us they were thieves and unworthy to rule us. But to hold on to power, he was willing to deal with Benazir and the PPP. And then came Imran Khan, the PTI organisation hes built over the last 15 years. Fairy tales survive centuries because they tell truths disguised as childrens tales. In one fairy tale, it just takes a small child to tell the world that the emperor has no clothes. Sometimes the lies are so deep, it takes more than a child to bring us to the light. Sometimes, it takes a man, marching with thousands, standing on a container, speaking into a mike in the night, staring the emperors palace guards in the eye. I cannot tell how things will play out in the future, I really dont care whether Nawaz Sharif ends up resigning. Because what Imran Khan has already accomplished is beautiful and amazing. Ive heard nationalist songs all my life. There are no new ones. The words are old and engraved in my memory like my skin. But when I hear them now, it is with new ears. No, it is with a new heart, filled with hope. Because things will never be the same again. The foundation of the lies has been cracked by truths spelled out every night from the top of the container.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 11:32:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015