In plain words, politics can be defined as a system for keeping society organised, and the role of a politician is to represent citizens and uphold law and order to ensure society functions normally. They are revered as a special group of individuals who possess the intellect to run a country. However, politics has become a show of power in recent decades. Instead, as a system that serves people, it has become one that controls. It controls the narratives and voices of its masses to make it suitable for the regime. In recent times, it has shifted gears. The important ministries are held by people who lack even basic knowledge of how to run their respective departments. Consequently, people suffer because of their inadequacies.
Politicians administer the country on behalf of their nations, not to instigate a siege on them. In the past, it was easy to cover up the malfeasance. But with the advent of social media, it has become quite easy to identify this rot. So, when nothing else works, states impose surveillance on the dissemination of information that educates the masses about the decay that is hovering over their systems and lives.
South Asia is now seeing a new wave of protests over the years. People first heard of the major uprising in Bangladesh that overthrew Sheikh Hasina’s dictatorial government. The youth initiated the protest, which soon escalated into riots across the country. State countered with violence, and things escalated fast. But the youth’s resolve did not fade, and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country. People succeeded in reclaiming their rights.
In Nepal, the youth took to the streets too. They held their corrupt politicians accountable and successfully formed a new government composed of individuals capable of running an effective system that served its people.
A few days ago, social media was flooded with visuals from Jantar Mantar in India. Where many students, including celebrities, led a massive demonstration to rightfully demand students’ rights. The roads became witnesses to incessant violence. But when the general public becomes resolute in their stance, no one can back down from giving them the answer they deserve.
Now this revolution is hitting closer to home. First, we didn’t protect the rights of the white in our flag, and now we are not even protecting the green in our flag. Masses in Azad Jammu and Kashmir are mobilising to demand their neglected rights. How ironic that Azad Jammu and Kashmir is not independent in its truest sense. Their voices have been silenced. Bodies are lying upside down on the road like a group of scattered moths burnt by the light. The once-luscious valleys where people retreated to find haven are now burning from the greed of power. The little have taken to the streets, fearlessly questioning the state for their basic rights. The bullets are not discriminating between children and the elderly. How long will people bleed till they get their voices heard? How long will we pretend it doesn’t affect us?
Now is the time to amplify their voices and ensure that our coming generation will not have to go through the same brutality. Because if the unbridled power is not bridled, it will only lead to the law of the jungle.
ایسے دستور کو، صبح بے نور کو
میں نہیں مانتا، میں نہیں جانتا