Revolutions of France, Britain and some civilized countries are oft quoted examples to get rid of deplorable divide, the ruler and the ruled, the elite and the masses, the victims and the victimizer. Revolutions despite ensuing fruitful repercussions are not admired as countries undergoing the dreadful plight have to pay heavy price for the pleasant dreams. Intellectuals and sages of the ages may have strong reservations vice versa my opinion. Here I would stand firm on my belief that revolution by ballot is the best way to overthrow the despotic rule. I would like to refer the example of France where thousands of elite class persona non grata were butchered mercilessly and the king and queen had to see same fate as that of the elite.
Louis XIV, the fourteenth Loui was too much worried about conspiracies against him by the elite class and to avoid the inevitable repercussions of his bad governance ordered the renowned architects (Jules Mansort, Robert Decotta) to construct a palace outside the capital. After four decades a magnificent palace comprising 3200 rooms was ready to be inaugurated by the Louis XIV. After shifting his ten thousand consultants and a host of privileged royal members Louis XIV was contended that all his vanguard elite will remain before his eyes and there would be no risk of revolution ensuing as result of his bad governance. A heavy contigent of Ministers plundered the country mercilessly, resulting in deplorable condition of the masses. Louis XIV escaped the bad fortune. The immediate descendant of Louis XIV realized the plight of the masses and sold royal horses to get rid of the heavy expenses of state, which were to be accrued by exorbitant levy of taxes on the general masses. Volteer, a renowned philosopher of France, expressed that the King might have sold donkeys instead of royal horses. Hearing the anecdote of volteer the Louis summoned volteer and enquired about his expression, on positive response of volteer Louis ordered to imprison volteer for one year.
It was the era of Louis XVI, when being fatigued of the long devastation of the country, people invaded the royal palace, mercilessly butchered the king, the queen and the elite class, blood was cheapest than water. A new era erupted out of the blind darkness and incessant trail of cruelties hovering since centuries on the depressed and the destitute ended, not to re-occur again. France, Britain, Russia are best examples of bloody revolutions and change. But change and revolution by ballot is the need of the hour, not the dreadful red revolution.
Pakistan has awaited 73 years for the change, the most promised fate of the country. Despotic rule of Ayoob Khan, Zia-ul-Haque, Musharraf had shaken the very roots of the country. Despotic rules hovered the masses as ill fate, the dreadful repercussions of the same sceptre have made the nation a pitiable entity. Resources of the country have been mercilessly plundered by organized cliques of so-called politicians and iron clad persons, who in true sense were not the rulers but the looters, who had no soft corner while on the expedition of plundering the country. Pakistan for long remained a land which they thought as gifted to them by the ancestors to, plough as they like, they never thought that Pakistan is an ideological country attained after a long, hectic struggle and the migrants have offered countless sacrifices of their near and dear ones. Think for a while to remember the creation of Pakistan, 14th August and the ensuing days, you would find the roads leading to Pakistan presenting horrible scenario of hundreds and thousands of armless, legless, headless, corpses of Muslims, whos eyes remained open at the time of their death, only to have a single glimpse of their land of dreams. The land of dreams is now a haunted land awaiting the savior. We are still living on a land of misfortunes and awaiting the dawn of new era. We should avoid red revolution, revolution by ballot is the only and single way to execute the real change. Would we really bring the real change?
Malik Muhammad Aslam Awan
(The writer is a journalist, author of English Book on current affairs
and independent analyst based in Lahore)
E-mail: mlkaslamawan@gmail.com
Gulshan-e-Riaz Colony, Bund Road, Lahore. Cell #: 0313-0063450
