Is Pakistan a Democracy Now?

Pakistan has a new prime minister elected by the new parliament chosen by the people in largely free, fair and peaceful general elections held by President Musharraf's government last February. As expected, the new prime minister Makhdoom Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani comes from an influential feudal family in Southern Punjab. In the absence of a large, powerful middle class, this is the best that one could hope for as an outcome of the electoral process. But does this mean we are closer to a functioning democracy now?

Emergence and sustenance of democracy and democratic institutions requires a large and powerful middle class. With the exception of India, all other functioning democracies have gone through the transition from feudal to industrial societies where a large middle class exercises its free will to support and maintain civil societies and rule of law. They believe in due process rather than arbitrary rule, a hallmark of military and feudal rulers.

In India's case, Prime Minister Nehru and the Indian National Congress leadership, mostly from the middle classes, seized control and successfully emasculated the Indian feudal class by extensive and real land reform immediately after independence. This never happened in Pakistan. Even though most of India is mired in deep poverty, an average Indian is better educated than an an average Pakistani and the enrollment rate of children in school is much higher, giving hope for a better future. India is beginning to emerge as an industrial economy and acquiring global industrial units like Corus steel and Jaguar.

Pakistan can possibly evolve from feudal to industrial society with a large middle class but it is likely to be a very long and slow evolution, given the history of our recalcitrant feudal leadership. Under Musharraf, the middle class has grown rapidly. I think this is likely to slow down to suit the whims of the feudal class for continuation of the patron-client society they prefer.