It seems that there should be people falling on their swords all around, and the city should look like the stage of a Shakespearean tragedy in he final scene. But there’s no suicide culture in Pakistan, and because we’re Muslims, everone lives to fight annother day.
Another reason why people no longer fall on their swords is because swords have gone out of fashion. Besides, it was only Roman swords, the good old pilum, used for thrusting, that were good for offing oneself. What you did was not so much fall on it, as lean on it. Another method was to slash you wrists, preferably while lying in a warm bath, which would encourage the circulation of blood out of you.
^The Japanese also have the idea of committing harakiri. That means you plunge a dagger into your stomach, and drag it back and forth to make a real mess of your intestines. All the while, a friend stands by with a katana (samurai sword) and will behead you if you show any hesitation or too many signs of pain. If you don’t have a friend, you go to Mount Fuji, or any other active volcano, and jump in the fire pit.
Now why would anyone want to fall on his sword, or commit harakiri? Well, Hamza Shehbaz should. After all, a sitting Chief bMinister is supposed to win bye-elections, not congratulate government agencies for staying neutral. The Election Commission has taken the fun out of the game by preventing governments from taking steps for the public welfare-
The Chjief Election Commissionerc seems to be unaware that a bye-election might be .the only time when the government is able to pay any attention towards a constituency. In a general election, the government has got so many constituencies to deal wit that it can’t pay the sort of attention that is needed.
Besides, surely Imran of all people understands the concept of ‘home ground advantage’. Those old enough to remember him as Pakistan captain remember trhat he was as careful about what sortv of pitches the groundsmen prepared as any of his predecessors.
Speaking of hom ground advantage, the Sri Lankan cricket team didn’t really display enough of it in going down to defeat against Pakistan. One of the frissons of fear Imran must have got was when Shaheen Afridi took four wickets in the first innings. That showed how traitorous were the
Sri Lankan cricketers, in throwing away their wickets so as to undermine Imran in the eyes of thoe who matter by providing them with an alternative who would be on the same page.
That match was rich in possibiilities for the future. Babar Azxam might have caught attention playing a captain’s knock in both innings. There has been some hope expressed that he might lead Pakistan in the World Cup. If he wins, he would become Imran’s nightmare. But I doubt it. Isn’t he too ugly to be allowed on the same page?
Sri Lanka is a strange country, and its being in default doesn’t seem to have depressed its cricketers much. But perhaps the most noticeable thing is that its Army doesn’t seem patriotic. I mean, what has been its role in a great national crisis? The COAS didn’t do anything until Saturday, when the protesters were cleared away by an attack on their camp. History will not forgive the Sri Lankan COAS.
India seems to have gone one further. Not only did its Parliament and Legislative Assemblies elect a womAn as Commander-in-Chief, but an Advivasi woman. India has had a woman President before, but Draupadi Murmu will be the first tribal in the job. She was nominated by the BJP, which is trying its best to hide its caste-ist image, having a Scheduled Caste PM and now a Scheduled Tribal President.
I feel a little sorry for her. All her life, I would imagine, she’s probably tried to rise above her tribal origins. To the extent of becoming President of India. But she will be remembered for being a tribal.
By the way, she’s a Sonthal. That’s a tribe remembered in history for its revolt against the Raj, something called a ‘hool’, against which the Raj had to raise and send a Sonthal Field Force, back in 1855. In fact, the Hool was led by two Murmu brothers. May her Presidency be a worthy one. And presumably our President’s ancestors played a much more prominent role in the resistance against the Raj than we know about.
