Skeptic786
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Every iota a lota
ââ¬ÅTHE Maulvis might jeer at us all they want but it is the humble lota that they need for ablution before their prayers,ââ¬Â quipped Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi the other day on a private TV channel. There is no harm in becoming one, said Dr Niazi. Once just the laughing stock of Parliament, the good doctor is turning out to be bad medicine for the government. Though, to be fair, there really is little for lotas like Dr Niazi to do other than joke on the issue. If the concerned word in our vernacular were ââ¬Åturncoatââ¬Â instead of lota, he would have espoused the benefits of such a novel couture.
There are few principled politicians in our unfortunate republic. Ours is a land where all it takes is the promise of power to make politicians stray from any ideology. If that doesnââ¬â¢t do the trick, then the agencies merely dig up some dirt. Or create some. But it is not enough to just blame the agencies or the establishment. We also have to realise that we have spineless leaders. Subservience to the powers that be is the currency of our lota-cracy, a status not far removed from when we were under a colonial power. The incumbents, in particular, have finetuned the fine (formerly dark) art of the sell-out. They have almost elevated it to an art form. Dr. Niaziââ¬â¢s comedy session bears testimony to that. We really have reached new lows if itââ¬â¢s now considered appropriate to joke about a practice which, if one thinks about it, is one of the primary causes of the failure of democracy in the country.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/oct-2006/17/editorials3.php
ââ¬ÅTHE Maulvis might jeer at us all they want but it is the humble lota that they need for ablution before their prayers,ââ¬Â quipped Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Niazi the other day on a private TV channel. There is no harm in becoming one, said Dr Niazi. Once just the laughing stock of Parliament, the good doctor is turning out to be bad medicine for the government. Though, to be fair, there really is little for lotas like Dr Niazi to do other than joke on the issue. If the concerned word in our vernacular were ââ¬Åturncoatââ¬Â instead of lota, he would have espoused the benefits of such a novel couture.
There are few principled politicians in our unfortunate republic. Ours is a land where all it takes is the promise of power to make politicians stray from any ideology. If that doesnââ¬â¢t do the trick, then the agencies merely dig up some dirt. Or create some. But it is not enough to just blame the agencies or the establishment. We also have to realise that we have spineless leaders. Subservience to the powers that be is the currency of our lota-cracy, a status not far removed from when we were under a colonial power. The incumbents, in particular, have finetuned the fine (formerly dark) art of the sell-out. They have almost elevated it to an art form. Dr. Niaziââ¬â¢s comedy session bears testimony to that. We really have reached new lows if itââ¬â¢s now considered appropriate to joke about a practice which, if one thinks about it, is one of the primary causes of the failure of democracy in the country.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/oct-2006/17/editorials3.php
