Today I got a chance to be part of a brainstorming session. The aim of that session was to reach a “consensus” on a brand name. During the process, when the debate got heated and dissent was in the air, suddenly the boss (who claims himself to be an experienced facilitator and a mediator) said: “let’s close the discussion and reach to a consensus.” Then he intimidated the members to select a name of his own liking.
That’s how democracy works in Pakistan. This very incident reflects the level of understanding that we as a nation have on democracy and consensus-building where dissent is considered as disrespect and deviance. Electoral process (no matter, how bizarre and messy it is) is considered to be a legitimate excuse to govern people in the most demeaning way.
I think it’s time that we differentiate between electoral democracy and democratic governance. We need leadership who practice democracy as a way of governance, rather than a tool to manipulate and dictate their vested interests. We need to understand and practice the essence of democracy rather than limiting it to 'Tokenism'.
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