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| Battle of Plassey, 1757 |
Ever since his removal from office, He has been criss crossing the country in a chopper commandeered from the Government of Khyber Pakahtunwa, where Imran Khan's PTI is in office and has addressed massive gatherings (jalsa) in Islamabad, Attock, Jallalabad, Faisalabad, and several other important cities. In spite of all the road blocks thrown up by a shaky regime, Imran Khan has succeeded in taking his message to the very heart of the Electorate. It does not take a psephologist like our own C Voter Organization to predict a substantial victory for the PTI in KP, Sind and parts of Baluchistan. In Punjab the Sheriff Family has a substantial base. Everywhere Imran Khan has been driving home the same message: betrayal of the mandate by a corrupt criminal gang out on bail. He is of course hitting out against the Sheriff Family including Nawaz who stands convicted and the present Prime Minister, Shabazz Sheriff who is out on bail. Khan's rhetoric is so impassioned that it draws immediate reaction from the crowd. The disturbing element in his political strategy is the deliberate use of Islamic Religious identity to sell his political image. Drawing on the Koran he has constructed a political theology that essentially states that a good muslim will stand with Imran Khan against traitors who conspired with internal and external enemies of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Of course, USA is singled out as the external enemy.
Imran Khan political rhetoric combines historical examples and searing contempt for the present rulers. When I was a boy Cherry Blossom was only a shoe polish. In Pakistan Cherry Blossom is the preferred term of endearment for Shabazz Sherif. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto is often spoken of as a Bimari (disease) that rhymes with Zardari. The most devastating attack is reserved for Nawaaz Sherif and Shabaaz Sheriff who are called Mir Jafer and Mir Sadiq. It is not quite clear who is identified by these names.
In his use of History, Imran Khan is much too careless. He repeatedly states that Siraj ud Daullah, the Nawab of Bengal, was the representative of the Mussalman Mughal rulers. Nothing can be further from the truth. The Mughals had ceased to be a factor in Indian politics by the first decade of the eighteenth century when the Mahrattas rose to prominence and were raiding territories from Punjab to Bengal. In fact Siraj ud Daullah's maternal grandfather Alivardi Khan had stopped even recognizing Mughal Hukkumat (regime). Mir Jafer was the candidate propped by Ghasiti Begum, the widow of the late ruler who himself had seized the throne by deposing Safraz Khan. In the Battle of Plassey, Mir Jaffer held back his troops thereby Robert Clive claim his first major military victory in India. Of course, the Battle of Plassey and later the Battle of Buxar paved the way for the rule of the East India Company. Given the factional nature of loyalties in precolonial India, Mir Jaffer was not betraying his state. He was only furthering his factional agenda. Mir Sadiq, is said to have betrayed Tipu Sultan.
Imran Khan is setting fire to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He is effectively using the themes of treachery, slavery, economic collapse, foreign debt and the War on Terror as effective weapons against the current regime. It is certain that his message resonates with the youth.
