Mohsin Mudassar
In the current situation, I think we are all a little overwhelmed. The joint political, economic, and ecological crises have accelerated to a frightening pace. Digital and physical spaces are increasingly inundated by the rising tides of misogyny and religious extremism. Doing progressive politics and organizing in this environment can leave one feeling like what we are doing is too little in the face of the machinery of hate and fear that seek to crush progressive ideas before they even have the chance to take root. That is all in addition to the fractures and squabbles within the left that seek to demoralize us every day.
However, I found the cure to this creeping and ever-present sense of hopelessness at PrSF’s Political School. Going into it, I was fairly nervous about how it would go. We had done most of the organizing in the last week before the school. From fundraising to getting the venue ready, less than a dozen people pulled off a great event with passionate debates, riotous laughter and the forging of bonds that won’t soon break. This meeting of young progressives was a reminder that although the situation is far from ideal, there are still causes for hope. Meeting comrades from all over Pakistan and listening to them discussing progressive ideas reminded me that whatever the challenges may be, no matter how overwhelming the odds against us, with a young leadership this capable and vibrant we may just be able to pull through.
While meeting new people was the favourite part of the political school for me, I would also like to add some post facto reflections on the ideas that were discussed there. The sessions were all thought-provoking and interesting. We kicked off with Dr. Ammar Ali Jan giving a brief timeline of the development of Marxist thought and an overview of what Marxism is. He joined this with lessons for contemporary progressives and the value of seizing opportunities and taking action. Khurram Ali gave us a brief account of the students’ movement in Pakistan and shared with us the lessons people doing student politics today can take from them. Dr. Zehra Hashmi traced the development of citizenship in the colonial period and the coming into being of the Pakistani and Indian identities. Comrade Aileya and Amna Mawaz Khan discussed how art and theatre can be used to resist oppression and make people a part of the struggle. They gave examples of artists who used their art to fight inequality and injustice.
On the second day, Fatimah Ihsan discussed Sex and Gender and explained how gender has traditionally been seen in the subcontinent as opposed to how the West sees it. She also expanded on the Sufi tradition in Pakistan and India. Lastly, comrades Jai Kumar and Shah Rukn-e-Alam laid out the path forward. Jai reaffirmed our focus on students’ issues and stressed the need to avoid conflict and Rukn presented ways for the organization to overcome the perennial issue of insufficient funds.
There was no shortage of intellect, initiative, and experience among the participants, but I believe there is a perhaps underrated philosophy that should be incorporated into our strategizing and thinking: pragmatism. As progressives, our principles are central to our politics. We swear by them and believe them to be universal. But, when we are doing politics, we must view our own cultural, social and political context before standing up for our principles. Taking unpopular positions is often necessary – as in the case of enforced disappearances, but other times doing that not only harms our politics but also puts us in unnecessary danger. We must realize that society as full of regressive ideas as Pakistan, cannot change overnight. The process of changing mindsets is slow and there are no shortcuts that we can take. New and unorthodox ideas must be introduced slowly. While that process takes its course, we must adopt pragmatism as one of our guiding principles and choose our battles. Using utilitarian principles and pragmatism can help us decide which issues we must take a stand on and which ones should be put on the back burner.
Moving forward, our focus should be on our core aims as outlined in our manifesto, and secondarily on combatting religious extremism and bringing people towards progressive ideas. This common sense demands that even our most ardent opponents cannot disagree with will help us build a broad base of support that can help us break the hold of right-wing groups and politicize the student population. We must not forget that we are a student organization, and our goal is not to bring about a revolution but to work for students’ rights and the provision of affordable education. We must not engage in battles we cannot win. Our core aims must remain our central focus, and if that means that we have to tone down our rhetoric on some other issues that we feel very passionately about that is a sacrifice we should be willing to make.
Lastly, we must build a broad coalition of people with a variety of ideological leanings. It is important to be cognizant of the fact that we are only a few hundred. And any project to create ideological uniformity will only further reduce our numbers. Moreover, ideological uniformity is also unattainable, as more and more minute differences will keep arising and destroy whatever semblance of a collective may be developing. The key to achieving our goals is not to get into scuffles with each other over theoretical disagreements but to build a big tent consensus around our core issues. It is more important that we provide a progressive alternative to the student population than it is for us to be on the same page ideologically.
All that said, I am extremely heartened by the forward-looking debates taking place among young progressives. They are a chance for me to discover and engage with new ideas. I hope that I will my comrades will continue challenging my existing conceptions of politics and society and giving me new opportunities to learn from their experience and knowledge. The variety and vibrancy of ideas within the organization also give me hope that we may finally be heading to a place where people with varying ideas can work together to achieve our common goals. I look forward to learning from my comrades and working alongside them in our struggle for students’ rights and more equal and fair society.
Highlights of the Political School
Note: The art work in the main cover was designed by Abdul Hameed Bukhari
