Money has been the Achilles heel of Pakistan politics. Even so-called champions of change are surrounded by the ubiquitous presence of big money investors. Excess baggage of self-respect is slowly being shed. They travel light. There is no shame in being smeared for the sake of money.
With all its pretense of showy piety, subcontinental culture is prone to be callous and crushing in its pursuit of money. Rhetoric is unctuous while content is covetous.
So many have been sunk in the treasure-hunt. It sends a message that toil and talent don’t matter and rizqe halal (honest livelihood) is honored only in its breach.
Relevant here is an insightful conversation with a well-respected Lahore businessman. Javed Elahi is upright and punctual, with an unblemished and sustained business record. This is his take on the erosion of ethics.
Parents, he said, “lack the will to be role models for the youth. Everyone wants to move very fast and to achieve goals in a short time, which cannot be possible in real life. The present generation thinks that this can be achieved in a fortnight.
There is no shortcut in business; skills and patience need to be shown.”
Javed Elahi dilated on the dangerous dependency on inherited privileges, giving the wrong message to the youth who may look towards their parents through the lens of inherited wealth. This, he said, expedites moral corruption, which can be more damaging to society than financial corruption.
Javed maintained that rampant takeover of greed in the business community is blurring the line between right and wrong. The concept of right and wrong used to be taught at home by parents and in schools by teachers.
Javed expounded: “I passed through a torrid time during 45 years of my business career but, due to early lessons, I didn’t shun business ethics and strove to uphold commitments and to work within available parameters.”
Perceiving a decline in family values and solidarity, Javed has marked three types of family generations: (1) Builders; (2) Spenders; (3) Destroyers.
“Any family that holds onto one builder cannot fall down. But few families are left with builders. Most are spenders and, presently, destroyers. They don’t value hard work; they don’t believe in getting up early in the morning.”
Slating societal patterns and attitudes, Javed contended: “In the present era, few feel shame in being unpunctual and breaking commitments. People talk about accountability without an inward focus on honest self-accountability.”
For example, Javed added, there is no longer shame in issuing false cheques. Dishonoring of checks means dishonor in society. But this practice is frequent and repeated because many play beyond their available means. Sometimes, he emphasized, unethical practices are being done under the hijab of Din.
Importantly, Javed puts the onus on parents who start hiding and rationalizing the wrongdoings of their own children.
Attitude of children, he says, is governed by the wealth and political position of their parents. Prosperous parents play a large role in spoiling their children.
When society is not God-fearing through its actions and is not respecting parents and teachers, then the results are self-evident, concluded Javed.
This opinion piece originally appeared on May 5, 2016 in Views and News, and is being reproduced in view of ongoing discussion and readers’ demand.
