Side effects of the Azadi March

Amid slogans and songs, containers, dancing and jeering crowds,the bold charge of Imran Khan into the uncertain and dangerous,has made for a riveting week for all Pakistanis, especially those glued to the TV like me. The media coverage was awesome, with drones adding a new dimension to the way we see demonstrations and events. Whether Khan succeeds or fails, what I liked about these events is that the man on the street has gone to the houses of the powerful and privileged , and demanded to be taken seriously. This New generation of Pakistani is no longer the cowering voter Of the old order who would be begging the chaudhry or the big gun of the area for justice as a favour, without raising his voice, and always mindful of past ehsaanaat of the village chaudhry. Unfortunately, this kind of old style politics still prevails outside the major cities of Pakistan,which are not many to begin with.In the last week, through the media, this country has witnessed a new,boisterous and irreverent Pakistan, which demands justice as a right rather than a one- off favour, and keeps it's humor intact despite the severe issues it is protesting, such as election rigging and murder of more than a dozen Pakistanis by a government. Through it's resilience, this crowd has forced an arrogant and disdainful government, whose cabinet members were spewing venom at it and aggrandizing it's imagined concessions to it, to treat it with respect, accept it's right to protest as citizens on any issue it wants to. In my opinion this in itself is a great achievement Of the Azadi March, even if it is a by product of it. What I found disconcerting was the attitude of the government, the contempt and disdain with which it's functionaries eyed the protestors at first. But the media, other political parties and even the armed forces compelled the government to Treat the crowd with respect, and finally the "mob" graduated to the level of protestors. But it took the extreme demand, the resignation of the PM, to get the attention of the government on two issues that are genuine, legal and the right of the protestors. Accountability of the killings in Model Town in June,and election rigging charges. Is it because PML N has become too comfortable with it's comfortable majority in parliament and considers itself invincible? I was shocked by the belligerence and Self righteousness of the govt members. Even if these were all misguided people asking for the moon, atleast their fundamental rights should have been recognized . It is really an old order clashing with a new one, old ways of behaving, perceiving and reacting, while the new generation is marching on regardless. It belongs to a different class from the voters of PML N, so it's responses are not recognizable by the party. This is not what PML N leadership is used to. It is used to being addressed as "Quaid e Muhtaram", not " Oye Nwaaz sharif"! In the red zone! But life, power, politics is strange. Power slips from ones hands like sand. It is definitely a wake up call for PML N mid term. It should keep things real, and not forget to eat humble pie once in a while. We are all humans, and in a democracy, leaders are only first among equals, and that's it. It would do well to recognize this fact and make changes in it's political philosophy. Whether the new order can Whether these people are weirdos, poor, rude, what they think and want should be a concern for the government, nt a condescending acknowledgement of concession that since" bacchian" were there, we let them in" when in reality, the governemnt could not afford to stop them by force.would it change the old way of perceiving the citizens of pakistan, is a question for future events. Change even in perception, is a value addition to society.