Imran Khan and Shakespear’s Tempest – Part II

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Continued from: Imran Khan and Shakespear’s Tempest – Part I

By Sajjad Suhail-Sindhu, Edited By Adam Rizvi, The India Observer, TIO: In the first part of this two-part article, I covered the impression Imran Khan left on the psyche of an average Englishman from the early 1980s to the time he led Pakistan to their only ever win of the ODI World Cup of Cricket in 1992. In this second part, I delve into the man, Imran Khan, who undertook to express all that he had sensed of his beckoning destiny.

As a supporter of Imran Khan and his wish to turn Pakistan the failed State she had inevitably become, following the repeated malfeasance of the two previous governing parties, into a semblance of England, a place Imran had grown up in, during his formative years, I had undertaken to “do my bit”, for Pakistan and Imran Khan, by developing a Poem Poster.

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The poem’s stanzas borrow from famous literary and musical figures and poets, where I felt those aspects amplified and compelled the reader to be inspired. Chief amongst the poets whose works I used were Robert Plant, whose legendary song Stairway to Heaven manifestly fits Imran as the piper that called the people, in a forest that echoed with laughter; and Robert Frost, whose country road diverging in two, in those same woods in the forest, lent itself stoically to Imran as the central figure, showing the people new paths, new directions that they had not yet seen.

And of course, I talked of my favorite, Rudyard Kipling’s If, which speaks of the fallibility of man, and the two faces of destiny—success and failure. Then there is Dr.Allama Iqbal, whose epic poem regales the ascent of man akin to that of an eagle negotiating winds of impossible strength. Rather than being a reason for preventing the eagle’s ascent, these winds, in fact, aid the eagle to ever greater heights. The corollary in my poem was that Imran Khan is the wind under our wings, and his efforts lift us to ever greater heights.

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The purpose of my poster was to inspire the reader and help Imran win the elections, bringing his party as a majority in forming a government and lifting the nation out of the near catastrophe the earlier two governments had caused for some two generations.

And so it was that Imran was elected and undertook, seemingly single-handedly, to begin the transformation of Pakistan. As per his own assertions of human fragility and fallibility, made two decades earlier, members of his own party, MNAs, betrayed him—turning against him, being bought by the opposition in what became known as “horse trading.” Imran’s government was brought down in a no-confidence vote.

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I reflected upon this incident with some thought and feeling for Imran. I wrote to various WhatsApp groups, believing it was onerous upon me as someone who understood that while Imran was doing the right things, those in his party simply were not of the same caliber, or cut from the same moral cloth as Imran. No, these people were brought up on a diet of corruption, replete with characteristics of cronyism, extortion, and nepotism. They had sharpened their skills in the evils of the earlier two criminal organizations masquerading as political parties, bringing with them their corrupt thinking, egos the size of skyscrapers, and abilities befitting illiterate people. Their reputation for cowardice was clearly visible as they were bought cheaply, as Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. They came together in a unified opposition, ousting Imran Khan and his government.

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Imran stood alone, holding the banner of all that is good, let down by those not his equal. It was then that I realized the difference between developed and undeveloped nations. It is the people that come together to make a nation. It is the collective thinking, the milieu of ideas brought together for the betterment of a nation, selflessly, that allows great things to happen. Seeing what had happened to Imran, resulting in Pakistan further falling behind economically, I began once again to write open letters to the U.S. president and others.

I wrote more articles, that compared Imran to Biblical prophets, building on the changes the prophets had brought that benefitted the people, particularly the coming of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), whose message clearly unfolded into what became the Rashidun Empire, the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in West Asia and Northern Africa of the 7th century.

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I wrote other articles attempting to bring people back to him, but it seems, given my experiences of the people I have lived amongst, naturally, what works in developed nations cannot work in nations where people lack basic humanity—a place that has suffered for generations from malfeasance of a nature that has become the norm rather than something to be shunned.

Long ago, I read one of Shakespeare’s plays, The Tempest, a story set on a remote island with a wizard, his daughter, and a monster all living together. The play explores many themes, including magic, betrayal, revenge, and family, all played out in ignorance of the island itself that no one notices has a life of its own. One character, Caliban, in an aria, brings the feelings of the island to the viewer. Here, I use that theme in lifting Imran on his birthday:

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“…be not afraid, for I am full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not, and while you are fallen, I’m ready to drop upon you, that when you awake and rise, I shall lift you with my teary eyes, and dream of you to lead me, for I am your Pakistan, and like the sea of people that surround you, and call me home, I too have need of you.”

A happy belated birthday, Imran.

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Curated and Compiled by Humra Kidwai

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