We have entrusted our lives, our society, and all else to our politicians in spite of all their multitudionous faults. They continue to play childish games, lust for power and plunder at will. They have little interest in legislation, reform and improved administration so that our society could function better, our economies could grow and we, the citizens could live better lives. Unfortunately while they continue to play their games of plunder and power, the problems of our country grow unabated.

We have watched this political game for the last 45 years, watched it sink from one low to a deeper level of shamelessness. The only time these power-players surprise us is when we consider that they reached rock-bottom and that the beginnings of an upward swing for our system is about to occur, they find new intrigues, new methods of plunder, and sink us to another yet deeper low.

However, more surprising still is the our own apathy. Why is it that we the citizens of this country just sit there watching this macabre drama that so deeply affects our lives? Why is it that we will do nothing to in some way influence these individuals who so affect our lives? Indeed the system is so rigged that politics and power remains the domain of a few. Consequently, the task is herculean. But be that as it may, why is it that not more effort is being put into developing pressure groups for affecting policies in important areas that affect us.

A number of fairly tentative efforts at developing some form of issue- oriented groupings are made from time to time. For some reason these groups do not appear to grow. The organizers appear to be uninterested in increasing the size of the membership of the groups. The organizers appear to be merely seeking personal glory. Quite often they fear elections. They are scared of developing policy positions and certainly making their positions public. The preferred mode appears to be to hold meetings in a hotel and listen to a certain group of individuals that love to make speeches to such gatherings. Such groups hate to do any research of their own into issues. They hesitate to commit to any issue and go on campaigns such as collecting signatures, or writing letters, or lobbying in general.

"Anjuman Barae Taleem" or Aif Bay Tay or ABT in short, has been organized by lawyer Anwar Kamal and his friends such as Dr. Mubarik Ali and Razi Abedi in Lahore. Over the last six years, this group of Lahore intellectuals has quite commendably raised resources primarily from their own funds, refusing to accept the usual NGO method of accepting donor or government support despite repeated offers. Yet without the carrot of such funding and the cars and real estate that go with such funding, these individuals, on their beat-up cars and motor-bikes, have made a difference in the lives of many people and children for which we owe them our gratitude.

Commendably, ABT has remained non-ideological and non-political. It has concentrated its activities in the attempting to upgrade the availability of scientific information to people and to raise the interest of school-going children in science and its study. In order o achieve this objective ABT has a three-pronged approach. First, it arranges for book, magazines and in some cases even videos of a scientific nature to be made available to libraries all over Pakistan. Mainly through twisting arms of friends and sympathizers, Anwar Kamal and his friends have arranged for Scientific American and Discover to reach remote areas of Sind and Baluchistan. National Geographic and Smithsonian videos also have been shown to children in 'taatian' schools (schools where children sit on jute matting, 'taat'). Librarians tell us that even in these remote areas, magazines such as the Smithsonian and the National Geographic are dog-eared and well-worn before the current month is over.

Second, ABT arranges for children of underprivileged schools to visit the Lahore Museum, the Lahore Science Museum, and the Planetarium. These children, before the advent of ABT, probably did not even know of the existence of these institutions. One can imagine the mind-blowing experience that these visits must be for these children. Thus far thousands of these children have visited these institutions because of ABT. Perhaps, the administrations will write and tell us how much ABT has increased the use of their facilities and of the reactions of these children when they visit these places.

Finally, ABT rounds off its annual activities by sponsoring a science competition among school-children. Children from all over Pakistan submit science projects for evaluation at the Lahore Science Museum in the Autumn months of the year. This year, I visited the event and was surprised to see that there were some 400 science projects submitted and children from remote corners of the country were present and eagerly awaiting the results of the competition. Despite the unruly intervention of the recipients of state subsidies-- the engineering students-- the function was capable of moving any sensitive person to tears. ABT had a simple ceremony of the people for the people. No VIP, or VVIP, or grade 22 or 23, or donor or no choudhrys or numberdars Just ABT friends and gleeful and hopeful children.

JUST, (The Movement for Justice and Social Tolerance), too has been organized by a bunch of Lahore intelligentsia. Organized by several members of the Lahore elite, Asad Alam, Rao Abid, Ambreen Zaman, Shahid Hamid (now governor of Punjab), Nadeem Ul Haque and Aezaz Husain, this group was in a short time been able to receive a fair amount of media and public attention. Unfortunately it appears to have lost steam. JUST has been inviting prominent speakers to address gatherings on the costs to the country of intolerance at all levels. The meetings have aroused a fair amount of interest as well as roused some dormant moderates.

The growing intolerance in our society is very closely linked to the declining quality of education on the one hand and the control of education by extremists on the other. Therein lies a reason for groups such as JUST, ABT and perhaps even the more mature Human Rights Commission HRCP to cooperate and work towards rescuing the country from an archaic, intolerant and harmful education system. If all the various groups such as these cannot cooperate to effect long overdue reforms to bring our education into the 1990's and some reality, there is little hope for us.

But in order to do so, the organizers of ABT and JUST will have to build up effective organizations that will be taken seriously in framing policy. Education ministers would do well to search ABT out for a consultation on any proposed education policy. Unfortunately, that is not the way things work. Ministers are not supposed to be well informed. Rather they rely only on the few chamchas-- individuals and NGOs-- around them and those who are in the media eye for their information. That is why as Sami Mustapha pointed out in January's Herald our six education policies have relied on more of the same cliches. Ho Hum.

But therein lies a lesson for ABT and JUST. The efforts that these groups are making are commendable but will come to nought if they do not build up some momentum. Perhaps, ABT and JUST should work towards the development of potential to be able to seriously negotiate all aspects of education policy. They should, therefore develop reform proposals to reduce government involvement in education, in awarding degrees, setting syllabi. Even where government support is necessary, autonomous institutions in the hands of academic bodies are preferable. Though of course note has to be taken of truly academic bodies and government created fiefdoms where work is secondary and titles and controls of resources are all important.

Organizations like ABT and JUST must become a pressure groups. In this regard we can learn from the manner in which pressure groups operate in the west. A large number of individuals are willing ro give time effort and thought to the cause and the pressure group. These groups try to involve professionals informally and as soon as finances allow formally at good salaries to manage the organization. As much as possible the organisations are operated like firms with a strong desire to report success on its objectives to its membership. Memberships are expanded to the national level without politicization or losing sight of their aims and objectives. Management is decentralized with chapters in many towns and cities that decide on what national campaigns to run periodically. The chapters then organize these nationally coordinated programs in their own areas for creating widespread pressure on the government for the necessary change.

Although both ABT and JUST have done some impressive work and appear to be ready for take off, I am fearful, however, that they might remain at their current level of irrelevance to national politics. Only if they adopt a strategy such as the one described above, do they have a hope of introducing some sanity into our politics and society. The strategy, however, requires commitment, dedication, hard work and imagination from individuals who work in these groups. Unfortunately, we are a nation that is quite scarce on these commodities.

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