Illiterate candidates allowed to contest by-election

[SSGPA1]

I am still fuming over it … this is not going to benefit everyday Joe but it will benefit the rich illeterate landlord …. These guys, with all their resources take a decission to stay illeterate so these people should have no place in our Parliament.

If a landlord goes to school and college then there is some positive impact on his personality and the hope is that he will not be as bad as an illeterate landlord who has neever been to an educational institution …

Dunya agay ja rahee hai aur hum pechey

 

[SSGPA1]

I am still feeling ashame that i actually supported long march...

I am glad you did ... It takes a lot to accept ones mistake and you have just done that.

 

[SSGPA1]

Well the ones that can read and write dont seem to have done a good job so whats wrong with with Illiterate candidates.......can they do any worse?
I would prefer a person that can read and write but if people vote the person in so be it.
Having people with only degrees that can stand is another method of the powerful rich minority to be able to have more control as they are the ones that can send there children to higher education while the poor can not.

the requirement is a bachelor's degree and NOT an MBA from Harvard and majority of Pakistanis have access to education.

Purpose of this restriction was to have educated people running the affairs of our country ... last assembly was far better than the assemblies from NZ and BB eras.

 

[PAFAce]

Pakistan is a country where literacy rates are extremely low. Barring someone from politics simply because they are illiterate means you are reserving politics only for the upper-middle class and the elite. That is what has lead us into this mess int eh first place, feudal, aristocratic democracy. What kind of democracy is that? No doubt even Mao would be embarrassed.

See, illiterate candidates would be an issue if education were available to all for free, and was widespread. Neither you nor I nor the ECP has the right to deny an average Pakistani (and let's face it, illiteracy is the average) the right to contest an election. Leadership, governance, intelligence are not taught in schools. There are countless examples of illiterates becoming great leaders in history. It is just not fair to say "would you want an illiterate surgeon?"

What we need to do is educate the people of democracy, which will only happen if democracy continues. See, democracy is a self-correcting cycle. People will vote for the wrong person once, twice, maybe three times. Then, they'll get it. Unfortunately, in our country, there has never been a chance for the cycle to complete itself. It's been interrupted too often, and our poor have to start all over again.

 

[dabong1]

the requirement is a bachelor's degree and NOT an MBA from Harvard and majority of Pakistanis have access to education.

How many poor pakistani can get a bachelor's degree?

 

[dabong1]

If a landlord goes to school and college then there is some positive impact on his personality and the hope is that he will not be as bad as an illeterate landlord who has neever been to an educational institution …

And its worked in the last two decades has it..?

 

[Student]

The so called educated elite has brought the country to the situation that we are in right now.
We dont need so called oxford or yale graduates to lead our country. We need commited and honest people and servents of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to lead our country.

 

[SSGPA1]

And its worked in the last two decades has it..?

It has worked but not at a great scale and it will need more time to bring about the change. If education was not important then Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) wouldn't have emphasized on it.

 

[SSGPA1]

How many poor pakistani can get a bachelor's degree?

What difference does it make? How many illiterate poors have ruled this country? Educated class need to run the country in order to improve the condition of our poors.

We are not in Utopia where we will have a perfect Islamic democracy we need to take decissions according to our situation and in light of Quran and Sunat.

 

[Student]

It has worked but not at a great scale and it will need more time to bring about the change. If education was not important then Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) wouldn't have emphasized on it.

I agree that Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) emphasized education, but gaining so called information and beliving in so called theories
like Theory of Evolution that tell you human beings evolved from apes is not education at all.

It is my firm belief that we are sons of Prophet and anyone who believes that we came from apes can call himself the member of so called educated elite.

 

[qsaark]

How educated were Abu Bakr and Umar and Usman? Yet their periods of caliphate were better than the caliphate of the ‘Bab-ul-Ilm’ Ali.

By mentioning this, I am not advocating in favor of the illiterate candidates, but bringing your attention to the fact that leadership qualities are not only found in the literate people. An illiterate (by the Western standards) may still prove a very good leader and a visionary.

And those who are cursing the CJP and the SCP as usual should ask this question from Musharraf and his puppet PML-Q government, that if several ‘Dictator’ protecting amendments could be introduced, why the requirement of graduation was not made the part of the constitution? In that case the SCP could have done nothing about it.

 

[dabong1]

It has worked but not at a great scale and it will need more time to bring about the change. If education was not important then Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) wouldn't have emphasized on it.

Am not saying education is not important but once all the people are educated it makes a level playground for all and not just the elite.

 

[SSGPA1]

I agree that Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) emphasized education, but gaining so called information and beliving in so called theories
like Theory of Evolution that tell you human beings evolved from apes is not education at all.

It is my firm belief that we are sons of Prophet and anyone who believes that we came from apes can call himself the member of so called educated elite.

I think there is a hadith (may Allah forgive me for any misquoting):

"Seek knowledge, even if you have to go to China'

When Prophet Muhammed was alive, he was the centre for all Islamic knowledge so what knowledge was he telling us to seek? This was the un-Islamic knowledge and he said that because it was important.

So learning opens your mind and you don't have to believe in what you learn. All books around the globe have the Theory of Evaluation but only a very small number of Muslims believe in that thoery.

Having graduate Parliamentarians will mean a promotion of education and having at least some patriotic, honest and open minded educated people in the Parliament.

 

[SSGPA1]

Am not saying education is not important but once all the people are educated it makes a level playground for all and not just the elite.

A fair comment but even if we have all educated people, the field will still not be level. The reason is the amount of money required to contest an election.

We need to go for quick solutions and plan for long term solution. Quick solution = Have a graduate assembly
Long term = Target 100% literacy

 

[SSGPA1]

Good to see you in action

How educated were Abu Bakr and Umar and Usman? Yet their periods of caliphate were better than the caliphate of the ‘Bab-ul-Ilm’ Ali..

Hazrat Umar Farooq (ra) and hazrat Usman Ghani (ra) were both educated, not sure about Hazrat Abu-Bakar Sadiq (ra). Hazrat Ali Murtaza (ra) tried his best but his circumstances were different. We can't compare khilafat-e-rashida with present time because they were sahabis (ra) who guided sahabis (ra). We can only seek guidance from them.

By mentioning this, I am not advocating in favor of the illiterate candidates, but bringing your attention to the fact that leadership qualities are not only found in the literate people. An illiterate (by the Western standards) may still prove a very good leader and a visionary.

I agree that there are examples but we are talking about the norm of a society. A nurse can deliver a baby but the complicated cases are left for doctors. We need people in our Parliament who have leadership quality and who are educated because ot sets an example. There are many people who became a lawyer because Quaid was a lawyer.

And those who are cursing the CJP and the SCP as usual should ask this question from Musharraf and his puppet PML-Q government, that if several ‘Dictator’ protecting amendments could be introduced, why the requirement of graduation was not made the part of the constitution? In that case the SCP could have done nothing about it.

I agree 100% that the constitution should have been amended for this and many other good things which Musharraf govt. put in place.

Hopefully next time around it will happen.