The Candidate’s Character, The Value of Blood Relations, and the Civility of an Educated Voter
Basharat Mughal
Until There Is Political Training, the Valley Will Not Progress This Is Not an Election, It Is a Test for All of Us The election season has arrived. Posters on walls, slogans in streets, and debates in homes. But wait. This is not just a contest for a chair. This is a contest of character. Of the candidate, of the voter, and of the society that produced both. This article is not against any party. It is a post-mortem of a collective wound spanning decades. It is a mirror. If you see a stain on the face, don’t break the mirror — wash the face.
The Bitter Truth of Decades: Why Couldn’t We Progress? The world has reached artificial intelligence, yet thousands of our youth still roam with applications for a single clerk’s job. Why?
Because for decades, the foundation of our politics has been to “produce servants,” not to “produce creators.”
3 Historic Mistakes of Politicians:
Wrong Policy Result
Economy = Government Job
The private sector died. No industry was set up. A paradise for tourism yearns for guesthouses. IT is zero.
Lack of Political Training
Candidates were taught to hold rallies, not run institutions. They memorized speeches, not budgets. Result: Assemblies full of speeches, empty of legislation.
No Culture of Accountability The tradition of “give an account after 5 years” was never established. Without accountability, how can there be performance?
This is not the crime of one party. It is the collective failure of a political culture spanning decades . Until we admit it, the cure will not begin. Candidates and Blood Relations: Is the Chair More Sacred Than Blood? What is the biggest loss in an election? A road not built? No. The biggest loss is that in 60 days we break relationships that took 60 years to build. Two brothers from the same house split under two flags. Father angry with son, uncle cuts ties with nephew. Why? Because the candidate said, “Whoever is not with me is my enemy.”
Stop and think:
The candidate who makes you fight your own brother today — how will he unite your village tomorrow? The chair lasts 5 years. You will carry your brother’s funeral, and he will carry yours.
A vote is a difference of opinion, not the end of a blood relationship.
Remember the principle:
Candidates will change, parties will change, but a mother’s lap, a father’s turban, and a brother’s shadow will not. Cast your vote, but save your relationships. Lack of Political Training: How Will Leaders Be Born? Our tragedy is that our candidate is “electable,” but not “capable.” Meaning: He knows how to contest an election, not how to run a government.
3 Signs of a Trained Candidate:
1.Economic Vision:
He doesn’t just say “I’ll give jobs.” He explains “how the IT park will be built, how tourism will create 100,000 jobs.”
2.Institutional Understanding:
He knows the difference between a Secretary and a Clerk. He can order a DC and still respect a schoolteacher.
Decency of Language: He doesn’t abuse opponents; he refutes with logic. Because he knows their voters will still live in the same city tomorrow.
Until our parties produce “trained policy-makers” instead of “workers,” we will keep chanting slogans for decades.
Parents Are Also to Blame: An Educated Voter Doesn’t Fall from the SkyEvery 5 years we curse the candidate. We never look at ourselves.
3 Bitter Questions for Parents:
You made your son an engineer, did you make him a citizen? You taught him rights, who will teach him duties?
You said “Vote for the clan,” why didn’t you teach “Vote for your conscience”?
You told him “That leader is ours,” why didn’t you tell him “The state belongs to all”? A child learns his first lesson at home. If at home he is taught that politics means abuse, hatred, and clans, then tomorrow he will become an emotional mob, not an educated voter. And mobs are always used — they never decide.
From today, teach your children: “Son, disagree in opinion, not in relations. A vote is a trust — do not betray it. And a leader is not one who divides you, a leader is one who unites you.”
The Educated Voter:
5 Signs of Civility and Manners An election is a festival of civility, not a battlefield. An educated voter decides with logic, not abuse.
Educated Voter Emotional Voter
Asks questions: “What is the health budget in your manifesto?” 1. Chants slogans: “He will come, he will come”
Saves relations:
Hugs the cousin from the rival party on Eid
Breaks relations:
“You voted for the opponent, I boycott you”
Sees character:
“Where was he for 5 years?” 3. Sees face: “He looks good”
Takes written promises:
“Write it on stamp paper”
Believes verbal claims:
“He promised, that’s enough”
Monitors for 5 years:
Demands a performance report every year 5. Sleeps for 5 years: “We’ll see in the next election”
Remember: Your civility is more valuable than your vote. Because the leader will leave in 5 years, you have to live in the same neighborhood, with the same people.
Vote: The Correct Use of a Sacred Trust
Your vote decides your child’s job, your mother’s treatment, and your sister’s school. Don’t waste it.
4 Things to Do Before Stamping:
1.Candidate’s Past Record:
Was he visible in the constituency for 5 years? Or did he just land for the election?
Economic Plan:
Ask him, “How will you create business opportunities for youth, not just jobs?” Anyone promising only government jobs is showing an old film.
3.Standard of Language: If a candidate abuses on stage, how will he respect you in the assembly?
4.Guarantor of Peace:
Does his campaign talk about brotherhood or hatred?
4 Things to Do After Stamping:
Rebuild Relations:
In the evening, go drink tea at the neighbor’s house who supports the rival party.
2.Demand Accountability:
Demand an open court from the elected representative every 6 months.
3.Teach Your Children:
Politics is worship, don’t turn it into hatred.
4.Be Patient:
Progress doesn’t come in 5 days. Give good decisions time, protest bad decisions constitutionally.
The Valley Will Be Saved by Awareness, Not by Votes
We searched for a “messiah” in every election, and were disappointed every 5 years. Why?
Because messiahs don’t descend from the sky; an educated nation creates them.
Until we rise above clan and vote for competence.
Until we bury the politics of abuse and bring the politics of logic. Until we train our children before training candidates. Until then, no new Islamabad, no new Muzaffarabad can change our destiny. This election is a test of the candidate’s character. This election is a test of your conscience. And this election is a test of our collective civility. Cast your vote, but don’t spread hatred. Disagree, but save your relationships. Choose a leader, but with manners. Because chairs are temporary, Kashmir is permanent. And Kashmir belongs to all of us. Long live peace, brotherhood, and civility.