The
term of Riyasati Ashrafiya is slowly gaining currency in Pakistan. It’s not
merely a term; it connotes a phenomenon, a malady, a dilemma the state of
Pakistan is afflicted with. That the institution of state in Pakistan has been
captured by various elite classes of Pakistan, and they use it to plunder the
wealth the citizens of Pakistan create. That has given rise to a new class,
Riyasati Ashrafiya.
That
was the theme of my Urdu book, Pakistan Mein Riyasati Ashrafiya Ka Urooj,
which was published in February 2012.
On July
26, 2013, the Business Recorder published a lengthy op-ed, “An elitist Pakistan” authored by Huzaima Bukhari and Dr. Ikramul Haq.
To explain the phenomena of loot and plunder in Pakistan, the authors have accepted /
used the term, Riyasati Ashrafiya. As its English equivalent for the Urdu
Riyasati Ashrafiya, they coined the term, State Elites.
I
wrote them: I have seriously thought about it, and then decided to use the
English term, State Aristocracy, for Urdu term, Riyasati Ashrafiya. In the first
instance, I would like to use and popularize the Urdu term, Riyasati Ashrafiya,
in English also; however, on second thought, in English I would prefer
Aristocracy, instead of State Elite. The term, State Elite or State Elites,
does not communicate the full meaning and significance of the Urdu term,
Riyasati Ashrafiya.
They
replied: I am in full agreement with you that ‘State Aristocracy’ as English
expression for Riyasati Ashrafiya is more appropriate than ‘State elites’.
See
the earlier related posts:
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