The Necessity of Discipline

This article by Malik Ahmad Jalal has been featured in Pakistan Today.

The cardinal virtue of successful nations The Battle of Uhud in 625 AD was fought between the Quraish of Makkah and the Muslim army from Medina. This was one year after the Battle of Badr, when the Muslim army with limited equipment, defeated the army of the Quraish three times its size. In the Battle of Uhud, Muslims faced a contrasting predicament. At a hair’s breadth from triumph, a breach in discipline by the archers protecting a mountain pass cost the Muslim army their decisive victory. The archers left their post despite the standing orders of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and were attacked from the rear by Quraish. The Battle of Uhud has an enduring lesson on the virtue of discipline when confronted with seemingly insurmountable odds.

Unlike the Muslim army in the seventh century, Pakistanis do not lack the strength of numbers, nor the availability of resources. What we are short on is what the Quaid-e-Azam reiterated as one of the pillars of this nation’s potential success — discipline.

An example of deploying disciplined action to overcome challenging circumstances is Singapore. Dispelled from Malaysia in 1965, the small, struggling island-country possessed no natural resources and was surrounded by hostile neighbors. With an average GDP per capita of just $925 in 1970, Singapore surged more than a hundred times to over $56,000 by 2014, and has become one of the richest countries in the world. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore from a third world to a first world nation within a single generation. He attributes the nation’s progress to pragmatism and taking consistent, disciplined steps. Pakistan too faced similar challenges. It was a land with a limited history of industrial production with a shortage of experienced personnel across government and finance. The results of these unfortunate circumstances are evident till today. Ranked at 147 out of 188 countries in the 2015 Human Development Index, Pakistan lags behind all its South Asian peers. Like Singapore, it did not have to be this way. However, Pakistan’s predicament was a foregone conclusion, given that our evolutionary path has exhibited anything but structured or disciplined policy and action.

Inconsistent action pervades our short history, responding to crises without adherence to a game plan. None symbolises our fascination with the arbitrary more than the lionisation of Shahid Afridi. Relying on Afridi’s batting at critical junctures is a triumph of fantasy over experience, of whimsical flair over disciplined effort, of a love for few momentary highs and many lows over a consistent habit of winning. This contrasts starkly with the disciplined, self-restrained and perhaps mundane performance of Misbah-ul-Haq. Without the fanfare of Afridi, Misbah has quietly accumulated the record of the fastest test half century, and has shared the record for fastest test century with Sir Vivian Richards at one time. However, what Misbah should be best remembered for is a certain undefinable orderliness and dependability that has earned him and Pakistan a place at the top of the table for Test cricket. In Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore, Misbah-ul-Haq would be a much more towering role model compared to Shahid Afridi.

Another example of application of disciplined and consistent action is the Industrial Revolution, which brought about progressive and lasting transformation through attainment of economies of large-scale production. The foundations for this were laid with the introduction of standardisation and consistency of output enforced through systems and processes. This manifests in the industrial production lines. Like other successful nations in this industrial age, we need to master the structured and discipline action of a production line. Whether it is warfare like the Battle of Uhud, our favourite national pastime of cricket, or managing organisations or countries, we should focus on building systems, due processes and institutional framework to ensure disciplined and consistent outcomes and reduce our dependence on the vagaries of individual talent.

Pakistan is a country of immense talent and potential. Relying on individual talent is destined to give tactical wins rather than get us on a path of sustained strategic progress. Our talent needs a disciplined and structured approach to deliver consistent and long term gains. The Quaid-e-Azam’s prescient advice to the nation to embrace discipline remains as relevant and necessary today as it was when he gave it. The potential of Pakistan’s 180 million must not be misspent at the hands of collective disorganisation. The choice is ours to make.