Ivan Turgenev was a Russian novelist, poet and playwright, considered one of the great masters of Russian literature. Father and son (1862) is considered one of the major works of the 19th century.Number20th century fiction. I discovered this novel when I was searching to understand the concept of nihilism and learned that the word nihilism was popularized by Ivan Turgenev, more specifically by Bazarov, a character in this novel that I am reading. The reason I want to understand nihilism as a philosophical view is because nihilism means nothingness and I want to understand the philosophy of this nothingness. Over the past two years, we as a nation-state have let our guard down in respecting and preserving the dignity of human life. The latest addition to this problem is the incident in Swat where residents of Sialkot who had allegedly committed blasphemy were beaten to death and set on fire by a charging mob. This is the absolute absence of law, the absolute absence of the rule of law, the absolute absence of law enforcement. This is the absence of everything, what I call nihilism, nothingness.
Bazarov is a nihilist doctor in this novel. The Latin word “nihil” means “nothing” and this doctor claims to recognize nothing and respect nothing. He sees everything in a critical light, does not bow to any authority and does not accept any principles as faith, no matter how respected they may be. I am in the middle of reading this novel, so I don’t know how it will end, but I do know that I am enjoying this wonderful work of fiction that deals with themes of love, politics and social change. These are all factors that are breaking down in our society and need our nation’s deep attention to become a civilized society and not a bunch of nihilists. I believe that China, our great neighbor, partner and ally, has similar aspirations. There are rumors circulating that China has downgraded its relationship with us from a top priority to a top priority. It is on this subject that I would like to shed a little light.
We must be realistic in how China sees us and perceives us as a nation-state. China is a great power and a giver. But if we are the receiver, what signals have we been sending to China these last two years? China sees a lack of political and military resolve in the way we are moving forward with China and trying to build a strategic relationship. When you show a lack of commitment and resolve, what should you expect from a country that is a bigger power than you in every field and wants to play a responsible role in creating a strategic environment that helps avoid other pressing problems and headaches? Russia and China have a lot of problems because of the Biden administration’s hardline foreign policy, but it is not just the possibility of another Trump presidency and the immediate question of how to deal with it that is occupying the minds of the leaders of these great powers.
In international relations, relations between nations depend on interests, but friendly relations between nations depend on reputations. What is the reputation of our country today? We must ask ourselves this question. How does the world view our country? Think what our country has done to cricket. We were thrown out of the tournament not because our team was bad, but because we did not have the determination to win. This lack of determination was injected into the team dressing room by those who controlled the appointments in the cricket administration of our country through nepotism and favouritism. What kind of team will the selection committee chair choose if he has doubts about his own selections and appointments? Being thrown out of the World Cup at the early stage of the tournament is a big lesson to know why we lose and cannot win. If we show the right determination as a nation, why is China afraid to move forward with us? I am worried that our actions have been counterproductive and that the actions of our national leadership have been inconsistent. If we have tarnished our own reputation and have not shown the determination to rebuild our own reputation, why should we be worried about our reputation plummeting internationally?
China-Pakistan relations have two positive assumptions, I would even call them constraints, that are irrelevant to who governs Pakistan. One, CPEC is a strategic necessity for China and China will not back away from the project. Two, it is in China’s interest to continue to invest in Pakistan’s political, social and economic survival. These assumptions can be explained with one simple analogy. The US sees Taiwan as an unsinkable aircraft carrier stationed within China’s strike range. What does China think of the US? Any thoughtful, rational and sensible observer would know that Pakistan is China’s gateway to access the Indian Ocean. Today, China trades more with the world than the US does. More Chinese goods cross the sea than US goods. Pakistan’s deep sea ports guarantee China maritime access to the outside world and even if the Straits of Malacca are compromised and access to China is denied by the US in any future scenario, Pakistan will be the gateway through which China can import oil and gas and continue to operate its industries. China will therefore use Pakistan’s ports to project its economic and, if necessary, military might.
Great powers are not impressed by the public speaking skills of ordinary or mid-sized power leaders or the color of the suit they wear. They are impressed by your commitment and determination in the joint endeavors you undertake with them. China may not have said this, but let me say it as the leader of my own country: to earn credibility abroad, you must return home and regain it. If you don’t do everything you say you will do, and you end up not doing it, then you are positioning yourself not as a credible nation, but as a nihilistic nation, a nation that believes in nothing.
