Rehman Malik's deplaning, taming of Vasai policeman proves citizen power wins

In the space of 24 hours, two signs from two countries, India and Pakistan, that public acceptance of the high-handedness of those in power is a thing of the past.

In Pakistan, passengers’ anger over a delay caused by a politician prevented PPP leader Rehman Malik from boarding a flight that waited for his arrival. In collateral damage, another politician was forced to deplane.

In Vasai, near Mumbai, a solitary citizen stood up to a misbehaving policeman, refusing to yield when first threatened and then assaulted. Passers by rally around immediately, forcing the policeman to almost transform from a predatory tiger to a cowering kitten. Both incidents are captured by onlookers on videos; both quickly go viral.

By themselves, the incidents seem to be small and trivial – but politicians and those in authority would do well to read between the lines.

One of the unseen voices in the Rehman Malik video says it all: “We’ve put up with this for 68 years…”

Those in authority in both countries are used to the abject servility of those they rule over. Who, in Pakistan, could have thought that a former minister and senior politician like Rehman Malik would be heckled and harried by ordinary citizens to a point of beating a hasty and embarrassing retreat in full public view? Which policeman in Vasai could have imagined a small gathering of citizens would refuse to be badgered by him?

It’s the frustration of seeing those in authority flouting rules and laws and getting away with their acts while simultaneously punishing those they rule over for the same transgressions.

In the two incidents that we’ve seen, neither has resulted in any physical harm – but came dangerously close to becoming violent. Both videos will be seen by millions – and many will remember these videos when they find themselves in similar situations.

That’s the danger to those in power: a single frustrated citizen who stands up, combined with a handful of other citizens who stand with him – combined with the omnipresent mobile phone camera and the power of digital media to amplify the captured images.

Rehman Malik will think many times before he delays a flight again; the Vasai policeman will, no doubt, be suspended and perhaps even arrested.

As the videos go increasingly viral – as they will – it will no longer be about just Rehman Malik and this policeman. It will be about those in authority and ordinary citizens.

Except that the ordinary citizen is not as helpless as he or she once was – and those in authority are not as powerful as they once were.

Watch Rehman Malik’s ‘deplaning’ video

Watch Vasai policeman video: