Colonial shadows in Commissioner Houses

2026-01-26 - 23:14

This is not really a debate about clothes. It is about how power is exercised in our institutions and how easily human dignity is sacrificed in the name of authority. Pakistan is an independent country, yet in some of its most powerful civilian offices the atmosphere still belongs to another era. Anyone looking for traces of the British Raj does not need to open a history book. A visit to the offices and residences of Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Commissioners is often enough. There, the colonial mindset has not faded, it has settled in. Inside these spaces, one often sees orderlies standing silently, hands folded, dressed in turbans, sherwanis or waistcoats. This attire is not required for their work. It does not improve efficiency or professionalism. Its purpose is symbolic. It turns a working individual into a visual accessory of authority, reducing a human presence to a reminder of hierarchy and obedience. A simple comparison exposes the problem. Federal secretaries do not surround themselves with ceremonial attendants. Judges do not demand silent displays of submission from their staff. Parliament does not function this way. Yet in the offices and homes of ACs, DCs and Commissioners, such practices continue almost unquestioned. The reason is not administrative; it is psychological. The commissioner system was designed by the colonial state to project distance and awe. The officer was meant to appear elevated and unapproachable, while silent attendants reinforced that image. Dress, posture and constant presence were tools to communicate dominance. Independence removed the foreign rulers, but the choreography of power remained. A commissioner is a public servant, not a feudal lord. His residence is maintained with public money. His office exists to serve citizens, not to perform authority. When power relies on another person standing silently in ceremonial dress, it is not strength. It is insecurity disguised as tradition. In most societies, uniforms exist for practical reasons such as identification, safety and professionalism. In our commissioner system, this purpose has been distorted. Clothing is used to dramatize rank, preserve artificial distance and normalize submission. Calling it culture does not change its effect. What makes this practice more troubling is the misuse of our own cultural symbols. The turban has long represented honor and dignity. On the head of a farmer, an elder or a scholar, it carries respect. Inside commissioner houses, however, it has been reduced to a sign of silence and obedience. This does not merely demean the individual wearing it; it diminishes the culture itself. If reform is to be meaningful, it must begin where authority is most visibly performed. Colonial-era ceremonial uniforms in AC, DC and Commissioner offices and residences should end. Staff should be provided with simple, professional attire that reflects work, not subservience. Clear rules must ensure that such practices do not quietly return under the cover of tradition. Civil service training must reinforce a basic truth. authority does not grow by lowering others. We speak often of democracy and equality, yet tolerate miniature monarchies within state residences. As long as one person’s power requires another to stand silently as a prop, freedom will remain a claim rather than a reality. The colonizers are gone. The mindset they left behind should be too. —The writer is former Regional Executive Inclusive Development at NBP, Mirpur AK. (aahmadofpaswal@yahoo.com)