The Sahib Syndrome: Why Power Corrupts the Brain (And How We Can Fix It)
Good afternoon, everyone! Look around you. You are the future of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and beyond. You will be the CEOs, the District Magistrates, the corporate heads, and the politicians. Now, let's start with a scene you all know too well. Imagine you’re stuck in gridlock. The heat is sweltering, the rickshaws and chingchis (qinqis) are crammed together, and horns are blaring. Suddenly, a sleek, black Land Cruiser appears, tinted windows, maybe even an illegal siren, and it swerves straight into the wrong lane. It bullies autorickshaws and pedestrians out of the way. The driver assumes the road belongs to his father (road uss ke baap ka hai ). You know this figure. We call them the 'VIPs,' the 'Big Shots,' or the 'Sahibs'. We shrug it off and say: "They are powerful, so they must be arrogant." ( Ameeron ki bighri aulaad ) Right? But what if the causality is completely reversed? What if the very experience of having power phy...