"C'mon children, form a straight line". From day one of our school life we keep hearing this order. From day one of our school life we obey this order. From day one of our school life we never break this order. Until we grow old, that is. Once we get into the mainstream of life we do not give two hoots to ignoring this order which was so diligently inculcated in our minds by our scholastic tutors. Breaking the queue has become so prosaic, so routine, so casual that most of the time we take a non-chalant attitude when we, or others, go about breaking the line. The childhood lesson goes under the carpet. We learnt in childhood and we forgot in the matured part of our life. Breaking the queue is not only related to lining up for a bus or movie ticket. Breaking the queue is not done by illiterates alone. Breaking the queue is not a habit of only the cheeky and the impudent.

The national pastime for breaking the line is the direct result of impatience born out of years of frustration, neglect, and need. The rush for getting ahead in the line does not exemplify the ambitious traits of a person to move headlong in the world. The overtaking in a line is done also by people with the Sifarish of the powerful and by those who are well-connected. This has brought about extreme resentment among those who are unable to get this kind of "courteous service" from people in authority. Others are bitter because they, being part of the Silent Majority, having no leverage to get the doors of the powerful interests opened, have to suffer reticently, suppressing their expressions of disgust. Then there are people who break the line either because they are physically strong or because they do not have anything to lose and everything to gain. They can play it rough and they can get away with it. Being docile or civilized without any pretensions puts one at an awkward disadvantage.

The roads and avenues of the city are the playing fields for line-breakers. The impertinence of the Karachi drivers is magnificently displayed on the roads. Karachi drivers whether they are private car drivers, mini-bus drivers or rickshaw drivers etc., are embodiments of recklessness. Evel Knivel, the famous American stunt driver, would feel scared maneuvering amid these indigenous dare-devils. The Karachi drivers are experts in creating traffic jams and gridlocks. One a four lane road like I.I. Chundrigar Road, whenever there is a holdup due to the scourge of Karachi, i.e. the road-digger, it is no big deal for drivers to take over all four lanes ONE WAY! The same is the case for the opposite-coming traffic. This ensures a distressing, time-consuming ordeal which is further aggravated by the non-presence of the white-uniformed, inexperienced traffic cops. When they finally do make their presence felt, they are not capable of handling the queue-breaking situation. Tempers fly like sparks from an oxy-acetylene torch. The harrowing torture of a traffic jam is felt more by those who keep obeying the law by driving strictly in the regulated lines. Surprisingly, the line breakers are the gainers after all. They still manage to get preferential treatment at the cost of law-abiders. And of course, they reach their destination ahead of others. Meantime, those who have suffered this intrepidity find solace in an under-the-breath expletive or in a silent wish to contemplate breaking the line themselves in the future.

In Pakistan, the prevalent system of permits, quotas, and licenses have also given impetus to breaking the queue. In Pakistan, means of communication and infra-structure are still luxuries penuriously granted to the citizens by the overlords of these luxuries. The hard time faced by those requiring telephone, gas, water, electric connexions etc., is due to the uncharitable powers enjoyed by bureaucrats and approving authorities who fastidiously adhere to the principle of sadistic subjugation of the citizens. They take immense pleasure in bamboozling the genuine and legitimate rights of the citizens by erecting bureaucratic hurdles in the normal processing of the applications. This results in a situation where the ordinary citizen is denied his lawful right. On the other hand, a person with the appropriate connexions or with the backing of powerful vested interests is treated in a preferred way. Thus the member of the Silent Majority waits for his turn in the acceptance of his application, methodically and repeatedly writing letters of reminders, supplemented by frequent visits tot he concerned departments, cajoling the deputed officer, dutifully fulfilling all requirements dictated by the finicky and hard-to-please officer, and having grand illusions of getting the desired objective in a short time. Unfortunately his application is always pushed further back because somebody had broken the line. Somebody with the right influence broke the line and got his work done in a jiffy while the member of the Silent Majority is resigned to the fact that it will be a cold day in Hell before his turn comes. The queue breakers will always be able to get their work done because they were bright enough to know somebody who could pull the strings. They were reaping the benefits of their weight while honest-to-goodness citizens have to go thru the rigmarole to get their bonafide requests approved. They then, in desperation, have to take the next logical step, an step they could have taken on Day One and saved the bothersome torment. And that step is the use of "speed money". In Pakistan money talks, and that too very convincingly. You have got to break the line or you'll miss the boat.

Breaking the line just doesn't stop here. At buffet dinners, one is sure to find some people who would dart in while you're waiting for the person ahead to fill his plate. The line-breaker literally shoves you and starts filling his plate, in an uncouth way, till it is saturated. Sometimes the food trays are out of the required items after the intruder (or line-breaker) raids them. Other notorious offenders in breaching the queue are the mourners at a soyem. After Fateha, it is customary for the mourners to either embrace the grieving members of the deceased's family or to shake their hands. This is an expression of joining in their hour of grief. Unfortunately most of the mourners break the line and actually gherao the grieving family members resulting in utter confusion and disregard for a religious ritual. It also exacerbates the already heightened sense of grief. If an uninterrupted line is formed, it will save time and also maintain the required decorum. But nobody cares.

Breaking the line is a common feature in many instances. There is no remedy when nobody gives a damn. Everybody is in a hurry to cross the winning line. To hit the jackpot. Nobody cares if the feelings are hurt or trampled. One's self-interest is paramount. It's a dog-eat-dog world and nobody wants to be complacent. This incorrigible nature of the people is not going to change. One must live and bear it. Or one can join the revelry and have fun at the expense of his fellow brethren. But in either way, one will come out a loser. It is, though, time for all to shun this practice of rushing fast, to get things done by breaking the queue, without waiting for one's proper turn. It really doesn't hurt to try. So let's try t the next time we are in a queue.