Walter Mitty characters!

Being a self-critical Mirpuri, I had been searching for a while for a word, preferably borrowed from the world of literature, that would encapsulate what I am about to describe. Then came the Butler enquiry and the revelation that Dr Kelly had been described by an official as a Walter Mitty character, someone with an inflated sense of their own importance. The character of that name in the short story by James Luber was prone to extravagant flights of fancy, day dreaming of being a brave pilot or a daring naval officer navigating the ship through choppy waters.

The people I am referring to are just as banal. They are Mirpuri men, aged over 55, with a keen interest in politics, particularly Pakistani/ Mirpuri politics. They like to copy the style and deportment of Pakistani politicians. You can see them walking on the streets of Bradford and Birmingham, clad in their white shalwar-kameez dresses, overlain by fine gilet-type garments, just like their political heroes in Pakistan. Often, they alternate traditional smart dress with a suit and tie, again much like Pakistani politicians.

Why do I liken them to Walter Mitty? Because of their inflated sense of self importance. You can read their statements, or news about them, in the one of many sub-standard Urdu newspapers that have proliferated in areas with a high number of Pakistanis. These are filled with such pabulum as ‘Mr X arrives back to the UK from tour of Mirpur’, even though the ‘tour’ was nothing more than a family visit. Or a report announcing ‘X demands withdrawal of US troops from Iraq’, the demand having been made to the ‘editor’ who met the demander while shopping at the local market.

Mirpuri is not a literate language. As such, it has something of a reputation as a language not suitable for ‘educated’ people. To overcome this, our Walter Mitty characters pepper their Mirpuri conversations with words in Urdu, again much like the Punjabi speaking politicians of Pakistan.

There is nothing wrong with being interested in politics. Indeed, quite the opposite. Interest in politics is a very healthy thing. But for the people I am referring to, it’s an ego thing.