Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has officially removed the title of makhdoom (one who is served) from his name, stating that he, like all of Pakistan’s politicians, is a khadim (servant) of the people.

Descendants of Muslim saints in Sindh and southern Punjab traditionally inherit the spiritual authority of their pious forebearers, irrespective of their own piety. They are given the title of makhdoom and, in the past two centuries, have also become feudal-political power brokers (see: Sarah Ansari’s Sufi Saints and State Power). Gillani is a descendant of Sufi giants Abdul Qadir Jilani and Hazrat Musa Pak. Other makhdooms in the governing coalition include Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the PPP and Javed Hashmi of the PML-N. Gillani, Qureshi, and Hashmi are all from Multan, Punjab.

These spiritual-feudal notables remain integral to the politics of southern Punjab and Sindh. Gillani’s move is unlikely to immediately change the on-the-ground reality. But their inherited authority and conjoined feudal status have long contradicted with the fundamental ideas of the social democratic People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan’s aspiration to become a modern, democratic state. This antiquated system is representative of a broader, authoritarian power dynamic in Pakistan (between the ruler and ruled, employer and employee, etc.) that is corrosive.

Gillani’s decision can, hopefully, lend toward a change in mindset that will eventually produce structural change. Instead of tens of millions serving a few thousand, Pakistan’s elite needs to exert itself for the impoverished majority.