Wednesday 13 July 2011

HAMARA MULK

'Iran mai kon rehta hai?'
'Iran mai Irani qoum rehti hai.'

'Inglistaan mai kon rehta hai?'
'Inglistaan mai angraiz qoum rehti hai.'

'France mai kon rehta hai?'
'France mai franseesi(french) qoum rehti hai.'

'Ye kon sa mulk hai?'
'Ye Pakistan hai.'

'Is mai Pakistani qoum rehti hogi?'

'Nahi. Is mai Pakistani qoum nahi rehti.
Is mai Sindhi qoum rehti hai.
Is mai Punjabi qoum rehti hai.
Is mai Benagali qoum rehti hai.
Is mai ye qoum rehti hai.
Is mai wo qoum rehti hai.'

'Lekin.....Punjabi to Hindustan mai bhi rehte hain!
Sindhi to Hindustan mai bhi rehte hain!
Bengali to Hindustan mai bhi rehte hain!
Phir ye alag mulk q banaya tha?'

'Ghalti hui. Maaf kar dijiye. Ainda nahi banayen ge.'
                                                   (An article by Ibn-e-Insha)

The above article never fails to make me feel ashamed. That's because it is as true as it is witty. Our lack of unity is what has made our collective identity so weak and sneered upon. Even among ourselves, we identify ourselves with different labels: Sindhi, Punjabi, Muhajir, Pathan etc etc. Everyone of us keeps shouting about what others did to us. No one remembers what we did in retaliation. 

This desire to separate ourselves from the nation is alarming. It has led to an open fire throughout the country and especially in Karachi. The dead don't know who killed them and why. The recent bloodshed in Karachi has made many people sneak out of their own houses and burn for revenge. I don't blame them. It’s not easy to watch a loved one die in front of your own house. And if it’s a stray bullet that caused the death, the ‘sabar’ that many people tell you to practice never comes.  And this desire for revenge increases the hatred for other identities that live amongst us.

Where all this mess is leading us, I have no idea. I think no one does. We can’t decide whether we should call this place a failed state yet or not. It’s not that no one loves this country. It’s just that no one knows how to defend the flaws which are so obvious and which can be solved but aren’t. This confusion is gripping everything we have; our mind, sight, decisions everything. We are all in a limbo. We can’t settle upon our own identity. And that, I think, is the biggest dilemma of all.


Saturday 2 July 2011

What's the answer?

The importance of education and its implications on our country have been emphasised from time to time. It has been repeated so many times that now it sounds like a monotonous dialogue, empty words with no impact. It seems that when a leader has nothing left to say or do, they save face by stating how much they respect the youth and how important the youth and its education is to the country. 


But the targeted audience is not impressed by such declarations any more. They don't care whether the country needs them or not. The question is: why? Why has gaining knowledge and education taken a back seat? It’s simple. No matter how much our authority insist that they care about the standards of education, we know that they don't. You don't have to check any facts or figures to realize the amount of progress that has been made in this department. The youth of this country is positive that their education and future is at the bottom in the government’s priority list. They are not interested in preparing the young generation for the future. Equipping them with tools of development; development which will be long-lasting, is something insignificant especially when there are more important things to do like making money, using people to maintain one's power etc. Most of what is taught is, therefore, out-dated and invalid.


The indifference of the authorities has made the young generation of this country reckless, irresponsible and lazy. They don't care if they have a loose personality, poor knowledge of the world they live in and immature opinions. Most of the student population care about money because they have started to believe that power and development comes solely from money and if they can earn it without proper education then....cool. The dream country of Jinnah is being shattered by its own people. His dream of an educated, polished and confident youth is going down the drain. Do we respect the man enough to let this happen? This is a question we should be asking ourselves at this moment.





You must concentrate on gaining knowledge and education. It is your foremost responsibility. Political awareness of the era is also part of your education. You must be aware of international events and environment. Education is a matter of life and death for our country. (Jinnah)