Yet, there is hope. It is amazing to see so many open-minded Pakistani's rise up to condemn Prem Chand being labeled as a Kafir. It is heartening to see a farmer in Nowshera taking matters in his own hand, and using his tractor to create an alternative path for the sick and the dying people after the collapse of the Ayub Bridge. It is comforting to see people still writing Letters to the Editor in Dawn, to see that they have not lost hope, and at least not become indifferent to the situation. We must keep on thinking, speaking, and writing. We must not lose hope.
Here is my speech from last year, 14th August 2009, where I hoped to make people realize that there is still hope.
Yes – I know Pakistan is not close to being one of the greatest nations in the world today, I know it cannot offer us the security and luxuries at the moment, that most other places can. Yes – I know it is difficult to face the reality – that lawyers of Pakistan, who are supposed to be the ones to implement the law, are themselves breaking it, by showing uncouth and barbaric behavior when beating up policemen and cameramen on the roads. I know it is disturbing that, some legislators, who are supposed to be representing people’s views, took hold of each other’s collars in the National Assembly recently. I know it is extremely difficult to disregard the idea of moving to Dubai or anywhere else abroad, and leaving this country when it has been called one of the world’s dangerous places.
But even so, we must realize our responsibility to Pakistan because this is the same country which gave us the chance to cheer and applaud for the brilliant cricket team when it won the T-20 series recently. It gave us a chance to eat that delicious ice-cream at Peshawari ice-cream. It made us proud by setting a new world record of most tree plantations in a single day on July 16th 2009, and the chance to study in as prestigious an institution as St. Josephs Convent School where we made friends and learned to deal with responsibilities and challenges with great confidence.
Thus we must realize that we owe a lot to our state and only we make the change. I know it is much easier to blame others for the problems we face today, but the real solution lies in making a change at an individual level. This can be easily done by excelling in the jobs that we do as individuals. As students, right now our main duty remains to excel in our studies. This has been confirmed by the Quaid, the founder of Pakistan. He said: “Those of you who have still to continue your studies for some time, your main occupation should be in fairness to yourself, in fairness to your parents, and indeed in fairness to the State, to devote your attention solely to your studies. Only thus, can you assist it in solving the great social and economic problems that confront it and enable it to reach its destined goal among the most progressive and strongest nations in the world”
We must retreat to the exhortations of the Quaid that only the young generation and the educated class can help make Pakistan one of the leading nations in the world. We must realize that once we head out of the world full of opportunities, we must understand our responsibility to Pakistan.
We must try to remember our early memories of love and care for the country and question ourselves, whether the love and care that our forefathers possessed for the country is possessed by us today? Or have we transgressed? I remember my grandmother telling me how they had barely survived in the train while coming to Pakistan in 1947, not eating for days, but a constant zeal and spirit in their hearts to live in a land they could call their own. The land where people would have their house gates wide open for visitors to come in and out, because there were no robbers or thieves to cause the country disgrace. The land where students came rushing back to Pakistan after completing their studies to serve it and try, to make it a leading nation. At individual levels we have transgressed and this is reflected on how the state has transgressed too.
In the state that we are now, with extremism jeering at our doorstep, the economy collapsing, and the young generation and educated class almost becoming disillusioned with the current affairs of the country due to the blatant lies and fake promises of those ruling, let’s not waste our education on just ourselves – let’s make full use of it to fulfill our responsibility to the nation, as instructed by our Quaid. Let us be an asset and a source of strength and pride to our country. We must realize that Pakistan is a challenge. Being part of the young generation and the educated class, take up that challenge.
