The lost ideology
14th August – Pakistan’s Independence Day! What a momentous day it must’ve been for the Muslims of the subcontinent, back in 1947. Today, it has just become a day to go crazy.
If you’ve had the misfortune to venture out on 14th August, at any time (especially in the evening or night), you would know what I am talking about. Boys ranging from the age of 12 to mature men who must be in their forty’s, are to be found roaming around in cars or motorcycles (without the silencers), creating chaos all over the city. Traffic jams are prevalent all around.
We got stuck near the traffic signal of the Defence gates, because the traffic lights were switched off so that the Traffic Police could manoeuvre it. What one witnessed were three traffic police constables chatting, maybe enjoying the rowdy crowd. They were not doing anything about traffic control; instead the cars were just passing at the will of the driver, creating a jam.
One could see people sitting on the window ledges of their cars, or heads sticking out of the sunroofs. Stereos were blasting at the highest pitch, with Punjabi or Hindi songs blaring from the speakers. You could see these people wearing the Pakistani flag as bandanas on their heads. Several of them had painted the flag on the cheeks, forehead or all over the face. The back screens of some cars were covered with a large flag, which would make it impossible for the driver to see anything from the rear-view mirror. Teenagers were throwing firecrackers at cars and the passers-by, which is a very dangerous thing to do as anyone could get injured because of their irresponsibility. It was a total mess, and after an eternity we were able to get out of that jam. If this was the case in Defence, then one can only wonder what condition the Mall Road and Fortress Stadium must’ve been in.
When we went to a restaurant for dinner, it was totally packed. It took us several minutes to get a table and then we had to wait another ten minutes to get the menu cards, since the waiters were too busy synchronizing all the tables. The funny thing was that we had to wait a few minutes, as all the salad bowls had been used and were being washed. Such was the state of this well-known eatery, on Independence Day, which is otherwise known for its immaculate service.
The city was all lit-up, and looked beautiful. There was elation in the air, but at the same time it was a nuisance for families who wanted to go out and enjoy themselves on Independence Day. A friend put it very aptly when she said, “Celebration days in Pakistan are a big pain for many an otherwise cheerful lot in the country.”
Is this an appropriate way to show our euphoria? This open disregard for discipline is not in coherence with the code of conduct expected from a self-respecting human being. It reminds me of Kahlil Gibran’s words, “I lay down no rules of conduct. Do whatsoever you will so long as you do it beautiful.”
Pakistan was not created to harbour imbeciles; it was created with a vision. Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision was, ‘Unity, Faith & Discipline.’ He said that, “the sun is yet to shine and will require unity, faith and discipline to pass through this fire.” He urged Pakistanis to bury individualism and to serve the people with honesty and faithfulness. Today, we are in total contradiction of these principles on which the foundation of Pakistan was based. Instead of merely criticising, we should work to seek solutions and become a part of it as well.
We have to lead by example, to motivate others and also be very clear about how we can make a difference. We have a spark; we just need to get it right. If we do not try to maintain our integrity today, we will end up becoming merely a laughing stock not just for other nations but ourselves as well. We are already experiencing a social and moral decline; the respect and value of institutions have been lost. The values and ideology on which Pakistan was created has almost been forgotten by our youth and has become a cramming exercise to pass exams. Might has become right and fire arms have replaced the pen; propaganda pamphlets have taken the place of instructive books.
Everyone is busy criticising everyone else, without realising that we all are a part of it and we rarely act any different when we get an opportunity. To give the ideology of Pakistan a true meaning, we should not wait for a messiah to come and rescue us.
If you’ve had the misfortune to venture out on 14th August, at any time (especially in the evening or night), you would know what I am talking about. Boys ranging from the age of 12 to mature men who must be in their forty’s, are to be found roaming around in cars or motorcycles (without the silencers), creating chaos all over the city. Traffic jams are prevalent all around.
We got stuck near the traffic signal of the Defence gates, because the traffic lights were switched off so that the Traffic Police could manoeuvre it. What one witnessed were three traffic police constables chatting, maybe enjoying the rowdy crowd. They were not doing anything about traffic control; instead the cars were just passing at the will of the driver, creating a jam.
One could see people sitting on the window ledges of their cars, or heads sticking out of the sunroofs. Stereos were blasting at the highest pitch, with Punjabi or Hindi songs blaring from the speakers. You could see these people wearing the Pakistani flag as bandanas on their heads. Several of them had painted the flag on the cheeks, forehead or all over the face. The back screens of some cars were covered with a large flag, which would make it impossible for the driver to see anything from the rear-view mirror. Teenagers were throwing firecrackers at cars and the passers-by, which is a very dangerous thing to do as anyone could get injured because of their irresponsibility. It was a total mess, and after an eternity we were able to get out of that jam. If this was the case in Defence, then one can only wonder what condition the Mall Road and Fortress Stadium must’ve been in.
When we went to a restaurant for dinner, it was totally packed. It took us several minutes to get a table and then we had to wait another ten minutes to get the menu cards, since the waiters were too busy synchronizing all the tables. The funny thing was that we had to wait a few minutes, as all the salad bowls had been used and were being washed. Such was the state of this well-known eatery, on Independence Day, which is otherwise known for its immaculate service.
The city was all lit-up, and looked beautiful. There was elation in the air, but at the same time it was a nuisance for families who wanted to go out and enjoy themselves on Independence Day. A friend put it very aptly when she said, “Celebration days in Pakistan are a big pain for many an otherwise cheerful lot in the country.”
Is this an appropriate way to show our euphoria? This open disregard for discipline is not in coherence with the code of conduct expected from a self-respecting human being. It reminds me of Kahlil Gibran’s words, “I lay down no rules of conduct. Do whatsoever you will so long as you do it beautiful.”
Pakistan was not created to harbour imbeciles; it was created with a vision. Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision was, ‘Unity, Faith & Discipline.’ He said that, “the sun is yet to shine and will require unity, faith and discipline to pass through this fire.” He urged Pakistanis to bury individualism and to serve the people with honesty and faithfulness. Today, we are in total contradiction of these principles on which the foundation of Pakistan was based. Instead of merely criticising, we should work to seek solutions and become a part of it as well.
We have to lead by example, to motivate others and also be very clear about how we can make a difference. We have a spark; we just need to get it right. If we do not try to maintain our integrity today, we will end up becoming merely a laughing stock not just for other nations but ourselves as well. We are already experiencing a social and moral decline; the respect and value of institutions have been lost. The values and ideology on which Pakistan was created has almost been forgotten by our youth and has become a cramming exercise to pass exams. Might has become right and fire arms have replaced the pen; propaganda pamphlets have taken the place of instructive books.
Everyone is busy criticising everyone else, without realising that we all are a part of it and we rarely act any different when we get an opportunity. To give the ideology of Pakistan a true meaning, we should not wait for a messiah to come and rescue us.
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