By Amir Zia
Thursday, August 14, 2014
The News
No matter how irresponsibly our packs of politicians behave in their mad lust for power and greed, ordinary Pakistanis – people like you and me, our peasants, workers, and soldiers – remain the best guarantors of Pakistan’s future.
The piercing calls for revolution, the vociferous trumpets of ‘Azadi March’ and the cyclical chorus by the government and its cheerleaders of some evil conspiracy being hatched against democracy may have overwhelmed the new and old media these days, but for the majority of ordinary Pakistanis August remains a month of festivity and joy – come what may.
Despite all the lurking uncertainty on the political horizon and the grind of daily life, there are still these soothing clouds in the sky – as they always are in August – providing relief from the scorching sun and filling many hearts with music, merriment and romance. Yes, that’s what the monsoon season means for the people in our region. As Europeans celebrate the sunshine, we rejoice the rain. Power failures and flooded roads fail to dampen our love for heavy, dark clouds and the resultant downpour.
With August also come Independence Day celebrations, which need no official patronage, prodding or the unfurling of some mammoth flag to inspire and energise the nation. These celebrations are a spontaneous affair. Different sized national flags dot almost each and every home – from our remote villages, towns to the sprawling cities. Be it the tiny huts of the have-nots, the houses and apartment buildings of our lower and middle class neighbourhoods or the sprawling mansions of the rich, there are green and white flags fluttering in whichever direction you look. People hoist and wave these flags on their own – from their hard earned money.
The majority of Pakistanis just flow with the tide as they mark August 14 festivities. It is the small display of their love for the country and the pride they take in their identity. Despite our electricity woes, buildings are illuminated… there are streamers and a sea of small colourful paper flags. National songs blare, special events are held – mostly organised by the people themselves in almost each and every neighbourhood.
You realise that one fine August day you are relieved of your duty of hoisting the national flag at your house which you have been performing since your teens. This duty has now been taken over by your son or daughter. It was you who inculcated in them this tradition when they were young just as your father did in your good old days. The spirit of Independence Day passes from one generation to another. This transition happens so naturally and quietly, but you feel elated and proud when you grasp its meaning.
Luckily, there are still a few of those around us who witnessed history being made… the dawn of independence. They can still recall the fervour of those days, the struggle, the lofty dreams and the great vision for Pakistan, which defied all the odds to become a reality. An independent country meant to ensure the social, economic and political rights of the Muslim-majority provinces of British India. Many of us got their first lessons in history in the lap of those who witnessed and played some role in the independence movement and the formative years of the country.
You ask representatives of this generation and they will tell you that the founding fathers of Pakistan had to walk though a minefield to realise their goal – fighting on two fronts, the Congress and the reactionary bandwagon of Muslim clerics, who opposed the creation of an independent Muslim homeland tooth and nail. Most of the leading religious parties of their time – from Majlis-e-Ahrar-e Islam to Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind to the Jamaat-e-Islami and the clerics in the pocket of the Congress – opposed Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his idea of Pakistan.
It was the moderate, enlightened and educated Muslims, particularly students, who became the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement and stood like a rock with the Quaid. Their idea of Pakistan was of a moderate, progressive and a modern country in contrast to the concept of a theocratic state. And this very idea of a moderate, progressive and modern Pakistan became the rallying cry for the majority, from poor Muslim peasants in the rural areas to the small-time urban workers, and lower and middle classes.
Ironically, these ideological battle lines drawn in the pre-independence days between the moderates and the extremists exist even now. The heirs of the conservative, anti-Quaid and anti-Pakistan clerics want to sell their violent, intolerant and highly flawed interpretation of Islam through the use of brutal force, killings, sectarian strife and terrorism. This is a scourge that has consumed tens of thousands of lives of both civilians and security personnel since 2002 and against which our valiant armed forces are pitted even now.
In the 1940s, the collective will and consciousness of the people defeated these extremist and reactionary forces to win their independence. Today again they need to be vanquished to preserve this independence and ensure progress and development of the country.
On August 14, 1947, the challenges for the new state, which comprised some of the most backward and underdeveloped areas of British India, were indeed staggering. There were last minute unjust changes in the demarcation of the boundaries which gave even some of the Muslim-majority districts of Punjab and Bengal to India, forcing Quaid-e-Azam to say that he inherited a ‘mutilated and moth-eaten Pakistan.’ There was an influx of refugees amidst harrowing incidents of carnage and slaughter on both sides of the divided frontier.
Pakistan was denied and deprived of its share of resources by the Indian Congress in the initial months of independence; the aim was to stifle the new country soon after its birth. The predictions by detracters of Pakistan were that it would collapse. But despite all the odds, traumas of Partition and injustices, we as a nation survived and the country’s foundations were laid brick by brick – staggering at times, committing mistakes and blunders, but managing to remain afloat nevertheless.
The British left a festering wound in the scenic Himalayan region of Kashmir – the divided Muslim-majority princely state the heart of which was seized by India and is still one of the unfinished agendas of Partition.
This is one crime against Pakistan that we as a nation can never forget or forgive. Our current momentary weakness should never make us sacrifice the long-term interest of the state. A few decades, or even a century, are just a dot in the flow of history. We must keep the issue alive and continue all possible political and diplomatic support for the freedom struggle in Kashmir.
No matter what prophecies of doom and gloom cynics of the ultra-right and the ultra-liberals make about the future of this country as they try to dilute the state and its identity, no matter how irresponsibly our packs of politicians behave in their mad lust for power and greed, ordinary Pakistanis – people like you and me, our peasants, workers, and soldiers – remain the best guarantors of Pakistan’s future.
It is the ordinary Pakistani, our man on the street, who produces and creates wealth. It is the armed forces which defend the frontiers and fight both our external and internal enemies. Parasites living on forced donations, on alms or wealth acquired through loot, plunder and corruption are not the representatives of the real Pakistan. You have to just see beyond the small bubble of the television talk show world and the virtual universe of new media to see this vibrant and resilient nation, which despite all political uncertainty and chaos marks its Independence Day. Nations brace tougher times and far graver challenges than Pakistan faces today, but there should be no room for despondency. We as a nation can overcome these hard times. We must have hope and unwavering belief.
“The story of Pakistan, its struggle and its achievement”, in the words of Quaid-e-Azam, “is the very story of great human ideals, struggling to survive in the face of great odds and difficulties.” We must have faith! Let’s wish a happy Independence Day to every Pakistani.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
The News
No matter how irresponsibly our packs of politicians behave in their mad lust for power and greed, ordinary Pakistanis – people like you and me, our peasants, workers, and soldiers – remain the best guarantors of Pakistan’s future.
The piercing calls for revolution, the vociferous trumpets of ‘Azadi March’ and the cyclical chorus by the government and its cheerleaders of some evil conspiracy being hatched against democracy may have overwhelmed the new and old media these days, but for the majority of ordinary Pakistanis August remains a month of festivity and joy – come what may.
Despite all the lurking uncertainty on the political horizon and the grind of daily life, there are still these soothing clouds in the sky – as they always are in August – providing relief from the scorching sun and filling many hearts with music, merriment and romance. Yes, that’s what the monsoon season means for the people in our region. As Europeans celebrate the sunshine, we rejoice the rain. Power failures and flooded roads fail to dampen our love for heavy, dark clouds and the resultant downpour.
With August also come Independence Day celebrations, which need no official patronage, prodding or the unfurling of some mammoth flag to inspire and energise the nation. These celebrations are a spontaneous affair. Different sized national flags dot almost each and every home – from our remote villages, towns to the sprawling cities. Be it the tiny huts of the have-nots, the houses and apartment buildings of our lower and middle class neighbourhoods or the sprawling mansions of the rich, there are green and white flags fluttering in whichever direction you look. People hoist and wave these flags on their own – from their hard earned money.
The majority of Pakistanis just flow with the tide as they mark August 14 festivities. It is the small display of their love for the country and the pride they take in their identity. Despite our electricity woes, buildings are illuminated… there are streamers and a sea of small colourful paper flags. National songs blare, special events are held – mostly organised by the people themselves in almost each and every neighbourhood.
You realise that one fine August day you are relieved of your duty of hoisting the national flag at your house which you have been performing since your teens. This duty has now been taken over by your son or daughter. It was you who inculcated in them this tradition when they were young just as your father did in your good old days. The spirit of Independence Day passes from one generation to another. This transition happens so naturally and quietly, but you feel elated and proud when you grasp its meaning.
Luckily, there are still a few of those around us who witnessed history being made… the dawn of independence. They can still recall the fervour of those days, the struggle, the lofty dreams and the great vision for Pakistan, which defied all the odds to become a reality. An independent country meant to ensure the social, economic and political rights of the Muslim-majority provinces of British India. Many of us got their first lessons in history in the lap of those who witnessed and played some role in the independence movement and the formative years of the country.
You ask representatives of this generation and they will tell you that the founding fathers of Pakistan had to walk though a minefield to realise their goal – fighting on two fronts, the Congress and the reactionary bandwagon of Muslim clerics, who opposed the creation of an independent Muslim homeland tooth and nail. Most of the leading religious parties of their time – from Majlis-e-Ahrar-e Islam to Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind to the Jamaat-e-Islami and the clerics in the pocket of the Congress – opposed Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his idea of Pakistan.
It was the moderate, enlightened and educated Muslims, particularly students, who became the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement and stood like a rock with the Quaid. Their idea of Pakistan was of a moderate, progressive and a modern country in contrast to the concept of a theocratic state. And this very idea of a moderate, progressive and modern Pakistan became the rallying cry for the majority, from poor Muslim peasants in the rural areas to the small-time urban workers, and lower and middle classes.
Ironically, these ideological battle lines drawn in the pre-independence days between the moderates and the extremists exist even now. The heirs of the conservative, anti-Quaid and anti-Pakistan clerics want to sell their violent, intolerant and highly flawed interpretation of Islam through the use of brutal force, killings, sectarian strife and terrorism. This is a scourge that has consumed tens of thousands of lives of both civilians and security personnel since 2002 and against which our valiant armed forces are pitted even now.
In the 1940s, the collective will and consciousness of the people defeated these extremist and reactionary forces to win their independence. Today again they need to be vanquished to preserve this independence and ensure progress and development of the country.
On August 14, 1947, the challenges for the new state, which comprised some of the most backward and underdeveloped areas of British India, were indeed staggering. There were last minute unjust changes in the demarcation of the boundaries which gave even some of the Muslim-majority districts of Punjab and Bengal to India, forcing Quaid-e-Azam to say that he inherited a ‘mutilated and moth-eaten Pakistan.’ There was an influx of refugees amidst harrowing incidents of carnage and slaughter on both sides of the divided frontier.
Pakistan was denied and deprived of its share of resources by the Indian Congress in the initial months of independence; the aim was to stifle the new country soon after its birth. The predictions by detracters of Pakistan were that it would collapse. But despite all the odds, traumas of Partition and injustices, we as a nation survived and the country’s foundations were laid brick by brick – staggering at times, committing mistakes and blunders, but managing to remain afloat nevertheless.
The British left a festering wound in the scenic Himalayan region of Kashmir – the divided Muslim-majority princely state the heart of which was seized by India and is still one of the unfinished agendas of Partition.
This is one crime against Pakistan that we as a nation can never forget or forgive. Our current momentary weakness should never make us sacrifice the long-term interest of the state. A few decades, or even a century, are just a dot in the flow of history. We must keep the issue alive and continue all possible political and diplomatic support for the freedom struggle in Kashmir.
No matter what prophecies of doom and gloom cynics of the ultra-right and the ultra-liberals make about the future of this country as they try to dilute the state and its identity, no matter how irresponsibly our packs of politicians behave in their mad lust for power and greed, ordinary Pakistanis – people like you and me, our peasants, workers, and soldiers – remain the best guarantors of Pakistan’s future.
It is the ordinary Pakistani, our man on the street, who produces and creates wealth. It is the armed forces which defend the frontiers and fight both our external and internal enemies. Parasites living on forced donations, on alms or wealth acquired through loot, plunder and corruption are not the representatives of the real Pakistan. You have to just see beyond the small bubble of the television talk show world and the virtual universe of new media to see this vibrant and resilient nation, which despite all political uncertainty and chaos marks its Independence Day. Nations brace tougher times and far graver challenges than Pakistan faces today, but there should be no room for despondency. We as a nation can overcome these hard times. We must have hope and unwavering belief.
“The story of Pakistan, its struggle and its achievement”, in the words of Quaid-e-Azam, “is the very story of great human ideals, struggling to survive in the face of great odds and difficulties.” We must have faith! Let’s wish a happy Independence Day to every Pakistani.
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