Today, without electricity and sweating out on my drawing sofa, I had a chance to think on the afflictions that are faced by common Pakistanis in their daily lives….I then wanted to drill down to the reasons of the various issues faced by us, the common people of this country, and a verse in Urdu came to my mind that sums up each and every ill. Here it goes:
Pakistanis celebrate the country’s 59th independence day today. So many years ago, our forefathers, the nation’s heroes, worked so hard and tirelessly to relieve this nation of the yoke of the British Raj and to provide the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent with a separate piece of land where they could live their life the way they wanted and where they could become masters of their own destinies. Till that extent, the nation’s forefathers did a marvellous job and the nation still salutes them for this feat, and will continue to do so forever and ever.
There certailnly is reason for rejoice on this day today. Pakistan has come a long way from a newborn state facing a host of difficulties during the initial times, that continued to threaten it’s existence till long. But it was always the resilience of the great and spirited Pakistani nation that always kept alive the desire to succeed and to show the world that even the most hostile of circumstances don’t stand a chance infront of human perseverance and steadfastness. The belief in purpose and faith in self were the goalposts that guided the nation’s early journeys through hard times. The stories and historical experiences of that era remind us today that the Pakistan which we never hesitate to take for granted has some ideals as its foundations; and these ideals are worth dying for, as demonstrated by our forefathers who never waited a second to lay their lives to attain the embodiment of their ideals.
This makes us responsible to carry the spirit of those ideals forward and act in ways that work to preserve the sanctity of the dreams that the founding fathers of this great country had and the vision that they harboured in their lively hearts for the future of this nation.
Today is the day for us to look back and see whether we have been successfull in carrying the mission of our national heroes forward and whether have we done justice with their ideals of nationhood as foreseen by them for this country. At this point of time, I would not want to delve deep into what have we, as a nation, done with the dream of Iqbal and the ideals and principles of Jinnah. The Pakistani nation is a very intelligent one. The day today coaxes us to have an analysis of our behaviour retrospectively and to find out flaws so that we take lessons and mend our ways to become able to again find the true light and the true spirit behind the guiding principles set forth for the nation by this country’s founding fathers. This can be the only way whereby we may even come close to fulfill our duties towards this great and beautiful country. Happy birthday, Pakistan!
Long Live Pakistan!!
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