In a country which is divided by the harsh line of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots,’ the lives of the poor and extremely poor has become extremely harsh. The last five years has widened this gap and we saw incidents that were last seen in the American Depression of 1929, people setting themselves on fire, selling their children and committing suicide in large numbers.
After religion entered our lives, and man started believing in God, everyone was told to be kind and humane, the atrocious acts of the rich and powerful against the weak and poor were hard to explain. Man has been baffled by the greed of a few, to take from everyone, and hold on to it. This greed has given rise to many wars and battles and killings for years and years, and still continues to be a part of our lives.
History has proved that the only way to fight this greed is education, which teaches us to share and distribute wealth equally, or at least the state tries to do so. The British Industrial revolution, the French Revolution and the changes in most of the developed world occurred when the masses became so desperate that they took the law into their own hands, and were sustained by providing basic education to everyone.
We have Islam which is the best democracy; it gives us Baitul-Mal and how to distribute wealth. In such an Islamic state there will be no hungry, poor people begging on the streets no jobless people, there may be a few rich people who will create job opportunities for the rest. But there will be no concentration of wealth in a few hands,
Quaid’s efforts got us liberty, but this freedom is not enough until and unless we also strive to improve our lot. Pakistan has many resources but corrupt governments, who used this country to forward their own personal end, never let it grow and develop. We need to bring the light of education to every home which will banish the darkness of poverty and unemployment and bring prosperity.
FAIZA SAEED,
Lahore, May 8.