As Pakistan celebrates its 78th Independence Day with fanfare, high spirits, and much enthusiasm, many people, including children, participate in processions, decorate their homes with flags, and play the national anthem on loudspeakers, feeling proud and hopeful.
As a child, I too was filled with pride, excitement, and spirit on this day. I would jump out of bed at the sound of the national anthem, played by my family or in processions outside our home. We used to decorate our entire home with flags the day before August 14th. However, as I grew older, this spirit and excitement evaporated like a puff of smoke. I’m not being sarcastic, nor am I discouraging others from celebrating it. I found myself asking multiple questions: Are we really an independent nation? Have we truly reaped the liberty to be ourselves without fear of judgment or shame about our choices as individuals? Do we really have freedom of speech and expression? Do women have exclusive rights? Can they roam freely in the streets of Pakistan? I wondered, yet we seem content merely to flutter flags, play national songs, dance, and take out processions. As Independence Day approaches, I find myself dumbfounded by the younger generation celebrating it without considering the multiple issues engulfing Pakistan.
As Pakistan marks its 78th year of independence, women in our nation continue to feel frightened both inside and outside their homes. Our fundamental human rights are still unprotected and conspicuously infringed upon. So-called patriots browbeat and mutilate members of minority groups and the marginalized in our polarized society. Sectarian violence is rife. National fundamentalism is at its peak, causing immense woes for the country. Our economy, educational system, and political stability continue to deteriorate and spiral out of control. Apart from the deteriorating legal system, other significant factors contributing to the country’s chaotic state include poverty, rising crime rates, corruption, growing cases of rape, internet outages, and suppression of free expression.
Over the past 70 years, Pakistan seems to have combined elements of fascism, classism, misogyny, feudalism, and nepotism with a radical religious mindset, which has contributed to our current wretched and depressing state. We are gullibly led by our elected political leaders and religious fanatics, which is another important reason why we have failed as a nation. Our society’s moral decline and wickedness have become too great for us to understand, evaluate, and confront collectively. As a country, we have grown frighteningly numb and indifferent to the many catastrophes that have struck us over the years. When something unfortunate happens, we don’t always react or think it through.
Furthermore, large-scale migration is the outcome of the unending and frequent issues facing the country. Many Pakistanis are leaving their homeland to settle in other countries to live a better life. Approximately 60% of the population is young, and they waste their best years in this aimless and hopeless country because they are uninspired, pessimistic, and incredibly lost. For a better future, they have given up all hope. Sixty-six years later, we still haven’t achieved the nation of freedom that Jinnah envisioned, one in which individuals might freely practice their faiths and creeds. Every day, we witness religious and sectarian strife over trivial issues, misunderstandings between various communities, and cold-blooded murders. Our intolerance for others has become unbearable. Lawlessness has been a major factor in facilitating the guilty.
Quoted by Jinnah: “You are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
We have failed Jinnah, ourselves, and all the freedom fighters who spent years fighting for the rights and liberties of Pakistanis over these seventy years. Aside from numerous restrictions, the normalization of abuse and violence on a large scale, billions of dollars in debt from various nations, and a host of other issues, what have we achieved in recent years? The fact that we are so stagnant and immobile as a people is incredibly dishonorable and disgusting.
Let’s try to find some silver lining in our shortcomings and look on the brighter side. A few steps must be taken to lift us out of this depressing condition. The first and most vital step is to be tolerant of other members of our society and accepting of people for who they are, in all their diversity. Second, we must develop our political and social consciousness while simultaneously working to improve our educational institutions. Education has the power to alter and bring about unexpected changes in the youth population. It can raise awareness of our deficiencies and highlight the things our country lacks. Finding the underlying cause is crucial to quickly and effectively addressing the problem itself. Instead of blaring horns on this day, we must delve into the study of Pakistan’s history to comprehend the underlying problems the country is facing.
In conclusion, I sincerely pray to Almighty for a happy, prosperous, and thriving country. May we achieve what our founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, dreamt of. May Pakistan rid itself of the black sheep polluting the country!
MUHAMMAD USAMA MUGHAL,
Sindh.
