Change from Within

Independence, comes with a price.

Pakistan, The country we all love and adorn. Raised in the land of rich cultural diversity, our love and affection for the motherland knows no bounds. A whole lot of innocent blood was shed to attain the freedom and independence we enjoy every single day of our lives. I don't have to go into the recap on how our forefather were brutally killed, and how they fought with great honor, dignity and valor to claim this motherland. We all know how Iqbal reclaimed the self-esteem of the nation who had lost hope. We all know how Jinnah led the same nation to strive and struggle for the land on which we roam about today. And we are highly indebted to them for the lives we live today.

But for the past couple of years, there's a question that's been bugging me, what have we done with our freedom? What have we achieved with our independence? And every single time, I get the same woeful answer, NOTHING!

Every year on 14th of AUGUST, we yell at the top our voices "JASHN E AZADI MUBARAK!! (Happy independence day)" while speeding on a motorbike with its silencer taken off. We raise the flag up high on this day every single year, and for the rest 364 days, we tend to forget the national anthem. SEASONAL PATRIOTS, is what we are.

Come to think about it, Independence is a pretty big term that we use every year, and have been using it for a good 69 years now. An "INDEPENDENCE" where people are killed for speaking up against the unjust. An "INDEPENDENCE", where we don't even have the basic knowledge about our basic rights, let alone stand up for them. An "INDEPENDENCE" where provincial hatred prevails, and regional killing is a common practice. An "INDEPENDENCE" where drones from other countries bombard our land on the HINT that there MIGHT be ONE terrorist there, killing dozens of innocents and later on tagged as “casualties of war ". Given the perspective, independence is a strong word that we misuse every year. But the right question to be asked is this, who is to blame?

Most people would just blame the government, or claim that it's some sort of international conspiracy to de-stabilize the country, and that it has something to do with Pakistan being a nuclear power and all. I must say I have no objection over these views, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I myself was a former believer that we are trapped in the "BIG GAME" devised by the anti-muslim lobby and whatnot, and quite frankly, it all still makes sense. I mean if we think about it, there isn't a government policy till date that has been able to stabilize the ever failing economy of Pakistan. No political government till date has been able to meet the demands of the nation. Likewise the international interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan has always raised a lot many questions.

But in the end, I came to one conclusion only, WE THE PAKISTANIS ARE THE ONES TO BLAME. When we say that the government is to blame, we're actually just taking the blame off ourselves, and that we just don't want to take responsibility for our actions. 

We a pile of garbage on the side of road, and exclaim “The people are never going to change," as we throw the juice box we've been slurping from in that very pile. We get pulled over by a cop, we pull out a big currency note or call someone we know to keep from getting a speeding ticket, and then complain about the corrupt system, not knowing that we're playing our part in it as well. We want an educated woman to be our life partner, but don't want them to work because it is considered "unethical" while we hit them and tell them to shut up when they try to raise their voice, and we usually tend to forget that these are ones' sisters and mothers who instill hatred in the mind their brothers and sons for their wives, completely negating the fact that she's a woman too just like them, and then We complain about the women not having equal rights, and them being treated in an inhumane manner before and after marriage. We steal electricity, refuse to pay taxes, refuse to pay the bills, and then complain about the corruption what others do. We praise our brethren who move abroad, wish to move out ourselves, and then complain about the brain drain. We tend to buy "apples from new Zealand” or "Russian ammunition" or "Japanese technology", and then complain that our country doesn't produce items well enough. This is what most of us did with our independence.

Now I didn't go through all the effort of writing this to end it on a negative note. There's always a yin or a yang. Pakistan isn't all stories of woe and broken dreams. It's about the story of the youngest individual who was certified by Microsoft, Irfa Kareem. It's the story about a man who runs the largest ambulance network in the world, and yet leads an extremely simple life, Abdul Sattar Eidhi. It's about a young girl who stood up for the education for women in the tribal areas, Malala Yousef Zai. It's the story about becoming the 7th nuclear power of the world, and the only Muslim nuclear power, and the guy who drove us to it, Abdul Qadeer Khan. It's about the soldiers, who gave up their lives for the country, Rashid Minhaas, Aziz Bhatti, Shabbir Shareef, Muhammad Sarwar and the list goes on. It's the story about the sportsmen who made their mark in the world with their sheer effort and skill. It's the story about the country which is laden with untamed nature's beauty. It's a country about millions of people striving to make Pakistan a better place. 

All we have to do, is to be the change we always complain about. Be the change, which we need. Be the change, which we deserve. Don't just complain about the bad, start taking some actions to ameliorate the things which rot our country. You see a pile of garbage, don't just complain, clean it up. You're educated and are worried about the brain drain, don't move abroad and wok here, for your own country. You complain about the women being treated with discrimination, start by respecting the women you're related to. . Don't be a mere Pakistani, BE A PROUD PAKISTANI, BE PAKISTAN.