How to make Pakistan better tomorrow

By an Anonymous Dowite (D'18)

“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.” -Edward de Bono

As a Pakistani citizen, as a human being in the process of becoming self aware and as a person trying to reflect on basic moral values and ethics I firmly believe that the very failure of our nation to progress is its failure of self realization and in having a sense of the fundamental aspects of life. It is one thing to sit in front of the virtual babysitter and point fingers at other people (or the government or any entity for that matter) but another thing entirely to to actually do something about it.

I firmly believe that the foremost aspect to work on is education - civic, scientific, social and political. The absence of education is manifesting itself in the most obvious forms: a political system rife with corruption, lawlessness, continuance of illogical traditions such as “honor killings”, lack of knowledge of one’s own rights and  most importantly, the stereotypical approach to finding the “easy way out of everything” with no heed to the outcome and implications. The thing is, if we do not correct something at root level, it will amplify just like a cascade and eventually result in a vertical flow of corrupt minded individuals, right up to the guy in the white collar calling all the shots.

Having said that, paradoxically, I still don’t feel it is something difficult to work on. Executing mega projects, armament development and diffusing political tensions are what a government is expected to do but we’re lacking the right initiative here: awareness. 

As “charity begins at home”, so does the change in a mindset. The aim is to correct the thinking first; everything else will fall into order there on. To do that, in my opinion, we need to start campaigns and innovative programs. Campaigns organized by reputed organizations like Coca Cola ™, Unilever ®, and Nestle ® and so on. As a result, it will attract a lot of people and this effect will be augmented if we involve celebrities. Because frankly speaking, the government cannot be expected to do anything about an issue that has plagued the country since its inception; 66 years are enough to realize a problem. It is the NGOs that have a chance to make use of this opportunity, promoting not only their brand name and image but also the marketing value worldwide. What needs to be focused upon are basic things like good health- which we also lack a sense of, let alone care about. 

 Another way out is to involve interactive sessions, demonstrations and the reflection of all the complications regarding the negligence of the same, such as people saying “the government doesn’t bother cleaning up the streets” even though there are trash cans and disposal sites but hey, we are just too lazy to walk another ten feet aren’t we? If somebody trashed our homes like that, we would know wouldn’t we?  Stuff like this is exactly what this nation needs: a proper wake-up call, a proper initiative to think of home not as the four-walled structure in which we reside but for a start, the neighborhood in which we dwell.  

Those who drive rash and without regard of all the people they endanger do not obviously know or care about what happens when things do not go the way they thought, so show them what happens- pictures, videos, interviews of those affected/stricken with grief, strict laws etc. Make them realize their error because regrettably most of us have shut off the part of our brain which makes us think like humans. 

Education, the single most important facet that could lead a nation to swift growth is the missing ingredient. Political power and association attract our youth more than books do, even more than family well being does. So show them what happens to those who wish to trek on such a desire for power, as only words in public notices and newspapers apparently cannot do the trick. It is the responsibility of those who are well off and in power to push the government for mandatory education laws, so that at least you have citizens who can read their name when they see it. 

If not that, at least we can educate those who are less fortunate than us and in consistent contact with us like our house maids, personal guards, drivers etc. Because no one is going to come from outside and tell us to correct ourselves. We have already got below that point to the extent that more or less the only time we do think about such issues is when someone makes us think; very rarely do we do so on our own. Taking it up to the level of multinational organization has very optimistic prospects. 

Almost 70% of the Pakistani population resides in rural areas, with education being one, of the many, basic necessities that are deficient. So for a start, the schools being set up can be designed in a way that they teach students during daytime and serve as a small scale industry after school hours, for making carpets, hand crafted items, embroidery products and so on. The rent from the industry can be used for enhancement of the school facilities, payment of the teachers’ salaries and possibly even reduction in school fee to a minimum. Competitions can be held in the district and teachers can be given bonuses if their students take part and excel in the contests, to serve as an incentive for example. And the list goes on..
Bottom line: Education is the key to development, if we actually want to progress.

Again it is “easier said than done”, so it is not going to be practical to have it all done with a flick of a wand and an “abra ka dabra” spell. It will take time, maybe even a decade or two but at least there will be an initiative. Sow a seed today and keep watering it, bit by bit, eventually it will grow one day. That happens to be my hope—if we can change enough minds to set it into motion, then the entire process is perpetual. 

In a nutshell: “Men can starve from a lack of self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread.” ― Richard Wright