A pledge to unite

— Ayesha Sohail, DAWN Young World

Saturday, 20 Mar, 2010

On the morning of March 23 — Pakistan Resolution Day — it’s important to think about who we are and what we want to be. We should think about the whole journey before March 23, 1940, and after that till August 14, 1947, during which our freedom fighters suffered a lot and gave many sacrifices to get a free homeland.

But today, March 23rd — the day when our brave fighters reached an important milestone in the journey of their struggle — is of no importance for the present day young generation. It is just another holiday for them. It is shameful to acknowledge that today we have lost our identity and culture — in fact we feel ashamed in accepting who we are — and we proudly follow other cultures and traditions. We, instead of following the footprints of our forefathers, are ruining the image of our homeland which was obtained after lots of sacrifices.

Pakistan Day reminds us of the fact that all Muslims are equal and they can’t be discriminated due to any factor such as race, colour and ethnicity. But today we are Sindhis, Punjabis, Balochis, Pathans, Muhajirs; today we are the elite class, middle and lower class; today we are Karachiites, Lahories and what not. We have lost that identity which was the founding stone for this country and have indulged in all sorts of discriminations.

God has made all of us equal and we are blessed with an independent homeland which, despite all internal and external threats, has been surviving for years so now is the time to get up and realise our responsibilities towards our country — let’s become united! Unity is the real strength and being united means being successful. If we remain divided on the basis of colour, language or socio-economic factors, we can never be a successful nation.

We have to become united for prosperity and a better future. We have to change the world we live in. As educated citizens of our country, we have to shape the future of Pakistan. Let us stop blaming each other and pledge that we will try to be better people by keeping aside our differences.

We have gained much — one of the best cricket teams in the world, one of the most profitable music industries in Asia and the strongest military power in the Muslim world. So on this 23rd March, be proud a Pakistani and discard all discriminating factors.

As Quaid-e-Azam said: “If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.”