KARACHI:
“It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being. It is their social being that determines their consciousness,” said Karl Marx, the celebrated proponent of the ideology of Socialism. But the establishment of Panahgah centres In Pakistan stands little credibility when it comes to these two determinants — consciousness and well-being. Instead, there could have been far better solutions to the underlying problems in the same capacity.
It is not that feeding the hungry is a bad idea. The problem is that our policies are devised as short-term interventions for the long-term issues. Had it been the age of our Ape-like ancestors, it would have been a great idea to provide easy access to food and shelter, since back then survival was the only aim.
The idea of Panahgahs is bound to fail for it is merely a liability and needs a constant stream of funds. The public exchequer, with more than $112 billion foreign debt, is hardly equipped to afford such more than 100 zero-revenue generating liabilities. Easy access to food and shelter will induce eternal passivity and inertia into the people benefitting for now — the same Dutch disease effect that characterised Pakistan’s dependency on easy-go foreign funding. In this scenario, if the government is keen on investing in the welfare of the downtrodden, it should better divert the funds toward the mental illumination and physical well-being of the people through the establishment of technical training institutions and healthcare units.
Furthermore, it would be wise to equip the very people dependent on the Panahgahs with medicinal skills and then employ them in healthcare facilities. Such initiatives will surely propagate an endless cycle of better education, better health, and upward social mobility with dignity, responsibility, and active participation in the well-being of society at its heart.
Majid Khan
Musa Khel
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2021.
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