ISLAMABAD:
We celebrated the diamond jubilee of freedom from the British Raj on August 14, 2022. Being a nano-agrarian who participated in the freedom movement in his youth, I celebrated the hour but not without some sorrow. While there is a lot to celebrate in terms of achieving freedom from the British and the Indian extremists, we have had a less than fulfilling journey over the past 75 years.
We lost half the country by our silver jubilee. We had four military rules and the rest of the time the country was at the mercy of self-serving politicians. Be it military or so-called democratic rulers, they always put their own self-interest and lust for power ahead of the interests of the country. I remember Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan who struggled all his life for democracy. Every time an unconstitutional measure was taken, he would be the first one to protest. He was an honest person who had good relations with all parties. He was a good poet too and I recall one of his verses on honesty:
Damaan e twakal ki yeh khoobi hai keh es mein
Peywand to ho saktey hein, dhabey naheen hotay
Our democracy is a sinking ship. Yet, our leaders keep up with their selfish ways and are busy mudslinging each other. If they don’t realise the gravity of the situation and unite to strengthen the economy, I am afraid we would be looking at a grave tragedy.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2022.
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