KARACHI:
Every year, on the 14th of August, we are expected to celebrate the culture of Pakistan because the day marks the inception of our beloved country. Unfortunately, instead of displaying the common cultural values that unite us as a nation, we focus on our provincial cultures. The practice has been perpetuated over the years and become increasingly common now.
Back in school, we were taught a lesson ‘Pakistani bachy’ and the picture in the book displayed four children wearing cultural dresses of the four provinces. No one asked where Pakistan was and what the country’s culture was. Since the creation of Pakistan, we have forgotten the shared values and cultures that once united us and now we only celebrate the national days by commemorating regional cultures. Considering that the provinces already have their cultural days, why do they promote their own attires, songs, dances, etc on the national days? If we prioritise provincial cultures and practices on our national days too then other major ethnicities such as Muhajirs, Siraikis, Brahvis, Kashmiris, etc will also claim their ethnicities and cultures. Muhajirs already claim that they are the fifth nation of Pakistan, which raises the question of where their place among the four traditional cultures is.
In short, promoting local cultures on national days creates more division among the people. Therefore, I request the government, media, social media influencers and educational institutes to kindly ensure that we all raise our voices for Pakistan only on national occasions. When we raise our national flag and sing our national anthem, we should only wear Pakistani attire and promote Pakistani culture because we are celebrating Pakistan.
Rizwan Tahir Mubeen
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2022.
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