HYDERABAD:
I live in a country where taxes are mandatory, yet the responsibility to meet my basic needs falls solely on my shoulders. It feels as if my nation operates like a restaurant, where a privileged 3% of the population indulges in luxuries while the remaining 97% foot the bill.
In this country, our cellular service providers never forgive the loans we accumulate, even if it is just a fraction of the borrowed amount.
Meanwhile, politicians with debts worth millions of dollars effortlessly have it waived through the flawed judicial system. Witnessing such inequality is disheartening. We are the only nation that encourages brain drain, urging skilled individuals to seek employment abroad and send remittances back home to benefit only a few, rather than investing in our own institutions that are in dire need of attention.
Since independence, the idea of living with dignity has never been seriously contemplated. It is disheartening to see how our nation has failed to prioritise the well-being and prosperity of its citizens.
Instead of striving to build a society where everyone can live with dignity and access essential services, we have resigned ourselves to accepting the status quo.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2023.
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