It is very unfortunate that we are a nation of dependent thinkers. Despite the fact that the literacy rate is rising in the country with every passing year, its impact on minds is not as substantial as it is meant to be. For instance, in the age of social media, the decision about the legitimacy of an action is decided by the song played in the background. A person beating another with a rod is villain if the background song is sad; and if the song is an attitude song, the person is a hero. We are a nation of emotionally charged people who need a little spark to burst, be it a religious issue or a political matter. If we talk about religion, the responsibility of intolerance heavily falls upon fundamentalist religious scholars who misinterpret religion and preach it through social media. When it comes to insurgency, most of the attempts are successful because of the ill judgement and dependent thinking attitude of our people. Such an irresponsible behaviour results in religious extremism, political populism and the prevailing fear of anarchy and chaos. There is a dire need for the government to come forward and deal with this problem by involving intellectuals, encouraging moderate scholars, and spreading awareness through social media to train people’s minds to think on their own.
Nabgha Rasti
Sialkot
