Learn from our mistakes: ‘Educate the youth and better the nation’

Raza Rabbani discusses democracy, says keeping students ignorant is harming the country

KARACHI: Courses being taught at our universities portray an incorrect history of Pakistan. How can you turn youth into intellectuals by teaching them incorrect history and covering up the blunders we have made since the creation of the country?

These views were expressed by Senate chairperson Raza Rabbani at Sindh Madressah tul Islam University (SMIU) on Saturday evening while addressing faculty and students at a seminar on 'Pakistan at 70: Devolution and Democracy'.

He said he has read these books himself and was shocked to see the false curriculum being taught at an academic level. Rabbani pointed out that once he read a college course book titled 'Advantages of Dictatorship and Democracy' which gave 11 advantages of dictatorship and eight advantages of democracy. How can you have topics asking students to come towards Jihad and how can you only have one paragraph on the fall of East Pakistan? he asked.

He added that we should learn a lesson from history because if we keep neglecting it, it will teach us a sudden lesson which is not expected and can result in an unstable situation.

"It was history in the making when, in 2008, there was a smooth transfer of power from one government to another by completing its full tenure and I hope that by continuing the democratic legacy we will once again see a smooth transfer of [power between] civilian governments," said Rabbani.

He added that democracy is not an on/off switch which can be flipped, making everything better. It is a process of recycling, he said. "If the system of democracy continues smoothly then it throws away the corrupt [people] and brings in the honest people," he explained, adding that people will never vote for corrupt leaders, but rather they will look for other choice and that is the beauty of democracy.

The Senate chairperson also said that presently our democratic system lacks transparency and good governance but we should give time to this system and soon people will realise how good the system is for the welfare of the people.

Rabbani ended his speech on a note that we should encourage our youth to research history and encourage them to ask questions and raise concerns over the elected representatives. This is the best way for Pakistan to survive, he said. SMIU vice-chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh thanked Rabbani for sharing his thoughts and added that he will continue to arrange such seminars which are important for the youth and students of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2016.