Change — the only constant

Recently, I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when I came across a photograph from the University of Peshawar in which male and female students were having iftar together. The photograph triggered an interesting debate in the comment section with conservative and orthodox users claiming that the act went against societal morals and values and threatened the social fabric. In contrast, some users hailed the act claiming that this was a step in the right direction, which would counter the extremism and backwardness that the society has been engulfed in.

The orthodox and conservative schools of thought viewed the act from an Islamic perspective, whereby, Islam prohibits men and women from mixing or intermingling in social gatherings. Therefore, some people objected to the joint iftar because they saw it as a violation of Islamic teachings and found it particularly disrespectful because it was during the holy month of Ramazan.

Back in the 1980s, when I was a student at the Law College, University of Peshawar, we held numerous events including our annual days where stalls would be set up by both male and female students together. Therefore, coming back to the current debate, if male and female students study together in the same classroom, what is the harm in attending an iftar on university premises? We must come out of these contradictions and hypocrisies.

Instead of entering into an unnecessary debate on who is right and who is wrong, both perspectives should be valued. It is worth acknowledging that metaphoric changes have occurred throughout history. Therefore, people should remain receptive and avoid getting emotional about such issues.

Over the years, societies have transformed from one stage of development to another. For instance, the tribal society had its norms and the feudal followed their own. With the emergence of capitalism, some societies developed new traditions and others modified their old traditions. Around the world, traditions vary across different regions within the same country. Either way, there is nothing good or bad in those traditions and it depends more on their relevance to the context of any issue.

The superstructure of the society in the forms of laws, traditions, ideology and classes changes with a change in the mode of production. Change in the mode of production acts as a propelling force to bring change in ideas. Thus, the material conditions of society determine our psychology and attitude towards life. Here it is worth mentioning that the only thing that has remained constant is “change”. This universal truth has also aptly been narrated by Allama Iqbal as Sabat ik taghayyur ko hai zamanay mein. Therefore, we must not hold ourselves hostage to the past and should not let it be an obstacle to progress. By taking a cue from the past, we may use it as a guide to moving forward.

According to history, Homosapien has been on earth for more than five million years from the stone age to the present age. Unlike other species, Homosapien has survived by adapting to change. This journey of humans also indicates habitat, food and use of tools from preliminary to advanced levels. The invention of new products and ideas is one of the major and most important mediums that bring changes in cultures. From the wheel to the internet, inventions are the forceful catalyst behind the changes that cultures experience. In a modern context, this may be described as technological change, which is growing at a speed beyond all imagination.

Similarly, human economies have also changed. The compulsions of the economy force humans to alter their relationship with the environment. Thus, cultural behaviour also changes in line with economic change. Changing patterns of culture may also occur due to the greenhouse effect in the forthcoming century. All evidence suggests cultural change is complex and has far-ranging causes and effects, which can only be understood in co-relation to economic and environmental changes.

Many societies have undergone a metamorphosis and transformed entirely. One such major change was the industrial revolution, which caused mass migrations from rural to urban areas. This rent asunder the old social ties, which evolved in an agrarian economy. Individuals who lived on subsistence had little choice but to become an appendage to machines. These new conditions formed a corresponding relationship of production and led to a sense of alienation.

This era can be described as a catalyst for social change, a substantial process of transition, growth, or transformation. The fundamental basis to be observed is a shift from a homogenous to a heterogeneous society, feudalism to capitalism, (community) to trade unions and associations. Thinkers like Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber observed these changes and provided insight into the future along with giving us an understanding of the unstoppable process of change.

Considering their writings, it is safe to assume that from the industrial revolution, we have entered into a technological revolution, which in turn has paved the way for globalisation. This change has made the individual a global animal which has impacted his ideas, taste and ways of life.

In this era of globalisation, only those cultures that achieve advancements in technology will dominate, others will subside. If we want to survive as an honourable nation then we have to catch up with the technological revolution and free ourselves from moribund ideas.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2022.

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