Illogical patriotism!

Standing under the blazing summer sun, clad in the most uncomfortable attire – the school uniform – reciting the National Anthem, followed by the nation's beloved poet, Allama Iqbal's timeless prayer 'Lab peh aati hai dua ban kay tamanna meri' - this is a childhood memory that many from Generation X and Millennials may resonate.

Back then, the daily assembly felt like little more than an obligatory ritual - prolonged, exhausting, and, as a child, almost punitive. Aligned impatiently, anxiously waiting for the proceedings to end, scarcely reflecting on the lines uttered every morning. Their meaning escaped the mind instantly; only the discipline was tangible. Yet memory follows course of its own, revealing realities that experience had concealed. In retrospect, I now realise that those seemingly monotonous mornings quietly shaped something profound within me. Without argument or persuasion, they cultivated an enduring affection for my homeland.

I find myself incapable to explain as to how the textbooks, filled with arid accounts glorifying national heroes and martyrs which once seemed tedious and detached from my life in the classroom, yet gradually kindle within me a profound admiration for their sacrifices and the ideals they embodied – excellence that have shaped our national identity.

Topics, such as Two-Nation theory, Fourteen-Points of Quaid-e-Azam, and Lahore Resolution initially seemed like mere cryptic codes that I had to decipher to unlock the chains of examinations and gain access to coveted academic degrees. Yet, beneath the burden of rote learning, they gradually transformed my understanding of Pakistan's history, the struggle for independence, and, ultimately, my ideological perspective as a Pakistani.

The forced school preparations, or perhaps the peer pressure to celebrate Independence Day with flags, badges and patriotic activities, eventually developed within me - or, to put it more aptly, awakened an enduring sense of belonging, value, and appreciation for the freedom and the independent homeland I had once taken for granted.

Hence, for me, patriotism emerged almost imperceptibly through repetition, emotion and shared experience. It was not consciously shaped by prevailing political ideologies, historical debates, or any form of calculated reasoning. Those deeply evocative words did not merely pass through my voice - they settled into my consciousness. Long before I understood the logic of loving a nation, I had already learned to belong to one.

Perhaps that is the paradox of patriotism: its deepest roots are seldom logical. Like love, faith or devotion, it often precedes reason. We do not first calculate the worth of our homeland and then decide to love it; rather, we discover that we have loved it all along, and only afterward attempt to explain why.

Frequently, my patriotism is questioned against the backdrop of a dismal law and order situation, deteriorating economic conditions, and the confinement of basic rights to a privileged elite. Yet I often struggle to justify my deep-rooted and steadfast bond with my motherland. Despite every reason to question, doubt or break free, my mulish sense of patriotism refuses to retreat even an inch.

In my opinion, patriotic ideals are not linked with perfection, prosperity or welfare; they are rooted in an unwavering sense of belonging and an enduring emotional bond with one's homeland. For me, foundations of patriotism and loyalty do not evaporate with adversity or flourish merely with a nation's fortunes.

Just as the reason for worship and the depth of spirituality cannot be fully articulated through logic, neither can security, quality of life, or the availability of basic amenities adequately explain the spiritual connection one feels with the land that gave one life, nurtured generations and bears the traces of one's ancestry. Some bonds transcend reason; they are rooted in memory, identity, belonging, and an intangible sense of connection to the soil that one calls home.

I may no longer decorate my home or workplace with national symbols nor clad myself in the colours of independence, but it remains crystal clear that my bond with Pakistan is, and will always remain, unseverable!