For there to be change, we need to change

We know who has done the most damage to this country; it has always been the leadership, the governance (democratic or dictatorial) and the elitist, feudal and fundamental mindset which has sidelined the need for education, healthcare and basic food for the masses over vested personal interests. It is also a paradox how institutions for the protection and welfare of the common man have done everything but that. Whether it is the police, rangers or federal institutions like bait-ul-maal — they all fall within the same bracket; one that marginalises the poor further to destitution. While all these institutions from the top have worked against us as a nation, what have we done ourselves to move up from where we are?

I don’t think we have done anything. We have just been a part of the process, a process that has taken us back decades in time; we are today where countries like Malaysia were at least three to four decades ago. And at that time, we were superior to them, socially, economically and culturally.

Democracies have been set up in collaboration with feudal and elite classes, and that, combined with the interventions of the military, has created some of the worst forms of governance in the country.

Most of the educated lot does not go to the polls and then complains about elected representatives. But the truth to contest this is that all polls are rigged. How do we change this, especially in the rural areas?

Another problem is the exploitation of religion in the name of politics. Islamisation has been shoved into our mindsets by rulers who exploited religion to propagate their own agendas. As a result, we gave birth to extremism and that has been the reason for suicide attacks (267 in this year alone). How do we replace this religious extremism with the roots of tolerance, peace and love?

The other major problem is the lack of good civil behaviour in our society, ever-present, whether you look at the traffic where red lights are broken every second, or at queues which are never maintained.

We can only bring change by changing ourselves which can only be accomplished through an increase in awareness and education. In fact, the latter is the solution for most problems we face today. We only have two choices: one is to continue to become a part of this decaying system, and the other, is to stand up and start talking about change, especially through education.

We need to make a conscious effort to educate ourselves because literacy is the single most important factor in the development of nations. If you are kept away from schools, do homeschooling. Great changes are brought from small beginnings. Lest we all try, nothing will change.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2010.