A true revolution

Today, the country is engaged on a number of fronts: the fight against corruption, against power-hungry jackals, against military coups, against terrorism, against a worsening economy and most importantly, the fight within our country against extremists and political anarchists. But is our youth ready to take up this challenge?

The answer is very simple. No, it is not. While we can boast about world records for the youngest ‘this’ and the highest ‘that’, we also have thousands of uneducated children in rural areas that can be the raw material for human capital if school attendance is ensured. And if we are serious about the well-being of the youth and give it the responsibility of running the system of our country in the near future, we not only have to work on the present prospects of their promotion but we also need to invest in the future prospects as these illiterate children will later grow up as ignorant and heedless youngsters.

However, we still have a big herd of youth ready to attack and conquer, but we need to be showing them the right path. They have been led astray. They have easy access to cigarettes, alcohol and all sorts of drugs that one can imagine. The recent cases of some of our youngsters killing each other in cold blood on the streets of Karachi for petty reasons are the horrid examples of the psychological impunity that has been infused in our youngsters to act in any way they want — regardless of how immoral or unethical it may be.

I am not trying to demotivate our youth by pointing out these realities as I, myself, am a part of the herd. But as a generation, we must be introspective, aware of our faults and work towards betterment. However, we haven’t even reached our first stage of remediation, which has to do with being self-critical.

We need to change our attitude in this regard. Moving towards reconciliation with one’s self can lead to a better and contented personality — which is what will dispel the seeds of revolution. As Edmund Burke said, “The most important of all revolutions is a revolution in sentiments, manners and moral opinions”. And this is the kind of revolution that we need to expect from our youth, which starts from within their minds and bodies and then externalises to the society.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2014.