Hai jazba-e-junoon to dua kar

As a Pakistani, there are certain known national heroes available for one to idolise. There’s the leader who got you your country, the pilot who shot down multiple enemy planes before crashing to his death,  the General whose policies you agreed with, the politician who was not corrupt, and of course, the charismatic sportsman (read: cricketer) who hooked you to a game. And then there are the lesser recognised names, such as Syeda Ghulam Fatima, a woman who has dedicated her entire life to end bonded labour at the brick kilns in Pakistan. According to Humans of New York, Fatima has been shot, electrocuted and beaten numerous times for her activism. However, despite facing such nightmares, the woman is undaunted as she persists in her cause.

Fatima’s story inspired me. It made me want to get up from the couch, grab a loudspeaker and go protest against the massive wall our ex-president illegally erected near my house to protect his kingdom. However, after divulging my proactive fantasies to my parents, I was made to realise that in the destiny carefully crafted for me by my mother and father, the path of an activist did not feature anywhere. As that decree sank in, I demanded to know what was I to do when the urge to do something for Pakistan struck and they said, “Dua karo.”

Dua has been the much prescribed answer to all ills we Pakistanis face. Whether it is to cure shortage of power at homes, or the abundance of it in political offices, prayer is invoked to solve all. Prayer is relied upon so heavily in our nation that sometimes my heart goes out to the poor Pakistani atheist; unable to use the national antidote, what must he resort to when he feels despair after reading the local news?

However, today, instead of arguing with my parents on their choice of weaponry to combat the troubles burdening Pakistan, I will pray. I pray that we be granted peace in my nation. I pray that we stop violating the rights of others in the name of religion. I pray that we no longer remain apathetic to the suffering of our fellow human beings. I beseech God to give us all enough courage to stand up against injustice, no matter what the personal cost. And finally, I pray to Him that we Pakistanis stop living under the delusion that incantations alone can solve all the difficulties we encounter.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2015.