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August 16, 2002
A Day to Resolve, a Day to Plan
For most of us, August 14 is the most propitious occasion for stocktaking, for introspection, for a reappraisal of national objectives, for revisiting the past, for recollecting the Quaid’s inspirational words, and for delineating the train of events that led to the creation of Pakistan.
And where does such an exercise lead us to?
There are two scenarios that are often painted by the pessimists and the optimists amongst us. The former express unfeigned skepticism about Sir Syed’s two-nation theory, Iqbal’s dream, Quaid’s decision to part ways, the role of the Muslim-minority provinces, and the decisive vote of the Muslim-majority states which had a catalytic effect and paved the way for the creation of Pakistan.
The optimists cite quite a few success stories: a theoretical physicist, Professor Abdus Salam, winning the coveted Nobel Prize for Physics, Pakistani scientists succeeding in taming the atom in gleaming reactors, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) and the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASHNUPP) lighting up homes and sustaining industries, Dr. A.Q.Khan’s zestful strivings and successes, Dawn, Herald and Newsline conforming to the demanding standards of the quintessence of English journalism, women on the march and acting as prime ministers, vice chancellors, ambassadors, judges, and editors, and research undertakings on a miniscule scale that testify to the latent creative impulse.
What then is the malaise that plagues the Pakistani society? Is it the much bemoaned ethnic divide that often mars the national scene? The adventurism of the armed forces and the resultant erosion of democratic rule? Rampant corruption unabashedly practiced by the all-powerful bureaucracy? A state of backwardness stemming from poor literacy and leading to the present retrogressive course? Empty rhetoric and insipid platitudes religiously orchestrated by political leaders? Apathy to science and high-tech? Lack of accountability? A slavish and cringing judiciary? The detestable but well-entrenched feudal system?
These irritants identify the major factors blighting the Pakistan scene. Yet they are not features of Pakistan society alone. Like any other country in the world - both developed and developing - we have a society which is a blend of the good and the bad. But while countries on the march are seized of their failings and try to remedy them, we seem to be overwhelmed by pessimism and seem to find only flaws with our people and government. Dickens had described a similar period in England’s history as ‘the best of times’ and ‘the worst of times’ when he wrote his classic A Tale of Two Cities. The title of his epic novel is perhaps the most appropriate diction to describe present-day Pakistan. We had our winter of despair and we have our spring of hope.
As we strive to overcome the elephantine problems confronting us let us on this day seek inspiration from the English poet who exhorted his countrymen thus:
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem…
Trust no future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead past bury its dead!
Act, act in the living present,
Heart within and God o’erhead!
Let us, then, be up and doing;
With a heart for any fate,
Still achieving, still pursuing
Learn to labor and to wait.
Let’s shed our pessimism. Let’s rebuild our institutions. As Pakistani Americans let’s take advantage of our unique position and resolve on this day to do our bit for the betterment of our dear motherland.
And what precisely can we do for Pakistan? Is there a role specially cut out for Pakistani Americans to help the country tide over its pressing problems, its multiplying set of challenges? The answer is simple. We have to prioritize a number of tasks as we chalk out a course to bring about a wholesome change on the home front.
First and foremost, it is imperative to have a learned Pakistani, an eminent academic like Professor Khalid Bin Sayeed (Professor Emeritus, Queens University, Canada) associated with the Georgetown University in Washington. The academic could interact with various think tanks, Congressmen, State Department officials, and researchers engaged in the study of South Asia. He could address symposia held in the American capital and present “not a Pakistani view but a view about Pakistan”, as Professor Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institution put it.
The second task for the Pakistani American community is to sponsor the visits of American academics to Pakistan. The visits could be of both short or long durations and offer the researchers an opportunity to share the Pakistani perception on various issues as well as to get to know the country and its people more intimately. Professor Cohen, a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution and a friend of Pakistan who has written several insightful books, visited the country after fifteen years of his regular sojourns to India. He found the country very different from the picture that he had formed in his mind from impressions gained in India. The views of other academics could likewise be altered if Pakistani Americans were to take the initiative in this regard and offer financial support to prospective visitors.
A third task for Pakistani Americans is to support the education sector in Pakistan. Giving a boost to the education program is a major pressing necessity. It is gratifying that some groups, including APPNA and the Safi Qureshey Foundation, were active and seized of this role but much more needs to be done. Explicit details need to be worked out with an air of urgency.
Another role that the Pakistani Americans could voluntarily take upon themselves is to serve as a bridge between the US and Pakistan by lobbying for Islamabad and projecting the national point of view on crucial issues like Kashmir.
The four tasks have already found expression, though to an imperceptible degree, in some of the initiatives of Pakistani Americans. Yet, a lot still needs to be done and without loss of precious time.
There are quite a few shining examples of expatriate communities in the US rising to the occasion and coming to the rescue of their country of origin. They have acted like mini-multinationals by gainfully employing cheap and abundant labor at home and diffusing, in return, higher technical skills in the manufacture of value-added products. A speedy technological uplifting of the mother country has been the goal of some communities, while others have been more active on the political front and have been successful in achieving tangible results. The goals have been well defined and the blueprints drawn up to the minutest details. The results were spontaneous, sustained, and had a chain-reaction effect with many wholesome spin-offs and ramifications. What applies to the strivings and successes of other expatriate communities applies equally to the zest and zeal of the enterprising community of Pakistani Americans.
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