Daily Times

This year, as Pakistan completes its 76th year as an independent state, flickering flashbacks of the splendour and colour of 1947 at the birth of the fifth-largest dominion with 70 million inhabitants make the entire setting almost surrealistic. The painful circumstances of partition dance to a morbid tune in the background whenever there’s mention of looted, plundered, wounded and estranged migrants stepping onto the motherland to proudly proclaim what they had been fighting for years on end.

So much has already been written on entire streets set on fire and looted. Vivid accounts of “blood trains” blanketed with the dead shuffling between the newly-formed neighbours continued to haunt generation after generation. That people used tents, fabrics and charpoys to create shelters has been passed down in families all around. But while caravans of dead bodies, fathers running ‘in all directions to inquire about their daughters and makeshift refugee camps remain vividly etched in the collective memory, the wonder of an almost sacred achievement steered the public narrative. Individual tragedies were forgotten when young and old, men and women, joined hands to enjoy breathing in the free air; the dignified air.

It would be almost catastrophic to reduce the beauty of independence to horrors endured during one of the largest-ever mass migrations. Although the partition generation has considerably shrunk, try asking a 1947 survivor and you would be surprised by what they have to offer. Surely, their stories will give a rundown of people spilling out of doors of special trains or walking miles upon miles in pursuit of their dream but nowhere in their traumatic accounts do they make light of their relief, their pride, their prayers and their celebrations.

Individual tragedies were forgotten when young and old, men and women, joined hands to enjoy breathing in the free air.

This extraordinary feeling of accomplishment resurfaces every August.

Now, it would be one thing to revel in the miraculous glory of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and his just as determined team and a swathe of supporters squeezing water from the colonial stone but remaining fixated with the yesteryear, another shortcoming altogether. Mr Jinnah believed a Hindu majority would be incapable of living with a Muslim minority in a just or fair manner. The emphasis on equality and justice laid the foundation of a state in which he expected democracy to flourish and all Pakistanis–irrespective of their religion–to work in unison. In a famous quote, he took great pride in “achieve (ing) Pakistan and that too without bloody war and practically peacefully by moral and intellectual force and with the power of pen which is no less mighty than the sword and so our righteous cause has triumphed.” However, in the same breath, he cautioned, “Are we now going to besmear and tarnish this great achievement for which there is no parallel in the whole history of the world?”

Yet, the red flag fluttered like a dark ominous cloud, warning his people of what would become of his dreams, his ideals the minute his lungs gave out. For the last three-quarters of a century, every independence anniversary implores those living under the crescent-adorned flag to remember the high hopes of the founding fathers. The acrid scent of devastation has clung to all nooks of the land for far too long. Pakistan faces a host of challenges that can only be resolved if its leaders and the masses have the iron-clad will to really change matters on the ground. From struggling to establish a true civilian identity, paying attention to a fast-shrinking economic pie to a national debate on what its goals should be, there is a lot that remains to be ascertained. But the direness of our straits or the talk of doom and gloom that surrounds us does not mean giving up on the golden vision. Even today, Pakistan wishes for us to look past our individual tragedies to focus on the bigger picture. If the ruling elite is required to develop a razor-sharp focus to bring about a roadmap that leads to development and prosperity on the basis of transparency and hard work, the society also needs to evolve into a group of dynamic and forward-looking people. The extraordinary mission of defending the sovereignty and integrity of the motherland not just against the external security threats but the blazing divisive lines and movements that perpetuate terror does not rest upon the shoulders of the armed forces alone but that of every single man and woman proud to belong to the land of many, many splendours.

There’s no use serenading to “Chand Meri Zameen, Phool Mera Watan” (My motherland shines like a moon and is fragrant like flowers) if we are actually not thankful for being blessed with this excellent opportunity to breathe as free citizens. Our picturesque beauty, natural assets, nuclear power and the public will to perform despite staggering odds are all reasons to believe in and work towards realising Jinnah’s Pakistan: a Pakistan that belongs to all of us.

The writer is Oped Editor (Daily Times) and can be reached at durenayab786@gmail.com. She tweets @dureakram