Daily Times

“He it is Who appointed the sun a splendour and the moon a light, and measured for her stages, that ye might know the number of the years, and the reckoning” — Holy Quran, Surah Younas, Ayat 5.

As the new solar year is here, let us look back at the year gone by and look forward to New Year 2011. Before going further, let us thank the Almighty for the blessing of life, for having lived one more year and for entering a new year. This has been entirely possible by His blessings in the face of terrorism, desperate traffic, floods, illnesses, accidents and killings. Personally, I thank the Almighty for letting me survive this cancer. Like always, we recall the happiness and sadness of the year past, make some promises to ourselves and pin some hope on the future.

In a lighter vein, the biggest disappointment came from my cricketers. Cricket is the one game I like to watch, ball by ball. Personally, I am no player of cricket but my son Ali is; he even captained his school team and scored centuries. But I do understand the strategies and techniques. The irresponsible game played by our cricketers, and their conduct, put me off. Can one expect a better performance this year? Can they play again as they did in the two test drawn series against South Africa? I would like to entertain the hope in 2011 that they will. The World Cup is a challenge they need to take seriously, not just for themselves but also for the pride of their fans. The flip side is the discovery of some good young players, particularly Hafiz. In 2011, serious attention must be paid to the education and training of these players. It is a big and paying career and should be available to well-educated, skilled and honest people only.

Our television anchors did not perform any better than the cricketers. Playing to the gallery and picking up all kinds of negativity in the politicians and the government agencies has been their favourite pastime. All cannot be black. There must be some good somewhere! I would like to hope that our anchors will show a greater sense of responsibility to society. They do not need to try and hasten the end of all governments. Poor governance will do that for them anyway. So save your breath and use the power of the media with care.

Now we come to the politicians. This is a more serious matter. This breed does not seem to have learnt much from the past, except some refinement in perpetuating their power and sharing the booty with the ‘opposition’. There is no real concern for the general populace or the ability to find ways to improve its lot. However, some worthwhile effort with the help of the armed forces in combating terrorists must be praised. Indeed the civilian government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has shown real patriotism and determination, and has given great sacrifices. It even held the National Games! One hopes that during 2011, the politicians will work to substantiate their words with deeds. The politicians must stop playing the ‘province’ card and should not exploit Balochistan in particular. Can we hope in 2011 that the concern for the betterment of the country and its people will be so high in the priority list that all parties will bury their personal hatchets, put aside their vendettas, stop selling past sacrifices or feeding the egos of their ‘quaids’, forbid exploitation of the religious divide, guarantee a safe and dignified return to leaders in exile, and sit together in a civilised manner to work for the betterment of the people? Even if I am dreaming, I would like to entertain such hopes for 2011. Finally politicians, please stop blaming each other, living in the past and telling us good and bad stories. Such things do not fill stomachs.

Women and old people continued to be ignored. Creative artists have been relegated to the position of toys to play with for amusement and are pushed aside when entertainment is not required. Education, culture and the minorities need better attention. A serious look must be given to the so-called Blasphemy Law, which is an instrument of exploitation by the pro-extremists. Discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and gender continues. Rickshaws and buses still carry the slogan: ‘This is because of my mother’s blessings’. What happened to the father who killed himself in trying to raise his family? In 2011, how about saying: ‘This is because of my parents’ blessings’?

The economy is in tatters. This is a familiar story. It started to change in Musharraf’s time but we are back to square one now. People do not want to pay taxes. They have no faith in the government’s sincerity and cash feels good in their pockets anyway. What a catch-22 situation! This is an area we must improve upon in the year 2011. Inflation, power shortages and corruption continued to make life difficult in 2010. Unfortunately, there seems no hope of betterment.

People will do well if they give serious thought to the whole system of democracy, which is full of flaws. New elections are not far off. It is now that we need to organise and work for the kind of revolution that brings to power people who understand what kind of revolution is needed and implement their agenda. In fact, a revolution is needed in the mindset of the people themselves, in the masses and in us. We must stop not caring. We must stop taking things lying down. We must carry out our responsibilities and not keep crying for rights all the time. There can be no rights for the irresponsible. One hopes and prays that the basis of a peaceful and constructive revolution will be laid. Revolution must not be just a play of words to excite people; it must be supported by an agenda and a resolve of the masses to carry it out. Will 2011 see the dawn of such a resolve? Let us be optimistic and continue to make efforts in our humble capacities.

The writer is a culture and media management specialist, a researcher, author, director and actor