“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”- Margaret Mead, American Author
On 14 August 2024, Pakistan celebrated its 77th years of independence with national fervor and patriotism. The nation pledged to improve national image and reverence in the global community as dreamed by our forefathers. Pakistan’s miraculous creation on Islamic ideology is attributed to consistent political struggle and abrupt change in the Muslim community against the British and Hindu tenacious opposition. The founding leaders expected freedom of religion, respect for human rights and accelerated growth of the newly established Islamic state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah said: –
“Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us.”
The fervor and dedication at the start of the journey could not maintain its momentum. The incessant political rifts and polarization resulted in emergence of extremism, social evils and intolerance. Weak governance, economic neglect and inconsistent policies affected national character and increased unemployment and inflation. The social order was disrupted due to inadequate institutional capacity and lack of education awareness which changed national orientation.
People expect the government to initiate a top-down revival program to change the social order and bring growth.
But the biggest dilemma today is the people’ resistance to change. Instead of focusing on individual responsibility, they prefer criticism on governance and bureaucratic anomalies. They expect government to initiate top-down revival program for changing social order and bring growth. Criticism on institutional behaviour and services is a common phenomenon in the society which is the easiest way to shirk from own duties and hold others accountable for people’ rights. Tax evasion has become a neo-normal which is necessary for the government to ensure public development. Being self-centered, we address own issues at the cost of others.
At the same time, people around us generally idealize and appreciate the western societies, their governance system and the welfare services provided by their government. They however, tend to forget the socio-economic disparities between the two societies, individual responsibilities and the social order preserved by the public. People abide by taxation rules, uphold clean environment, respect laws, protect their rights and display their responsibilities and that’s how they make up their society and maintain their social order.
The past governments also share complacency in shaping the existing environment, weak judicial system and poor governance. The lack of institutional capacity and absence of check and balance mechanism disrupted the routine life, including traffic system, infrastructure maintenance, health and education deterioration and execution of law and order. Inconsistent economic policies weakened investment, industrial production, agricultural yields and almost diminished services sector accelerated unemployment and inflation. The absence of welfare policies especially for the poor class widened the class disparity causing social frustration and disrupted law and order situation. The debt repayment crisis distracted government from development projects and addressing the issues on emergence.
It is a universal truth that restoration of social order and initiation of welfare projects is possible only through state and public harmony. Overcoming social challenges and polarization is not possible without changing behaviour. Individual responsibilities should be identified and honestly displayed for public welfare. People submitting timely taxes and performing individual responsibilities should be rewarded and incentivized to encourage others. The state and individual responsibilities can be learnt from Islamic teachings and the life of the Prophet (PBUH). We also need to draw pertinent lessons from Pakistan’s independence movement and European model of welfare state for shaping the social environment and restoring economic development.
The state is taking initiative in introducing welfare and development policies through shaping balanced social order and implementation of rules. Digitization of institutions, transparency and frequent accountability would restore public confidence and investment security. Consistent growth policies would transform social orientation and help pay dividends. Standardization of education system and its free accessibility would help achieve public awareness and transformation of the society. Free health care facilities and reforming police structure with strict check mechanism would build trust of the government. Transparency would create balance in the society allowing people to display their individual responsibilities with more ease. Synchronized efforts and initiation of small things would reflect positive indicators of social change. So, let us pledge that we all change national character through individual responsibilities and balanced social orientation.
The author is a PhD Scholar and a freelance writer. He can be contacted on [email protected]