When I think about all this, none of the above said rings enough bells which may send shrivels down my spine.
Usmanioon pay kohe ghum tota, to kia ghum hay
Khone sub hazar anjum say hoti hay sahar payda
What concerns me most is the possibility of us crossing the minimum threshold which may push us into the state of collective pessimism.
In economics we study a concept called inflationary expectations. Basically if a society thinks prices will rise to a certain level, prices WILL rise to that level. Go back in history and think about the reason of why Pakistan came to BE? Well I will call it the power of collective desire. Go back in US history and ask yourselves what turned this non-productive piece of land into a land of opportunities? After all the people who initially migrated are the same people who live in today's Britain.
Now some of us might say that the actual reason was the role of leadership. My answer to this is Yes and No. Think about it! What is happening in Pakistan for last many years? Brain Drain. Why should any sensible person stay in the midst of people who are not even sure about their future? Honestly! Even Jinnah left India after he found Muslims of India to be nothing more than a ‘HOPELESS’ case. What brought him back was only the increasing desire of Muslims to achieve a certain destiny which they had already decided for themselves.
It is this reason why to me collective pessimism is a much greater threat than any other disaster. Once we enter this state, there is nothing stopping us from going down the drain. Lets call this the 'theory of collective pessimism'. However, to save ourselves from entering this closed destructive loop, we must choose a reason – a destiny – which may be a source of hope for us all and this country. Hence the title of this write-up!
But what exactly do I mean when I say ‘Where is the Destiny we are Destined to find?’ I can assure one thing that we are destined to find it but what we need from each other is defining this destiny of ours. I must mention my Boss here who wants to see future Pakistani cities as Dubai. But when he mentions this to his audience, the hall goes silent with everyone having a sarcastic smile of their faces. Sometimes it takes me back to 1938 when Allama Iqbal was lying on his death bed while people taunting him for his crazy vision of carving an independent state for Muslims of India. But in the following years this crazy vision – which had then become a collective desire – transformed itself into a reality.
Unfortunately Pakistan lost the few saner heads too early in its life. Since then we have developed several constitutions telling us how to carry ourselves but have failed to outline a common goal – a destiny. What use is knowing how to kick while not knowing where the goal post is? Or What use is knowing all the bus routes while not knowing where the final destination is? Even a blind person has more chances of reaching home compared to someone who doesn’t know the way to his home!
In the absence of a desired destiny, it is no wonder that we have failed to find ourselves a decent walk in last more than 60 years. It is still not too late for us to get our heads together and desire a common destiny for ourselves. Once done, all we need to do is to stick to the right side in our future history and keep our roars safe for the right time.
Ishq to farryad lazim the, so woh ho chuki
Ub zara dil tham ke farryad ke tabeer daykh
