Living a vision

by Amina H Syed
It pains me to hear malicious propaganda. When dinner party conversations rip and shred reputations and electronic and printed media seeks only to malign, it hurts me. It hurts me that they should speak ill of Pakistan - for the land cannot be bad or good, it is the people who make it so and I cannot deny that I am one of them. What can such negativity hope to achieve? They say before felling a tree in olden days they would abuse and curse it, it then shrivelled within and was easy to fall/cut. Do the predictors of doom never think of the harm they inflict on those innocent and helpless millions who are struggling to go on, and more pertinently, render invalid the sacrifice of those of past and those Unsung heroes who we have gathered today to remember. Do they die in vain? I wish I could widen my lens so that others could see, see my land through my eyes. Rising majestically on the shores of the Arabian sea and heaving to the heights of the daunting K-2, it is a land of amazing beauty, immense variety and rich resources. It is all there if you would care to take a second look. History of nations is not without stories of turmoil but worthy citizens do not give up. They choose to remember remember that they must stand together. This is what Australia has taught me. My 90 year old neighbour walks at dawn to pay homage to her Nations heros. When I first heard about anzac day. I went to the Kings park and pondered over the fate of the faceless names, neatly written in rows, men in uniform who had died for they had believed in a vision. I thought this is what it means to be a nation, alive and throbbing never forgetting, always honouring. But I have not come here to share my meagre wisdom, though my passion for my Pakistan I did want to convey, I came here to remind us of a shared vision and ideal that our elders had, that seems to be escaping us now. I volunteered to speak today so that I could share some insightful extracts from speeches made on different occasions by our late Quaid, the founder and father of our nation, the great Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Nothing I can say can convey as accurately the passion and the idealism that incited millions to sacrifice all for the freedom of a pure and safe land. For the ease of delivery and understanding I have collated relevant extracts from different speeches in a long sequence. I begin with his first presidential address on 11th of august 1947 and as I do so I picture the momentous occasion and the quaid saying, Not only we ourselves are wondering but I think the whole world is wondering at this unprecedented cyclonic revolution which has brought about the plan of creating and establishing two independent sovereign dominion in this sub continent. it is unprecedendant - there is no parallel in the history of the world. I reiterate most emphatically that Pakistan was made possible because of the danger of complete annihilation of the human soul in a society based on caste. Unfortunately the birth of Pakistan was attended by a holocaust Hundreds and thousands of defenceless people have been mercilessly butchered and millions have been displaced. People who 1 Speech at PIAs remembrance Day on 29th April 2012

till yesterday were leading a decent and prosperous life are today paupers with no means of livelihood. But are all these sacrifices that we have been called to make to be in vain. Are we going to sit down and mope over our losses? The fitting response would be a grim determination to get down to the task of building our state on strong and firm foundationsThis requires work, work, and more work and we are bound to succeed and never forget our motto: Unity, Discipline and faith. Search your hearts and see whether you have done your part in the construction of this state. Do not be over whelmed by the enormity of the task. ..You are made of sterling material and second to none. You are a nation whose history is replete with people of wonderful grit, character and heroism. Live up to your traditions and add to it another chapter of glory. We have the won the battle for freedom but the grimmer battle for the preservation of the freedom is still in progress and We must keep abreast of the times and keep knowledge and equipment up to date, not because we have evil designs against any of our neighbours but because our own security demands that we should not be caught unawares. There is nothing more we desire than to live in peace and let others live in peace. We want to develop our country without outside interference. We have to build the character of our future generations which means highest sense of honour, integrity, selfless service to the nation and a sense of responsibility, and we have to see that they are fully qualified and equipped to play their part in the various branches of economic life in a manner in which they do honour to Pakistan. Remember that the scrupulous maintenance and enforcement of law and order are the prerequisites of all progress. The tenants of Islam enjoin on every Muslim to give protection to his neighbours and to the minorities regardless of caste and creed. You are free: you are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state. My guiding principles will be justice and complete impartiality and Do your duty and have faith In God. There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan. It has come to stay You belong to a nation you have now carved it does not belong to a Punjabi, Sindhi or a Path an. It is yours. Therefore if you want to build yourself into a nation give up provincialism. Provincialism has been one of our curses, just like sectarianism. Our enemies, among whom I regret to say there are still some Muslims, have set about actively encouraging provincialism in the hope of weakening Pakistan and thereby facilitating the reabsorption of this province into the Indian Dominion. A flood of false propaganda is being daily put forth with the object of undermining the solidarity of the Muslims of this state and inciting the people to commit acts of lawlessness. In your criticism of the government you must learn to be constructive You must obey for only then you can learn to command. Live true to the ideals - to the service of Pakistan and make your contribution to the protection of the weak. It is not words that count so much as deeds and you

Speech at PIAs remembrance Day on 29th April 2012

will, I am sure, hold aloft the banner of Pakistan and maintain its honour and prestige as a great nation. In your journey, let me tell you that you have my best wishes. It is overwhelming to see the optimism that prevails in all these messages. Freedom comes at a great price and preserving that freedom is equally challenging. Let us promise ourselves today to put in our bit, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to fight the darkness of illiteracy, poverty and terrorism that threatens to engulf us. As I browsed through the speeches, I hit upon a broadcast to the people of Australia recorded on the 19th of February, 1948. The Quaid begins with saying; I wonder what the people of Australia know of Pakistan? Is it, I have been asking myself more than a name to them? Is it merely an old and not quite comprehensible experiment by those unpredictable people, the Asiatic? Well, today I am very glad to have the opportunity of telling you something about Pakistan.. The people are mostly simple folk poor, not very well educated and with few interests beyond the cultivation of their fields. But they come of hardy, vigorous stock and I think without boasting I can claim that they are brave. They made good soldiers, and have won renown in many battles. They have fought by your side in two world wars. In the setting up of our new state I would expect a special understanding of our problems by the people of Australia. It was not long ago that your forbearers were breaking new ground, organising the administration, scheming to develop the riches of the earth, safeguarding the future of their children and most importantly achieving their sense of identity as Australians which you have inherited. We are in much the same state. Doubtless we shall make mistakes just perhaps, as you have made mistakes. But just as you have succeeded, so too, we shall succeed.

Pakistan Zindabad.

Speech at PIAs remembrance Day on 29th April 2012