Yesterday’s lecture ended when my teacher said: ‘West is known for individual faith, Japanese have their roots with collectivist culture and the East is known for those who respect the elders and become the most fortunate’. It might be a simple saying which we have been listening for years since we were born but if it is considered with concentration and an in depth analysis is carried out we will realize that our values and traditions are our basis and roots. No doubt how much we could prosper with how much money we can earn but what will differentiate us as a nation is our identity and the identity is not just the name but the responsibility of keeping our culture, traditions and values alive. Our language, ethnicity, conventions and even dressing represent us and the need is to revitalize this.
Whether it’s the Chinese nation or the United States of America, we can see that their culture and their values have been kept alive always and the countries have made progress. It is great to learn about new things but adapting those in such a way as to forget our roots is not the step which could make us progress. Nations that have prospered and made their mark either in history or today are not those who forget what they have been brought up with. Taking into account just the language for instance, we can say ‘Hello!’, ‘Hi !’, ‘Chao !’ or ‘Yo’ but at the end people can call us desi gora but not the gora actually. Our Eastern values inculcate the system which is respect for others and even for us. It provides us the confidence and courage to stand out in the crowd with the identity which belongs to US only but not something being copied or pasted.
Whether it is Science or Technology, Arts or Culture, Sports or athletics, Philanthropy Volunteer Organizations, Pakistanis have been recognized with their own identity in all these fields, Dr. Qadeer Khan, Dr. Samar Mubarkmand, Asam ul Haq, Imran Khan, Gul Gee, Saddiqan , Abdus Sattar Edhi, Jan Sher Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and so many others. The list does not stop here but the issue is that I cannot list them all as the space is less. So what makes us under confident that we cannot feel free to pursue our goals and are trying to copy some other nation? What makes us disappointed not to choose our culture? Or what makes us not to read our history and be confident of what we are and where we belong to?
It is just the matter of approach; nobody could make us feel ashamed of what we are and where we belong to. We just need to be sure and confident of ourselves, our abilities and what we have. We are no less than any other nation in this world; it is just that we need be secure in ourselves and our roots with a belief on the fact that:
‘Nothing is impossible to a willing heart’.
