“Education can Change the destiny of Pakistan”The word education always is made the cause of contrary among the Muslims in subcontinent and now it is in Pakistan also.
After the Mutiny of 1857, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wrote a book in which he told the British that the main cause of the Mutiny was that they knew too little about the people they were ruling. If they wanted to win the friendship of the Indian people then, they must mix with them. Most good Muslims at this time were afraid to send their sons to the government colleges, where the English Language and Western ways were taught; for fear that they would lose their faith in Islam and forget how to speak their own language. Sir Syed Ahmed said that education was the only hope for the Muslims if they wanted to win back their freedom and their proper share in the
life of their country. In 1875, he founded the famous university at Aligarh where young Muslims could receive an English education without fear of becoming worse Muslims. It was a wonderful success. From Aligarh come many great Muslims scholars, teachers, reformers and statesmen. Among them was Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minster of Pakistan.He was the right –hand man of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah during the crucial years of of the Muslim struggle for the creation of Pakistan. In 1947, he became the first prime Minister of the Muslim homeland for which he had worked so hard. He delivered a speech about Pakistan and the Modern World to acknowledge the conferment of an honorary degree upon himself by the University of Kansas. It is one of a series of speeches that he made during his visit to the United States in 1950, speeches which constituted an admirable exposition of how Pakistan was born and how it had fared during the first difficult years of independence.
He told in his speech that Pakistan is a new state; or to be more exact, a new democracy. There was a time when our country, where the traditions of civil liberty, freedom and democracy have now taken such firm root, was a new and young democracy and the memory of our struggle for independence was yet fresh in the minds of men.
Now, Pakistan stands unified because its people are free from mental confusions which else where create disruption and cast menacing shadows on the future. They have chosen for themselves the part chalked out for them by their simple, practical, clear-cut beliefs and decisions. Foremost amongst those beliefs are the belief in the supreme sovereignty of God, belief in the equality of men, belief in democracy and the right of the people to be governed by their own freely chosen representatives, belief in individual destiny, in the fundamental freedoms of every single man and women, in the right of every individual to the fruits of his own honest effort, belief in the sanctity of human life and human liberty, belief in the sanctity of the home, belief in universal peace but an equally strong belief in resisting aggression, tyranny and exploitation. We did not have to acquire these beliefs after the foundation of our new state. On the contrary, we founded a new state because we wanted to practice these beliefs without being inhabited by the contiguity, and without being thwarted by the domination, of other conflicting ways of life. For us to be undemocratic or to ignore individual rights whether of property, belief or expression, or to bend our knee to aggression is to destroy completely the very ideals which inspired us in our demand for Pakistan.
In this situation, we consider the role of Pakistan to be that of a stabilizing factor in a backward and discontented part of the world. We hope to be able to play this role successfully by our strong faith in God, in democracy and in our own unity, by the resources of our lands and waters and by our will to work. On these points Pakistan stands firm.
Liaquat Ali Khan proved that democracy is the best solution of success of newly established country, Pakistan; it also means freedom from want, freedom from disease and freedom from ignorance. Fortunately, Pakistan is a democratic country but we have forgotten the true meaning of democracy.
In Pakistan a lot of misunderstandings are dominated as we know clearly that frustration, uncertainty, disorder, chaos, injustice, inflation, carelessness, selfishness, lawlessness, rumours ,indiscipline, no strong faith in God, lacking of unity, there are many resources of fertile lands and waters but without the will to work, no doubt that have become the part of destiny of Pakistani society. Now, we have to think how we can save Pakistan from these follies and vices which made a cause of downfall of Pakistan. The word literacy can change the destiny of Pakistan. Of course, I am saying about true education which needs only implementation.
We have only three percent literacy rate in Pakistan however government spends a lot of money every year on Education. Actually, it depends only on paperwork that is why the illiteracy is going to enhance day by day in Pakistan.
There is no doubt we have to revise of course again our history, have to remember the cause of downfall of Muslims in Subcontinent, have to learn the advise of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan that education is the only hope for the Muslims if they want to win back their freedom and their proper share in the life of their country.
21st Century says that Education is not the name of degrees, actually it prepare us to face the challenges of life successfully. Education provides the awareness about the surrounding which is the most important tool for every individual of Pakistan. At least 80 percent Pakistanis are not able to understand the word awareness. They talk about democracy, however did not know themselves what is the meaning of democracy. That is all because of deficiency of education in Pakistan.
Now the time has come that we must restart the thinking how we can save our homeland.Obviously, we are the responsible of our follies and vices which are made the cause of our downfall. We can save us through this frustration only because of education that provides the light of awareness and this is the basic requirement of every individual of Pakistan.
Lecturer
Bsc ( Chemistry)
M.A (English Literature)
M.Phil ( Education)