Apr 23, 2001 06:03 PM
4686 Views
With reference to all the recent reviews that have been floating around boasting of us being national hero’s and epitome of bravery, national pride etc etc. A humble request to all rather an appeal to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed, color, and nation to rise above being petty labeled humans and realize your worth of being a contributing variable towards the community, state, nation and world.
Please pardon me if you find my review an excerpt from some politician’s or economists speech. But trust me it is straight from the heart of an insignificant but contributing member of the global community. I am very much an Indian as much as I am a global citizen, I am as sensitive to my country''s plight as I am to our remote neighborhood Afghanistan, I am as possessive about a Kashmir as I am about a Palestine, Iraq, Bosnia or a Vietnam, I am as much a human as I ought to be.
Now I am sure that most of us (at least the regulars) at MS would have witnessed that rather unpleasant, self-proclaimed display of nothing but provincial love for our motherlands. But, from where I stand or for that matter any just individual with prudent disposition would see it is a tragedy to see that such altercations are becoming norms rather than a exception and I hold us responsible for this state of affairs. It is very convenient to lament the politicians, bureaucrats but it is us because of whom these guys have the audacity to reach at the helm of the affairs.
I have one small question for all those who participated in that imbroglio or belong to that shallow mindset and i.e Do you have enough reasons to be proud of being an Indian, A Pakistani, An American etc. If yes, then how have you contributed to the cause of pride?. If no, then should you have the discretion to lambaste any other individual or any other country as being inferior?
Now, look at the best part of the entire episode: Being the over reactive protoplasm that we are we never even bothered to use our grey matter also and straight away got our bloods to boil.
I have friends (a whole lot of them on the other side of the border) – Ishfaq, Sadat, Zeeshan, Aftab, Daud, Hayat and during my innumerous interaction with them (in school most of the time). We all bunked classes, we all used to extend our sports period, we all went for excursions and trekking, we all used to stay in each others’ houses practically every day….. So how come some people would all of a sudden question our bonds on the basis of some statement that a moron who is not even sure of his identity made negating our relationship. I have friends from Kashmir and Afghanistan (though have lost touch with them coz they all have moved out to US) but rest assured I am confident that they would be missing not being here as much as I am missing their presence.
Even though I still do not know many people in other parts of the world but I can bet a fortune on the fact that most of them or almost all of them would come across to you as your second self. It is just the perspective we adopt to look at them makes them different from us. Stereotyping is an exceptionally strong phenomenon in human psychology and given our mediocrity and ethnocentric attitudes we often invariably tend to fall prey to it. AND thaz where the problem starts.
Nations fight war to protect their territories from being poached– and it is justified but crying wars against the entire community on the premise that some anti social populist S of a B sending infiltrators to create a social unrest or some twisted self proclaimed guardian of religion bringing down an entire monument to protect the entire earth from god’s fury or something IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS and what is even more ridiculous is people who have been gifted with some prudence and sense of judgement jumping the gun in pretext of safeguarding the interest of the nation sitting in the comforts of an Air-conditioned room.
Comeon people! Learn how to respect in order to earn some respect. Now, I don’t claim to be philanthropist or an active social activist. All this is not necessary to prove any point. What I believe in is – Adam Smith’s theory of “The invisible hand” which explains how self-interest guides the most efficient use of resources in a nation''''s economy, with public welfare coming as a by-product. I.E if everybody in this world is selfish (but in an objective way) and pursues self-interest (AND NOT GREED) the need for the social good and all the efforts on that part would not be required.
But, if people like us who are educated enough and who have been blessed with a certain level of upbringing talk of baseless ideologies that contribute to nothing but some momentary pleasure ..PLEASE WAKE UP AND RISE.
India is a beautiful country with a diversity of culture that can be an envy of any nation. Irrespective of who built the Taj, or the Babri Masjid we are the ones who are contributing to its destruction today.I am dying to go to Kashmir and there are millions, billions like me. I would have visited Kashmir 10 times over by now if it were not to be seen as legitimate property of some handful of people on either side of the border. People in Kashmir do not want to be labeled as Indian, Pakistani or even Kashmiri. They just want to be recognized as humans, as citizens of this world so that they can live their lives as most of other people across the world live, so that they can give their children a better tomorrow just as some fortunate people like us do.
Pakistan is a beautiful country. My grand father (from mianwali) used to swear by that place. He used to swear by his friends who incidentally were not labeled as Hindus. Infact, during the partition his life was saved by his Muslim friends only. Those Sunnis, mujahibs etc and words of jihad are only the religion of few, Islam promotes fairness and peace.
Now if all of us or even some of us who have read this review and agree with the views listed can take something home and look at human relations as beyond color, people as beyond religions, and nations as beyond boundaries. Please do not ever indulge in or contribute skewed views to any such discussions or forums. From human perception there are only have two ways to look at things… either positive or negative.. the choice that you will make depending on your internalized learning will decide whether you contribute positively or negatively to your interest, your nation’s interest and to the interest of the entire world.
Pursue self-interest and not greed. Do yourself a good and not a favor to anyone.
In the end I would pen down by quoting a line from a great song my non other than the king himself, requesting all the members on MS to give a message of goodwill and spread a message of goodwill.
“Heal the world, make it better place for you, for me and for the entire human race”- MJ
Hope to see some nice messages by people across the world for people across the world. Cheers!
P.S: I am sorry that this review is not written from a tourism point of view as I felt that there is something more fundamental that we need to know of.But I promise
to write one from tourism perspective very soon
