By: Sarmad Shahbaz
While driving through the city on the eve of 14th August 2022, I came across people from all walks of life. People, from the proletariats to the corporate sector middle-class guys and those who are said to be elites, all were on the roads. Waving the flag, green and white with a crescent and star on, these overly obsessed enthusiasts were nothing but being bandwagon for the cause which they do not even know about. All they were celebrating was just a facade of illusionary freedom. The independence that gave birth to the land of pure, where impure people exist widely.
So what are they celebrating for and how do they celebrate? Few firework crackers and goose-bumping slogans of freedom, love, and nationality do not define freedom, at least not in the sense of a rational person. Before going any further, let us take a clear-cut stance on what freedom is. Although freedom is a variable entity, it is still interchangeable with independence, liberty, and free will. Experts including Bentham and Derrida have described freedom as the absence of limitations. Holistically, however, freedom can be put in as a sense that a state of exemption from the power or control of others [sic], the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action.
After illustrating the suitable definition of freedom, let us take a drive. Pakistan was born seventy-five years ago. Since then, Pakistanis have been celebrating Independence Day with zeal and zest. Contrariwise, seven and a half decades later, Pakistan stands only free from the apparent physical coercion of the colonial powers (I doubt this as well). In the terms of socio-political, economic, cultural, religious, environmental, personal, and professional lives, not a single Pakistan can claim oneself to be free and independent. Hence, this sense of independence is contrary as the politicians of Pakistan are contrary to political science.
Celebrating the farce of freedom will
Take one in the deep abyss of ignorance
Talking further, the becoming of Pakistan as a civil democracy has been objectionable to date. In contrast between the written and practice, the country has never been a democratic republic. Democracy is armor for the freedom and independence of citizens. When democracy is fragile (as seen in Pakistan even today), freedom and independence surely get compromised. This is what happened in Pakistan ever since. This makes the country a political hostage in the hands of a few elites from dynastic families, religiously influential tribes, charismatic individuals, and the establish-mentally (not sure that is even a word but it fits perfect) groups. Inculcating the whole, we are politically compromised.
In the economy, Pakistan is lagging behind the country that was broken out of it. Bangladesh, today, is the most emerging economy in the region of South Asia. Came into existence after two and a half decades of Pakistan, Bangladesh is a thriving country in terms of its GDP and exports. India, the country that has a duel with Pakistan (this is what young people are taught in India as well as in Pakistan), is overtaking China and America in various fields. Still, Pakistan sees India as a challenging contender which is marked as a fool’s claim. There is no hurt in claiming your rival to be above you when it is visible and authentic. This can be seen by the priorities on the Independence Day where Pakistan is launching a new version of the National Anthem and India is launching its first indigenously built electric car. In short, Pakistan has been on the ventilator to save its economy, thanks to our political incompetent leaders, intervening rabid-establishment, and bungling bureaucracy. This all makes us economically dependent and caged.
Moving to the socio-cultural aspect, the most important one I think, Pakistanis are fanatics. Hyper-nationalistic in their approach, Pakistanis are radical civilians. This oxymoron displays the nature of citizens who think they are doing the best for the country but the case is opposite in practice. The amplification of such cases can be depicted by the celebration of independence itself. Insensible sloganeering, satiating oneself with roads blockage, riding with the silencer-off, and gratification through teasing each-other, Pakistanis are living their independence in a fool’s paradise. Dostoyevsky famously wrote that the best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in the prison. This prison-like-paradise is being created by the herds who rule the country, as mentioned above. Individuals, in their thinking process and approach, are hardly rational, critical, and sensible. Majority of my countrymen are head-downed with the already made customs, rituals, and interpretation. Hence, this makes a socio-cultural captive nation.
Before the end of this piece, mark that the flag is highly respectable. As a nation, we have failed drastically. Not once, but several times. We have not even risen. Our previous generations have worked in and out but not enough to substantiate the meaning of Pakistan. Now, this is the time for young people to rise from the ashes and become the servicemen who repair this state. But before doing anything for the country, do it for yourself and make yourself a capable, disciplined, and rational citizen. Only then you can serve the country in one way or another. Celebrating the farce of freedom would not take you anywhere but in the deep abyss of ignorance.
Now to conclude, let us go back to the driving scene and the definition of freedom and enquire, are you really free and independent? This question must be asked truthfully, without the bias of materialism and illogical deductions. The answer is pretty straight; No, you are not free, at minimum to the standards set to be free in this world. So what are you celebrating? Just for a piece of land that mourns for a nation? Get it that this cheering should be done when you wake up from this superficial illusionary dream of independence, freedom, and bargaining history. Only then, you will be free and independent like those who tower democracy, human rights, interfaith coexistence, and socio-cultural harmony. As Mandela said,
For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others
The writer is an Islamabad-based political commentator and social critic with keen interests in political-economic sphere, social order and philosophy. He can be reached at @Sarmadshahbaz01
