Quaid's Day Again?

Once again, as usual, 25th of December brings home Christmas and Birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The fact, that we being a Muslim nation celebrate this day more enthusiastically because of the Quaid's birthday and not because it's Christmass, is quite obvious. There are different views about religion and I suppose everyone has the right to express what one feels about a certain issue. There are few who voice for a kind of secular Pakistan where religion should not be a business of the state and rather a personal matter, while few seek the real Islamic ideology being implemented across the board. Both are OK as long as the majority accepts it, but we are a bit too unaware of the history of both, our religion and homeland. Needless to say, the leader who strived so hard to get us this piece of land was a very intellectual person. Consider following:-

A. He knew we needed a separate homeland to practice our religion. He wanted religion to guide us to get the right perspective of life and not as a tool of promoting some grostesque personal agenda. He was of the view that Hindus will never let the Muslim minority at peace. At least the recent imbroglio in India is vindictive of the narrow-minded Hindu dominated Indian society.

B. He wanted to keep religion as everyone's personal matter. But that's not that he wanted to tarnish the Islamic ideology which formed the basis of the two-nation theory as he was cognisant of the sentiments of the Muslims who had no idea of the fanatics playing to the tune of Hindutva. I believe he pressed upon the fact that no one was to be superior because of following a particular religion.

C. He wanted us all to work vehemently to fulfill our duties towards the state. He would have never dreamt of his disciples flouting the very values of Faith, Unity and Discipline, that he so jealously gaurded.

Now lets see how we have maculated his ideals:-

A. We rightly took his advice to practice our religion independently but could not translate his views about religion as a guide to live with a right perspective. Instead, we fell prey to the destructive gameplay where religion was used as tool of promoting a particular agenda. Wholethrough our short history we had to face religious extremism where personal views took precedence over the Islamic Ideology. Case in point, religious political cliques damaged the true fundamentals of our nation to a great extent. It was the case yesterday and goes on unabated even today.

B. Where the religious political parties used religion to enhance their vote-bank, there on the contrary few groups took it upon themselves to work against the religion itself. They have always wanted religion to be a very personal matter and have strived to establish a society on the lines of the Western way of life. Aware or oblivious of the harm, they made Pakistani society look like a laughingstock. They, instead of putting their perspective right, tried to confuse the younger lot about religion. This harmed the basics of the Islamic Society where practicing religious Muslims were a free-to-hit target for these foolish people.

C. We forgot the way we were supposed to flourish as a nation formed after an ideology. We have gone adrift of the three principles the Quaid gave us and are willfully contented. The dwellers of this land forgot his golden principles and instead started doubting them altogether. How foolishly we pulled our stakes and made other ideals more acceptable to us instead. The turmoil has never been over and we still are passing through a hypothetically ever-existing crucial stage.

Today is a very special day but it will be over very soon by sundown. Could we just hope to make a small change in our thinking? Could we just promise to not flout the principles our Quaid gave us? Could we just think of our fellow citizens equally significant as we deem ourselves? Could we just do that little effort to make a big change? Perhaps we could and should take a leap of faith or the Quaid's Day would just be an ordinary day like those of the yester-years.