Independence Day!

Assalamu’alaikum,
Bismillah.

14th August! You just say it and hearts start thumping, feet start tapping, fingers start snapping, bodies start swaying happily and everyone falls into chorus of their favorite song.

Isn’t that the scenario that we saw in different parts of Pakistan on Independence Day?

65 years of Pakistan’s independence, our dear homeland!

I remember coming across, in this Sunday’s newspaper, 65 reasons to celebrate 65 years of Pakistan. I started reading with anticipation, wondering what reasons lay ahead and clearly remember my dumbfounded amazement when I had finished. Yes, the reasons were those due to which independence is celebrated today. After all, haven’t we produced brilliant artists, glorious singers and melodious musicians ever since Pakistan was created?

However much happiness is celebrated, it is less!

Shouting and singing loudly  with your friends of both genders in concerts is just an expression of the love that we feel for this piece of land which is drenched with the blood of sacrifices of our forefathers.

Forefathers, eh?

This is the reason I write today. Because I vividly remember the deep pain in my grandfather’s eyes when he used to tell us how he remembered himself at the time of partition, a young army officer in Pakistan, on duty to receive people migrating from India to Pakistan by train. He stood there waiting for the train to come and finally when it arrived, there was no singing and laughter but…… A deep silence! He stepped inside compartment after compartment, only to find them filled with nothing but dead bodies!

Would you close your eyes for just 5 seconds and imagine that?

Does anyone of you remember those dead people leaving a will saying we are dying for you, please celebrate our sacrifices and death with all possible forms of entertainment?

I also remember the passion in the eyes of my other grandfather, who was old, having retired from army quite some years ago, but nevertheless wrote an earnest letter to the higher authorities requesting to be recruited as a volunteer in army during the time when war was being announced.

Would you really believe that he was ready to sacrifice his remaining limbs so that you could perhaps dance a few more steps independently?

No, it’s not just about my grandfathers. I’m sure yours have the same story. Go, ask them!

And if you don’t have a grandfather, let me tell you what they would have told you:

Pakistan ka matlab kia? La ilaaha illAllah

[Translation: Meaning of Pakistan? There is no God worthy of worship except Allah]

La ilaaha illAllah. Go, do some research on it. Surely, that would be part of the love that you feel for this land. And this phrase is a lot more practical than you think!

Wassalam,
Hajrah. :)

P.S. Don’t find answers? Come back here and comment below…