There is something heartwarming, but at the same time sad, about the small tableau built from broken green bangles, pieces of green fabric, small Pakistan flag, and a mixture of other cheap ornaments created by children, many of them Christian, on a street outside a katchi abadi in Lahore.
Similar scenes – and, of course, the festivities we have all experienced in the form of seeing children with face-painted green and white flags, green t-shirts, and sometimes other more innovative displays in parks and in restaurants of all levels. The fact that Pakistani Christians and, indeed, Hindus feel that the 14th of August is a day that also belongs to them is, in many ways, poignant.
The state of Pakistan, most notably since the 1980s and the era of Ziaul Haq, has consistently mistreated its minorities, brought in laws against some and anyone who is not male and Muslim from assuming the post of president in Pakistan. Yet fighter pilots from different faiths have brought honour for Pakistan in the various wars the country has fought against India and held posts in the judiciary and other places.
Sadly, this is now something that happens more and more rarely. The state has become increasingly focused on one particular religious identity and the white strip on the green flag has begun, at least symbolically, to virtually vanish. We should also ask why impoverished young men and children celebrate Independence Day with such enthusiasm. After all, even after 78 years, they live in a federation that has failed to elevate them beyond their current social standing, and the capture of the elite and all things that genuinely matter has never been stronger. When asked, people say they celebrate because it is the day Pakistan gained independence from India. In the warped pages of history imparted to them, or from what they hear in the media and most other sources, few realise that August 14 marks independence from colonial rule rather than from India. It also marks a violent partition in which millions died and many more were displaced.
Of course, this does not mean we should not be marking our national day in one form or another. We could give those children who are painting green flags on pavements something to celebrate truly. We could offer them schools that provide quality education, healthcare, and social welfare programmes, along with opportunities that are not exclusive to those with wealth and the means to benefit from all that Pakistan has to offer. We must begin the task of offering children some hope of a better future. At present, there is too little hope.
But people continue to believe in their country. In this, there is a possible way forward. Young people in particular lead the march of hope. They say that, as India has done, Pakistan needs to bring back more of its people who travelled overseas for education or work and persuade them to utilise their skills at home. Almost every year, we see people who return and offer the skills and knowledge they have gained to their country. In some cases, these individuals fare well. In other circumstances, they do not. But somewhere, the colour green runs through the blood of Pakistanis spread everywhere through a diverse country.
The green that lies in the hearts of people can be experienced through the music we hear playing at malls and other places in the days surrounding August 14. These include the unforgettable songs of Nur Jehan, the ghazals sung by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and his family, as well as the popular music of more modern bands. This music has, in itself, inspired a generation, and some of it ranks on international charts as well.
As young people point out again and again, there is a huge amount of potential in Pakistan. But this potential needs to be built on. As Faiz Ahmad Faiz stated repeatedly in a theme which runs through his poetry, Pakistan has yet to achieve the dream that it set out to grasp. The dream has slipped away. In its place lie people suffering from disease, starving children, women attacked by husbands who leave them virtually dead or by strangers in a misogynist setup.
This is surely not the colour green that the founders of Pakistan had in mind when they first waved the flag of Pakistan. It is the green that gives life to people that has to be rekindled and replanted in the soil. We need to find the will to put all that has gone wrong right, and give children and young people something real to celebrate, lying beyond what they have read and the distorted text of their schoolbooks or from a media which only rarely addresses the true issues of people.
The beginning needs to be made. And 78 years after Pakistan was created, we need to find a road which will make the next seven decades or more better than those that have passed for all the people of the country, no matter where they were born, what they do and what faith they follow.
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor. She can be reached at: kamilahyathotmail.com