Civic sense

The collapse of a small bridge built over a lake at Lahore’s Governor’s House during public entry last week, because too many people had gathered on the colonial-era structure, gives us a small warning about the need to educate people better about safeguarding public property and respecting freedoms given to them. The right to enter governor’s houses across the country is one of them. But it should not be used to create any kind of destruction, whether through deliberate intent or mere carelessness. There had previously been reports of bushes and shrubs being damaged at the same governor’s house, and of areas of the lawns being used as public toilets. This reflects the lack of civic sense we find everywhere in Pakistan – regardless of social class or financial standing. Public parks are littered, even when dustbins stand just meters away. A value for areas used by other citizens needs to be developed amongst people, beginning with children. Currently, we see open vandalism at parks, zoos and even museums where signs are damaged, swings broken and other structures meant to offer aesthetic value climbed upon till they fall apart in pieces.

Lessons should begin at the school level on the need to ensure that all public areas, including pavements and roads, are protected. Mosques can also be used to deliver this important message. People need to learn that vandalism is not an acceptable form of entertainment. At schools, whether elite or otherwise, playgrounds are left with empty wrappers, packets and other garbage strewn across them. The same kind of civic sense needs to be extended to the forming of queues or displaying simple courtesies at bus stations, airports and other places where large numbers of people collect. The problems encountered at the governor’s houses, in this case in Lahore, simply remind us of the fact that education means much more than learning to read, write or do arithmetic. It also means learning to value public places and historical sites. Delivering these lessons would serve a very valuable purpose. When a people learn to love and respect heritage sites and public spaces, they learn to love and respect and understand the history and context such spaces have developed in.