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| Do you dare to make a difference? |
At every point of the time, we strive to improve our conditions; we struggle
to get the best out of the better, and the better out of the worst. Some schools
of thought think that revolution is the answer and means to a better end. The
term revolution refers to any change in the political, economic, social, or
cultural structures, in a fairly short duration of time. Till today, many
revolutionist movements of various kinds have been initiated; some have
successfully made the desired changes, while others were just futile attempts
to transform the prevalent conditions.
Roll the Revolution in Pakistan.
The recent revolutionist movements in Egypt and Libya are examples
of uprisings that have drastically changed the political structures, or are
aiming to do so. While living in a country like Pakistan, where the majority remains
dissatisfied with almost all the major institutions of the country, the idea of
transforming the structure of the state is always cooking up in everyone’s
mind. From the aspiring country leaders to the roadside preachers, almost
everyone talks about belling the cat and unleashing the desired changes. But
the question arises how to bring it about? Should we go for the peaceful
methods as adopted by the hippies, or for the much-disrupted fashions, which
were encouraged by Malcolm X? Moreover, are we actually ready for a revolution?
All these questions and more end up making a whirlpool of confusion.
What do the people have to say about it?
To know the general opinion of the people of Pakistan about bringing
about a revolution, a small-scale survey was conducted. The survey was taken by
a number of people, ranging from age group 17 to 65 years constituting of 40.7%
males, and 59.3% females, who depicted a clear understanding of the idea of a
revolution.
Talking about the people of our country, almost 40% of them said
that the people of Pakistan were ready for a revolution, while 32% did not
agree to the idea. An overwhelming 61% of the people anticipated a political
revolution in Pakistan, 32.2% wanted an economic revolution, 5.1% wished for a
cultural revolution, while just 1.7% of the respondents appreciated the idea of
a religious revolution.
According to 39% of our respondents, the first major requisite to
bring about a revolution was the true realization of exploitation taking place
in the country. 37.3% thought the use of logic and rationality was the most important
factor, 13,6% backed the idea of freedom of expression, while only 10.2% supported
the Marxist idea which says that conflict between various groups was required
to bring about a revolution.
While referring to the recent revolutionist movements in countries
like Egypt and Libya, 41.4% said that these movements, are instigating us to
change our conditions, 32.8% claimed that the people of Pakistan are not yet
ready for a revolution, while 25.9% said the fire of a revolution had always
been burning, even before these movements took place.
Responding to the idea of letting peaceful revolutions happen, 57.9%
had their views similar to those of the hippie subcultures, and backed the idea
of peaceful revolutions over violent ones. 42.1% on the other hand, believed in
the ideas of Malcolm X, and stated that violent and strict measures were a
prerequisite to successfully changing the conditions.
In the end, a whooping 57.6% said that they would actively
participate to make the desired transformations, if the need arose in the near
future. 40.7% said they would participate too, but maybe passively, and only
1.7% of the respondents claimed that they would not like to participate at all.
Where do you stand?
We live in this world, not to be a
passive part of it, but to actively make this world a part of us. At times just
complaining and whining about the institutions is not likely to take us
anywhere, but radically taking a stand against them might help reverse the
conditions for the better. The idea of rolling a revolution is not new in
today’s world, but the road leading to these ideas is certainly less walked on.
Man is undoubtedly responsible for the prevailing circumstances. Nevertheless, some
adjust themselves to whatever they see and feel around them, while others
choose to stand up against what doesn’t please them and raise their voice
against it, in anticipation of the changes, which may or may not occur. I would
leave it for you to decide what role you would like to play; active or passive.
