UNITY, FAITH, AND DISCIPLINE

MAJYD AZIZ BALAGAMWALA

Ref : LETTER TO EDITOR Date : JULY 02, 1996

THE EDITOR

DAWN ENGLISH

KARACHI

Dear Sir :

Sub : UNITY, FAITH, & DISCIPLINE

This is with reference to the letter by M.Y.Warris, published in your issue of July 01, 1996. He desperately needs another Muhammad Ali Jinnah to get this beloved nation out from the malaise and rot.

Warris is right when he talks about the joke we have made of the Quaid’s guidelines. Warris is right when he talks about the ethnic identity, the use of arms and ammunition, and the antics of the pampered ball players. Warris is right when he questions the path to nowhere which this country has taken.

However, what this country actually needs is not one but 130 million M.A.Jinnahs. We all are responsible for the mess because we as a nation do not give two hoots for the country. We have made ourselves immune to all that is wrong within the country, we have no time to scoff at the adventures of our multitude leaders and the motley crowd we call our parliamentarians, and we have absolutely no interest whatsoever in the progress and prosperity of the motherland. This is all because we behave not as citizens of one nation but individual entities with our own personal agenda.

Warris mentions the cricket and hockey debacle. The answer is simple. The Duke of Wellington once said that "the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton and Harrow". We can paraphrase that by stating that "Pakistan lost its progress on the playing fields of Gaddafi Stadium and Hockey Stadium", because the sports here are run by bureaucrats and air marshals who should be busy assisting the government in running the affairs of the state but who prefer the sports field instead of their offices.

We suggest that as a start, the esteemed readers of DAWN should start emulating the Quaid-e-Azam and, in our own way, believe and practice in all sincerity the motto, Unity, Faith & Discipline. Very soon our family, friends, and colleagues will do the same. Only then the 130 million Pakistanys will themselves find what Warris is looking for : Another Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead this country to glory as envisioned by the Founder himself.

Sincerely : MAJYD AZIZ