Grievances of educated youths

Why citizens want a change for the better: they appear realising the meaning of change.

Old men assert radical wisdom demands of us to get rid of the exploitative system in light of the teachings of Islam and examples set by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as head of state, law giver, statesman, administrator, general, and leader of the oppressed. “That’s must for our economic survival.”

Educated youths have many grievances: “We’ve not been provided jobs we deserved on merit; we’re looking for opportunities in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad; we belong to middle and lower middle segments of society.”

Such youths criticize landlords and capitalists who have long adopted politics as their profession to accumulate as much as they can for their children and expand family businesses, little caring for the common man.

A post-graduate this scribe came across in front of Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad supplemented the argument: previously, ‘awam’ was a term of endearment, now ‘youth’ has been adopted by gentle-looking politicians as means to gain help of youths, to win a position in corridors of power while masses have been surviving poverty, corruption and unemployment etc.

Another post-graduate carried his degrees in a plastic bag while travelling in a wagon. Asked what he thought about the youth’s role in future development and progress of the country, he spoke bluntly: “My first concern is to get rid of unemployment; many of my class-mates are wandering for job, but it’s not merit but nepotism and bribery that makes the mare go.”

The youth said angrily: “The nation has been divided as many times into groups as there are political parties although Pakistan had come into being as the embodiment of the Muslim nation, and so it must remain; we also are to blame for this unpleasant reality; don’t expect any revolutionary change from the youths of the upper class and rich families, they always want to maintain status quo.”

“It’s only the educated youths of the middle, lower middle and poor segments who want change for the better to make Pakistan a welfare state; we want a change that should liberate us from hunger, slavery, starvation, exploitation, poverty, illiteracy and corruption in any form,” college boys assert.

The question is: when shall the welfare state dream come true?

zasarwar@hotmail.com