This is an excerpt from the book ‘Altered
Destiny’ by Suhas Inamdar. It is a fiction novel published in 2014.The
passionate speech made by the Pakistan Home minister in Pakistan assembly
echoes the suggestion made by Indian Prime minister recently – to manage its
own territory better before casting its sight on additional piece of land.
…
Khwaja Salahudeen said,
‘Respected Speaker sir and my fellow lawmakers of Pakistan, it is with great
pride and happiness I inform you all that we have successfully rescued a young
girl studying in 10th standard, from the kidnappers who held her in captivity
for over 36 hours. That young girl happened to be my daughter. This incident
nevertheless raises a few questions which we need to ask ourselves, including
myself. The first and foremost question is: are we providing adequate security
to the citizens of our country? If not, then it is a matter of shame for all of
us sitting here. We are the elected Government of Pakistan, who has been
entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the country and its people from
any kind of threat. We are supposed to devote all our energy and resources for
the welfare of our people and the growth of this country.
‘I am happy to inform you that we
could rescue Maliha from the kidnappers without meeting any of their demands.
Their demands included giving them a lot of money and also releasing 10 dreaded
terrorists, who are currently lodged in our various jails. On the personal
front, I had a fight with my family about not meeting their demands. I was not
in favour of meeting these demands, as it would have further emboldened them to
carry out more such kidnappings in future. Moreover, releasing the terrorists
was a very demoralizing proposition, as it would have instantly demeaned the
efforts of our brave police personnel who had risked their lives in capturing
them.
‘Today Pakistan is on the
threshold of a new era. The world around us is changing very fast. Countries
are shedding their past and embracing the future with optimism and promise. We
also need to change. We cannot keep harping on the painful partition or continue
to fight over a piece of land called Kashmir. What we need to do is to look at
the big picture. What is the use of Kashmir, if we are not able to properly use
the much larger size of land already available with us? Are we making foreign
policies just for satisfying our egos? We need to change.
‘Pakistan is a blessed land. We
are the sixth most populous country in the world. We have a coastline of over
1000 km, which, if utilized efficiently, can boost our maritime business
activities. Our Armed Forces are the eighth largest in the world. Our heritage
and culture is one of the oldest in the region. We are one of the few nuclear
powers in the world. Don’t these figures make us proud? Well, not in the
current scenario. And the reasons are not very difficult to find.
‘Today, the common impression
about a politician in the mind of our citizens is that of a corrupt person, who
thinks and cares only about himself. Very few of us have done something
worthwhile for our people. Most of the time, we think only about filling our
personal coffers, building our own portfolio of assets and furthering our
personal interests. This is injustice to the people of Pakistan. We cannot and
should not neglect the people of our country.
‘Terrorism is gaining ground on
our soil. We are not showing enough courage to tackle it for various personal
and vested political reasons. Since it does not affect us directly, we do not
think much about it. But out there, daily, dozens of people are losing their
lives in the bomb blasts, which are occurring at very frequent intervals across
our major cities. Just because we move around in bulletproof cars with full
security around us, is it fair that we leave our countrymen to their fate like
this? Who are we deceiving in the process? Is it really worth being a powerful
personality in a weak country?
‘We need to think seriously about
poverty and illiteracy. These two are the major impediments on our path of
progress. If we are not able to guarantee food and basic education to our
countrymen, I think we should leave our positions of elected office at once.
Just because we have won elections, it does not mean that we can relax and
enjoy the fruits of our labour for five years, oblivious of the stark
surroundings. Our task is not complete till every citizen of our country is
able to bear the minimum expenses of educating his children and providing them
food, clothing and shelter.
‘I urge you all to think about
Pakistan before thinking about yourselves. Feel proud to be a part of the
process of change to lift our country from this mess to a glorious future. And
remember, please do not think even for a moment that you are doing charity by
doing so… you are doing this for your own children’s safety and well-being. Of
what use is your wealth, if the conditions outside on the streets of Pakistan
are not safe for people to walk?
‘Look at our neighbour India.
Actually we are born out of them. See how they have made progress over the same
years. It is not because they are bigger than us. If we talk about size, then
Singapore, Japan and Dubai are much smaller than us. India is today far ahead
of us in everything. The starting line in this race for development was the
same for both of us. Yet they surged forward. There are reasons for their
growth and development. It is about the tolerance of their citizens to diverse
ideas, it is about the vision of their leaders, and it is about the passion of
their industrialists to rise...
‘It is high time that we start
considering India as our elder brother, seeking their guidance and support in
our various endeavours. I am very sure that if our intentions are right, India
will go out of the way to support us. India has already demonstrated its
greatness by not attacking us even once, while we made three unsuccessful
attempts to invade them. India has taught the entire world the meaning of truth
and non-violence. They have demonstrated that with these two qualities alone,
they could shake the rock-solid British Empire which ruled over them for 90
years. Today India is considered a giant power in the field of Information
Technology. Had we not separated from them in 1947, we could have shared their
growth and, if possible, contributed to it as well. After all, we are not
different in any way from each other. We were one before 1947 and became two
thereafter. As if to pay the price for our deeds, the eastern part of our
country was dissociated with us in 1971 to form what is now called Bangladesh.
This only proves an old adage… As we sow, so we reap.
‘So, dear colleagues, please join
me in initiating this noble move to cleanse Pakistan of all its evils and start
a new chapter. Let us take Pakistan to new heights with dignity and honour. Let
us show our humble face to the world. Let our citizens be proud of their
country. We may need to sacrifice many things on this path of progress, as the
task is gigantic in nature. But there has to be a beginning. I have already
demonstrated that I did not care for even my daughter, whom I love very much. I
did not want to save my daughter at the cost of 10 terrorists roaming on
Pakistani streets jeopardizing the lives of hundreds of daughters of Pakistan.
Thank you all….’
…
The book ‘Altered Destiny’ is
available on Amazon, Flip Kart and Infibeam.
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