The aims that governments can’t achieve via policies and/or the investment of tons of money, could be achieved by initiating some awareness programs. Developed and organized nations are neither built nor do they progress on the tally of colleges/universities or millionaires, they prosper by the hands of ordinary people. But only once they are injected with awareness by its leaders, teachers, intellectuals and scholars.
Recently, Salman Khan and many other Bollywood celebrities were on the streets of Mumbai cleaning the city up. The event made news around the globe showing how India, having realized the importance of cleanliness, has triggered a great initiative.
Board a plane from Lahore airport to any western country and the next view would be of a different world that you might have read about only in books. The development we see there is not only the well maintained, smoothly flowing traffic, tall and well-trimmed buildings and a government that is actually democratic in nature, but the awareness that the common man has. Countries where the public has been injected with the concepts of owning the society and giving back to it, prosper. They demand their rights after fulfilling their liabilities. The governments are afraid of its people and when they ask questions, they are served with even better policies, not just false promises.
Awareness is essential in any society’s development. It is the key to the door of stability and power and the west makes its people realize the same value with its policies. A four-year-old in the West if not only taught how to spell “elephant” or how much two plus two is, but also about his or her rights & liabilities towards the state. They are given awareness about their lives and how it could and should be lived, thus benefitting both the people and the state.
Over the years, the world has actually shrunk into a global village and feels like a wormhole entrance which takes you to a whole new galaxy of advancement and amazing technological infrastructure that people do not pound onto like a legitimate prey during protests.
A third world developing country like Pakistan needs to spread awareness in their public. Be it of any sort and related to any walk of life, the only cure of our quarantine is knowledge. And there is no shame in learning from our neighbours. India, despite being seen as one of our biggest rivals, has a lot to teach us, other than economic development. Recently, one good example set by India was that of the successful launch of a clean drive program on the national level, which spread awareness about the importance of cleanliness. The program garnered immense success reducing 80% of basic diseases. Can we imagine a Pakistan with awareness about tax issues, cleanliness, electoral reforms and their right to information? Maybe we need to start on the same note as our neighbours.
