Youth needs political awareness

Shakir Ahmed

It was the satirical poet Juvenal (c.55 – 127 AD) who in his famous book ”Satires” coined the phrase “bread and circuses” as the way of keeping control in Rome, this again means that control can be maintained if people are happy. The Roman Empire was one of the strongest powers in the ancient world to use this approach for their survival.

Nowadays the news are full of glorious trophies and medals that are being given to young participants in various levels of competitions in various sports competitions under different titles all over  Pakistan. It is a source of happiness for the public and especially for the youth to have some form of entertainment where they can show their abilities in the politically unstable circumstances present in the country. This light of hope is very crucial for the young minds as they have almost no other platform to fully exercise their abilities and talents with various controlling powers around them. The involvement in sports is the healthy sign of a healthy society which will lead to a prosperous future for the young people.

Gilgit-Baltistan is a mine of talents in various fields of life. This region has provided the country with many high performing personalities in the field of sports, education, social causes, defense, etc. in spite of being deprived of fundamental legal rights and basic necessities of life by the authorities for many decades.  The people of this region have been identified as the most educated and peaceful in the country. They have shown their love for the motherland and country on many occasion whether in War times or during peaceful eras. People are naturally caring and harmony exists all over the region without any discrimination on ethnic or religious grounds.

The need of the time is to inform the young people about the realities of life existing around them. My focus will be on the sports events organized by AKYSBP for the youth of Gilgit-Baltistan. The point is not to discriminate the efforts done for the youth and it must be kept from biased approach with due respect for the concerned authorities. As mentioned in the starting lines of this passage, it’s the illusion for the young mind to see itself on the top of the stage with a medal when the basic needs for the land has been taken from him. The youth of GB with special reference to Hunza region, it has been a proud moment for all of us to see many young starts shinning on the national level competitions. The organizers have spent a lot of money and energy for organizing such successful events for the last many years. As a son of the soil I felt it a bit strange to see that no efforts have been done or even planned for the political awareness of the youth in this particular region. In the last general elections the public support was highly meandered through successful planning by the political parties with exploitation of the youth with the involvements of many religious institutions as well. The true choice for the region cannot come until the youth are fully aware of their power in the political arena of the region.

The power and energy of the youth is the backbone of any society and if not dealt properly can lead in to a world of chaos for the future of the land. The young blood of the region who are exceling in education on many fronts must also play their role in supporting the public to create awareness about their rights within the legal limits. The critical topics like CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) and Climate change must be taken as top priorities to know about the actual position in the whole system. Media outlets can be used for a public awareness and the local authorities must play their role on every stage of the process. The efforts by some individuals are appreciated but we need an overall social uprising to know the actual role I the region. It is not just for the political rights of the region but the long term public awareness about the true value of their place in the whole region.

In the end my request will be from the people in power and capacities in particular and from the educated youth in general to develop some fruitful planning for the people of the region to invest in such initiatives. If we cannot understand the actual value of our place in the life then the powers of control will always exploit us through various methods for their own benefits. The need of the time is to invest in the long term policies for the entire region through the involvement of youth at various levels of the program. Otherwise as the Roman Empire saw its collapse through the deprived and suppressed class a revolution which then ends the social injustice through the use of forces and violence as the only solution.  We as the most educated and peaceful region of the country must use our abilities for the betterment of the whole region with many public awareness programs and policies that focuses the involvement of youth for the building of the society on higher grounds of development.