Independence Day Pakistan

Hello friends,

Today is a very special day to me. It is Pakistan's independence day and Pakistan has turned 59 years old this year. It was back in 1947 when the Muslims majority in then India demanded a separate homeland and under the strong and bold leadership of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan was granted its independence on 14th August 1947.

But this independence came at a cost. Millions of lives were lost as the Muslims crossed over the border into Pakistan from India, and the Hindus crossed over to India from Pakistan. Among those who left all theirbelongings in India, were my grandparents, who came to Lahore, Pakistan from Pathankot, India. My dad was a mere 1 year old at the time. It was no doubt a harrowing and struggling experience as my grandparents made the exodus from India to Pakistan, with many many sad stories as they would lose their friends, some who were butchered for being caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.

This mass displacement of people from both countrie is known to be the largest displacement of people in history, and even today, every time I ask my grandmother about her experience, she tells me with so much details I get goosebumps. She weeps every time she shares her experience with me, but she makessure to tell me everything, because in her words, the "freedom they got is priceless."

And that is what the independence of Pakistan boils down to: freedom. Jinnah said,

"You are free to go to your temples;
you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan.
You may belong to any caste or creed, that has nothing to do with business of the state."

It is this freedom that sometimes the younger generation forgets. Even I forget at times how many people have had to sacrifice their lives so we all could in freedom in Pakistan, which is why I always ask my grandmother to share her experiences. This year, I have decided to fast on this day, because I want to remember all the people who suffered with the earthquake that devastated their lives last year in October. How quickly I had forgotten them, despite my spending Eid with them last year. I am praying and fasting for those very people on this day, as well as for the betterment of my country Pakistan.

To all thePakistanis reading this, may this year independence day be as meaningful to you as it was to those who sacrificed their lives so we could live in a country called Pakistan. Cherish this gift of freedom. Celebrate this freedom. Have an awesome day!

I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes on freedom of Pakistan.

"Junoon se aur ishq se,
MIlti ha azadi.
Qurbaani ki bahon mein,
Milti hai azadi."
--- Junoon

"With Passion and Love,
We get Freedom.
In the arms of Sacrifice,
We get Freedom."

Mansur
PS. If anyone is interested in more about the Independence of Pakistan, you can watch the movie Jinnah, or read The Ice Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa which is set during the Partition.