August 26, 2004

Amid all the enthusiasm, what was missing was a sense of community and sharing, a degree of consideration and politeness for others. The chaos in the streets is an echo of the chaos in the country, writes Asfareen Athar

When the usual ragtag little boys appeared on street corners in Karachi bearing flags for sale one knew Pakistan's major holiday was approaching. They were seen darting around large trucks and between cars to knock on windows and thrust flags into people's hands.

For most people it created a sense of anticipation in the freedom from work as holidays tend to do, but for young males with wheels it was a time of self-expression, of freedom from authority. Their first opportunity came on Friday the 13th which continued till late into the evening of August 14, Pakistan's Day of Independence.

All evening, particularly later at night, wild-eyed young men drove up and down on Shahrah-e-Faisal and other main roads, honking their horns enthusiastically and cheering. Teenage boys revved the engines on their motorbikes loudly and cut dangerously close in front of cars while their friends waved large green flags from the backseat.

For car passengers it was a procession of sorts, with noisy unruly escorts. Streets normally patrolled by police and soldiers, or cleared of traffic for low ranking generals to safely pass through, tonight belonged to the masses. They had also come out to see the city lit up with festive lights. Old buildings glowing with thousands of fairy lights had sprung to life at night, displaying a new grandeur.

On a visit to Lahore, a previous year, young men brought their bikes right up to car windows to flirt or frighten. Driving alongside and peering in they gaped at the girls, pulled faces to make them laugh, and one or two startled passengers by wearing Halloween masks.

The motorcycle stunts these boys performed are dangerous pastimes. About 13 people were killed in Lahore this year, including several boys on bikes and a few women who were watching or passing by.

"There should be other ways for the public to celebrate," a woman observed. “A man on the street feels there is little to rejoice about in a country so riven by corruption, instability and lack of representative democracy.”

Reckless driving and lectures on good citizenship marked the day for the regular folk.

The media carried an abundance of words like patriotism, unity and duty instructing people to ponder on the meaning of independence, on what was expected of them by the country. Vague entities like 'we' and 'the people' are meant to be grateful to various luminaries for creating the nation, inversing the relationship between the citizen's rights and political leadership. Rights are bestowed on leaders and service to the nation is expected from its citizenry. Every year the nation's inadequacies and failures are spelled out in contrast to the perfection of the nation's founders.

In the US, also once a British colony, intellectuals insist the founding fathers were wiser than today's inept leaders. Canadians, till recently under British rule, are told that earlier prime ministers had created a better society than is being fashioned at present. However, on the fourth of July in the US and on July 1 in Canada, national accomplishments are celebrated, not shortcomings. Canada's regional differences lead to long debates on the viability of the country, and the responsibility falls on those who hold political power to satisfy the aspirations of the people rather than on the people to live up to ideals.

Official ceremonies aside, events are also organized for ordinary people. Small town parades and contests take place during the day followed by firework displays in the evening. Outdoor concerts are organized, free to all. Flags are stuck into the ground in front of homes or flutter atop a pole.On July 1, Canada Day, honours to be conferred on men and women for their contributions to the country are announced. They are all civilians. In contrast, Pakistan announced dozens of awards on August 14, which included military generals as well.

Britain, which granted Pakistan its freedom needs no independence day of its own, and has no national day, except the Queen's birthday in June. The French celebrate Bastille Day in July when the country became a republic. Over time Pakistan's independence day is seen less a freedom from British rule, as it used to be in earlier years, or as a separation from India. It is increasingly a national day, a day when the culture and the idea of a country for Muslims is celebrated.

The memory of the foreigners in this region faded and the British became irrelevant as a creative force for Pakistan's people. Independence became associated with separation from India. It loomed as a spectre over Pakistan's freedom. The underlying theme was one where the country would unravel, as it did with the forming of Bangladesh, and then be swallowed up by its much larger neighbour. This possibility shadowed many independence day festivities for a long time. Pakistan and India became enemies, a development not envisioned by the country's founders.

Canadians, too, live next to the huge and dominating US but thrive on good relations between the people. Regular travel, trade and artistic exchanges are taken for granted and the rivalry is no longer hostile.

Pakistani students got pulled into cultural and social festivities early in the morning before getting the day off. "They wear their national dress, lehngas or shalwar kamiz, to school. There they sing or do a presentation about Pakistan and its culture. They love it," says a mother of three school-going children.

Amid all the enthusiasm, what was missing was a sense of community and sharing, a degree of consideration, a certain politesse. "The chaos in the streets is an echo of the chaos in the country," said a friend.

The day of August 14, shops and offices closed, children selling flags vanished, families went to the beach and even transvestite beggars, men wearing silk shalwar kamiz, lipstick and eyeliner, took the day off. Without the boisterous cheers and green flags, the roar of the silencer free motorcycles and the buildings glowing golden in the evening, there would be no revelry in the city.

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