IF wishing each other a happy new year could bring happiness, prosperity and success, we would have been the happiest, the most prosperous and one of the most successful nations. We are not. We consider it a duty to wish friends happy birthday, happy Eid and even happy Friday without fail. We want to get success, wealth and greatness through prayers and wishes. But that is not how it happens.
Success, development, prosperity, greatness and every such thing can only be achieved by having a well-defined vision, followed by proper planning and, most critically, relentless efforts marked by a never-say-die attitude. We have an example in our neighbourhood; China.
About a century ago, a small bunch of young men led by Mao Zedong dreamed about rejuvenating the Chinese nation. Mao as a child had observed that he could have his way with his father by being defiant and assertive. He was an avid reader and thinker. He was influenced by the thought of German philosopher Friedrich Paulsen according to whom there is a power in every human being and that by harnessing the human power one can move an entire nation.
He thought out various ideas about winning over millions of peasants one village at a time, executed those ideas, led a revolutionary movement, and the rest, as we know, is history. Another visionary was Deng Xiaoping who recognised the potential of pragmatic policies and the power of incentivised capitalist system. While Mao made China one, Deng Xiaoping’s policies made China a rich country.
The current president of China is a visionary leader as well. His vision was to eradicate poverty from rural China and make the country even stronger. He has achieved the first goal. The last few millions of poor Chinese were pulled out of poverty in 2020. China is no more a source of inexpensive labour.
It is a matter of time before China will become the largest economy as well as the most powerful country in the world. India is also an emerging power and will be one of four or five major powers in the years ahead if it can keep its head.
Now look at Pakistan. Nothing seems to have worked. We are the fifth largest country in terms of population, but when it comes to the size of our economy, we are 46th on the global ladder. The literacy rate is around 59 per cent; one of the lowest in the world. One third of the population lives in abject poverty. We are 154th among 195 countries in providing proper healthcare to our people. We are at 152nd among 189 countries when it comes to the Human Development Index.
We are currently amid our 22nd International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to stabilise the economy, and 13 of these have been bailout prog-rammes. But somehow we still find ourselves more interested in wishing each other happy this and happy that. If you think doing that can change any-thing, I wish you a very happy new year!
Tahir Tanveer
Alberta, Canada
Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2022
