RAWALPINDI, Feb 20: Pakistani people are always eager to blindly adopt Western culture at the cost of the glorious values of their own society. This was the gist of speeches delivered by students at the intercollegiate bilingual speech contest held at Viqarun Nisa College.

The students took strong exception to the general tilt towards the Western lifestyle and termed it dangerous for the country and the coming generations. "Instead of having pride in our own religion, culture and tradition, our hearts are attached to the West."

Students of 19 colleges of the twin cities and other stations participated in the contest. They were to speak either in favour or against of "We, in the East, have our hearts attached with the West" and "Forgive your enemies but never forget their names".

"Why we ignore our own culture but get impressed from the West," was the question asked by all the students and answered in different ways. According to them, it is because of inferiority complex.

The students also called for adopting qualities like hard work, honesty and enthusiasm to stick to and promote our own values, instead of blindly following the West.

The students said tall buildings, marvellous highways and scientific and technological know-how in the West impressed Pakistanis, who seldom think how the Westerners achieved all this.

Almost all the participants viewed the West as the enemy of Pakistan and Islam. "Our forefathers had parted ways with them due to their inimical attitude towards us, but we have become their beggars.

The West provides us economic aid only to have control over us," they said. Ms Zehra of Government Postgraduate College for Girls, 6th Road, said: "We should forget our enemies to remove tension but must remember their names, as they can never be our friends and will harm us whenever they have a chance."