Monday 14 January 2013

Short essay on Pakistan Movement

The Pakistan Movement is similar to the spirit of Islam. The War of Independence in 1857 was an announced declaration of the Muslim strength of revolution against the oppressing power of the British government and its stooges present in the Sub continent. Frustration, dearth of direction and planning lowered the rank of Muslims after the failure of this war. It was after this war that leaders such as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan emerged who became a guiding light for Muslims in India. Muslims were in distress and he said that education is power; he used this mantra to raise their spirits.

He added that Muslims could enhance their political, social and economic position only through the medium of modern, scientific education. In fact it was Sir Syed that created the concept of a separate Muslim state on the grounds of religion, culture and history. He encouraged the Muslims of the sub-continent to ask for a home nation where they could live their lives according to the Quran and the holy sunnah.

After the creation of the Indian national congress in 1885, the visionary Muslim leaders saw this move as a threat and warned Muslims of its dangers. Hence in 1906 the Muslim league was formed to challenge the Indian national congress. This is when the concept of two different states for Muslims and Hindus emerged. Many Maulanas supported this vision created initially by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and spread its ideas all around the sub-continent.

However it can be said that the most important contribution came from Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, the amazing philosopher and poet to the creation of Muslim nationalism. It was through his poetic and religious-philosophical works that the idea of Pakistan gained support. Islam in his philosophy is a form of national unity and includes all political beliefs. In the All India Muslim's league's session in Allahbad in 1930, Dr. Iqbal's address represented the first conceptual idea for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in old India.

From 1937, it was the founder of Pakistan Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah that encouraged in the Muslim community the concept of Muslims uniting into a charismatic community; this synchronized their sense of power with the sense of a united community. As time passed the Quaid became a symbol for Muslim Nationalism in Human form. He was launched as the Quaid even before the initiation of the Pakistan Movement in March, 1940. Due to the continued stubbornness of the Indian national congress, it was in 1940 that the league formed the resolution on the 23rd march.

It was designed on the principal that areas in which the Muslims would be in Majority would be grouped together to create an independent state. After the difficult struggle by the Muslims, the British Parliament was forced to agree to the Indian Independence Act in 1947, leading to the creation of Pakistan on 14th August in 1947. It was on this historic day that Quaid-e-Azam addressed the first session of the Pakistan's Constituent Assembly ad appreciated the services and sacrifices of all Muslims in the Sub continent in the creation of Pakistan.

Short essay on the Educational System of Pakistan

The educational system of Pakistan has been a topic of debate in the country since independence. There are different points of views regarding what type of education system would be in the best interest of the country and yet there has been no consensus on this matter.

The educational system of Pakistan could be divided into three categories:

Cambridge Education System:

This education system involves a curriculum based on the UK standard of education. Only the rich and elite of the country could afford having their children acquire UK based education. A majority of children who have acquired Cambridge level education go to foreign countries for higher education. This creates a disparity between the rich and the poor as the employers prefer candidates of the Cambridge education system over others.

Pakistan Secondary Education System:

This type of education system is basically provided by the private and governmental schools. The schools for the middle class students is one in which half of the instructions are in English and the other half in Urdu. If these children are lucky to have parents who could afford the fees of recognized colleges then they are able to go to colleges of their preference, provided they have good grades previously. For children belonging to the lower class, have to study in a full Urdu medium school with little know how about English which is now considered to be a standard medium for education internationally. These people generally occupy the low standard and low paid jobs of clerks, salesmen, factory workers and etc.

Madressah Education System:

It deals with educating children about Islam. Children are basically educated with religious teachings and have no knowledge or education about worldly subjects.

There are various problems associated with these types of systems. The Cambridge Education System in not accepted by many because it promotes inequality in the society as only a smaller proportion of the country's children are able to acquire it because of it being expensive. The secondary education system in which there are private and government schools is criticized for not providing quality education as their teachers have lesser qualifications and are not able to equip the students with the knowledge required to compete in the job market. Urdu being used as a medium of education is not welcomed both because in times of globalization it is important to know the language which is most commonly understood in the world or the language which meets international requirements and English is not being taught in many of these schools.

What could be done is that the government should form a research team immediately which would try to find out which type of education system is in the larger interest of the country. Professionals from different fields including doctors, businessmen, engineers, lawyers etc. should be made part of this team so a consensus could be formed on the type of education system for the children of Pakistan. There is no doubt that the solution lies in a single education system for all children across the country provided that the quality of education being provided is of international standard.
The amount of air pollution in Pakistan's major cities like Lahore and Karachi is 20 times higher than the World Health Organization standards. There are layers of smog, dust and smoke that exist over Karachi. There is also a prominent smell of gasoline that infiltrates air. Islamabad which is the capital city of Pakistan is known to be covered with thick layer smog that actually keeps hidden the view of Margalla hills.

So pollution is very prominent and exists to a threatening level in Pakistan. It comes from cars, factories and other such sources and Pakistanis are daily breathing polluted air. It is unfortunate that only a couple of people actually are aware of the depth of its effects on their and their children's health. Pollution is known to cause coughing, sore throats and nasal discharge. In extreme cases it can also lead to asthma, tumors, lung damage and death. The first step to avoid pollution is to educate Pakistanis about pollution, its description, its causes, its effects and ways to control it.

Now ways to control pollution is to firstly read up all you can about pollution, the internet is a great source of information. There are many environmental organizations as well that have informative websites on ecology and pollution. Try and find as much as you can online and search for articles that explain pollution in a straightforward manner. Those organizations that are not on the web try and find out if they have pamphlets about pollution and its effects and what citizens can do about it. After gathering all the information and compiling it, try and get it translated in Urdu, make sure there are no copyright issues. Try and get a professional translator if you can. The next step is printing; this would require some funding, if funding is too expensive then try and get donations.

Afterwards distribute the work amongst family and friends, give it to a couple of newspapers, so it can be published and could benefit the masses. Also in order to help schools teach about pollution, you could visit these schools see how children are taught and provide teachers with your work to help them have better material. Another way to help is by writing or developing articles to give to the visitors coming into Pakistan, the topic of these articles would be how a visitor to the country can keep him or herself healthy from the effects of pollution when he visits.

Creating a website about pollution is also another magnificent way to educate others about the topic. It will be of use to Pakistanis all around the globe, it even may encourage others to do something about pollution and fight it. The website could also comprise of translated pamphlets, information about what people can do about pollution in Pakistan and other such information. You can also include links to other sites that talk about that topic.

Then last step is trying to reach those organizations in Pakistan that are known to be number one polluters. Start a campaign in newspapers and on your websites which tries and makes them accountable for their acts. By exposing them you could motivate them to take up certain measures. But make sure you also take steps to appreciate the industries that are making an effort to keep the environment clean.

Short essay on Pakistani Wedding

A Pakistani wedding is a traditional ceremony which rejoices on the wedlock of a bride and groom. It brings together the families of the bride and groom in the many occasions that take place. In Pakistan the wedding ceremony is of immense importance. Various cultures have distinct ways of celebrating the wedlock of two individuals through different traditions. Pakistan being a Muslim country situated in South Asia and the greater Middle East has a vibrant culture with many customs. A Pakistani wedding is a festive arrangement, with a lot of fun. It is a celebration that is looked forward to by everyone; there are many pre wedding customs and rituals. Many of the customs that are practiced in Pakistan have no roots to Islam and these customs have been embraced from ceremonies and traditions of the Hindu culture.

The first custom is known as a mangni which is actually an engagement ceremony, marks the official engagement of the couple. This is a small ceremony takes place in front of few family members of the would- be bride and groom. Prayer and blessings are recited and the wedding date is determined. The next ceremony is the Mayun it is a custom where the bride enters a state of isolation for 8 to 15 days prior to the wedding, she is free from doing all chores and running errands and the bride and groom are not allowed to see each other, in fact the bride can't even leave her house. This is when the beautification rituals begin. Uptan is the next small event in which a paste is formed using turmeric, sandalwood powder, herbs and oils, which the groom's mother brings for the bride. She blesses the bride and applies the uptan - mixture on her face and hands. The uptan ceremony is also held for the groom, in fact uptan is supposed to make the bride look pretty and she applies it daily until the wedding.

The Dolki is a singing ceremony and traditional wedding songs are sung accompanied by two or three instruments, a dolki being the primary instrument. In these events the bride is officially treated as a bride or a dulhan, she wears a traditional Pakistani yellow outfit and her siblings and friends escort her to the event. The mehendi is actualluy a hena party which takes place before the wedding. It's a ceremony consisting primarily of females, they apply henna on the bride and each other, they sing and dance and sadka is performed on the bride- that is they ward off evil from the bride. After the ceremony there is dinner, and traditionally the bride veils her face in the ceremony. Mehendi is done on the groom's side as well, with the groom, the bride does not participate.

The Baraat and Nikah usually happen together or one after the other. It is the official ceremony of the wedding; it is when the grooms family and relatives or friends make way to the bride's home. They are warmly welcomed. It is there that they share juices and foods and meet and greet each other. This mainly happens in the baraat. The nikah is the purely Islamic ritual, it is attended by only close members, men and women are seated separately. The nikah nama contains certain terms and conditions which are written and agreed upon by both the parties. The next ceremony is the ruksati in which the bride fare wells to her family and is taken to her in laws house. The last ceremony is the Valima which is more like a wedding reception. Hence Pakistani weddings are extensive consisting of many rituals and customs, thus they are colorful and amusing for all.

Short essay on Pakistan as a Welfare State

A welfare state is determined by the type of government, if the government provides services for the welfare or well-being of its citizens entirely then it is known as a welfare state. Such a government is a part of the lives of its people at every extent. It caters to the physical, material and social needs rather than the people catering to their own needs.

The main objective of a welfare state is to essentially create social and economic equality and to ensure fair standards of living, fair access to justice, freedom of faith and speech and complete transparency in decision making of officials and executives.

The services that the welfare state provides includes education, housing, sustenance, health services, unemployment insurance, days off for sickness or injuries, additional income in special circumstances and equivalent wages through price and wage controls. Other services that a welfare state provides include public transportation, child care, social public goods like public parks and libraries, and other such goods and services. Some of the services provided could be funded by government insurance programs or taxes collected by the government.

Hence it could be said that the final purpose of a welfare state is the well-being of citizens. This term actually came up in the 20th century. For the scholars of today's world or the 21st century it is more of a common used word. Almost all countries identify themselves as a welfare state but the actual level of welfare services provided varies from country to country. There are countries where the institutional concept of welfare is practiced and countries where the residual concept of welfare is practiced. With regard to Pakistan, it is a little different; it shows attributes of a pluralist welfare state. The Islamic welfare state has been proposed to be practiced by many past leaders that have come and many that are about to come, however there is still 30 percent of the population that lives under the poverty line and little is shown to be done by these leaders to come through on their promise.

Imran Khan (Candidate in the Presidential elections of Pakistan) has promised to make Pakistan into a welfare state according to newspaper headlines and the current president's Benazir Income support Program is supposed to aid Pakistan in becoming a welfare state. According to many Pakistan can be made a welfare state if it acts according to the objectives resolution - this is another newspaper article, citizens of Pakistan and readers are given hopes of Pakistan being a welfare state every day. Since 1947 the governments of Pakistan one after the other has been known to be trying to make Pakistan a welfare state, more specifically an Islamic Welfare state.

To make this so called dream come true the leaders have tried to implement a few methods to achieve this, like the democracy of the 1960s, the nationalization of industries in the 1970s and the Zakat and other Islamization practices in the 1980s. In the 1990s under the rule of Nawaz Sharif there were some concrete steps taken like the creation of Pakistan's Bait ul Maal - in other words a detailed social welfare program. However these efforts are successful for a temporary period and then their results seem to fade away. More efforts are required by the government to improve the standards of living of its citizens; measures should be implemented permanently and should not be a temporary phenomenon.

Short essay on Agriculture in Pakistan

Pakistan's economy largely depends on agriculture. Around 60% of Pakistan's population (mostly residing in the rural areas) is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture. The agriculture sector is the second largest sector of Pakistan and it contributes more than 21 percent to the GDP, more importantly it is the largest employing sector as it absorbs around 45 percent of the country's labor force. This sector is significant in nature not only because of the statistics listed above but also because it is a primary supplier of raw materials to various industries, contributing significantly to exports, and it also proves to be a major market for other products like fertilizers, pesticides, tractors, and other agricultural tools.


With regard to farming in Pakistan there are two main seasons for growing crops and specified crops are grown only in that season. 'Kharif' season is the summer season in which the summer crop are grown and 'Rabi' is the winter season in which winter crops are grown. In Kharif crops, sowing is done in April - June and harvesting happens in October - November. In Rabi crops, sowing is done in October - November and harvesting is done in April - May. Kharif crops include rice, sugarcane, cotton, maize and others, while Rabi crops include wheat, tobacco, rapeseed, barley and mustard.


Irrespective of the fact that the agricultural sector is crucial for the growth of this country, exports, incomes and food security, this sector is facing a continuous decline. Growth in yields per acre has been falling successively for the last three decades. Productivity has been very low and the yield gap continues to rise, hence intensive efforts are required to revive the sector. There needs to be efforts taken by the government and policy makers to help the farmers make investments in new seeds, farming technology, and infrastructure supporting water irrigation. These investments are essential, and if not taken it is uncertain how strong and ready
Pakistan would be to cope with rising problems such as falling water availability and intense climatic changes.


The major issues that farmers face include firstly the soil. Pakistani soil lacks nitrogenous content, therefore in order to increase cultivated crops and yield it needs proper fertilizers and great investments. Soil erosion is a common phenomenon in the country which adds to destroying the soil energy, and there are not many mechanisms or efforts being taken to reduce soil erosion or restore nutrient to the soil. Another issue faced by farmers which hinders growth in this sector involves water wastage by using flood irrigation methods which waste around 50 to 60 percent of the water, hence new irrigation facilities need to be adopted to better use limited water resources. There are many other issues as well like small land holdings, limited credit facilities available, lack of adaptation of new farming technology, recent rain fed floods which have led to the loss of livestock and crops, water logging and salinity and lastly lack of development and infrastructure in rural areas. The agriculture sector is of great importance to the nation and such problems call for a reform of the agricultural policy, in which these issues are tackled and more importantly the abolishment of feudalism so land is allotted to poor farmers, this would increase the crop yield per acre.


This sector has enormous potential for growth and in terms of contribution to the development of the country, yet it requires large investments and attention for its proper enlargement.