archive: Whose culture is it, anyway?
Whose culture is it, anyway?
Jamal Ahmad Anjum
DAWN Magazine, Karachi
August 22, 1999
Title: Whose culture is it, anyway?
Author: Jamal Ahmad Anjum
Publication: DAWN Magazine, Karachi
Date: August 22, 1999
GRACE, charm, beauty, social behaviour, even principles are said to be
relative, and differ from country to country. They always refer to
something, in one way or the other, in corresponding terms. Such
sociological patterns help make an individual - the basic unit of any
society - what he is. Thus, religion and culture are said to be the
two most dominant and important powers on earth, shaping the
character, behavior and perspective of human beings.
When dug in deep, even religion lags behind and culture comes in the
forefront - supreme and mighty. 'Culture' is a many- faceted word.
However, the culture of mind and manner is entirely dependent on the
intellectual development of a society and the individual, which, in
turn, cannot be achieved without proper education, nurturing and
upbringing. Religion, if applied in its entirety, does create its own
effects on individual character- building. It is, however, interesting
to note that Muslims throughout the world practice one religion,
Islam, yet their culture differs markedly from one to another. But the
parameters of culture, tradition and special traits of any given
country, by and large, remain one and the same. Saudis, Libyans or
Egyptians, just to mention a few, not only take pride in their
language, costume, cuisine, customs and traditions, but, in fact,
practice them almost religiously: more religiously than they practice
the religion itself!
We, the Pakistanis, are, however, singularly and distinctly different.
Even after more than half-a- century of independent existence, the
slave mentality of aping the masters continues. We have even corrupted
the minds of an entire generation that opened its eyes as independent
beings. We take pride in dressing the English way, love and admire the
American junk food, go for third-rated English movies, and dance to
the tune of music which, to say the least, is harmful to sanity. We
unnecessarily try to copy foreign, and miserably fail, making a fool
of ourselves in the process.
Something, somewhere has definitely gone wrong in our checkered
history as even after five decades of independence, we remain a people
of borrowed ideas, and pick even the more superficial parts of the
alien cultures. It seems we abhor quality. How else one can justify
our passion for rock n'roll, cabaret and cha- cha-cha stuff, in the
face of our inability to appreciate the beauty of, say, waltz and
ballet.
Walking hand in hand, the 'gull' - till recently she was 'gall'- and
the 'guy', both having ponies on the back of their head, attired in
denims and T-shirts, smoking feverishly, talking incessantly in absurd
English while simultaneously listening to the "wonderful pop music"
churned out by walk-man in their respective pockets. Don't be
mistaken. They are Pakistani youngsters heading for ... Boat Basin,
perhaps?
Many of us may not like to believe this, or even if we do, we may not
like to accept the fact, but let's face it as grown-ups, the Clifton
Bridge divides the city of Karachi in more ways than one. Beyond the
bridge is a land unknown to the lesser mortals. This, however, is not
a phenomenon exclusive to Karachi, or for that matter, Pakistan.
Exclusive areas for the 'privileged' classes frequent the map of the
world like anything. "Whoever says money can't buy you happiness, does
not know where to shop," remains the motto of such communities. They
bask and rejoice in their self-conceived glory, gleefully destroying
their own culture, traditions, customs and, may I dare say, even the
sanctity of human relationships.
Ignorance and illiteracy happen to be twins. Illiteracy, however, is
more in the nature of a self- inflicted injury, which is far more
condemnable than ignorance. The successful recourse to any
developmental process is education. Unfortunately, our financial
allocations for education have been minimal. During the past five
years, it has been about 1.66 per cent of the GNP. In the current
budget, the allocation is even less. We have already hit the rock
bottom even among the developing nations. Leave aside Japan,
Philippines and South Korea, where primary education is 100 per cent
and at the secondary level is at 63, 92 and 85 per cent, respectively.
Even Nepal, Burma, India and Bangladesh fare much better as their
primary and secondary level education percent-wise is 91 and 21; 84
and 20; and 79 and 30, respectively. Pakistan, on the other hand, has
48 and 17 per cent, respectively. In the case of women, the statistics
are even more shamefully retrogressive.
The worse part of the whole equation is that whatever percentage of
literacy is there, it only carries monetary value for the
degree-holders, devoid of any enlightenment which remains the hallmark
of any real education system. This is the reason why our elite's,
despite being the educated class, happen to be found playing with our
cultural values.
Running into a blind alley, unsure of their destination, hundreds of
thousands of them have staked virtually everything on all that
glitters but is not gold. Being a far more prosperous segment of our
society - why and how of it is beside the point - they could have done
a lot to promote the beauty and elegance of our own culture and
traditions. Unfortunately, however, the majority of them has fallen
prey to the Western influences. They have become addicted to what the
West itself has either rejected or is worried about, seeking avenues,
methods and channels to eradicate them from their own societies.
Certain elements that are looked down upon by the sober elements even
in the West have become status symbols with us. The end result has a
spiral effect: the rich emulating the West, and the middle class
copying the affluent. The net result being an almost total rejection
of what used to be our own cultural identity.
What is the cause of the malady? And, what is the remedy, if any? It
is still not beyond recovery. Mere establishment of more educational
institutions will not solve the problem. It is the quality of
education that shall be brought under scrutiny. Education of the mind
and soul, that is. Education that may produce confident individuals.
Confident of their own selves. Confident enough to avoid falling prey
to alien influences. It may not happen overnight, but that should not
be a discouraging factor.
As is the case under such circumstances, someone somewhere has to make
a start for things to improve. After all, what are a few decades in
the life of a nation. We have already played havoc with one
generation. Let's not do the same with another. If we don't do it now,
things will take their own course, and it may not be a course we may
take much pride in. Let's set out to produce a generation of truly
modern, educated Pakistanis. But does someone care?
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