A Question

When I was child I used to love traveling by trains. Sitting by the window used to be so much fun, during the day as well as during the night. I used to enjoy looking at the green fields, big piles of hay covered with a clay overcoat, goats and cattle running around in the fields and sometimes, when there was a road parallel to the railway line, I used to look at the traffic and see if anyone was willing to race with us. At night time, you can’t see anything outside but if you concentrate, you see light glows popping out of the horizon as if the sun is ready to rise. 

You may even spot a number of them. These dim glows are the lights at far off places. It could be from a major city, a factory, a lonely house of a farmer who somehow managed to get a generator for his domestic use or from a mosque in a small town.

These glows used to fascinate me. I would just stare at them and wish that if I were able to fly I would fly to them. I was curious to see how many people would be there and what would they be doing, what would they be thinking. I was curious to know if I was as important to them as they were for me. I was curious to know if they ever wished that they could grow wings and come see me sitting by the window of a train, passing miles away from their town. Such a childish thought

 

 

Time passed by and I grew up. God gave me opportunities to see the world and meet people of every race, religion and language. Had experiences to groom myself, friends to cherish, moments to remember and stories to share. Now when I get to travel in a train and look outside the window I don’t get the same feeling anymore. I no longer feel the curiosity to grow wings and fly to see what lies within a light glow, miles away from our moving train. How do people live there and what are they thinking. Somehow, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.

 

Is this a blessing or a curse?

Justice and Revenge

The law and order situation in Karachi is completely out of control.March 15th, 2011 and around 36 people have died in just four days. The promises of State to provide protection and justice are like pie crust, made to be broken. There is no sign of remedy anywhere in this anarchy. The citizens of Karachi have finally crossed the thin line that has long separated revenge from justice. This sort of news is not new but will always remind us of our savagery when it happens. There is a long list of dacoits who were tortured, burned and even killed by the people of Karachi. These sorts of incidents are being encouraged and it is being argued that this will prove to be deterrence against all the outlaws and criminals.


People will gather and start beating the mugger or dacoit ruthlessly and mercilessly. Instead of handing him over to the authorities, disappointed with the ineffective and inefficient justice system, the citizens will take the matter in their own hands and kill him. They can torture him or burn him alive. The justification may seem acceptable in face of weak government and justice system. But let us not forget the tragic event of Sialkot (a city of Punjab) when two innocent children, tied with blood relation to each other, were killed by a crazy mob. There was no justification of such a barbaric behavior but it was justified then. The justification is of no importance, may it be a dacoits or innocent brothers, when savagery is dictating all the rules of the game.

We are no longer a civilized nation. The words like law and justice means nothing to us. We will do anything and are ready to cross any limits. We will kill in the name of religion, blasphemy, target-killing, political gang wars and the virus of arms will continue to be injected in our youths. We have guns, rifles, pistols of every kind and every sort. We have reasons, though not justifiable, to kill and die. There is no cause and no purpose behind our sacrifice. We have reduced the value of life; let it be ours or anyone else.