“Finally, the history exam is done!” exclaimed Zoya, rejoicing at the completion of her mid-year exams.

“Indeed, there is nothing sweeter than the news of holidays! How was it?” said her mother.

“The topics asked were the same as what I had memorised — history exams don’t test understanding. I don’t know why history is even a subject. What would I get by memorising Jinnah’s 14 Points?” said Zoya, dropping a chocolate wrapper on the ground.

After a few seconds of silence, her mother replied, “It is not about memorising the points. It is about understanding the purpose behind them. Once you grasp that, you will feel the years of physical and mental work our Quaid did to make Pakistan, so that children of today can breathe freely in harmony.”

Zoya’s mother picked up the wrapper, threw it in the bin, patted Zoya’s cheek.

This was something Zoya didn’t quite get, because her mind was bored of learning about what happened then, and far more interested in what is happening now.

So kids, the present is a blessing that we cherish with every breath, often without realising it. If I were to continue Zoya’s mother’s point and ask you, “Were our ancestors living in harmony?” what would your answer be?

No, this is definitely not a history re-examination, but yes, it is a deep thought that we, as one nation, should keep in our minds till our last breath.

Consider this: we design our plans assuming that we will not be affected by threats from tyrant rulers of another nationality or religion. That assumption barely existed for our ancestors a hundred years ago. You can’t even imagine that, but we, as adults, can.

Certainly, freedom is not free. To truly feel this freedom that we enjoy today, we need to look at the paths our leaders took that led us here.

What it took to make Pakistan

Jinnah joined the All-India Muslim League in 1913, and guess when Pakistan came on the map? Thirty-four years later. Definitely not an overnight success. This League was intended to put Muslim interests before the British Government. The Government recognised this party, but there was also another party, mostly dominated by Hindus — the Congress. At first, these two parties worked together to........

© Dawn Young Magazine