Badee Uz Zaman
The universe runs according to a basic scheme. And the scheme is formulated by none other than the Omnipotent creator. When such Supreme Authority has formulated the scheme, the scheme is bound to be flawless. And indeed it is.
In this scheme every destiny has its course which takes the specified time. It is justified to walk the entire course taking at least the minimum time required for it.
No doubt, there are shortcuts available in many of the cases. And we can reach at many destines and goals in lesser time intervals. However, it is more fruitful to follow the rules of the game.
Once the preordained procedure is followed, one knows every hazards and assurances of the journey. One knows that the road is dovetailed with many other highways of exploring many future voyages. One who follows shortcuts in one road gets stranded in many others.
Man is a conglomerate of many characteristics. And to complete the things at hand within a shortest possible time is surely a defining characteristic of man. There is nothing wrong in trying to achieve ones ends soon. But trying to achieve them mostly by shortcuts without taking the minimum required time for the same is against the rules of the game.
By treading ones course this way is not conducive itself. For the one who does that eventually hurts none other than himself. This is what is called haste. Haste, they say, is waste. We all know this. We all have experienced its negative effects during our lifetimes. We all advocate against being hasty, and we all know what haste is. And how it can be avoided.
Yet, the more we try to avoid haste, the more we fall prey to it. At times, we follow haste religiously, and in certain cases we think haste is the only solution. Among all this, we forget the ways and methods of doing things normally—which happens, to be the best possible methodology for accomplishing ones ends.
Associating this directly with the conundrum in which we are in, only one shriek comes out. Yes, we are hasty. We, as individuals are hasty. We, as a community are hasty. And we, as a nation are hasty.
We were hasty then. And we are hasty now.
Take an example of our protest against increasing immorality in our society. Protest against corruption and other such issues. We take a hasty stand in every case. Follow it for few days. And then, the result is same in every case.
We forget even about what the issue was. Every time, an act of blasphemy is committed in any part of the world; we take strong note of it. Oppose it. Protest against it. In some cases, spew our blood for it. And then, again forget it.
We condemn each act of Human Rights Violation. We make every cry against it. We decimate everything in protest against the scandals that are so common in our part of the world. And finally, we forget everything with utmost ease!
But life goes on. We take up issues with haste. And we equally forget things with greater degrees of haste. Haste, we think, is the solution to life threatening issues of our existence. But in reality, it is contrary to that.
Haste is part of our every aspect. It is in family decisions, in politics, and in deciding our careers. We want things to get completed even without making any effort. We want to reach to new heights even without climbing an inch. We want to have every luxury even without working a bit. This haste has messed up everything. And there is a chaos around.
There is that directionless race going on everywhere and in every field. No one knows where to go eventually. Every individual tries to take over the other. No matter, what the method.
Most of the issues concerning us with a certain degree of urgency need a great deal of patience and perseverance. But we seem to lack these things since the very beginning. The most unfortunate thing is that this tendency of ours has been and is being exploited by others.
Finally, it is worth saying that we Kashmiris as a nation are surrounded by all types of odds. All the pressing issues: some of which directly have their impacts on our existence.
So, the best way to deal with them is to devise a proper strategy. And where, the strategies have already been made. One needs to make necessary modifications in those according to the necessities of the times. And invest the most sincere of efforts to achieve the logical ends.
In case we fail to achieve those ends ourselves, the need is to pass the same to the next generations. The methodology should be followed in such a way that the next generation can start the course exactly from there where we left. They should not be compelled by the faulty strategy and methodology to go to the point zero.
The most important thing is that haste should not be resorted in any case. And the next generation should be taught likewise. There is no goal which can’t be achieved by a collective human will. But haste renders all the efforts and wills worthless. Haste should be shunned from every genuine movement we are fighting. Let’s hope for the best.
(Badee Uz Zaman is pursuing his PG in Political Science and hails from South Kashmir’s Chatapora, Pulwama)
