By: Rabia Aslam
A couple of months ago, television channels were flooded with the headlines of tragic incident of suicide by two young students (a boy and a girl) at a local school of Karachi. The faculty members got to know about the incident at a morning assembly gathering when they heard gunshots from one of the classrooms. Initial reports confirmed that the adolescents decided to end their lives because of the fear of disapproval of their relationship by their families. In another incident a 13-year-old girl was gone missing from Islamabad. The parents were inquiring from door to door in the state of bewilderment. Later, it was revealed that the young girl was recovered from Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and she was not abducted forcefully but had gone with her friends deliberately. On 14th of August, a girl was molested at Minar-e-Pakistan by a mob of four hundred people. Many of the accused were arrested. The issue was highlighted on different platforms through print and electronic media. But the drop scene of all this tragedy happened when it was discovered that all this scene was carried after a deliberate planning with another preparator to get fame and likes on a social media app. Annals of recent years are replete with such instances. Last week, I came across a concert in a very reputable private institute and was stupefied to look at such state of affairs. Young lads and damsels, who hardly were in their early adolescence, were seen dressed in the most objectionable attire. What’s more shocking is that parents and teachers at large were fine with it. Isn’t it a moral and ethical degeneration as a society? The point of concern is where we are leading our youth to. What are the ideals of youth and who are the role models of young generation? The recent chain of events suggest that young brains of our society are thinking on patterns that are not representative of our morals. This entails that our youth is getting its inspiration from the culture that is not known and acceptable to us.
In the age of technology, where the world has become a global village, it is very easy to access a piece of information from any corner of world. BUT, it’s not as simple as it seems to be. With advancing technology, gradual cultural permeation, also referred as cultural invasion, is constantly rising in Pakistan. This invasion started taking place through allowing Bollywood movies, Indian TV serials, chat shows and programs, ads, and, most dangerous of all, the streaming of children’s programs and animations dubbed in Hindi to transit through Pakistani cables. Whereas, socialists believe that history and practices in a country shape thinking patterns of a nation, the electronic media of regional competitors, on the other hand, has exacerbated the trend of selling their ideology and societal structures to the inhabitants of the other countries. In other words, the neighboring countries have initiated cultural infiltration in Pakistan as part of psychological warfare, as well as supporting covert actions in our region, through films, dramas, events, and advertising that directly target our ideology and social heritage. By airing Indian films, Turkish and Korean/Chinese dramas, and exhibiting foreign commercials, some private television channels facilitated the media invaders. Beside Indian dramas and shows, Turkish dramas are (from Ishq e Mamnoo to Mera Sultan And now Ertugul to Diliris) also been aired since a long time. None of these entertainment shows live up to cultural and social values of Pakistan but such programs are being streamed to generate the revenue.
It is worth mentioning that Indian media has a very strict policy when it comes to air Pakistani Dramas, movies or animation. Indian media maligns Pakistan’s image in its news, entertainment channels and films but the tragedy is that Bollywood films are shown on Pakistani television. Not only cable operators are breaching copyright restrictions by screening Indian films; Pakistani cinemas are also following the same practice, with the government’s approval. India’s policy makers should get a mead of praise for they have a rigorous restriction for keeping Pakistani media at bay and make the future generation unaware of the culture and values of its rival country. Our cultural and moral norms are also being infiltrated by Turkish media. They portray themselves as a Muslim country that follows Islamic standards, although there is little evidence of Islamic ideals in any of their plays. They dress as non-Muslims, which has an adverse influence on our media and our younger generation. After viewing Ertugrul Ghazi, I can’t think of any major contribution to our youth, especially university students. Moreover, now even dance competition shows are being modeled after Indian dance shows in Pakistan. Is it an accident or deliberate cultural warfare with Pakistan? The Pakistani youth is fascinated by colorful rituals and fancy rites of other countries. It’s the weak foundation of our social structure that has led Pakistani youth to follow the practices and patterns that are not compatible with our social history.
The situation has deteriorated even more after the launch of apps like Tiktok, snapchat etc. The youngsters are seen performing immoral and acts to get few likes on social media. They are seen performing at malls, universities, educational institutes, roads and even in the hospitals and graveyards. They are running after fame and have unreal role models. Their videos on social media don’t reflect anything but the degeneration and loss of vision in the youth. There is a lack of guidance and weak representation of Pakistani culture through our media that has mislead the young generation of the country. The Pakistani drams, except a few, now a days are sensationalized and made to show a glamourized world. The subjects chosen are very trivial and they lack any moral or ethical lesson. Pakistani media has a strong role in normalizing the abnormal. Divorce, suicides, premarital and extramarital affairs are some of the subjects of the dramas and movies these days. Are these the kind of examples we are setting for our young minds to follow?
The, them culture, has taken its roots in our future generation despite the fact there is a yawning gap between their and our social values and ethical norms. To guard the country, particularly the youth, regulatory authorities must pay attention to cultural incursions that go against our ideals and take steps to lessen our vulnerability. The shows like “burqa avengers” must be analyzed thoroughly before screening. Despite the fact that such cartoon films are amusing and humorous, they carry hidden messages and significant implications that are incongruous with our culture and religious doctrine. Many countries limit users’ access to the internet to just government-controlled content. Pakistan, just like India, must also propagate this policy.
A ban on sexually explicit and immoral films and dramas from across the border may be the best option for protecting our children’s minds from immoral entertainment. Pakistani dramas and films from 1970 to 1990 were considered the best and had bagged many awards at an international level. Pakistani industry should be provided such resources that would encourage the makers to create and recreate masterpieces that will flourish our morals and ideals. (Alpha Bravo Charlie, sinf-e-ahan, inkar are one of such examples). A policy to promote our heritage, help cinema, and to make this business viable is required so that Pakistani talent can anchor their efforts on serving their own audience rather than fleeing to play in other countries.
Having said this, I must clarify that I am not anti-entertainment or anti-technology but it’s our responsibility to keep an eye on what we see and what we want our children to watch. Parents should keep a strict check on what kind of activities their kids are following on internet. We can’t hold government responsible for infiltration and misuse of technology but we must also be held accountable for waywardness in youth. Who is going to be an agent of change in such hapless state affairs? It’s me. It’s you. It’s every one of us. Every journey begins with the first step. Every saga has a beginning. Let’s start it together and from today to ensure that “our future-our youth” is guided towards a right direction. To cap it off, it would be appropriate to quote Muhammad Ali Jinnah here where he says, “We are a country with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal news and moral code, customs and calendar, history and tradition, aptitudes and ambitions”.
The writer is an educationist, content writer, and freelance columnist with nearly more than a decade of experience in the field of education. She is an eloquent commentator on women’s rights, education, peace and interfaith harmony. She can be reached at [email protected]