Fiercely Patriotic???

The caption of the post is taken from a paragraph of the Next Generation Report – a survey – recently launched by the British Council Pakistan.

‘Fiercely Patriotic’ was used in the description of one of the groups of Young Pakistanis which the report has identified. The group has been named as ‘Optimistic Patriots’.

The report is interesting and comprehensive and provides us a broader view of what our youth thinks. However the above mentioned group grabbed my attention due to the content it has in its description in the report. It states:

Our final group is an anomaly compared to the others. It consists of the few Pakistanis who believe there is little wrong with the country. Fiercely patriotic, they see it as heading in the right direction and are adamant that it is the best place to live in the world (very few of them want to study abroad, moreover). They believe the country is unique and that solutions imposed from outside are not applicable or useful.

Who includes in this group?

Many members of this group hail from the lower middle classes. They are small businessmen, shopkeepers and agricultural workers. Many are self-employed. Those in urban areas have been educated to primary or lower secondary level, while those in rural areas have had only the bare bones of an education at best. These optimists (who tend to be towards the younger end of our target group) are much more likely than other groups to believe that things in Pakistan are improving.

The group which consists of fiercely patriotic lower middle class has always been proved itself as the group who is actually a work force of Pakistan.

If we look into it, somehow, it covers all other groups that are being identified in the report, namely: Frustrated farmers, Urban Strivers, The Insecure Rich and Stay-at-home women.

This group is not in contradiction nor is it unlikely to the masses but it covers all other groups.

Despite of all the complaints which other groups have, they are looking forward to improve the things, emphasizing on the importance of education and vocational training and still striving for better career opportunities within the country.

And this is the true face of Pakistani Youth at the moment. The way they feel, they express it. They are optimistic, think that the things are improving due to the immense awareness that has been created over the past few years.

Instead of getting frustrated they are now realizing that only they can bring the change.

One might think that being Optimistic with this country seems to be a Fantasy at the moment. However this is the biggest Reality of the time that Pakistani Youth believes in them, Optimistic and has realized its potential which could bring change in the country which seems to be moving towards a disaster at present.

The referred passage can be found at page no 34 under the section of ‘Making a difference’ of the report.

* Read full version of report *

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