How do you revolutionize the masses? Do you provoke them to overthrow an unpopular government or brainwash them to tear apart and throw society’s rulebook? In a gentle way, each and every person can be a revolutionary. How? You may ask. There is a particular element present in this world, something that is the movement from darkness to light, the key to unlock the golden door of freedom, the investment that pays the best interest, an exceptional weapon that is the basis of all advanced nuclear or scientific technology (but in fact, can dominate them when exploited precisely). This element is education. Martin Luther King Jr. says, “The function of education is to teach one to think critically.” Education is the dynamic side of our ideas. Through education one can bring his or her thinking on the right track and can get clear direction for proceeding further. For example, take the current situation in Pakistan, where education is the need of the hour, not revolution. When education opens your mind, you will get to ponder over the change you want, criticize it and then put it in action. You won’t blindly accept or protest against it. Education will give you a proper direction to voice out your concerns. If it weren’t for education, I can assure you that we all might be stuck serving Englishmen. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s strategic efforts lead to the establishment of the Mohammaden Anglo-Oriental School, which became a symbol of Muslim unity. That is how the perceptions of the people of the subcontinent changed, and then they fought for their rights. Education becomes a social reformer: it polishes the human personality and eliminates inequalities which are generated on the basis of class, status, colour and creed. We all need to have a better understanding of human diversity. Helen Keller once said: “The highest result of education is tolerance.” This is exactly what we need, to bring a revolution. For instance, Sweden is named as the country which is the most committed to reducing inequality. Why? The level of participation in formal and non-formal education among 25-64 year-olds is 66%, the highest across the Anglo-Latin countries. Therefore, Marilyn Ferguson is unconditionally accurate when she says, “The greatest revolution in our generation is that of human beings, who by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspect of their lives.” By increasing wakefulness to resolve our problems, education prepares people for change, it gives them flexibility to accept the trends of society, it gives them confidence to take initiatives in science and technology, such as, Japan. The Japanese economy and education have developed hand-in-hand. Where high school attendance rate increased from 43% to 98%, and economy boomed in the post-war period. Education is the only weapon which may change minds enabling us to think positively as it is the utmost requirement to deal with the evils of the society. Look around you. What is the urgency of the moment? A revolution comprising of nothing more than road blockages, where a mother seeking immediate medical treatment dies in childbirth? Or an education, to appropriately voice your concerns, where a fair and just decision is taken in a peaceful way? It is up to us to make the choice.
Maarab Zaheer AL-G2
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