Syed Mustafa Ahmad
Reading books is an attribute of the civilized Society. Since a long time, it is the book that has been with those who want to progress in the real sense. The successful personalities have the trait of reading books. They know this fact that behind anyone’s success, the books have played the greatest role. Even If they become the richest people of the world, their bond with books never breaks.
William Bill Gates, a name known to all, has one of the best libraries. He always cherishes the company of books. Thus, it is necessary for any person who wants to make it big to have a sound relationship with books as they are related to air, water, clothes and food for survival. But in the present times, this is not the case.
There are many causes and reasons that have made us repellent against ‘reading culture’. Let’s know few of them:
The first and foremost cause is that we have not understood the purpose of our life. We live aimlessly like animals whose only concern is to fill their bellies. When this is the state of our nation how can we expect growth and prosperity in our lives?
The second cause is that our environment is not compatible with learning. Here, donkeys rule the roost. Intellectualism has lost its way in the dreary desert of dead habitation. People call it madness to read books. They, instead, want to follow materialism.
Big houses, cars, colorful clothes, etc. are the main motives of life. Reading a book is not in their domain. They want to spend their precious time in useless talks and chats but never bother to open a book and read some pages of some interest.
The third cause is the internet. The world is at our fingertips. Why carry a load of books instead of keeping them in a single device? The Internet promised us that every kind of knowledge is there. Indeed, it is. But the poison it has brought with it is overlapping its benefits. There are millions of libraries on the internet but more than this there are the things that divert a person’s mind.
Games, apps like tik tok, gambling, video making, etc. reduce the chances of learning anything new. It has also affected our health. Suicides have increased. Mental depression is on rise. Social distancing has increased. Alienation is the order of the day. Imitation is on rise. Money earning has become the newest trend. Craziness is the art of everyone. So, it has marred our society.
The fourth cause is the lenient approach of the government. They can’t do anything in this regard. They need power, money and fame. Their only concern is promises that are to be broken. They know that politics is not static. Why should they use their mind in this hectic job of inculcating the spirit of reading culture? They think, It is better to enjoy the years of tenure. Why to take this extra responsibility? But they don’t know that it is their main responsibility to acquaint the masses about the world and themselves. But they will waste money and time in futile pursuits; rather than in this good endeavor. It means that we have not still produced the ideal statesmen.
Statesmen like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Voltaire, Imran Khan, Recip Tayyib Erdogan, etc., are rarely found. They were, are and will be voracious readers and left a long last effect on the masses.
The last cause in my opinion is that we are not interested in book reading. We hate books. We are impatient. We become bored when reading a book. We want something delightful. We want something charming. We want something attractive. We want something colourful. But it is deception. The charm lies in reading and imitating the best minds of the world. Steve Jobs, William Bill Gates, Jeff Bezoz, etc., share their experiences of lives and make us aware about the real motive of the temporary life.
In the backdrop of the above lines, it becomes clear that in order to progress in this world, reading culture should be our first preference. Other things should follow it. From home to the market, everyone should be made aware that reading culture is as important as oxygen. A labourer should be in a position to read a book. A student should read more than 40 books in a year. Khalil Gibran, J.K. Rowling, Ronald Dahl, William Wordsworth, William Shakespeare, Salman Rushdie, Khalid Hosseini, Syed Omar, Maryam Jameelah, Edward Said, Hannah Arendt, Virginia Woolf, Bertrand Russell, G.B. Shaw, Ernest Hemmingway, Shahnaz Bashir, Aga Shahid Ali, Murakami, Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, Naeem Siddiqui, Sayyid Qutb, Orya Maqbool Jan, Allama Iqbal, Shubli No’mani, Muhammad Asad, Marmaduke Pickthall, Thomas Arnold, etc., should be read at the earliest.
The need of the hour is to leave leniency and embark on the path of reading culture. Reading rooms should be available in the nook and corner of a country. Then, there are the chances that we may go forward in this endeavor.
