Unity in Diversity and its importance within Pakistan

By Hadi Khurram

A deliberate oxymoron, what this infamous expression means is to have harmony and tolerance between races, it guides us to not separate or discriminate based on another’s colour or accent. It sheds light on being tolerant towards difference be it physical, cultural, linguistical, ideological or psychological. This expression is not limited to speech but branches into our very lives be it religion, politics, or several parts of science.

This expression has quite the history, being used by the indigenous people of North America and the Taoist societies in 400 to 500 BCE. Not only this but this expression also has roots in Old India when we saw tribes such as the pre-Aryans, the Indo-Aryans, the Greek, the Scythians etc.

All the aforementioned contributed towards where the Sub-Continents lies now. They sowed the seed to create the legacy that millions reside in today.

In my view, the understanding and learning of this expression have several advantages for the common person. Some of these are as follows:

Unity in Diversity makes one more tolerant and more open to more sorts of challenges that come their way throughout their lifetime. They help one in enhancing their teamwork skills which is one of the fundamental skills many jobs in adult life require. It helps one with being more open to more people and just by accepting and understanding this phrase they gain an opportunity to enhance their personality and people skills.

Unity in Diversity is shown to increase morale in the workplace, an organization and community which in turn helps the community prosper to new heights.

Living in such a culture rich country like Pakistan, Unity in Diversity is pertinent for us. For example, Ethnologue states that 74 languages are spoken in Pakistan, alongside that over 20 major ethnic groups are actively residing in Pakistan.

This makes spreading and endorsing this expression the duty of a Pakistani. Every Pakistani must support this as due to the immense amount of culture located within the borders of Pakistan, supporting this expression would be supporting their own nation.

This expression being adopted by a country helps with national integration as well, this is because it is very easy to disintegrate people with different views and ideologies. This expression would promote unity which in turn would contribute towards the stability and development of said country. A country that is socially unstable cannot accomplish development on a large scale as the country is divided.

This expression also teaches us about resilience and peace, it encourages peace as may incidents of conflict have been triggered by cultural or some sort of difference, people who adopt this ideology would not walk down the path which encourages one to look down on other due to their cast or creed etc. However, currently, most of us do not accept this expression due to the thought that colour, caste, creed, ideologies separate them. In my view, this is not the case.

The support of a three world long phrase can make a world of difference, we can excel, we can prevent conflicts, we can achieve the long strived-for peaceful Earth. This expression is even more important in the context of Pakistan, with so much culture situated between its border.