I SUPPOSE every columnist and editorial writer across the globe is writing a piece to mark the end of the millennium and the start of a new one.

But more than an arbitrary date, the end of 1999 represents the transition from one era to another. Just as 1950 saw the beginning of the end of colonialism, we are now on the threshold of perhaps the most exciting period of human history. Never before have science and technology been more central to our lives, and never before have they moved at such breathtaking speed. And never before has legitimate wealth been created so rapidly for so many people. The sky, it seems, is the limit in this brave new world.

Much of this revolutionary and explosive transformation has been driven by computers. These ubiquitous agents of change have penetrated every aspect of our lives in a way that is even more profound than the impact of electricity at the turn of the century. From cars to dishwashers, virtually every appliance is controlled in varying degrees by the ever-present microchip. In a few short years, the whole world has become so dependent on computers that the Y2K bug is dreaded from Los Angeles to Lahore.

The dramatic new discoveries in the biological sciences have triggered ethical debates over the limits of scientific knowledge. Cloning and the mapping of the human genome will soon give man almost god-like powers to create new life and perpetuate lives virtually indefinitely. The exciting work currently under way to peer into the ultimate building blocks of life - DNA and the chromosome - hold out the promise to cure any disease.

Perhaps the Internet will have the most far-reaching impact among all the new technologies. Already, western marketplaces are being revolutionized by people shopping on the net. But more importantly, giant corporations like Ford and GM are now buying their spare parts on the net, speeding up the procurement cycle and creating greater economies and efficiency. Shares are being traded globally, people are getting university education on the net, and millions are exchanging letters or just chatting. In brief, within five years, the Internet has come to dominate our lives as no other single technology has done.

To cash in on this new technology, very little capital is needed. What you require is a good idea, and thousands of people - mostly in America - have become millionaires overnight by floating what are known as dot.com startups. The beauty of this computer revolution is that you can be sitting anywhere in the world and still be able to log on and be at the cutting edge. Indian software firms have done very well by developing programmes for clients all over the world, and now export software worth well over a billion dollars, and this is just the start.

And where do we stand in this brave new world? Despite having some excellent programmers, we have lagged far behind our neighbour. Thousands of qualified Pakistanis have emigrated, discouraged by the lack of opportunities at home. Entrepreneurs have been dissuaded from investing in a country where successive governments have dragged their feet in permitting the private sector to establish direct satellite links without which close and instant contact with overseas client is not possible. The PTCL has consistently adopted a very conservative and monopolistic strategy on communications, thus driving away potential investors in Pakistani software firms.

In more ways than one, we have missed the bus. As it is, the entire Muslim world lags far behind the West: all Muslim countries put together do not produce a fraction of the scientific papers written in Israel alone. In Pakistan, the problem has been compounded by a ramshackle educational system and a stifling bureaucracy. Education has long had such a low priority in the allocation of resources that it is small wonder that literacy is at an optimistic 30 per cent.

But more than money or the number of classrooms, the fundamental problem is one of attitudes: the last thing our feudal and tribal leaders would like to see is the spread of education in the areas they control. Similarly, our urban elites are quite happy with the status quo as they send their children to private schools where English is the medium of instruction. The children of the average Pakistani are condemned to study in the awful government institutions which are designed to crush any notion of independent thought and creativity.

Then there is the fundamental contradiction between rational thought and religious dogma. This is the real reason why Muslims have fallen so far behind the rest of the world, content to be users of technology, but not inventors. The handful of Muslim scientists who have broken new ground have had to do so abroad as their own soil is too barren and inhospitable for new ideas to take root. Parvez Hoodhboy has written eloquently and persuasively on this topic in his book "Muslims and Science", but other than him, very few people seem to be concerned about this immensely important issue.

As a nation, we seem to be forever bogged down by such puerile matters that it should surprise nobody that we are where we are. Currently, there is a furious debate going on in the pages of this newspaper over provincial rights. One would have expected that after 52 years of independent existence, we would have sorted out such a basic issue. And although we aver that Urdu is our national language, the state and the corporate sector continue functioning in English. Indeed, hardly any books are translated into Urdu, so it is small wonder that this linguistic confusion continues long after independence.

These examples can be multiplied to show that after half a century, we have been unable to get our act together and sort out the basics. But these problems accurately reflect the unending crisis of leadership we have faced virtually since Pakistan came into being. Compounding this has been the identity crisis we have created for ourselves: in our determination to prove to the world and to ourselves that we are different from Indians, we have gone to the other extreme of asserting that we are somehow closer to the Middle East. These historical and geographical contortions have cut us off from our roots and thus the fount of creativity. Then, of course, we insist on carrying the crushing burden of Kashmir that has been like a millstone around our necks these last fifty years.

I mention these problems not to depress my readers but to, hopefully, start a debate on them. As a people, we prefer to brush problems under the carpet. But at the end of this millennium, the pile is now too large; clearly it is now high time to face these fundamental issues with a view to resolving them.

Meanwhile, a very happy new year, a new century and a new millennium to all my readers.