Grandpa, who was 90 years old judging by the silver of his hair, entered the balcony in his white kurta shalwar, while holding a stick to support him. Asad immediately stood up from his place and hugged his grandpa

“Assalamu Alaikum, dada jan. How are you?” Asad cheerfully asked while still in the embrace of his grandpa.

“I am fine, my dear. What were you doing?” grandpa asked.

“Dada jan, look. I am decorating the entire balcony with paper flags and a big flag in the centre. It will look wonderful, right!” Asad spoke in an energetic voice.

Dada jan smiled seeing the spirit of patriotism in his nephew and said, “Yes, my dear. It would look amazing.”

Dada jan settled himself on one of the wooden chairs in the corner of the balcony. His eyes were fixed on his nephew, who had decorated the balcony enthusiastically. As soon as he was finished, Asad collected the scraps of the paper in a plastic bag to throw them away.

“It looks wonderful, my dear,” grandpa said.

“Thanks, Dada jan. Can I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Dada jan, How did you celebrate Independence Day?”

“Independence Day? I never celebrate Independence Day like this, but the entire year as Independence Day, because we have got it after a big struggle, so I try to value it every day.”

Asad got excited, “Dada jan, did you see the formation of Pakistan yourself?”

Dada jan spoke, “Yes dear. I still remember that day as if it was yesterday. At that time, I had a shop in Rajkot city in Gujarat, India. When the government announced a border between Pakistan and India, all the Muslims wanted to go to Pakistan and the Hindus on the Pakistan side wanted to migrate to India.

“People migrated on a large scale, using different modes; some used trains, bullocks, others even on foot and violence spread quickly. The partition displaced between 10 and 20 million people along religious lines. I also migrated on the train along with my mum and my younger brother. It was so full that I was scared that I might fall off.

“Terrorism was widespread; there were even attacks on trains. The train we were travelling in was also attacked. Everyone was scared. We prayed for our safety and God answered our prayers when the men who attacked left. Few people reached safely. We were one of them but we had no place to go. The refugee setup was not good, we made a tent on a plain area.

“Newly formed Pakistan was not well-developed and there weren’t any arrangements for the refugees. Although many organisations were working to help the people who migrated, people still faced difficulties.

“People today, don’t have any idea of the difficulties we faced for our dear land. It is beyond comprehension. However, we should always remember the struggles of our nation’s heroes, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who presented his two nation theory idea, Allama Iqbal who gave the vision of creation of Pakistan, Choudhry Rahmat Ali who supported the idea, Quaid-i-Azam who shaped the vision of Allama Iqbal and established the newly-formed Pakistan and worked for it until his last breathe, and many other leaders without whom we wouldn’t get Pakistan.”

Dada jan paused for a while and then continued, “The reason for explaining this to you now is that you should be grateful to Allah and should work hard taking inspiration from our esteemed leaders. You should learn that for achieving something, you need to keep a high goal and put in all your efforts to accomplish it. Nothing is impossible, if there is a will, Allah will help you. Always remember that without pain, there is no gain. It means you need to work hard for what you want to achieve for your future.”

“Sure Dada jan, I will work hard and will InshaAllah become a pilot in the future and will brighten the name of my nation Pakistan,” Asad assured his grandfather.

Dada jan smiled and hugged Asad.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 14th, 2021