Independence Diaries: Bridging Our Inspirational Past and Our Innovative Future

LMKT recently teamed up with The Centrum Media to create Independence Diaries, a collection of videos that brought forth first-hand experiences of those who witnessed the creation of Pakistan. Published online over a span of two weeks in August, the series was an effort to connect the country’s youth to its past.

Born of an idea, Pakistan celebrated its 71 years of existence this year. As the country gets on in years so does its founding generation and with them the ideas that created this great country are also becoming a thing of the past. The world has changed so much in the last couple of decades that our youth today has difficulty connecting to a time when phones were neither portable nor smart, let alone something that happened back in 1947.

This past is made relatable by human rights activist Nasreen Azher, who brings to life the chaotic division of the sub-continent as she tells us her story of the events surrounding the creation of Pakistan.

Communal violence erupted across the region as people looked to migrate to their desired country. The impact of this brutality people is laid bare by Kaka Ji, who in the second video of the series, recalls how the near total destruction of six passenger-filled carriages of his train caused him to leave his job as a train driver.

To most of us Pakistanis brutality of the division and the subsequent poverty many Pakistanis faced is not news. But the truth is that if the birth of Pakistan was miracle, the survival of this young impoverished state in a hostile neighbor was a greater accomplishment. This sentiment shines through in the third installment, which introduces us to the prominent bureaucrat Roedad Khan, who talks about the passion and determination that fueled the nation building process in the newly formed Pakistan. A country which at the time of creation had a secretariat with zero resources and a nearly empty treasury.

In actual fact the story of Pakistan is a story of courage and hope. As we strive to build a better society we need to remember that our struggle today is not about becoming something new it is about reclaiming our true identity and for this communication between our youth and older generation is very important. Storytelling is one way of bridging this inter-generational divide. This series looks to tell the human story of our independence, a story that transcends time because it talks about the hopes and dreams of people, which 71 years on are still very relevant and relatable.

In Mrs. Baseerat’s account one can feel the youthful exuberance of children who chanted pro-Pakistan slogan in the streets of Srinagar, while the suffering of Mrs. Tanveer Munawar, an eminent social worker, is evident when she says that she cannot forget the sounds “clashing swords and crying children.”

LMKT and LMKR CEO Atif Rais Khan also shared his experiences of growing up in the newly freed country. In a video released around Aug. 14. He narrated the different phases he had seen the Pakistani society go through over his lifetime. We hear him talk about the liberal more free-thinking society of the 60s and 70s and the regressive Pakistan of the 80s.

This country needs all of us, young and old and everyone in between, to progress in the challenging times ahead. We hope that our effort in the form of #IndependenceDiaries will help all of us come together as a nation and reignite the passion that created Pakistan 71 years ago.

Today, as we look to build our country back up there is a renewed focus on developing the country’s youth. In the tech sector, innovation has always been youth-led. As a part of that sector, LMKT has always been quick to nurture and develop talented young people. We are now utilizing this experience by operating National Incubation Centers in Karachi and Peshawar. All our experience in this arena points to the fact that true innovation does not take place in a vacuum, it is very much connected to its environment and its past.

Our youth needs to be reminded that the blue print of our future success lies in our not so distant past. It was the determination of the masses that laid the foundation of this nation against all odds, it is their will that has sustained it thus far and it will be the innovative spirit of our youth who will take this country forward.