Independence Day was just around the corner. Ali went to the market with his father to buy some buntings for decorating the home. As they reached the stall, Ali felt ecstatic to see all kinds of decorative articles representing the spirit of Independence Day. Ali loved the badges in particular. They were shaped as the flag of Pakistan with a pin at the back. Ali wanted to buy a bunch of them for all his friends.
He asked his father, “Baba, can I buy these for my friends too?”
“Why not, son? Buy one for me too”, his father answered. Ali was delighted to hear the response and immediately picked up a badge, asked his father to bow a little, and pinned it on the pocket of his shirt.
“I love how it sparkles”, Ali exclaimed with joy.
They bought some stuff from the stall and got on their way back home. As they were walking past the streets adorned with buntings and lights, Ali asked his father, “Baba, do you know what the colours of the flag of Pakistan signify?”
His father was intrigued to hear Ali asking this question and shook his head a no as he wanted to see if Ali knew the answer.
Ali continued, “Ms. Afshan told us that the green colour represents the Muslims of Pakistan, whereas the white colour represents all the non-Muslims.”
“Well, that is true, Ali. I am glad you know that. I have a question for you too\”, replied his father.
“Do you know, what the crescent and the star on the flag represent?” Ali thought for a while, but he did not know the answer to this one.
“I don’t know; maybe we will learn about it in our next lesson,” he responded while continuing to contemplate what the answer might be.
“Let me tell you this one. The crescent represents progress, whereas the star represents light and knowledge. It is also said that the five corners of the star represent the Five pillars of Islam”, Ali’s father told him.
“Wow, I will definitely share that with my teacher and friends!” retorted Ali. As they reached home, Ali took out the buntings and started embellishing the railing of their rooftop with them.
“I hope it doesn’t rain tonight”, Ali thought. In a couple of hours, Ali had decorated the entire rooftop with flags and fairy lights. It looked splendid. His friends also stopped by to enjoy the lovely sight.
“You know, I will take these off carefully after 14th August and put them in a bag after folding them neatly”, Ali said to his friends.
“Why? You can buy new ones next year”, his friend responded.
“We can, but we should respect the flag of Pakistan, and it is against the dignity of this flag to throw it away. We should all keep in mind that this flag represents an ideology that our ancestors fought for, and it is now upon us to take care of it and to give it the regard that it deserves”, said Ali.
“You are right. Maybe it is something that we should all learn and remember”, answered his friend
