It is axiomatic to believe that there is a link between youth of any country with its national development because both are closely interlinked. There does not exist only a symbiotic relation between the two but both depend on each other for mutual sustenance. Therefore, youth should play a productive and creative role because youth in any society are the engine of growth and development and the wheel of any development lies on their shoulder.
Considering this significant role in a society, heavy responsibility rests upon their shoulders towards the country. Apart from individual role that is obligatory on every citizen, students as a whole can play a decisive role towards nation-building. In this regard, student organizations provide a suitable platform, which through effective planning and networking can help channelize a directionless mob into national stream. These organizations execute the policies in a result oriented manner by enhancing the skills of its members and by providing them with ample opportunities of personal grooming in addition to their role in society.
One can accentuate the importance of these organizations by the fact that the developed states consider student organizations as important part of the society. European Union, for example, has been taking effective measures by developing a legal framework for student organizations for involving them in the process of quality assurance and enhancement and considers them as partners.
According to Alaniska and Erriksson, "In Finland, all undergraduate students automatically become members of their local student union, which is responsible for selecting student representatives to participate in all official decision-making bodies in a university; also, students belong to student associations at subject level and each of these associations has at least a person responsible for educational matters - more specifically, these local associations collect feedback about the student learning experience and organize workshops with students and teachers in order to discuss the results" (Alaniska & Erriksson, 2006).
Apart from quality assurance, these organizations are the nursery for future leadership of any country. There are numerous examples from the history that world renowned leaders were once part of student unions at their college or universities. The role of a small group headed by Dr. Sun Yet Sun was important in overthrowing monarchy in China. Also, an appraisal of any social movement, violent or peaceful movement in the history has always been influenced by the small group of youngsters be it Cuba under the leadership of Fiedal Castro or the role of a student led literary society La Giga Filipina under the leadership of Jose Rizal during Phillipines insurrection. (Polk, 2007)
Student organizations are also agents of bringing about social integration. Being part of an organization give youngsters a feeling of recognition and sense of motivation which when channelized through social interaction, social action projects and welfare based activities, develops their personalities and help them to play a constructive role in society.
Youth is more receptive and more responsive to social and economic grievances. History reveals that its youth that immediately responds to injustices prevalent in societies. Tales of American, Cuban, Chinese and French revolutions provide substance to this argument in which it was seem that enlightenment has shaped and motivated the young lot. The creation of Pakistan could not have been possible if the students of Aligarh movement have not been an active agent to the movement.
Considering the role and importance of student organizations, many such organizations have been established and are working in Pakistan. Leading examples among them are AIESEC, Youth Parliament, Pakistani Youth Organization, Insaf Students Federation, Mustafavi Students Movement, Pakistan Young Leaders Federation, Peoples Students Federation so on and so forth. Assessing nature of each organization, it is important to note that either of the organization is working in a specific dimension with limited and defined goals.
For instance, AIESEC is an international organization having its franchises all over the world. It focuses on leadership development and social action projects other than social connectivity across the globe. Youth Parliament and Pakistani Youth Organization are liberal and politically unaligned student organizations. Insaf Students Federation, Peoples Students Federation and All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization are student wings of leading political parties of Pakistan and have defined political role and goals.
However, Mustafavi Students Movement (MSM) has a different outlook and covers a broad spectrum of working dimensions. Among the extreme right and extreme leftist wing, MSM is moderate, both in its outlook and ideology, and caters to needs and demands of students at large.
Mustafavi Students Movement (MSM) is a youth run organization which was founded on 6th October, 1994 by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, the Patron in Chief of Minhaj-ul-Quran International. The idea to establish MSM was to polish the potentials and abilities of the youth by inciting in them the zeal and enthusiasm towards their social responsibilities. By enlightening the minds of young lot MSM aims at socially mobilizing them so that they can play a constructive role for the development of the country. This Movement is active in universities, colleges, schools and even religious institutes across the country.
It aims at enlightening the minds and souls of young generation by directing their lives in the light of guidance attained from Holy Quran and the life of Holy Prophet (PBUH). It appraises the significance of social responsibilities that the individuals have towards the society by drawing their attentions to the real issues of Pakistan by creating social awareness among the people so that an educated lot can actively participate in the national stream. Also, it engages the students in the social welfare projects and develops the leadership potential of youth through experiential learning, volunteer experiences and social awareness campaigns. It also tries to create an environment of peaceful co-existence by establishing good relations with different ethnic and religious groups which is very unique to this group.
Above all, the women wing i.e, MSM Sisters is an active unit of this organization which has its network in educational institutions, religious seminaries and in all cities and remote areas of Pakistan. MSM Sisters has a defined classification of work and four different societies and clubs are working to execute the working targets. These include; Al-Rohiya Club (For carrying out religious activities), The Literary Club (Focused upon the literary activities), Socio-Welfare society (carrying out welfare based activities) and The Research society (Working solely on research oriented working). MSM, therefore, serves as a model to be followed as it does not exclude any segment of the society and is a home to young and talented students all across Pakistan.
References:
Alaniska, H., Eriksson, S. Student participation in quality assurance in Finland. Helsinki: European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, 2006.
Polk, R. W., Violent Politics. Hay House India, 2007.