Ant & Grasshopper

Older Version

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Modern Version

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

Geo TV, BBC, ARY, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Asma Jahangir stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.

Imran Khan goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

Amnesty International and Chief Justice Iftikhar criticize the Pakistan Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).
Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Islamic parties call for "Hartal" in Frontier and Baluchistan demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

MQM Coalition in Sindh immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

Sheikh Rasheed allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Pakistan Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Shalimar'.

Finally, the President drafts an ordinance ' Anti State Terrorism against Grasshoppers Act' [ASTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter. Mobilizes state agencies.

Punjab Govt. makes ' Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.

The Ant is fined for failing to comply with ASTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes; its home is confiscated by the NAB and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by PTV.

Nawaz Sharief calls it ' A Triumph of Justice '.
Benazir calls it ' Democratic Justice '.
MQM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden'
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz invites the Grasshopper to address the National Assembly.
Many years later...

The Ants have since migrated to the US, Canada, UK and Middle East, have worked harder then they did before set up a multi-million dollar business.

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in Pakistan ...
As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the Grasshoppers, Pakistan is still a developing country!!!


(Received in email.. really thoughtful...)