The Hidden Pain of Inflation [ENG-URDU]

Ahmed’s Unexpected Encounter

Ahmed is a young man from a middle-class family. Along with being lively, he also has very strong observation. Yesterday after office he had to go to the market for some work. He loves exercise and physical discipline, so he left on foot. He quickly finished his work and headed home.

On the way he met a rickshaw driver. His face looked familiar, but in a professional tone the driver asked:
"Yes brother, where do you want to go...?"

On normal days Ahmed might not have sat in a rickshaw, but he had some baggage with him, so he told the driver his destination. The driver said:
"Sir, one hundred rupees..."

Ahmed was shocked. The same route he usually covered on foot, and even if he ever took a rickshaw he would give the driver 40 to 50 rupees and the driver would happily accept it. Now he was asking for more than double.

The Weight of Rising Prices

Ahmed angrily confronted the driver, but the driver lowered his head and replied with extreme humility:
"Sir, what can we do, everything has become expensive..."

Although Ahmed was not very wealthy himself and his job was his only livelihood, there was something in the driver’s tone that pinched the heart. Ahmed immediately sat in the rickshaw without any argument.

The driver wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:
"Sir, you only have to pay the fare. Our entire day’s earnings now barely cover two meals."

Hearing this, Ahmed remained silent. What could he say? Every word of the driver felt like a stone of truth hitting his chest. He wondered why inflation rises so fast. What is it actually? Just a game of numbers? No.

He himself was fed up with the storm of inflation, but today in the form of this rickshaw driver, this inflation felt like the empty plate in a mother’s hand, the one she uses to feed her children while staying hungry herself. Inflation felt like that fear which spreads across every home the way fog spreads in winter, or like that faint flame of fire that directly reaches a poor man’s stove and affects it.

A Collective Struggle

Dear readers, Ahmed’s analysis and viewpoint were not wrong in any way. You must have seen the laborer who carries bricks the entire day and returns home empty handed after checking the tomato and onion prices. The teacher whose salary no longer covers even her own children’s school fees.

What is their fault? Do they work less? No, absolutely not. But the value of their hard work is decreasing day by day.

What are all these? These are factors and results of inflation. But despite all this, the real question remains: where does this inflation come from? Does it fall from the sky? No. It is the result of our incompetence, our selfishness, and our exploitation. When rulers consider the national treasury their personal property, when traders let heaps of grain rot but cry about high prices in the market, when we ourselves shut our eyes, then how will this fire ever be put out?

A Mirror for All of Us

Respected readers, have you ever thought about what you do when your servant tells you that he can no longer run his home on his salary? You advise him to reduce expenses, but do you reduce your own expenses?

Have you ever seen the tears in the eyes of a mother who is unable to give milk to her child? This is not just about money. This is the death of human compassion. When we stop feeling the pain of others, inflation knocks on our doors. Everyone complains about it today, but have we ever considered that we ourselves might be contributing to it?

We scream at an increase of 10 or 20 rupees in a textbook, yet feel proud buying a thousand-rupee burger for our child. Is this not hypocrisy?

We bargain 20 or 30 rupees from a street vendor and feel like expert traders, thinking we saved money. But at a restaurant we spend thousands and give hundreds as a tip just for show.

The truth is that inflation is not just an economic issue. It is a sign of moral collapse. When the collective conscience of a nation falls asleep, inflation roars back at it.

A Call to Responsibility

Let us make a pledge today that we will not make inflation only a subject of complaints. We will adopt simplicity in our daily lives, avoid wasting things, and help every neighbor and person who is burning in the fire of rising prices. Remember, when people sitting on heaps of grain start fighting over pieces of bread, understand that the foundations of society have become hollow.