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Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

WE LOVE HOT FOOD, HOT NEWS AND STARPLUS BUSS.


Since time immemorial we are known for our spices. The westerners – the Portuguese, the French, the British all came to Indian subcontinent not for the intentions to rule us , but on a look out  for spices. India at that time was known as  the ‘spice heaven’ of the world..

And till now, we have maintained out appetite for spicy food. A little less masala in the Biryani and we complain it wasn’t delicious. Infact, we refuse to eat it.
Same is the case with our appetite for Masala news. WE LOVE SPICY NEWS , RELISH IT,  CHEW IT LONG IN OUR MOUTHS,  AND EVEN REGURGITATE IT with blogs after blogs. But any boring bland news we just swallow it like my son does to the tasteless vegetables.

Human rights group called HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, based in New York, way back in 1999 published a report that Pakistani women, 90% of them, are subjected to verbal, sexual, emotional, or physical abuse in their very homes. I remember seeing the news in various newspapers. But am sure it just went unnoticed–one,  that not many have the habit to read, two, it didnt come as a dramatic news on the TV tagged with a celebrity announcing it.

Yes we are a nation who  loves  to watch TV too and we love dramas the most.

When our dramas became boring with loaded intellect of Sania, Marina, Samina like dull boring women, we switched to watching STARPLUS from India–because they are more spicy.

TO HELL WITH INTELLECT.

So right was  Mehr Bukhari on a TV show just a day ago that,  “We are intellectually bankrupt, and hence we want media or the starlets to take the lead in reformation of the society.”

How many of us remember the name of a faceless girl Amina on whom acid was thrown on her face by her husband in Karachi a couple of years ago and YES she too protested a great deal and came in the media and was evenhighlighted by I A REHMAN, the director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

But why should we?

Neither she was a starlet wearing sphagetti sleeves in front of a Mullah nor was IA Rehman a macho.

How many of us even can recognise the picture of Dr Shazia Khalid who was gang raped in Balochistan and that triggered the war between Pak army and Baloch tribes. Not a small issue.
Why the hell should we–she was not at all a Bigboss enterant. And she did protest too,  that too against the rapists, who we know who they are ,and then left to USA out of frustration and her safety. How many blogs came out on her–there were but not as many, I can bet.
But she never became the champion of the raped girls or symbol of oppression..

Yes Mukhtara Mai did become one. I am glad and I laud all of us for making her so- the media, the bloggers, the FB friends. We all made her the ‘hero’.  Not she herself. Exceptions are always there.

A  schoolgirl,  Kainat Soomro was gang raped at the age of 13. Four years later, today, she is still fighting for justice.
“Kainat Soomro should have stayed silent. After being battered and gang raped for four days her traditional, conservative village in rural Pakistan expected the 13-year-old girl to keep her story to herself. She refused.”

Writes Robin Crilly,   from Daily Telegraph on just 26 December, 2010. How many of us cross posted after reading it.  And this includes me too. I do not absolve myself from this indifference.

This is what a 13 year old Kainat said,
“This is what happens in Pakistan. Poor women have no chance. These men set the rules and think they know how to deal with these issues. They don’t.”
But who noticed?  Who called her a Warrior Princess? Who claimed that Kaanat is ‘me’?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8224111/Pakistans-rape-victim-who-dared-to-fight-back.html

And then just yesterday the DAWN blog by Shyma  highlighting the killing of a faceless SAIMA etc and addressing to the frenzy of the bloggers to ‘hot’ stuff.

And I waited for 24 hours with impatience to see how many of my FB friends, who went and crossposted Veena , went gaga over her courage and valour, will crosspost this. Not even ONE did. Yes not even ONE.

http://blog.dawn.com/2011/01/26/this-blog-is-for-you/

Who are we  kidding guys?

I can go endlessly with such cases who are loaded  with serious issues and serious struggles. But the point is again we are a masala loving nation. And we want masala, the hotter the better.

I was wondering for the last 24 hours as to what is wrong with my brain, my thinking. Did God assemble it wrong order when doing so. Why do I think ‘wierd’ from others, when all of us agree to one thing that this is extremism, bigotry, moral policing is wrong.

I too think Veena being moral policed is wrong but then why am I not being a veena wannabe.
Is it because I am old or I am jealous of her beauty. May be, subconciously.

I even love hot food. But why not hot news then?

Then suddenly I get a flash in my head in the middle of a very important presentation that I was doing for an international organisation begging them to pay their attention to the Maternal Mortality in Pakistan too, not just India or Bangladesh.

And then the reality flashed probably because I donot ever ever switch on to the never ending soaps that run on STAR PLUS. I am so feeble minded that I cant recall even one name.

To what extent am I blind will be obvious from this incident- when I ran into a ‘huge’ startlet who was a VIP for a fundraiser we had worked for–I just didnt place her and offered her a seat in the audience much to the offence of the organisers as well she herself.

Yes I donot watch Indian STARPLUS and that is my anomaly. I get it now to the peace of my mind. Hence,  I dont get the greatness in the two minutes screaming of a STARPLUS  heroine to a two minute moral policing for her.

But I love ‘hot’ food , please.

Ilmana Fasih

P.S.  I WANT TO CLARIFY THAT MY PROTEST HERE BLOG AFTER BLOG IS NOT WITH VEENA , IT IS THOSE WHO BLOW THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION WITH NO END ACHIEVED THRO IT. AS FAST AS THE BUBBLE ERRUPTS, AS FAST IT BURSTS. I AWAIT HOW AGAIN WE WILL SLEEP A DEEP SLEEP AND SWTICH ON TO STARPLUS WHEN THE VEENA BUBBLE BURSTS.

Category:

Health, Pakistan, Politics, Social Issues, Women

IS JUST MULLAH BASHING THE PURPOSE OF OUR LIFE?


Not just our country Pakistan but the whole muslim population is polarised between radicals and the liberals. Between the blacks ( radicals) and the whites ( we the liberals) –sorry if I sound racist here–there lie various shades of grey who keep’ rolling’ between the two ends depending upon the tilt. We the whites and they the blacks, are colorfast. No matter how much bleach you may use the blacks wont fade and stay ‘stubbornly’ black. Similarly no matter how much stain the blacks pour on us the liberals, we stay ‘sparkling’ ( Sorry if I sound conceited here). The vulnerable( for blacks) or malleable ( for whites)  are the ‘rolling’ grey of all shades. They aren’t even sure what color they are–sometimes they see themselves dark grey some times just a tint. It is this ‘rolling’ grey shades which can be dyed through manipulation into either black or white . Whether the black or the white succeeds in pulling them towards it’s side is up to their skills and ability.

Enough of playing with black, white and grey, let me come to the point. The two ends of the polarised group are hard to budge, no matter what. It is the vast majority of our undecided minds ( who I really find hard to give a name so call them the ‘rolling’ grey)  which needs to be pulled towards our side.

Our mistake is we target the radicals and desperately want to them have a change of hearts. The heart transplantation or to put it straight the change in mindset is a lot more easy, thought still not so easy,  in the unstable unsure group who’s leanings keep going seesaw.

When situations like Salman Taseer’s ghastly murder or Benazir’s assassination arise, the emotions and passions that burst out are well understood and justified. And such situations do merit strong condemnation and reaction so that the black radicals don’t get away with the crime scot-free.

But unfortunately when the current situations of Veena Malik or any thing similar arises our passions go boom out of a proportion. Two minutes of her cry and screams and the statuses erupt and the tweeters start tweeting veena tunes. We start Mullah bashing. Glorify the lady in news who is neither liberal nor moderate but a pure opportunist struggling to stay in news.

Have we ever given a tickle to our grey matter as to who are we harming with this knee jerk reaction–our own cause, of course..

Why?

Every society has their value system. For instance if in Japan touching is considered a taboo, then we  do not go to Japan and hug them tight because we think that is right. We respect their cultural value and bow at right angle instead or giving them a jhappi or even shaking hands with them. And we see nothing wrong in this.

When we go in such  immature proVeena frenzy, beyond  proportions,  it is this undecided grey class who we lose. It is important to realise that we too, like in Japan,  live in a society which has certain value system,  rightly or wrongly.

We may not be on board with them  but their sentiments do get hurt when they realise that we are hitting hard on their values. Okay we needn’t appease the blasphemous values–even if many have  it. But yes if majority of the grey class thinks that hugging and smooching in public and whatever she did in the reality show does not comply to the common perception of decency, we can’t go on praising her for being brave. If she doesn’t deserve moral policing she does not deserve glorification either. I wonder but this is common sense to me. Or maybe because Japan is Japan the respect for culture holds up there, but when in Pakistan–‘culture ki aisi taisi’  attitude prevails like we have for every other ‘real’ issue.

It is then that this grey ‘rolling’ class finds us the liberals as threatening and deviated from the normal moral values. And they start seeing more sense at the other end. I realised this for the first time when I myself felt really disgusted with the way the lady was glorified from being a’ Warrior princess’ to a ‘symbol of oppression’ or ‘stunningly sexy’ to a ’embodiment of grace’. I found all the enlightenment gone dark then .

We accuse the radicals of exaggerating –yes they do but then we do no less. With the ‘fatwa factory’ rhetoric going all over I actually googled to look for where is the fatwa for her. But neither was there any real fatwa nor even the mention by the mullah of any fatwa during his firey discourse with the drama queen.

What is the purpose of our being a liberal intellectual –just to do mullah bashing? Okay then no need to even wait for Veena Malik incident–just stand in your balcony and shout four letter words on every bearded passerby. You will feel far more satiated. But if our purpose is to lure the undecided group lean towards us and bring a real transformation in the society’s  MINDSET then we need to act responsible, more rational and a lot less emotional.

Why was  it that the TTP or Fazlullah was able to gain ground in Swat,  because he  kept his hand on the pulse of the ‘greys’–they used to go door to door telling women that they too have property rights and hence easily getting at least 50% of the population on board.  Whether they stuck to their words is another story but their luring tactics was flawless. Similarly the radicals reap on the poverty and their plight by providing real solutions to them through financial aid or key to the Jannah. It is hard to recruit volunteers for door to door flier distribution and they recruit suicide bombers. We need to look into their modus operandi to learn how to succeed.

Compare this to the leftist ideology. There can be nothing more people friendly than Socialism but the moment they talk of religion being the ‘ opium’  the mediocre mind backs out.  Abandoning God is the last thing even a half believer would want. Well this is my calculated common sensible opinion. One may not agree.

And what do we do instead –just mock at the mullah or anyone who follows them. Have you ever seen anyone being your well-wisher if you mock at him. Just give it a try.

If Veena was to be labelled warrior princess then why was Taseer till now not been beatified into a Saint ?
He stood defending a cause which was not his and he needed no publicity stunt to boost his ratings. Does it make same sense as it does to me?

We call ourselves intellectuals–should we also not use our top floor to sense the pulse of the public in order to win them over. Let this be for the tactic sake,  if not for principle.

My personal opinion is that we should reserve our extreme reactions to ‘real issues’ and not  ‘non issues’.

By being unduly emotional on trivial issues like the Veena stint and using rhetoric like ‘fatwas’ when there was no fatwa and ‘ warrior princess’ when she was just doing her publicity stunt, we lose the few of genuine sympathisers who we were able to gain after Taseer’s death or Aasia’s blasphemy verdict or after the Ahmedi blasts. I too lost myself on this incident.

I was left wondering since past few days as to why is it that the fantastic titles the lady could gather in two minutes Asma Jehangir, Sherry Rehman, Beena Sarwar couldn’t  in so many years.  Again I think it is common sense, these are serious  women for whom  fighting  for against moral policing  is a ‘serious business’  and work steadily albeit slowly towards their cause and change of mindsets.   But those naive pens for whom liberal values are more of a fashion trend than conviction don’t get this.

Are we ready to open the windows of our enlightened mind to get some ventilation with fresh air ?

Category:

Pakistan, Politics, Social Issues

Kuttay – Poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz –


Category:

Pakistan, Poetry, Politics, URDU POETRY

SATAN LAUGHS, GOD CRIES


Dedicated to Dr Binayak, Salman Taseer, Wali Khan Baber, Julian Assange who suffer for their right cause and the scores of nameless target killed souls who pay the price of their mere existence.

When:
Standing for the oppressed turns you a rebel
Speaking for the repressed calls you an infidel
Seeking for the facts shows you the grave
To gag the truth these bigwigs crave
Born a different sect gets you killed
City’s morgues, with bodies, get filled

Then:
The good takes a backseat, the evil drives
Truthfulness suffers, falsehood thrives
Corruption becomes a vice, honesty a sin
The common man loses, the powerful win
And Barbarism lives, as Humanity dies
Alas! The Satan laughs, and God cries.

Ilmana Fasih
17 January 2010

Category:

India, International, MY POETRY, Pakistan, Poetry, Politics

The Impatient Secularist’s Guide to Islam (via Said Simon)


This is what a non-muslim blogger, a student of Political Science and a secular humanist had to say about Islam.

The Impatient Secularist's Guide to Islam Islam is a confusing religion to a lot of people. After all, it’s foreign and stuff. So I thought I’d help clear up some of that confusion for you, my secularist pals who are mostly familiar only with Christianity. I’m only going to bother telling you what I think is relevant to what are likely to be your interests, so don’t think this is comprehensive. Some of these will seem like obvious statements, but bear with me because I like to be thoroug … Read More

via Said Simon

Category:

Islam, Politics, RELIGION

TUNISIA and it’s CODE OF PERSONAL STATUS


Seeing the developments that occur in Tunisia, I notice that after having written about Bhutan, Tunisia appears to be yet another ‘tiny’ nation which puts some of the ‘BIG’ countires on the globe to shame. And this time it puts to shame the ARAB as well as MUSLIM countries.

A brief introduction to get a visual idea of how tiny this nation is:
Tunisia is a tiny country located at the northern border of the continent of Africa sandwiched between two giants Algeria and Libya. It has an area of 165,000 sq km coming at 89th in the world in size slightly larger than Nepal.( while Pakistan is 35th and almost 4 times as large as Tunisia in area) with about 10 million population ( half of the estimated population of Karachi and one-eighteenth of Pakistan’s population.). It is the smallest nation along the south of Mediterranean.

Having befriended a lot of Tunisians as colleagues and neighbours, I found them strikingly different from the rest of the Arabs. They are simple and poor like us, yet very secular and modern in their outlook. Tunisians have a beautiful blend of Islamic and Westernised life style mainly due to their French colonisation. And most of them strike a very neat balance between the two supposedly diametrically opposed cultures.

Here I do not repeat the glories of it’s Jasmine revolution or the way their youth fought on streets bravely to drive President Ben Ali out of not only power, but out of their continent. It is about a unique personal issue which we muslim countries are struggling at—namely the status of women, polygamy, divorce laws etc.

Thanks to a very dear friend of mine, Ali Boubakri, from whom I learned a lot about the Tunisian culture, and came to possess their beautiful handicrafts. But more than anything else what information really fascinated me was about the existence of THE CODE OF PERSONAL STATUS in Tunisia which is unique to TUNISIA in the whole of Arab and Muslim World. I could not, initially, believe the existence of this Law in a Muslim country and that too since 1956.
THE CODE OF PERSONAL STATUS in Tunisia remains one of the most progressive civil codes in the Middle East and the Muslim world which was enacted just five months after Tunisia gained its independence in 1956. The brain behind the code being their Independence leader and the first President Habib Bourguiba.
The code was meant to end GENDER INEQUALITY and update family law, to enable greater social and economic progress and make Tunisia a fully modern society. Highlight of the Law are and I copy the original text mostly in order to avoid distortions:

– the principle of the CONSENT of the two spouses as a requirement for the validity of all marriages.

– an obligatory MINIMUM AGE for marriages, fixed first at eighteen years(18) for men and fifteen (15) years for women, the precise text that: “Below this age marriage cannot be contracted, except by the special authorization of a judge who may not grant it, except for serious reasons and in the well understood interests of both spouses. In this same case, consent for the marriage of a minor must be given by the closest parent who must fulfil three conditions, namely being of sound mind, adult and masculine.” It has now been amended to 20 years for males and 17 years for females.

-POLYGAMY is FORBIDDEN , even if the second union is not “formal “. Whosoever being engaged in the bonds of matrimony shall contract another before the dissolution of the preceding shall be liable to A YEAR’S IMPRISONMENT t and to a FINE.” Bourguiba referred to a Sura of the Koran to justify this measure:
“We have abided by the spirit of the Holy Book… which indicates monogamy. Our decision in the matter contradicts no religious text and is found to be in agreement with mercy and justice and the equality of the sexes.”

-The code also prescribes that , “ Each of the two spouses must treat each other with kindness, live in good rapport, and avoid all prejudice,” thus ABOLISHING THE WIFE’S OBLIGATION TO OBEDIENCE to her husband.

-At the same time , the text obliged the wife who was in possession of goods to CONTRIBUTE to the family’s expenses, so that the husband not have the powers of administrationover the wife’s possessions.
– It expanded the right of mothers to have custody of their children. It made the registration of marriages and divorces mandatory, something that was not systematically the case earlier. It made adoption legally valid.

– The Code, to the contrary, instituted a DIVORCE procedure that “COULD NOT TAKE PLACE EXCEPT BEFORE A COURT” which decided “the dissolution of the marriage.”

– It is also stated that: “material harm would be RECOMPENSATED (to the woman) in the form of a MONTHLY ALIMONY payment… to the level of life to which she was accustomed during married life, here including residence”. Once more, Bourguiba justified himself by the decree of the Koran.

-The Code also instituted the principle of the equality of men and women in relation to CITIZENSHIP. Moreover, if a child did not possess his own goods, the necessary costs of his upbringing were PREDICATED on those of the FATHER.

Reference: http://www.answers.com/topic/tunisia-personal-status-code#ixzz1B9Hwsvte

And after my firsthand interaction with my Tunisian friends, I can say with confidence that this is not just a law that exists in the books only, but is actually been practiced. A colleague of mine who had divorced his first wife for some personal reasons still paid her the monthly alimony.

It is important to note that their leader Habib Bourgeba had this vision in 1956 and the law is enforced since then. Unfortunately we in 2011, and calling ourselves the leaders of Islam and Muslim countries, possess nuclear weapons, but still struggle with the extremist mindset at the general level.

Hope we too get at least one BOURGUIBA amongst us now in 2011, from the 180 million who rises above the *talking mode* and does something concrete, when one could be born in Tunisia from just 10 millions almost 45 years ago in 1956.

Only time will tell.

But the hope remains…

IlmanaFasih
15 Jan 2011

Category:

International, Politics, Social Issues, Women

MEMORY SPAN OF OUR LEADERSHIP


Q.What is the memory span of our leadership or establishment?
A. 4 MONTHS AND SOME DAYS.
Q;Why?
A. SEE FOR YOUR OWN SELF. BE YOUR OWN JUDGE.
FOUR MONTHS AND SOME DAYS AGO WE GET THE SHOCKING NEWS AND ITS LIKELY EFFECTS
Pakistan flood crisis raises fears of country’s collapse,
( August 10, 2010)
By Saeed Shah and Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The humanitarian and economic disaster caused by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history could spark political unrest that could destabilize the government, dealing a major blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to fight violent Islamic extremism.
The government’s shambling response to floods that have affected a third of the country has some analysts saying that President Asif Ali Zardari could be forced from office, possibly by the military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half its 63-year history.
Other experts caution that the state itself could collapse, as hunger and destitution trigger explosions of popular anger that was already seething over massive unemployment, high fuel prices, widespread power outages, corruption, and a bloody insurgency by extremists allied with al Qaida.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/13/99180/pakistan-flood-crisis-raises-fears.html#ixzz18sDF1O00
AND THEN WE READ THE NEWS :
U.N. appeals for Pakistan aid as flood threat continues
(August 12, 2010)
By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
SUKKUR, Pakistan — The United Nations appealed Wednesday for $459 million in emergency aid for Pakistan as fresh monsoon rains raised fears that new flooding could drive more people from their homes, deepening the humanitarian catastrophe.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/08/11/99033/un-appeals-for-pakistan-aid-as.html#ixzz18sE266ap
AND THEN AGAIN WE READ WITH A HEARTACHE
UN To Launch Pakistan Fund Drive To Help Flood Victims
(November 8, 2010)
A soldier in an army helicopter hands out emergency food packages to stranded families in Punjab Province.
Last updated (GMT/UTC): 11.08.2010 10:24
The United Nations has launched an appeal for hundreds of millions of dollars in international relief for flood-hit Pakistan.
Around 1,600 people have died and the UN estimates that 14 million people — 6 million of them children — have been affected by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history.
Initially, the UN says, aid will be directed toward the 6 million people who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance to survive.
According to UN estimates, 290,000 homes have been destroyed by floods, leaving around 2 million people homeless.
The UN secretary-general’s special envoy for assistance to Pakistan, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said that as relief and rebuilding efforts continued, more aid would be needed.
“We know that the area affected and the scale of the disaster are such that hundreds of millions of dollars will be needed to address the urgent humanitarian needs and billions of dollars will be required for rehabilitation and reconstruction of infrastructure and livelihoods,” Ripert said.
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/122435/pak-test-fires-nuclear-capable.html
AN NOW WE HEAR THE NEWS WITH PRIDE (IS IT?)

Pakistan test fires Ghauri Hatf V missile
RAWALPINDI – (21st December 2010)
By Umair Anwar
Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test Ghauri Hatf V missile, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
According to ISPR, the missile is capable of carrying every kind of warheads and can hit the target in a range of 1300 kilometer.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Chairman Joint Cheifs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shahmeem Wyne, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai (Retired) and other senior military officers and scientists witnessed the launching of Missile.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani felicitated nation on successfully testing the mid-range missile.
http://www.aaj.tv/2010/12/pakistan-successfully-tests-ghauri-hatf-v-missile/
THE NEWS ENDS BUT OUR QUESTIONS CONTINUE.
Q;How much money did it cost?
A: THEY MENTION NOT
Q: How many hungry mouths could that money have fed?
A: ANY BODY’S GUESS.
Q; Does it all make sense?
A: AT LEAST NOT TO ME
Q; How do we feel?
A:AT LEAST I FEEL SICK.
Q:Who are they kidding?
A: YOU DECIDE…
Ilmana Fasih
23 December 2010.

Category:

Pakistan, Politics

IS IT A BLASPHEMY LAW OR A BLACKMAILING LAW


Here comes another case of blasphemy . The heat of the previous ridiculous case of Asia Bibi’s blasphemy allegations had not cooled, that this new, a far more ridiculous and a lot more shameful case crops up. My head hangs in shame. Are we going insane or paranoid or simply treading towards a deliberate path of self annihilation? I seriously feel embarrassed to step out of my house today and to face yet another barrage of questions from the concerned friends about what’s wrong with us muslims. Now many of them wouldn’t even spell out the question, just stare at me with those questioning eyes, as if all my previous explanations of the ‘misguided few’ amongst us was indeed a fassade. I wonder how will I look into the eyes of my friends the next time their gaze meets mine.Will my eyes be again able to narrate the same words of ‘ignorant minority’ with the same strength and conviction as I have been doing since the time I can remember. How long will they take one ridiculous story after the other, as just an isolated incident? True, there are indeed only the “misguided few”, but arent these misguided few getting a bit very many, as the time goes by. With the educated medical rep—a graduate at least- we cant even say he was a “misguided mullah” or “an illiterate ignorant soul”. Aren’t we literally ‘lettered illiterates’? I think we really need to undergo a “Mini Mental Exam” (MME), as a community as a whole, to reach to the diagnosis of this pathology. Are we insane or on the verge of insanity —a Paranoid Schizophrenics , or are we malingerers who fake pathology to gain personal benefits—termed Munchaussen Syndrome? With either of these diagnoses— we shall be labelled mentally unwell (saying it politely). And do we at all know the simple Third Law of Newton:” To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” ? As of today, any news from Pakistan reaches the rest of the world at the speed of light. Just yesterday, while reading an article on blasphemy in a major international newpaper online, the comments at the end were really heart shattering. As we sow so shall we reap. Will we be in a position to blame the reaction of the outside world or face their wrath if we carry on with this insanity any further? For those who don’t buy my concerns, I copy paste some of those comments, with a heavy heart: Johnny Walker Whiskey is the biggest import into Pakistan, any day of the week each of the Pakistani International airports – of Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore- has several cargo planes laden with alcohol beverages discharging its cargo. The country is controlled by gangsters politically and they in turn pass on the duty of instilling religon into the people to the Mullah Whiskies who control the great unwashed masses with their manipulated pagan interpretation of Islam declaring anyone who questions their authority as a blasphemous Kafar ! By the way this is a ridiculous situation and waste of everyone’s time. I doubt if anyone in Pakistan is actually taking this seriously. Sadly, there are words. Words like why do we continue to accept the unacceptable when it comes to the activities of muslims and muslim countries? We accept it by continually pussyfooting around muslim sensibilities (maybe this is an oxymoron). Why should Ms May be considering a banning order against an American who wishes to visit the UK just because he theatened to burn a silly book – because she is pussyfooting around muslim sensibilities. It is time we get the blasphemy law against christian beliefs too. It’s not just Pakistan. Pew Poll: Majority of Muslims supports death for anyone leaving Islam. In a new poll by Pew, a majority of Muslims in many of the world’s Islamic countries says they are very much in favor of killing any person who converts from Islam to any other religion. The new poll also exposed mainstream Muslim attitudes regarding other aspects of their life. For instance, the poll found that a majority in the Muslim world are in favor of cutting off hands for theft, stoning people to death for adultery, and insisting that Islam play a major role in politics. This recent Pew poll was conducted over the course of a month and asked Muslims in several countries about what was going on in their heads. Many of the respondents were also questioned face to face. http://www.examiner.com/american-politics-in-vancouver/pew-poll-majority-of-muslims-support-death-for-anyone-leaving-islam PAKISTAN, AS THE US PRESIDENT OBAMA, SAID IS A CANCER ON THE BODY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. THE US, UK. EU, JAPAN AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS SHOULD NOT FEED IT WITH MONEY AND WEAPONS, UNLESS PAKISTAN DESTROYS ALLTERRORIST CELLS, BASES ETC IN ALL AREAS CONTROLLED BY PAKISTAN AND GET RID OF ITS LAWS THAT DISCRIMINAATE AGAINST CHRISTIANS, SIKHS, HINDUS AND ISLAMIC MINORITIES SUCH AS AHMEDIS, SHIA ETC. AS PAKISTAN IS THE EPIC CENTRE OF BOTH GLOBAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM AND NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION, THE US MUST TAKE EFFECTIVE ACTIONS AGAINST PAKISTAN AND THREATEN IT TO BE DECLARED A STATE SPONSORING TERRORISM, UNLESS PAKISTAN COOPERATES. This is written hatred . Many of us do and will again face verbal hate on streets, in the subway, in the malls or even at our own doorstep. And then many many more will simply feel the hateful vibes quietly. How long can we go on pleading our case to the outside world? Instead of Dr Valiyani, it is the medical rep who needs to be charged with blaphemy for” misusing and defaming” the sacred name Muhammed for settling his personal vandetta. The guns should be totted at him for blasphemy—for turning the sacred name Muhammed into a butt of joke. It is time we need to turn our guns towards ourselves and no matter what, stand up and take back our ‘Islam’ held hostage into the hands of the handful “misguided and ignorant” Mullahs. To correct myself—indeed it isn’t they who are the misguided or the ignorant—they know what they pursue for their personal agendas. It is us, the silent majority who are “the misguided and ignorant”. It is time for a commando action against the hostage takers. It is time to stand up in one voice. Enough is enough. Please think. And act… Ilmana Fasih 13 December 2010 References: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistani-doctor-held-under-blasphemy-law-2158702.html http://tribune.com.pk/story/89180/doctor-arrested-on-blasphemy-charges/

Category:

Islam, Pakistan, Politics, RELIGION

EK SAWAAL by Iftekhar Arif


Mere aba-o-ajdad ne hurmat-e-aadmi ke liye,
Ta abad roshni ke liye,
Kalma-e-haq kaha.
Maqtalon, qaidkhanon, saleebon mein behta lahoo un ke hone ka ailan karta hai,
Woh lahoo hurmat-e-aadmi ki zamanat bana,
Ta abad roshni ki alamat bana.
Aur main pa barhana sar-e-koocha ahteyaj,
Rizq ki maslehat ka aseer admi,
Sochta reh gaya.
Jism mein mere un ka lahoo hai to phir ye lahoo bolta kyon nahin ?
Posted by
Ilmana Fasih
23 Nov 2010

Courtesy: Maria Naqvi

Category:

Pakistan, Poetry, Politics

Pakistan`s National Anthem by Jagannath Azad—TRUE or FALSE.


I grew up in the residential compound of the Kashmir University Campus and saw many of my dad’s friends visiting our home .

One such person was Jagannath Azad, an Urdu poet who lived in Srinagar Kashmir.

Once , in mid 1970s, while he was sharing some of his poetry at our place,  with my father, another friend Balraj Puri  and some other guests present, I barged into the room blurting out  some lame complaint about my brother.

I had interrupted  them so abruptly in the middle of the poetry recital, that I was instantly  rewarded with a good scolding from my father,  right there  in  public. I felt so let down that I started to howl.

In order to diffuse the embarrassment, uncle Azad ( as we called him), called me near him  and in  chaste urdu tried to explain to me,

” Beti aise guftugu ke darmiyan bolna,  dakhl dar maqoolat kehlata hai”.

I was barely  seven or eight years old,  I did not even get a tenth  of what he was saying.  And instead of heeding to his advice,  in a tearful state, I almost mindlessly fired another silly question,

“Uncle how come you know such hard urdu?”

What I had meant without saying in so many words was that Uncle you arent even a muslim, then how come you speak such good urdu?

He just smiled and looked at my dad in awe.

My dad got more furious at my audacity but seeing the situation tried to explain:

“You know this uncle has written the national anthem of Pakistan. “

The  uncle just gave half a smile, with a twinkle in his flooded eyes, and looked down. My father got up and gave him a hug.

I ran out of the room again playing and without realising what peice of information my dad had parted to me until just a few months ago when I read an article in Dawn about the controversy of the National Anthem.

And the whole story of my childhood flashed back at me.

However, seen him a number of times all these years, he was a man of few words, and whenever he spoke, it was mostly Urdu shayari. He was an extremely humble man too.

And from here the story of Pakistan’s first National Anthem formally begins:

It is said that the first national anthem was written by Jagannath Azad, a Hindu poet from Lahore who wrote on the personal request of Muhammad Ali Jinnah while he was working with the Radio when Pakistan came into being on August 1947.

Jinnah asked him to write the anthem on August 11, 1947 and it was later approved by Jinnah and used to be the official national anthem for the next year and a half.

According to Jagannath Azad, “The National anthem was written by me in five days time. It was too short time for me but I tried to do full justice to it keeping in mind the road map charted by Jinnah sahib for modern Pakistan.The national anthem was sent to Jinnah sahib who approved it in a few hours. It was sung for the first time on Pakistan radio, Karachi (which was the capital of Pakistan then).
Meanwhile the situation in both east and west Punjab was becoming worse with every passing day and the same set of friends told me in September 1947 that even they would not be able to provide protection to me and that it would be better for me to migrate to India. I decided to migrate to this side. The song written by me continued to be the national anthem for one and a half years.”

Balraj Puri claims that this version of the story is correct. To let the readers know a bit about Balraj Puri, Wickepedia describes him as:

“Balraj Puri is the leading Indian [[Pundit (politics)|Political commentator] and human rights activist. He is known for his impartial and objective views. Puri is the most widely published political commentator. In his 68 years of public career, he has played a crucial role in Indian politics. He mediated the famous 1975 Sheikh Abdullah-Indira Gandhi accord. He worked for communal harmony across India particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. From India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru to the present Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Puri is constantly consulted on various aspects of the Kashmir issue. He also played an important role in restoring peace in Punjab in 1980’s.”

The words are:

Aye sar zameen-i-Pak! اے سرزمین پاک
Zare tere hain aaj sitaron se tabnak ذرے ترے ہیں آج ستاروں سے تابناک
Roshan hai kehkashan se kahin aaj teri khak روشن ہے کہکشاں سے کہیں آج تیری خاک
Tundi-e-hasdan pe ghalib hai tera swaak تندی حاسداں پہ ہے غالب تیرا سواک
Daman wo sil gaya hai jo tha mudaton se chaak دامن وہ سل گیا ہے جو تھا مدتوں سے چاک
Aye sar zameen-i-Pak! اے سرزمین پاک
Ab apne azm ko hai naya rasta pasand اب اپنے عزم کو ہے نیا راستہ پسند
Apna watan hai aaj zamane main sar buland اپنا وطن ہے آج زمانے میں سر بلند
Pohncha sake ga is ko na koi bhi ab gazand پہنچا سکے گا اس کو نہ کوئی بھی اب گزند
Apna alm a hai chand sitaron se bhi buland اپنا علم ہے چاند ستاروں سے بھی بلند
Ab ham ko dekhtey hain atarad hon ya samaak اب ہم کو دیکھتے ہیں عطارد ہوں یا سماک
Aye sar zameen-i-Pak! اے سرزمین پاک
Utra hai imtehan main watan aaj kamyab اترا ہے امتحان میں وطن آج کامیاب
Ab huriat ki zulf nahin mahiv-e-paich-o-taab اب حریت کی زلف نہیں محو پیچ و تاب
Daulat hai apne mulk ki be had-o-be hisaab دولت ہے اپنے ملک کی بے حد و بے حساب
Hon ge ham aap mulk ki daulat se faiz yab ہوں گے ہم آپ ملک کی دولت سے فیض یاب
Maghrib se hum ko khauf na mashriq se hum ko baak مغرب سے ہم کو خوف نہ مشرق سے ہم کو باک

Aye sar zameen-i-Pak! اے سرزمین پاک

Apne watan ka aaj badalne laga nizam اپنے وطن کا آج بدلنے لگا نظام
apne watan main aaj nahin hai koi ghulam اپنے وطن میں آج نہیں ہے کوئی غلام
apna watan hai rah-e-taraqi pe tez gam اپنا وطن ہے راہ ترقی پہ تیز گام
azad, bamurad jawan bakht shad kaam آزاد، بامراد، جوان بخت شاد کام
ab itr bez hain jo hawain thin zehr naak اب عطر بیز ہیں جو ہوائیں تھیں زہر ناک
Aye sar zameen-i-Pak! اے سرزمین پاک
Zare tere hain aaj sitaron se tabnak ذرے تیرے ہیں آج ستاروں سے تابناک
Roshan hai kehkashan se kahin aaj teri khak روشن ہے کہکشاں سے کہیں آج تیری خاک
Aye sar zameen-i-Pak! اے سرزمین پاک

Courtesy: Omar Khalid Inc.

ANOTHER OPINION:

During a discussion on FB with someone from Pakistan, who claims to have studied it indepth and investigated, has this OPINION about the above claim :

“It’s all fake info, and radio Pakistan has denied it, ADC of Quaid-e-Azam denied that young man of age 29 can never met Quaid-e-Azam.I’m working on this story n i’m one of those people who have got the bottom line of this issue..and don’t mention Beena Sarwar, Ashfaq Naqvi, Luv Puri, Chandar k. Azad. I’ve talked to all of them n they don’t have any argument …”

”Yes he wrote a poem Aye sar zameen-e-Pak …that was sung from Radio Pakistan.. no doubt but he has one argument.. in ANKHEN TARASTIAN HAIN … his Autobiography…it’s not Pakistan who has denied it…even you can’t produce from Ahang…the official publisher of Radio Pakistan that publishes the whole script of daily broadcast..there is not a single proof …”.

I certainly do not know what is fake in this information. I do trust my memory, my ears and the uprightness of  uncle Azad I knew.  People who draw conclusions from history written in Pakistan, do they have an answer to the question:

Why did the National Anthem Committee (NAC), to have a new anthem, come up  3 months after the demise of Quad-e-Azam, and not in his lifetime? 

Any answers for that ?

P.S. Please follow this up with another related blog of what happened next: https://thinkloud65.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/the-story-of-qaumi-tarana/

Category:

Pakistan, Politics