میں دو روپیے کے سکے کو مسلسل ہوا میں گھما رہا تھا۔ سکہ جب اوپر جاتا تو سورج کی روشنی اس سے ٹکراتی تو سکہ ہوا میں جھلملاتا۔ یہ سارا عمل آنکھوں کو بہت اچھا لگتا اور میں بار بار سکے کو ہوا میں اچھالتا رہتا۔ کبھی سکہ میری ہتھیلی پر گرتا، کبھی میری قمیض پر، اور کبھی میرے بالوں کو چھوتا ہوا زمین پر گر جاتا۔ کبھی میں سکے کو بائیں ہاتھ سے دائیں ہاتھ میں دیتا اور کبھی دائیں ہاتھ سے بائیں ہاتھ کو۔ کبھی میں سکے کو دونوں ہتھیلیوں کے درمیان پھنسا کر خوب ہلاتا۔ سکے کی ہلچل سے ایک باریک سی آواز پیدا ہوتی جو کانوں جو بہت لبھاتی۔
دور بیٹھا ایک لڑکا اس سارے عمل کو دلچسپی کے ساتھ دیکھ رہا تھا۔ اس کی آنکھیں سکے کے اشارے پر چل رہی تھیں۔ اگر سکہ اوپر جاتا تو اس کی آنکھیں بھی اوپر جاتیں اور جب وہ نیچے آتا تو اس کی آنکھیں بھی نیچے آتیں۔ شاید اس کو بھی یہ سارا عمل بہت دلچسپ لکھ رہا تھا۔ وہ اپنی آنکھیں دیر دیر میں جھپکتا۔
کچھ دیر بعد، اس لڑکے نے بولا،" بھائی مجھے بھوک لگ رہی ہے۔ یہ دو روپے مجھے دے دیں، میں دو دو روپے جمع کرکے روٹی خرید لوں گا۔ آپ کو دعائیں بھی دوں گا۔"
"بیٹا دو روپے کیوں، میں تم کو آج رات کا کھانا دلوا دیتا ہوں"، میں نے اس معصوم بچے سے کہا۔
اس کی شکل پر ایک مسکان آگئی اور میرا بہت شکریہ ادا کیا۔
"میں تو سوچ رہے تھا آپ اس سکے سے کھیلتے رہیں گے۔" اس نے حیرانی سے کہا۔
"نہیں میرے دوست، میں فارغ تھا اس لیے سکے سے کھیل رہا تھا۔"
"آپ واقعی میں امیر آدمی معلوم ہوتے ہیں، آپ فارغ اوقات میں سکوں سے کھیلتے ہیں؟ میں تو ایک ایک سکے کی بہت حفاظت کرتا ہوں۔ میرے لیے تو ہر پیسہ اہم ہے۔"
معلوم نہیں اس نے یہ جملے کیوں بولے، شاید میں اس کہ کیفیت صحیح طرح سے نہیں جان پایا۔
بھوک بھی کیا دلچسپ کیفیت ہے، آدمی اس کیفیت میں کیا کچھ کرنے کو تیار ہو جاتا ہے، لیکن چند انقلابیوں کے مطابق بھوک کوئی اہم چیز نہیں، ان کے مطابق کوئی شخص انقلاب روٹی اور تربوز کھانے کے لیے تو نہیں لاتا، اس کے پیچھے کوئی بہت بڑا فلسفہ کارفرما ہوتا ہے، پر میرے خیال میں ان انقلابیوں کو کبھی بھوک کا احساس ہی نہیں ہوا، یا اگر ہوا ہو تو اب تک یہ حضرات اس احساس کو بھول گئے ہیں۔ لیکن جو بھی بات ہو، اس بچے کی آنکھوں میں مجھے بھوک نظر آرہی تھی۔ اگر وہ انقلابی زندہ ہوتے تو ان کو بھی یہ بھوک ضرور نظر آتی۔
The fuss, the melodrama, the climax and then the sudden anti-climax, all these events were visible as Venna Malik was ousted from doing a Ramazan show on a Pakistani private channel.
Some think, Venna's ousting was a result of public pressure, other consider it a wrath on Venna. Many on social media network are of the opinion that if the masses can eliminate a single ‘vice’, i.e Venna Malik, then they can eliminate all our problems through public protests and activism.
There is some truth in all of these reasons. For sure, if there isn't any public viewer ship, private channel owners would be forced to close down the program. All media shows runs on advertisements, and advertisements come from industries and corporations. Capitalists only invest money from where they could extract the most juice. People in Pakistan were very dejected by seeing Venna doing a Ramazan show. Capitalist read the national feeling and closed the program just hours before the first fast in Pakistan.
Another group considers Venna's program a wrath on the Pakistani society. I don't know whether Venna qualifies to symbolise as a 'wrath'. In a country where 12 people died on the first day of Ramazan, where the life of quarter million children is at risk due to the Taliban polio ban, where acid is thrown on women, where girls are buried alive, where the heads on human being are beheaded, where suicide bombs and terrorism wreak havoc the whole society, how can Venna really be called a 'wrath'. Maybe for the fundamentalist consider not wearing a veil to be a greater sin than beheading human beings.
Public pressure and activism is the only peaceful way to bring a change. Gandhi's non-cooperative movement is the greatest symbol of bringing a peaceful revolution. But the question is was their any activism for ousting Venna? Was there a mass protest at Karachi Press Club, where millions were chanting "We Don't Want Venaa! We Don't Want Venaa!” Were there advertisements in newspapers against Venna's show? Were there television debates against her program like we had against on the media gate issue?
The answer is a simple 'No!'
There was no activism on this issue. Apart from some sections on facebook and twitter, people weren't much interested in bringing out mass protest rallies against Mademoiselle Veena.
The uproar against Dr. Liaquat was as great as it was against Ms. Veena. Why isn't Amir Liaquat ousted from his job? How is Maya Khan — the women who put the life of two innocent teenagers at stake when she immorally interfered in their private space — doing a Ramazan Show? How is a political anchor, Shahid Masood doing an Islamic show, moreover what has a cricketer to do with religious scholarship!
Ousting Veena from Pakistani private media wasn't a sole manoeuvre by the media capitalist enterprise; there's more to this issue.
In Pakistan, we don't have a laissez-faire free market. Like many third world capital markets, state intervention is a day to day affair. The problem comes when we try to decipher what 'state organs' means. As democracy hasn't totally taken roots in our society, the army and intelligence still has a major role to play in state functioning.
The intelligence (called ISI) has a huge fan base in Pakistan. I don't know how many love Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) in Germany. Meanwhile in Pakistan, there is a feeling that, even talking about ISI is a sin. Pakistanis freely abuse their president, prime minister, ministers, teachers, doctors, labourers, actors, artists, etc. But when it comes to ISI, there is an invisible halo around this institution.
I guess Veena's ousting from the Islamic program has something to do with this invisible halo. Year ago, Veena denigrated ISI in a picture which was vehemently criticised in Pakistan. The real reason of criticism against Vspeakeena was the tattooing of ISI on her shoulder. This was something really unacceptable by the ruling establishment. Even Mr. Rehman Malik, former interior minister of Pakistan, spoke against the tattoo. I don’t think tattooing comes in the domain of the interior ministry!
The ISI is the only point of difference between Venna and the others (i.e. Shahid Masood, Afridi, Maya, and Liaquat). The guest that are commonly visible on Dr. Masood’s program represent the religio-politcal status quo of the country. Hammeed Gul, DPC figure like Sheikh Rasheed, Imran Khan, etc. are given major a portion of talk time. Maya, Afridi, and Liaquat have nothing to do with the ISI.
I guess it is the state's play which expedited Venna’s removal. Pakistanis have a similar dislike for other anchors too, but they go on with their programs as freely as Dr. Shahid Masood.
چھوٹی عورتیں ایک رزمیہ داستان ہے۔ اس کی مصنف لویزا مے الکات (Louisa May Alcott) ہیں۔ یہ کتاب انگلیش کلاسک کا حصہ ہے اور ۱۸۶۸ء میں پہلی بار شائع ہوئی۔
چھوٹی عورتیں مارچ خاندان اور ان کی چار بیٹیوں — مَیگ، جو، بیتھ اور ایمی — کے بارے میں ایک کہانی ہے جس میں وہ غربت اور باپ کی دوری کے باوجود زندگی کو ہنسی خوشی گزارنے کی کوشش کرتے ہیں۔ ان کے والد امریکی خانہ جنگی کی وجہ سے گھر سے دور ہیں۔ اس دوران انھوں نے ایک خفیہ سوسائٹی بنا لی ہے جس کا نام ہے 'دی پیک وک کلب' (The Pickwick Club) ہے۔ اس کلب میں وہ مختلف ڈرامائی ناٹک کرتے ہیں اور اس دوران ان کی دوستی پڑوس میں رہنے والے ایک امیر لیکن تنھائی پسند لڑکے لوری سے ہو جاتی ہے۔
میری کوشش ہوگی کے اس تقریباً ۱۴۰ سال پرانے ناول کا مکمل ترجمہ اپنے بلاگ پر پوسٹ کروں۔
In Pakistan’s news media, anchors are analogous to entertainers, but now their entertainment has become very predictable. Their monotonous attitude has made the infotainment discourse extremely boring. Moreover, the public narrative that the news media tries to create is mostly conservative having an explicit penchant towards fundamentalism.
It is very unfortunate that the media chatter house has become the defining source of public discourse in Pakistan. People consider these private TV channels as a party working for people rights. They think these private capitalistic firms are speaking on their behalf.
Quite opposite, this is never the case. Private capitalistic media only speaks for products through which they can make money. The fundamental goal of any business is to maximise profit. They give a hoot to any issue that might reduce their annual profits.
In the coming month, these media capitalist tycoons are going to exploit spirituality to maximise net incomes. Ramazan is a jackpot for all media tycoon in Pakistan. It will give a profit boost just at the start of the second half of FY2012. All media channels – either news or entertainment or infotainment – are going to extract the last drop of 'financial juice' from this God gifted month. News anchors, fashion designers, and self-tagged entertainers-cum-Islamic scholars will help the poor nation in understanding Islam. The poorest of the poor will be paying only Rs. 14.07 (+ tax) per minute, if they want to hang on with their religion.
Some of the media tycoons have also released their Ramazan promos (similar to Hollywood film trailers).
The entertainer for Geo Television network will be Dr. (false PhD) Amir Liaquat. With his expensive designer suits, his Oscar winning sobbing, his impromptu speech, and his dexterous use of hands will magnate hundreds of people to switch on their television screen at day break and sunset. This entertainer will laugh, cry, joke, intellecutalize, cook, and blabber all the month long. Two years ago, Amir Liaquat instigated people in killing Ahmadis. His program was a nightmare for the Ahmadi community which brought human loss to them. Let's see what this fundamentalist do in the oncoming month!
Dr. Amir Liaquat anchoring his Islamic Show
Next comes Dr. (I guess either in quackery or homeopathy) Shahid Masood. He'll be hosting the Ramazan transmission for ARY group. A fundamentalist by soul, he'll now be educating the masses to fear the Lord. For the last decade, this man has tried to portray the rightist school of thought as the only saviour of Pakistan. People like Hameed Gul the Red General, Zaid Hamid the Conspirator, Orya Maqbool Jan the chauvinist scholar, Imran Khan the Tsunami man, Ansaar Abbasi the crying patriot, and Dr. Israr Ahmed got the maximum TV talk time on his program. He affronts liberal and intellectual dissents and allows his guests to caricature people like Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy and Asma Jahangir on live television.
Shahid Masood will be hosting a
Ramazan Show with Maya Khan for the ARY Group
Next month, this fundamentalist doctor is going to do a Ramazan show with the Mrs. Maya Khan. She recently violated the private sphere of two Pakistani teenagers who were relaxing in a park when Spectre Maya came out of nowhere to teach them Islamic morality. These two entertainers will be the here bringers of non-Hijabi fundamentalism!
For the Express Television Network, Shahid Afridi — a famous Pakistani cricketer — is going to educate the masses about gaining spirituality in Ramazan! As the cricketer will be fasting in this holy month, he won't be able to play cricket; to fill the monetary loss for missing his cricket series, he has signed a Ramazan deal with a media tycoon. An unmatched example of spirituality being supplanted by capitalism! As the demand for 'spirituality' raises, thus the viewer ship for cricket decreases; hence, capital underscores religion for profit maximization.
It can't be commented what will be the output of this transmission. I guess it is the first program where a working cricketer will also be a television evangelist. The influence of religion in the Pakistani cricket team couldn't help them in winning a series against Sri Lanka, but did help Shahid Afridi in becoming a religious entertainer.
I think it was in this perspective Marx said religion to be the opium of the masses. These capitalist enterprises are going to make millions of rupees out of spiritualism. They are going to boost consumerism by publicising branded cloths. They will cook delicious food tempting others to do the same. On the other hand, a father of six living somewhere in Layari (a poor locality in Karachi), will try to condole his small children when they ask their mother to cook the same food Uncle Liaquat, Uncle Afridi and Aunty Maya cooked on the previous fast.
The Egyptian fight for freedom, democracy, and equality has crystallised in the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak from power. The future of the country is in the hand of those teenagers who spoke for change. Al-Tahreer square will be remembered in history as the Arabian Acropolis for democracy.
Egypt is one of most populous country in the Arab world; any democratic development there will reverberate across the whole Middle East and will be closely monitored by fundamentalists and rightists in Pakistan. The basic question now being asked is: "Can Egypt become modern Turkey?"
The winning of Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood is a major development for the country. Egyptians have courageously passed the initial test of holding a fair and free election, but the road towards democracy and progress still has a long way to go. The major digression in the path of democracy – similar to the Turkish experiment – will be the battle between the military and civil centres of power.
In the last few decades, the Turkish army has unconstitutionally partaken in the national democratic setup of the country. Sometime, like in 1971 and 1997, Turkish generals sabotaged the national government on the pretext of 'visible threats' to the country. While at other points in history, like in 1960 and 1980, they brought coups against democratically elected governments. Nevertheless, in today's democratic Turkey, the role of the armed forces in state institutions has drastically reduced due to strong constitutional vigilance.
On the other hand, modern day Egypt isn't like modern day Turkey. The later does has a vast Muslim majority, but a moderate Islamists party governing the country. In terms of progress and economy, Turkey believes in free market capitalism. Unfortunately, the long decades of Mubarak rule couldn’t allow Egypt to maintain the same standard of living and free market expansion as that of democratic Turkey. It was democracy that allowed Turkey to achieve such progress.
Meanwhile, Egyptian and Turkish armies have many commonalities. Both of them consider themselves as the only force to stop Islamists from coming into power. Both of them manage big economic corporations that play an integral role in national economy. The 'Oyak Group' is the biggest investment group in Turkey which have shares in companies ranging from French motorcar manufacturers Renault to cement and steel. They work on the pretext of financing the army pension fund. Lastly, both of them also believe themselves to be the most effective institution to rule the country.
Similar to the Turkish army, the Egyptian army has ruled the country for years. It is considered a major force by parts of the society who are reasonably afraid from the Islamist coming into power. This shows that the power struggle between the society and politics won't end shortly. It will take a long time for the power centres to live with mutual harmony, and much longer to define the basic character of the state.
Lastly, Egyptian army should also learn lessons from their counter parts in Turkey. The events in 2007 allowed Turkey to emerge as the most vibrant democratic Muslim country. It can serve as an example for the Egypt’s politician in getting a hold on the army. Back in 2007, the Turkish army felt threatened that president Abdullah Gul might agree to alter the "unchangeable democratic nature of Turkey" into an "Islamic state". The army issued a warning in this regards. However, the army couldn't get Mr. Abdullah Gul out of his presidency. Mr. Tayeb Erdogan took a notice of this intervention, and sent many generals behind bars. Today, Turkish politician are fighting their cases against these generals in the same courts that for many years allowed the army to suppress and abuse the Islamist reforms.
It should be noted that Egypt and Turkey are two different countries with different national interests. Unlike Turkey, Egypt is not seeking membership into the European Union. The EU compels The Justice Party to fight against the army’s hegemony over state institutions. Moreover, Muslim Brotherhood has a more Islamist character compared with Justice and Development Party (JDP). Hence we are going to see more Shariah based laws being formed in the Egyptian parliament compared to Turkey. Lastly, Turkey's per capita income is twice that of Egypt.
Likewise, Egyptian generals must remember that by the end of the cold war era, Turkish army has lost national and foreign support to rule the country. The Arab Spring can also have a similar geo-strategic affect on the Middle East, resulting in ending military domination once and for all.
All in all, if the Egyptian army tries to disrupt democracy or hampers in the development of state institutions, they'll only buy public hatred in return for such activities. The results of which being similar to that of Turkey: humiliation and jail.
Grandpa was telling an old anecdote to the little kids. His hands were moving dexterously and celerity was observable in his speech. His face had turned pallid due to age, but his unequivocal style was still young.
"He was very scrupulous when experimenting in the laboratory", said grandpa and continued, "But his students were maladroit kids. They always did something wrong, making the whole experiment useless. His friends had deep animosity with him, and were censorious about his work. Such animosity was palpable among the female scientists for reasons that are still incoherent, and extraneous to today’s story. Although his students were unskillful, his scientific knowledge had made him a little presumptuous and pretentious. Unfortunately, there is no cure for these maladies."
"But isn't a scientific attitude incongruous with an arrogant attitude?", asked the ten years old Bilal.
"Well yeah! But there is always a dichotomy present inside a human being. Scrutinizing human psychology reveals that man is deeply affected by extrinsic environment. Similarly, he was no different from others", said grandpa.
"Now where was I...", continued grandpa, "He was trying to find a panacea for all maledictions. He was an alchemist cum scientist. He was also writing a didactic book on alchemy, but the council censured him for spreading magic in the name of science. They wanted to remove him from their community like they unfrocked the priests. In reality, his didactic book was inconsequential but the censorship made it popular. Such popularity for a book was unprecedented in history. In his cerebral work, he discussed many paradigms of alchemy; he answered all fallacious remarks against alchemy with certitude; and deciphered paradoxes that had remained unscathed for years."
Grandpa continued, "The seminary too had a proclivity to ban his book. They considered it an anomaly to their literature. They commented that the book had inconspicuous digressions which malefactors can use to destroy humanity. On the other hand, the scientific community always faltered to give their reasons to censure his book."
"Hence this book ended the centuries old antagonism between church and science", remarked fifteen year old Mary.
"Yeah! In some sense you are correct. His book was a paragon for alchemy. It was a dike for saving religion and science from magic. It sentineled human cerebral achievements from charlatans and fanatical ideologies. He remained indifferent to science and religion throughout his work, and unwittingly tried to equate science with religion."
"What happened with this man? As his book must be a paramount work for the field of alchemy, what happened with this book? Was he sequestered from the society? Did the indigenous people help him? Was he upbraided for his act? ", asked sixteen years old Ahsan.
"Well he was never chary about his work. His dilatory and indolent attitude and his few prodigal friends allowed him to live a procrastinated life away from the locals. His life was a dilemma, and serendipity had strengthened his faith in fate. He was fastidious about his work, paying attention to every detail. The local did upbraid him", answered grandpa.
"I'm an Inductee in alchemy. It's fatuous for me to ask, but can you summarize his philosophy for us? Are his thoughts feasible in our times? Can a pariah live safely in our world? Can everyone handle profanity without answering it?” asked the twenty two years old Sara in confusion.
"O My God! That's a whole bag of question", said grandpa. His tongue had parched while he continued speaking, "He preached anthropocentrism; an idea that Man is the centre of the universe. I must say that he was quite a bit of dilettante, and wrote is a desultory fashion."
Grandpa picked up an anthology written by the author. The book was serrated around its edges.
"Sometimes he looks feasible and pragmatic; sometimes he seems to be an extremist; while at different moments in the story he seems to be an indulgent vagabond. But it must be said that he maintains a serene and urbane tone throughout the book."
With this grandpa ended the talk about the unusual scientist.
People destroying the castle of Bastille on 14th July 1789.
14th July is remembered as the day which changed not only France, but the whole world. The ideas of liberty, equality, and tolerance get their roots from this epic historical drama of the18th century. The revolution opened doors for rational thinking to prosper, it curtailed the authority of the church and kings, and made all people equal citizen of the state. These developments are considered the epitome of Renaissance ideas, the whole world seems to envy these achievements and institutionalise them in their respective countries.
As Dr. Mubarak Ali writes, The French Revolution (1789) can be divided into three parts:
1) Constitutional Monarchy (1789-1792)
The French parliment passed the Deceleration of Man, which made all citizen equal before law. This pristine document inscribed and guaranteed freedom of expression, thoughts and religion to all.
2) Jacobian rule over France (1792-1794)
The Jacobian rule brought the guillotine into France for the first time. Rather than eradicating corruption through education and laws, the Jacobians took all symbols of the former Kingship to the gallows. It is estimated that 40,000 people were killed by the government. One of the prominent thinker of the revolution, Robees Piere, was also killed on the guillotine.
3) Napoleonic rule over France (1794-1815)
Napoleon's coup brought this massacre to a halt. Napoleon popularized the idea of fraternity which lead to the development of French Nationalism. Napoleon gave impetus to French art and culture. France emerged as the centre of European literature.
The French Revolution was an answer to the changing material conditions of France. The thoughts developed by Reformation thinkers, the growth of trader class, and the weakening of Church's authority were the reasons that ignited this Revolution.
"میں ہگس ذرے کے بارے میں بلکل نہیں جاننا چاہتا"، احمد نے چڑ چڑی آواز میں بولا۔ اس کی عمر شاید ۱۵ برس ہوگی، سائنس کا طالبِ علم تھا، طبعیات کا بہت شوق تھا، لیکن معلوم نہیں کیوں ہِگس ذرے کے بارے میں پڑھنا وہ غلط سمجھتا تھا۔
"یار احمد، آخر کوئی وجہ تو بتاو نا پڑھنے کی؟ ہگس صاحب نے تمھاری دیوار پر لگی ہولی وڈ اداکارہ کی تصویر چوری کرلی ہے، یا تمھارا کتّا بھگالے گئے ہیں! ہاہاہا"، عارف نے تفریحاً دریافت کرنے کی کوشش کی۔
"نہیں یار! مجھے تو ہگس ذرہ یہودیوں کی سازس معلوم ہوتی ہے۔ اس نئی تحقیق کے ذریعے وہ ہم کو کنٹرل کرسکتے ہیں۔ وہ اپنا علمی دھونس ہم پر جمانا چاہتے ہیں۔ اگلی بار جب پاکستان میں تباہی آئے گی تو، اس ہی کی وجہ سے آئے گی۔ یہ دیکھو! یہ دیکھو! یہ مقالہ دیکھو!"
یہ کہتے ہوئے، احمد نے کاغذوں کا ڈھیر عارف کو تھما دیا۔ عارف نے مطالعہ شروع کیا تو چند تصاویر اس کی نظر سے گزریں۔ ان تصاویر میں نمایاں تصاویر جنرل ضیاء الحق، زید حامد، بزرگ صحافی زاہد ملک، جنہوں نے ڈاکٹر عبد لقدیر خان پر کتاب لکھی تھی، اور چند مولوی حضرات کی تھیں۔ عارف کو اور بھی کچھ تصاویر نظر آئی، ان میں سے ایک تصویر ڈاکٹر عبدالسلام کی بھی تھی۔ عارف کو حیرت ہوئی کے اُن کی تصویر اس 'فوجی- مذہبی' مقالے میں کیا کررہی ہے۔
"بھائی عارف! ہِگس ذرے کی تحقیق میں اَس آدمی کا بھی ہاتھ ہے"، احمد نے بےساختہ بولا۔ اُس کی شکل پر نفرت نمایاں تھی اور ڈاکٹرسلام کی تصویر کو دیکھنا تک گوارا نہیں کررہا تھا۔
"احمد تم تو سائنس کے طالبِ علم ہو! ڈاکٹر عبدالسلام کا تو ایٹم کی تحقیق میں بنیادی کردار ہے، وہ پاکستان کے واحد نوبل پرائز انعام یافتہ سائنسدان ہیں، تمھاری زبان سے ایسی بات سن کر بہت حیرت ہورہی ہے"، عارف بولا۔
"ڈاکٹر سلام تو یہودی ایجنٹ تھا! تم نے زاہد ملک کی کتاب نہیں پڑھی؟ اس نے پاکستان کے ایٹم بم کے خلاف سازش کی تھی۔ اور اس ہی سازش کی وجہ سے اس کو نوبل انعام ملا تھا۔ اور اُس کا مذہب بھی تم جانتے ہو کیا تھا۔ تم یہ مقالہ پڑھو، تم کو بھی سمجھ آجائے گی کہ ہِگس ذرے کو یورپ میں صرف اس لیے اہمیت دی جارہی ہے کیونکہ یہ عبدالسلام کا کارنامہ ہے۔ میں تو ہگس کے خیالات کبھی نہیں پڑھوں گا۔"
عارف تو جیسے سکتے میں آگیا ہو۔ پاکستان کا واحد نوبل پرائز وینر کو صرف اس لیے رد کیا جارہا ہے کیونکہ اس کا مذہب کچھ اور ہے۔ اس کو سازشی قرار دیا جارہا ہے۔ اس کو امریکی ایجنٹ کہا جارہا ہے۔ عارف کے ذہن میں ہٹلر کے زمانے کی تصویر آگئی، اس زمانے میں آئنسٹائن کی کتابیں اس لیے جلائی جاتی تھیں کیونکہ وہ یہودی تھا۔ اس کے کارِ نمایاں کو یہودی مذہب کی پیدوار کہہ کررد کردیا جاتا تھا۔ کیا ہم ڈاکٹر سلام کے ساتھ یہی تو کرنے نہیں جارہے؟ شاید ضیاء الحق کے دور میں جو کتابیں چھپی تھیں، وہ اس رویے کی ذمہ دار ہوں۔ شاید نہ تھمتی ہوئی انتہا پسندی اس کی ذمہ دار ہو، شاید ملک میں عدم برداشت کی کیفیت اس کی ذمہ دار ہو۔ شاید ان سب وجوہات کی آمیزش ہو۔ شاید جنزل ضیاء اور سیاسی مولوی کامیاب ہوئے اور مہذب اور روشن خیال لوگ شکست کھا گئے۔ احمد کی زبان پر ایسے جملے آنا بلکل ایسا ہی تھا کہ مردہ بولنا شروع کردے۔ ایک طبعیات کا طالبِ علم اور ہگس ذرے کو ناپڑھے! واہ!
"احمد، تم کیا کیا نہیں پڑھو گے، یہ تھمارے کمرے میں لگی ہوئی اداکاروں کی تصاویر سے ایم - پی -۳ تک، حسین مساجد سے لے کر حسین گھروں تک، گاڑی سے لے کر ہوائی جہاز تک، یہ تمام علم کہاں سے آیا ہے۔ اور کیا ایک ہندو، عیسائی، یا یہودی سچ نہیں بول سکتا؟ کیا صرف اس مقالے میں شامل "ٹولا" ہی سچ بولتا کی طاقت رکھتا ہے؟ اور تمھارے پڑھنے اور نہ پڑھنے سے دنیا کو کیا فرق پڑھتا ہے، آخر میں تم ہی بسم اللہ کہا کر یورپی گاڑی میں سفر کرو گے۔"، عارف نے مدہم لہجے میں کہا۔
اور پھر عارف پھوٹ پڑھا، "تم چاہو یا ناچاہو، تمھاری اگلی نسل کے لیے عبدالسلام کے خیالات کے بارے میں پڑھنا لازم ہوجائے گا۔ ہگس کی دریافت اتنی ہی اہم معلوم ہوتی ہے جتنی آئنستائن کی دریافت ہے۔ اور کل پرسوں تم ہی تو آئنستائن کے نظریے کی مدد سے اسلام کی حقانیت ثابت کررہے تھے؟ بھول گئے!"، عارف نے آخر میں کہا۔
احمد کی زبان پر اب کوئی جواب نہیں آرہا تھا، اس کا مقالے واقعی کاغذ کے ڈھیر سے زیادہ کچھ نہیں تھا۔ عارف کی باتیں منطقی معلوم ہورہی تھیں۔ اس کے پاس کوئی ٹھوس دلیل نہیں تھی۔ اچانک اس کے اندر کا سائنسدان بول پڑھا:
"معاف کرنا عارف بھائی، میرے جملے میرے نہیں تھے بلکہ سماج نے میرے منہ میں ڈالے تھے۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔"
This post is dedicated to
the unknown vagabond who was killed by a frenzied mob in Bahawulpur.
Hussain Mansur Al-Hallaj (c. 858 – 26 March 922) is a charismatic personality in Sufism. His mantra 'An'al Haqq' (I'm the truth) has been a topic of discussion inside the Muslim world for centuries. Orthodoxy view his statement in the realm of infidelity while mystics regard it as the epitome of love for divinity. For the revolutionists, Mansur provides the necessary impetus to die for the truth. For the Sufi and saints, Mansur is an occult, an abstraction which cannot be comprehended by our finite minds. Iqbal, the 20th century poet-philosopher, wrote for Mansur:
کم نگاهان فتنهها انگیختند بنده حق را بدار آویختند آشکارا بر تو پنهان وجود بازگو آخر گناه تو چه بود؟
The Bigots incited the seditions
(and) took the Noble to the gallows.
On you were the secrets of existence disclosed
(can you) again speak what your sin really was?
The event of Mansur's execution is narrated by Ata'r Nishapuri in his book Tazkarai Oliya (Saints' Biography). The Wikipedia's Persian has added details mentioned by Ata'r Nishapuri. Unfortunately, this historical event isn't present on the site's English page. My translation is as follows:
Then Hussian was taken to the gallows. Thousands of people had amassed. He was looking at the crowd and saying: Haqq, Haqq, An'al Haqq... (Truth, Truth, I'm the Truth...).
It is said that, a vagabond (present in the crowd) asked him, "what is Ishq (Love)?".
He replied, " Your today, tomorrow and day after tomorrow resides with it. On its first day, it kills, next it burns, and on the third day it goes with the wind; hence this is Ishq."
While standing on the gallows, Mansur's servant asked him his final will. He said, "Keep your soul busy in things you liked doing, if you don't do this, it will keep you busy in thing you don't like doing. Herein, work itself becomes the work of a saint." Hence, the way he choose for himself was the path towards personal satisfaction....
They asked, "What it the way towards personal satisfaction?"
He replied, "Under my gallows." Because the door under the gallows took him to the scaffold, and his feet were on it's ladder [Mansur's personal statisfaction was to die in God's way].
They asked, "What is self?"
He replied, "It is the ascension of the leader."
Then, a turban man with a shawl on his shoulders came in. He raised his hands and prayed. He said, "What he knows, nobody knows."
Then, Mansur was hanged.
Everyone threw stones on him, Shibli was successful in throwing a flower. Hussain Mansur sobbed in pain and said, "I haven't cried out due to the stone, but due to the flower". Why should pain be expressed?
He said, "Many of them don't know (why they are throwing stones), they are uninformed. But I felt the pain of the flower as he knows that it mustn't be thrown".
Then they cut off his hand; He laughed. They asked, "Why are you laughing?".
He said, "It is easy to cut arms of a stranded person. Man is he who cuts off that hand which gains it attributes from the apex of the universe."
Then, his legs were amputated; He laughed and said, "Without human legs I had travelled into the other worlds, in which I can still travel. Can you amputate those feet (which allow me in travelling into other world)!
Then he rubbed his blood pouring out through his two amputated hands until both of his forearms and his face were red in blood. They asked, "What are you doing?"
He said, "Much blood has poured out, I know my face has turned yellow. You may think my face has turned yellow due to fear. I'm splattering my face with blood so I could look red in your eyes, because men recognize their blood.
They said, "If you wanted to turn your face red, why did you rubbed your forearm with blood?"
He replied, "I'm doing ablution (Wa'zu)."
They asked, "What ablution!"
He said, "In love there is a two rakat prayer. You cannot perform the ablution for this prayer without blood."
Then his eyes were taken out. The crowd roared, some cried and some threw stones. Then they wanted to take out his tongue.
He said, "Why are you waiting for me to speak?", he directed his face towards the sky and said, "O Lord! What they are doing with me is for you, don't keep them deprived from reward (which they think they'll get on the Last Day). All praise be to the Lord! My hands and feet were amputated in your path. If my head is truncated from my body, they'll see your glory on the gallows".
Then his eyes and ears were amputated, while stoning continued. An ugly woman came with a bowl. As he saw Hussain, she said, "Beat him! Beat him until this little Hallaj knows who God is".
Hussain's last words were, "Hubul Wahid Afraadul Wahid [Arabic]".
Then his tongue was amputated, and at time for evening prayers, his head was amputated. His face had a smile and was lively. Our people had clamoured (for his death), but ironically, in the end Hussain was taken to Maydaan Raza.
***
A beautiful poem on Mansur Al-Hallaj. Are Logo tumhara kiya (Why are you worried):
Reference:
[1] Persian text available at: Mansur Al-Hallaj. Translated from پس حسین را ببردند تا بر دار کنند. صد هزار آدمی گرد آمدند to سرش ببریدند و در میان سربریدن تبسمی کرد و جان بداد و مردمان خروش کردند و حسین گوی قضا به پایان میدان رضا بردند.
The king was ornate with gold and silver. He looked ludicrous with all this metal on his body. Standing on the precipice, he was about to commit suicide. Neither his capacious palace came to his help nor did his sanctimonious orders have the might to bear the tumult of the impoverished people. He did try to ameliorate the standard of living of the commoners, but to no avail.
The people considered him impious, as he had desecrated the holy temples in the region. The nation was highly orthodox, and wasn’t ready to exonerate the king for this act. It had ossified it’s believe about him, and suggested to truncate his head. Many people were lukewarm about this idea. The people's leader precluded this idea and the people capitulated to his command.
The king was a lummox with a big tummy. He ate luscious mangos while his despondent nation slept hungry. The hunger had turned them into a sanguinary beast, who wanted the ousted king to be like his predecessor. This indifference was inadvertent from the king; he was a tyro in administrating people. He had appointed honourable chiefs from amongst the nation to take care of the people. Few of them were expatriates, but in general, they were amiable locals. The chiefs used to practice exorcism. They mostly answered impromptu to the public that was suffering from turpitude of necessities. The king had sanctioned grants for the well being of the nation, but mostly it got into the hands of these corrupt chiefs. The precocious chiefs knew how to handle the nation, but the King failed to comprehend this.
The chiefs would recite some incantation to drive the people fool. They would castigate the evil demons, lynched people by declaring them blasphemers, incarcerate thieves and wrong-doers, and sometimes deter punishment for the poor to show their power. This culture of 'discipline and punishment' was ubiquitous. This drama made an illusion of expedite justice. It acted as a Catharsis in an overwrought society where unalloyed misery sardonically grappled their daily lives. Preeminent nobles played with the commoner’s faith through religio-political machination.
Such caustic cacophony had made the people amorphous. They had lost self-confidence, and were forced to visit these chiefs even for petty reasons. They used to extol them, begged them for analgesics, incessantly worshipped such prescient Savants, and magnanimously gave charity to these demigods. This practice was analogous to the Egyptian cults where only the mighty had the prerogative of being praised. Analogous to the Egyptians, the poor was born to die.
Meanwhile, the King scaled to the top in a cavalcade. There, he gave a poignant speech:
"O my nation! I was always a scapegoat, and now I'm going to die. I always had this presentiment. Today, I want to give a small message to you all: I can't underscore the importance of justice for a nation. It is the only palliative to anarchy. It is the only palliative to stop devoured and magnates from committing excess. Extradite all evil-doers! Don't incline towards your chiefs! And foster amity between yourselves!"
Publisher: Dost Publishers ISBN: 978-969-496-352-5
Tahreek ki Daryaaft (Discovering History) is a collection
of several essays written by Dr. Mubarak Ali. The book is divided into two
parts.
The first part discusses
different methods of interpreting history in the twentieth century.
It also discusses the concept of hero worship; how heroes are created, and once
they are used up, how they are metamorphosed or put down by the
state. It also discussed the significance of historiography in Urdu language.
It discusses about different translations done in this language, and how Urdu
historians have interpreted history in different eras in the
sub-continent.
The second part covers a
broader subject area. It discusses about different aspects of Mughal rule, the
relationship between Ottomans and Mughals, robes in Mughal court, White
Mughal of Delhi, Akbar the Great. Besides, it also discusses history
of basic goods like coal and coffee. The author also presents a short essay on The
History of Smile. There are essays on imperialism and its affects, the role
of clergy, tragedy of Indian Muslims, Indus civilization to more Sindh, and
also an essay on the French Revolution.
The primary purpose of the
book is to present new perspectives on history. Hence, Dr. Ali reviews more
than three dozen books and some research papers. The purpose is to bring
history to the commoners. It tries to explain how diverse the subject of
history has become in our modern age. Today history doesn't mean only memoirs,
diaries, scared literature, and King's speech. The subject of history
also incorporates sociology, psychology, paleontology,
and empiricism. Historians today also interpret history as a class
struggle. Some deliberately view it with a prejudice, for example, European
historians rectify Indian colonization because they thought the only civilized
race is the European race, it is the duty of the Europeans to teach civility to
the world. This is the interpretation of history from a European
point of view. Likewise, in India, we see different religious prejudice in
writing history. There are different interpretations available on Mughal
rule in India, based on who is writing it down.
The writing style is
informative and lucid. The author has consciously kept the language as
easy as possible; otherwise there is a tendency in Pakistan intellectuals to make
thinks look more difficult than they really are. Furthermore, as the book is a
collection of essays, it is readable for academia and students alike.
It's not like an ordinary history book that goes on for infinite, making the
subject of history boring and a waste of time. Each essay an average is four to
five pages long, but very comprehensible.
Meanwhile, the book neither
has a bibliography nor an end Index. This makes referencing to a specific
topic difficult. As the book is mainly a collection of criticism and
appreciation of different historical work, a bibliography was a
necessary requirement.
آج کل دنیا میں 'ہگس ذرہ' موضوع بحث بنا ہوا ہے۔ ماہرینِ طبعیات کا کہنا ہے کہ یہ ذرہ کائنات کے چھپے رازوں کو سمجھنے میں مدد فراہم کرے گا، مثلاً یہ کے معادے میں وزن کہاں سے آتا ہے؟ اور چاند، ستارے، سیارے، کہکشائیں، کیسے آپس میں جڑی رہتی ہیں۔ یورپ کی خبروں سے ایسا معلوم ہوتا ہے شاید یہ بہت ہی بڑی پیش کوئی رفت ہو۔ آپ چاہیں ڈیوچے ویلا دیکھ لیں یا سی-این-این سن لیں، ہر چینل اس کو ایک بہت بڑے 'بریک تھرو' سے مماثلت دے رہا ہے۔ آخری بار اس قسم کی میڈیا کوریج سائنس کو جب دی گئی تھی جب آنسٹائن کے نظریوں کے صحیح یا غلط ہونے پر بحث چھڑی تھی۔ یہ بحث بھی کئی دن چلی، اور آخر میں معلوم ہوا کے تجربہ کرنے والے کی اپنی غلطی تھی جس وجہ سے نتیجہ غلط نکلا، نہ کہ آنستائنکا فرمولا غلط ہو۔
مگر دوسری طرف ان خبروں کو پاکستان میں زیادہ اہمیت نہیں دی گئی۔ ظاہر ہے، پاکستانیوں کے لیے پیٹر ہگس اور آنسٹائن معمولی لوگ ہیں۔ بچارے ٹائم ضائع کرتے ہیں۔ چاہیے تو یہ تھا کہ ایک اسمارٹ فون خریدتے اور زندگی کا لطف اٹھاتے۔ یا فیس بک جوائن کرلیتے۔ فیس بک پر برقے کی اہمیت، اسلام کی سربُلندی، اور عورت کی شریعی احیاء کے دستوروں پر ہی کچھ شئیر کرکے ثواب کما لیتے۔ چاہیے تو یہ تھا کہ ایس-ایم-ایس کا نائٹ پیکج آن کرکے رمضان شروع ہونے سے بیس دن پہلے سے 'رمضان ایڈوانس مبارک' کے پیغمات بھیجتے، یہ کوئی حدیث شئیر کرتے یہ کسی بڑے بزرگ کا کوئی قول۔ بلکہ یہ تو بہت ذہین لوگ ہیں، ان کو تو شاید ۲۰۱۴،۲۰۱۵، اور قیامت تک آنے والے تمام رمضانوں کی ایڈوانس مبارکباد بھیجنی چائیے تھی۔ اور اگر نقاب پر انتا زور دیتے جتنا فیس بک پر نظر آتا ہے، تو فزکس کی قسم! تمام عورتیں، باوسیلہ فیس بک نقاب پوش ہوجاتیں۔ اب دیکھو فرانس میں ۲،۰۰۰ نقاب پوش عورتوں کے لیے شور مچتا ہے، لیکن جن ہزاروں عورتوں پر پاکستان میں ظلم ہوتا ہے، اس پر کوئی بات نہیں ہوتی۔
پیڑ ہگس، تم نے تو اتنی تحقیق کرکے بس اتنی سی بات معلوم کی ہے۔ یار! فیس بک استعمال کرو۔ ہر چیز کے لیے مذہنی تاویل تم کو مل جائے گی، چائے بیگ بانگ ہو، انسان کا پیدا ہونا ہو، گرانڈ یونیفکیشن(Grand Unification) کا نظریہ ہو، بگ کرانچ(Big Crunch) کی بات ہو، غرض کے کوئی بھی سائنسی نظریہ ہو، فیس بک پر ہر بات کی کوئی اسلامی تاویل مل جائے گی۔ بھاڑ میں جائے یہ نوبل پرائز، بھاڑ میں جائے طبعیات، بھائی فیس بک پر آو اور ہم سے سیکھو!
چلو آنسٹائن کے زمانے میں نیٹ ایجاد نہیں ہوا تھا ، پر پیٹر ہگس! تم ۸۳ سال کے ہوگئے ہو تم کو یہ بات سمجھ کیوں نہیں آئے؟ ابھی تو بہت بڑے بڑے کام باقی ہیں، تم کن دو دو روپے کی چیزوں میں وقت ضائع کررہے ہو۔ مجھے تو برہمن نسل پاکستانیوں نے بتایا ہے کہ جس کام میں پیسہ نہ ہو وہ بکار ہے۔ اب پیڑ تم یہ ذرے کس دکان پر بیچو گے، میں تم نہیں خرید رہا!!! ہاہاہاہا
اور یہ ایٹم کیا ہوتا ہے؟ اصل چیز تو ایٹم بم ہے، میرے پاس تو بہت سارے ہیں، تمھارے پاس کتنے ہیں؟ تم بس ان ذروں کے چکر میں پڑے رہو! ہم پاکستانیوں سے ہی کچھ سیکھ لو۔ کیا تمھاری تحقیق سے کوئی نیا اسلحہ بن سکتا ہے؟ کیا ہم ہگس ذرے سے زیادہ لوگوں کو مار سکتے ہیں؟ کیا افواج کو اس کا فائدہ ہے؟ اگر ان سب سوالوں کا جواب نفی میں ہے ، تو مجھے مسڑ بہت افسوس ہے کہ تمھاری تحقیق میرے کسی کام کی نہیں۔
یار آنسٹائن ہم تو ہٹلر کے برابر کے لوگوں ہیں۔ ہماری یہاں بھی روز قتل ہوتا ہے، روز معصوم لوگ مرتے ہیں۔ پرسوں ہی ہم نے ایک آدمی کو زندہ جلادیا، کل ہم نے تربت سے ایران جانے والی گاڑی پر حملہ کردیا، آج ہم نے کراچی میں تین لوگوں کو مار دیا۔ چلو ہٹلر سے مقابلہ نہ صحیح، لیکن ہٹلرِ ثانی تو ہم بھی ہیں نا۔ اب تم ڈرو مت، ہم نے کل روس کو مار بھگایا، آج آمریکہ ہار رہا ہے۔
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto applauding in a public rally. Source: The Friday Times
5 July 1977 was the date when Zia toppled the elected government of Pakistan. This day marks the beginning of a destined end. An end to democracy, an end to free thought, an end to freedom, and an end to practising religion freely. Some great stories place the end at the beginning, while the beginning comes at the end of the book. The 1977-1979 drama is best understood in this manner — a dictator came into power with the destined goal to end democracy and to rule the country till the last day!
***
Years ago BBC URDU published an article elucidating the paradoxical nature of the 1973 constitution. The website wrote that the 1973 constitution is the only social contract in world history through which the creator himself was hanged by a military usurper. In other words, the assassination of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was constitutional back in 1979. Today, in the light of the 1973 constitution, the Supreme Court is trying to prove Bhutto's hanging a judicial murder. It cannot get more paradoxical than this!
There are many aspects to Bhutto's hanging. Some deal with provincial prejudice, yet other aspects cover the military lust for power. Some regard Bhutto's hanging as capitalist conspiracy. Unfortunately, in-depth research had never taken place on this historical incident which has made Bhutto assignation a myth in itself.
Provincial Prejudice in Bhutto's Assassination
The constitutional bench which heard Bhutto's case was overwhelmed by Punjabi speaking judges. Bhutto being a Sindhi had to face an inherently baised Punjabi judiciary. The empirical evidences available do prove the supreme court bench had a Punjabi majority. The final supreme court bench included the following nine judges:
1) Chief Justice Sayeed Anwar ul Haq (Punjab)
2) Mr. Justice Mohd. Akram (Punjab)
3) Mr. Justice Naseem Hasan Shah (Punjab)
4) Mr. Justice Darab Patel (Balochistan)
5) Mr. Justice Mohd. Haleem (Sindh)
6) Mr. Justice Safdar Shah (KPK)
7) Mr. Justice Qaisar Khan (KPK)
8) Mr. Justice Karam Elahi Chohan (Punjab)
9) Mr. Justice Waheedud-din Ahmed (Urdu-speaking Sindhi)
The Supreme Court proceeding lasted for more than eight months. During this period, Mr. Justice Waheedud-din Ahmed retired due to his age, and Mr. Justice
Qaisar Khan left the bench due to prolonged illness. If the court had decided Bhutto's verdict before the retirement of Waheedud-din Ahmed, Bhutto would had won the case by 5-4. Unfortunately, this never happened.
The truncation of two judges created a Punjabi majority in the bench. All Punjabi speaking judges formed an anti-Bhutto alliance, hence legitimizing Gen. Zia's marital law in the country. Bhutto lost the case by a close margin — 4 to 3. All non-Punjabi judges allied with Bhutto, but to no avail.
Many Sindhis find Bhutto's trial as an anti-Sindhi trial by the Punjabis. They have empirical evidence to prove their point of view. Why wasn't Bhutto initially tried in Sindh High Court? Why did the final bench took a long time to pass its verdict? Why was there a Punjabi majority on the bench? Why wasn't a Punjabi judge sent home on the basis of illness? These questions cause havoc in the minds of Sindhis who support PPP's ideology. Why do the smaller provinces of Pakistan suffer from the hand of Punjab? Why does Punjab has an upper hand in all national, financial, and strategic decisions? Some of these questions are resolved, while some still need answers.
On the otherhand, a counter Punjabi narrative also exists. This narrative tries to proof that Punjabis weren't just in the supreme court bench; they were also present in the habeas corpus petition filed by Bhutto's wife, Mrs. Nusrat Bhutto. J.C. Batra in his book The Trial and Execution of Bhutto gives a list of Bhutto's companion in the SCP : (For the list see page 24 of the book)
From the Punjab four, namely,
(1) Sheikh Mohmmad. Rashid, Vice-Chairman, PPP;
(2) Dr. Ghulam Hussain, Secretary General of PPP;
(3) Mr. Khalid Malik, Secretary General of PPP, Punjab branch;
(4) Mr. Hayat Mohammad. Khan Taman.
From Sindh two
(5) Mr. Abdul Hafiz Peerzada; and
(6) Mr. Mumtaz Ali Bhutto.
From Baluchistan
(7) Mr. Ghaus Bux Rasisani.
From the N.W.E.P. three, namely,
(8) Mr. Iqbal Mohammad Jadoon;
(9) Mr. Nasrulla Khan Khattak; and
(10)Mr. Humayun Seifullah Khan
As we can observe, 40% of the list is Punjabi dominated, while their are only 20% Sindhis. Claiming Punjabis as a monolithic body against Bhutto is not a very strong argument. If all Punjabis hated Bhutto, how come 4 Punjabis were on Bhutto's petition? These Punjabis risked their lives against the a military despot. Similar to Sindhis, they also wanted democracy to prosper in the country. Therefore, alleging Punjabis to be an anti-Bhutto hegemony is a weak argument.
Military Lust for Power
There is no doubt in the argument that Zia-ul-Haq wanted to oust democracy. He wanted to remain the head of the nation forever. Bhutto was the greatest threat, and his elimination had become obligatory for his plan. Whenever Bhutto came out of jail, millions of people used to hail him. It was only in the last days, when due to military brutalisation and censorship people were locked inside their homes. Bhutto was becoming popular with the passage of time. an imprisoned Bhutto was more dangerous to Zia's game plan than a living Bhutto. Gen. Zia even thought of deporting Z.A Bhutto, but feared his return back to Pakistan might have repercussions similar to Ayatullah Khomini's return in Iran (See: Preface of If I'm Assassinated by Z.A. Bhutto). The only way to ossify all these threats was to minus Bhutto from the power equation. Zia played his cards well, and finally Bhutto was hanged on the 4th of April 1979.
In a BBC interview, the world renowned socialist Tariq Ali made an apt comment:
“Bhutto was a brave man, Zia was cunning.... There was one grave and two candidates. It was either Bhutto or (Gen) Zia and since (Gen) Zia had the whip hand he got rid of Bhutto before ZAB could get him"
Tariq Ali also wrote a drama on the tragic death of Bhutto for BBC. It was titled 'The Leopard and the Fox', where Bhutto was the leopard due to his courage while the clever Gen. Zia was symbolized as the fox. Unfortunately, the drama wasn't ever publicised on BBC because of fund limitations.
On the other hand, it was an unethical decision by ZAB to promote Zia-ul-Haq while there where many generals above him. ZAB made this decision on the premise that it will be easier to control Zia compared to senior generals in the Pakistan Army. This decision later costed Bhutto his life. Hasan Abbass has aptly discussed Zia's promotion episode in his book, Pakistan's Drift into Extremism.
A Capitalist Conspiracy
Bhutto emerged as a defining figure in the third world. His charisma was unmatched, his choice of words was out of this world. Bhutto had a magnetic field around him, attracting influential figures into his domain. Bhutto challenged Capitalism by his nationalisation policy. He built government sponsored RHU (Rural Health Units) and BHU (Basic Health Units) challenging private healthcare. He went on to strengthen Pakistan's relationship with Soviet Union. In the second OIC held in Lahore, personages like Shah Fasial, Ghaddafi, and Bhutto devised a plan for setting up an Islamic Solidarity Fund which would help Muslim country to stand on their own feet (See RESOLUTION No. 6/2-1S). Bhutto vehemently denounced the US hegemonic policies and called her "The White Elephant". Yet another major development was the initiation of Pakistan nuclear program, which finally led to the creation of atomic bomb.
All these activities did challenge the capitalism of his time. In the 1970s, the world was bi-polar. Soviet Union and USA cancelled each other. Bhutto emergence as a third world charismatic leader who called US the white elephants, works for a solidarity fund, and steered Pakistan foreign policy towards Russia did give the capitalist world an headache. It is on this basis people call Bhutto's killing an international conspiracy. They argue, Zia himself never had the power to topple Bhutto. Zia was no match to Bhutto's intellect and popularity. It was Bhutto's nationalisation and independent finance policy that brought capitalism to a standstill in Pakistan. They needed to delete this hurdle, and hence Bhutto was hanged.
In his book, Notes from Death Cell, Bhutto himself hints about foreign conspiracy when he writes:
'I did not write any letters to the Indian Premier, Morarji Desai. I knew that Desai and general Zia had reached an understanding with the help of America on the need to see me out." (pg. 47)
Personally speaking, this seems to be a more of a conspiracy theory than pragmatic thinking. Socialism was the system of the day. India, Pakistan, and many NAM (Non-Align Movement) countries had socialist tendencies in their system. If Bhutto was killed, why were't other leaders killed in the same way? India's socialism was much more stable, but no prime minister was hanged there. I guess, such conspiracy theory do transform Bhutto into a mythological character, meanwhile it also diminishes the shear injustice done by the army generals and courts. If we allege US was behind all this, then there is no logic to critic General Zia and Chief Justice Anawar ul Haq. They are powerless entities infront of United State. They must follow foreign dictates.
There are chances this theory might had been propagated by the army elite itself. This reduces the burden of history of the shoulders of the generals giving them another chance to make mistakes.
But it also true that all charismatic personages where killed. Bhutto, Shah Faisal, Arafaat, and Ghaddafi; no one died of natural death. This amazing similarity between all these personalities gives impetus to the theory that Bhutto's assassination was a Capitalistic conspiracy. More research is needed to reach a final conclusion.
***
Whatever the reasons of assassination, Bhutto's charisma still lives on. Even the anti-PPP chief justice Ifthikhar Chaudry is forced to call Bhutto's trial a judicial murder. People vote on Bhutto's name, they die on Bhutto's name. Bhutto gave a second life to a shattered nation which had just lost its Eastern Wing. He brought 90,000 prisoners of war back from India, and incessantly worked to build Pakistan a nuclear bomb. Most importantly, he gave Pakistan the first constitution on which all federating units agree upon. Even Zia was forced to carry on with Bhutto's constitution when he ended the martial law, and became the President of Pakistan.
In a letter to his daughter Benazeer, Bhutto wrote:
"Man like me, these are the truly big things. You cannot be big unless you are prepared to kiss the ground. You cannot defend the soil unless you know the smell of that soil. I know the smell of our soil. I know the rhythm of our rivers. I know the beat of our drums. The theories, the dogmas and the scripts stand outside the gates of history. The dominant factor is the aspiration of the people and the ability to seek total identification with it. Once the significance of the symphony is grasped, the lines fall into place, the dogmas and theories get legs to move in time to the majesty of that music. This does not mean that I am preaching pragmatism. There is a lot of expediency in pragmatism. I am trying to trace the roots of the problems, the genesis of the challenges, the cause of the struggle." (from My Dearest Daughter: a letter from the death cell, pg 15)
Bhutto lived by his words and died by his words. He knew the rhythms of the soil, and how to make dance with it. His ideas still bring smiles on millions of low-income and middle-income families across Pakistan.
The incident of lynching an alleged blasphemer in Pakistan, sent a shrike deep down my spine. I said impromptu, "Nihilistic Fundamentalism is greatest threat to Pakistan".
Fundamentalism originated as a counter culture in the modern world. It urged people to show their back to the modern materialistic world. At a very basic level, fundamentalists interpret religious scriptures in a literal fashion, transforming the allegorical aspects of the holy scriptures into concrete modern days ideologies. They are on a mission for trying to bring back religion back at the centre stage in a world where liberalism control all aspects of human life.
This was how Fundamentalism used to be. But in today's world, Fundamentalism has taken an horrendous path which has the tendency to destroy humanity. Karen Armstrong in her seminal work, The Battle for God, calls this tendency the nihilistic aspect of fundamentalism. Such fundamentalist reject all general human trait. They desecrate life, freedom of speech, education, and they even battle against the foundational tenets of religion. These nihilists don't just desecrate their life in the name of religion; rather, they desecrate any thought which opposes them.
We can observe the consequences of Nihilistic Fundamentalism everyday in Pakistan. From the murder of Shabaz Bhutti to the assassination of Salman Taseer, from the ousting of Ahmadi children from schools to the killing of Hazara Shias. From forced marriages to forced conversions. From burning innocents alive to extraditing intellectuals. The buzzwords that iterate in all these horrendous acts are nihilism and fundamentalism. The perpetrators consider themselves as the last saviours of the religion with the duty of annihilating all symbolism which they believe to be profane. They believe that killing people will sent him to heaven and attacking worship places will bring them rewards. They think that ossifying alien ideologies is the only way to keep their ideology alive.
Nihilistic Fundamentalism is a force to reckon with. Such fundamentalists are by definition anachronistic. Their inward journey to find meaning in the modern world distorts their grab of reality. They aren't on a mystical journey to understand reality; rather they totally are disconnected from the ethos of the civilized world. Nihilistic Fundamentalism is an antithesis of the culture of love preached by the sufis and mystics in South-Asia. The 18th century Punjabi sufi poet, Bulla Shah, once said:
Tear down the mosque and temple too, break all that divides But do not break the human heart as it is there that God resides.
Copping with Nihilistic Fundamentalist
Nevertheless, we shouldn't give them an easy win. Firstly, we should appreciate how nihilistic fundamentalists think. Are they programmed to be anachronistic? Why do they live on hate? What force them to annihilate? I think, there is a serious dearth of research on this topic from the view point of the fundamentalist.
More importantly, an ideological war can only be fought with an alternate ideology. There is a need of a serious discourse to topple all the utopian ideas preached by fundamentalists in Pakistan. The vibrant electronic media in Pakistan should help in building up the public narrative against terrorism.
NATO trucks waiting at Karachi. adapted from: csmonitor.com
There is a uproar in Pakistan against the opening of the NATO supply route that Pakistan closed in the aftermath of the Salala incident. 24 Pakistani troops lost their lives exacerbating PAK-US relationships. This worsening of relationship didn't just affected the ongoing fight against terrorism, but also closed a big source of employment for Pakistanis. Thousands of hawkers, truck drivers, mechanics, workers, loaders and cooks became unemployed the day Pakistan closed the PAK-AFGHAN border in retaliation to the Salala killing. The government of Pakistan demanded an explicit apology from the the government of United States in order to re-open the vital NATO supply routes. Last night secretary of state Hilary Clinton called Pakistan's foreign minister, Hina Rabbani, and uttered the word which the government and the army were waiting to hear since 6 months — the word was, "Sorry". This magic word has given new impetus to the stagnant relationship between Pakistan and United States. It shows Pakistan's sincere commitment for it's fight against terrorism in the region.
The literature that criticise the re-opening of NATO supply routes is mostly emotional, rhetorical, populous, and logically inconsistent. People with a rightist bend are vehemently speaking against the re-opening of supply. The best summary of their logical argument is given in an article written by Zaid Hamid titled "Ten reasons why NATO supplies must never be opened!"
Presented below is a logical critic on the ten reasons elucidated by Mr. Zaid Hamid. Zaid Hamid is one of Pakistan's biggest conspiracy theorists who thinks the whole world is trying to destroy the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The reason to debunk his article is to disprove his conspiracy theory, and secondly to answer all logical inconsistency in the rightist discourse. Zaid Hamid reason is written in Italic and Orange:
1. US is building an invasion level army in Afghanistan but giving the false perception that they plan to leave by 2014. Over 3,500 armored infantry vehicles and 5000 containers of weapons stuck in Pakistan, as well as Abrams M1A1 main battle tanks are not going for ant-Taliban operations. Taliban do not have aircraft. US is taking in anti aircraft radars and guns. Do they really think we are that stupid? This military buildup is for Af-Pak military doctrine which envisions invasion of Pakistan in tandem with Indian Cold start invasion from the East once the deployed 4th generation war reaches critical levels of anarchy.
The primary question is, from where did he get all this information? Does he works for the ISI, CIA, or NSA? What are his sources? Can he quote some books or newspaper articles to explicate his point of view? Zaid Hamid simply constructs a myth by himself and then fills it up with military jargon to make is sound reasonable. Words like Abrams M1A1 main battle tanks, Indian Cold start invasion, and 4th generation war is nothing more than cliches which students use to impress their teachers in school or colleges.
During his reasoning, Mr. Hamid asks a question out of no where: Do they really think we are that stupid? I think the nation isn't stupid. It is people like you who are fooling the younger generations for years. I say, enough of this fooling around! If you can't guide than don't misguide. It was the stupidity of our policies in the 1980s when Pakistan fought against the Soviet Union. It is because of that stupidity the nation is suffering today. The greatest stupidity in the present situation is the blocking of the Durand Line. If Pakistan continues to block the border, in will only elongate US presence in the region, and will keep thousands of Pakistans unemployed. Do you call giving employment stupidity? Maybe you do, but I don't!
2. US supply line is also the supply line for non-state violent actors like TTP, BLA and other militants groups in Karachi, where hundreds of containers have been “lost” inside Pakistan and their weapons gone “missing”. TTP has killed or wounded over 100,000 Pakistanis so far in their bloody war against Pak Sarzameen and we all know that they are based in Afghanistan, protected by NATO and Karzai and backed by RAW. The Salala check post attack by NATO, which resulted in this blockade, was carried out by NATO to clear passage for the TTP insurgents.
Total distortion of facts and history. The Salala incident took place on 26th November 2011. From that date, the supply routes have been closed. On the other hand, thousands of Pakistanis have been killed by the hands of Islamic extremists and terrorists. Killing is taking place on ethnic and sectarian grounds. People are also being killed due to extortion activities. According to HRCP report around 740 people have been killed in Karachi during the last five months. Hazaras Shias are being killed everyday. This has nothing to do with the open of the supply routes. All these killings were even happening when the supply route was closed down by the government.
The Baloch people are not being support by RAW. The interior ministry has failed to produce and sort of evidence whatsover to prove Indian presence in Balochistan. The Baloch independence movement has now become a middle-class movement in which the whole spectrum of the Baloch society is participating. Rather than cursing Indian, the federation and the army must win the hearts and minds of the common Baloch.
Zaid Hamid writes: "The Salala check post attack by NATO, which resulted in this blockade, was carried out by NATO to clear passage for the TTP insurgents." . This is the funniest part of his logic. NATO helping TTP! This is nothing more than a wild conspiracy to fool the nation. Zaid Hamid premise is absolutely false, hence the conclusion he tries to derive is nothing more than the distortion of facts.
3. Give us one reason why should we be part of the illegal American war to kill Afghan Muslims? US itself is talking to Afghan Taliban and resistance for a political settlement but wants Pakistan to wage a war against them! For the last 12 years, Pakistan has been bulldozed and abused into an illegal war of occupation, just as Soviets had done in 80s. Now we are not willing to be a part of it. It’s that simple. US did not enter Afghanistan after taking our permission nor it is our responsibility to maintain their forces there. They can go to hell as far as we are concerned.
This point proves that Zaid Hamid cannot prove his perspective in a logical manner. He plays the trick that most right wingers play when they couldn't defend their point of view — they appeal to emotion. Words like 'kill Afghan Muslims', 'illegal war of occupation', ' go to hell', etc. are only emotional blackmailing to drive the nation crazy. Zaid Hamid talks about US presence in Afghanistan as if Taliban rule was the golden age of Afghanistan. Thousands of innocent people belonging to minority communities were killed in Afghanistan. Women had no rights to study, work and live according to their own will. They were forced to wear the Afghan Niqab. Life was miserable for half of the population of Afghanistan!.Only the Pastoon speaking people were happy with the Taliban rule, as the Taliban were mostly Pashtons (Joe Klein calls them the Pashtoon Liberation Army), thus protected the economic interests of their community.
After the US invasion women and children have more freedom. They can freely song, go to school, and enjoy their lives. Millions of school children can now go to schools. An educational revolution is taking place in Aghanistan, and its results will be visible in the next 10 years.
This reason ends with rhetoric which can only bring smiles on our faces. Nothing to comment on it.
4. The US war in Afghanistan has also brought the war inside Pakistan with over $90 billion worth of loses, damages, destruction to roads and transport infrastructure and over 100,000 killed or wounded so far and counting. The peanuts given to Pakistan as CSF are not more than bribes to the rulers. The entire logistical supply line was free, without any taxes, duties or compensation for the losses. Pakistani nation has only bled through this war. Not anymore. Enough.
Again the number 100,000 has nothing to do with the closure of NATO supplies. More people are killed in Pakistan by the hands of religious extremists compared to US drones. Secondly, Zaid Hamid speaks about the $90 billion dollar lose. Is closing the route an efficient method to cope up with this? Closing the supply route has only increase unemployment in Pakistan, which is only exacerbating the poor economic conditions of the country.
More importantly, the route weren't closed because of economic reasons. It was closed because 24 soldoers were killed by the NATO forces. Pakistan didn't close the route to gain economic benefits. The life of 24 soldiers in more important compared to some dollar which Zaid Hamid mentioned.
Zaid Hamid falsely remarks, "The entire logistical supply line was free". He claims to be a defences analyst, but knows nothing about transit duties being paid to Pakistan by the United States. For Zaid Hamid's information , US paid $250 per truck as transit fees. This is distortion at its best!
5. US now plan to bring India as strategic partner in Afghanistan which would create another nightmare security crisis for Pakistan. Already the Indian presence in Afghanistan has brought death and destruction to Pakistan as RAW is the main handler of TTP and BLA for the CIA. US want Pakistan to support and facilitate Indian presence in Afghanistan. They think we are crazy. Over our dead bodies. By killing the Af-Pak military doctrine, Pakistan also killed the Indian game plan in Afghanistan. US have made a terrible blunder by waging a war against Pakistan and inviting Indians to take charge in Afghanistan. Enough to make us very very angry.
Nothing new in this logic. A conspiracy theorist blabbering a new conspiracy theory. RAW, BLA, TTP, CIA, bla bla bla, US help and destruction of Pakistan, et cetera. A meaningless piece of argument.
Zaid Hamid claims US is bringing in India. He thinks as if India needs US protocol for improving relationship with Afghanistan. India is helping Afghanistan in building roads, higher education institution, parliament building, hospitals, etc. India has developed a might 'soft power' in Afghanistan. Even Taliban acknowledges India. The Afghan people are thankful to India for her help in the development of Afghanistan. India doesn't need United States as a middle-man! India isn't Ethopia or Sudan, the country has successfully forged relationship with Afghanistan on its own.
Again, Zaid Hamid ends his 5th reason with a joke, "Pakistan also killed the Indian game plan in Afghanistan". Sensible people can only guffaw at this statement.
6. Pakistan’s parliament has passed a resolution blocking all weapons supplies into Afghanistan. Now it is illegal and a crime to send weapons into Afghanistan. Pakistani nation has spoken and its verdict is sharp. No weapons to Afghanistan occupation forces ever. Not through land, not through air.
Resolutions are not binding decisions. The US also presented a resolution on free Balochistan. Hundreds of resolutions have been passed by the parliament on a wide range of topics. The purpose of a parliamentary resolution s only to underscore the topic of the month. A resolution cannot make anything legal or illegal.
For the conspiracy theorist information, the DCC (Defense Cabinet Committee) is the decision making body on all national security issues. The routes were closed on DCC's decision and are now opened on DCC's decision. The Pakistani nation speaks through the DCC, not through a leaflet with no legal value.
Secondly, weapons don't pass through Paksitan's soil to Afghanistan. Zaid Hamid knows nothing about the NATO transit between the PAK-AFGHAN border. Pakistan only helps in transporting stuff other than weaponry into Afghanistan. I think Zaid Hamid has never read a newspaper in his whole life.
Comparing a parliamentary resolution with a cabinet decision is another farce played by Zaid Hamid. Distortion at its peak!
7. US has been waging a massive drone war inside Pakistan, killing hundreds of innocent Pakistanis whose blood is cheaply ignored as “collateral damage”. US have totally refused to acknowledge Pakistan’s protests and demands that these illegal campaigns be stopped. Why should we listen to US when US is directly involved in killing our people just as TTP, BLA and other terrorist gangs?
Thousands of innocent Pakistanis have been killed by extremists and terrorists who are the combine enemy of United States and Pakistan. To be more factual, more Pakistanis have been killed in Lahore by extremists than the militants during the Indo-Pak migeration. Secondly, Drones have killed more terrorists in the FATA region compared to innocent people.
Zaid Hamid gets his information from some mystical source. Nobody knows about it. According to a Bloomberg report by Tony Cappacio and Jeff Bliss quotes,
US government sources suggesting that ever since July 2008, drone strikes in Pakistan have killed 1,300 militants and only 30 civilians, with no civilians killed since August 2010. (source: Nadeem F. Paracha's article)
Drones do violate geographical sovereignty, but it's a farce to say that more civilians are killed by drones compared to terrorists. Terrorists are nobody's people. If US is helping Pakistan in exterminating terrorism, than it's a win-win deal for both countries.
8. If the supplies are resumed, this would dangerously pitch the nation against armed forces and Pakistan Army. Pakistani armed forces are respected and loved by the people and it is the will of the people that these supplies must remain blocked. Today, dozens of officers and men of Pak army are dying each week at the hands of CIA / RAW backed terrorists. If the supplies are resumed, this number would reach to hundreds per week as insurgents and terrorists would get fresh supply of weapons and explosives.
Nothing more than wild conspiracy theory. The nation is more threatened by terrorist sanctuaries than by NATO supply routes. "pitching the nation against the army" is nothing more than a layman conjuncture.
Zaid Hamid is now simply trying to complete his ten point list. He says CIA is killing soldiers! Hasn't he seen the video in which Pakistani troops are being killed by the hands of the Taliban?! Distortion, distortion, and only distortion. This is how Zaid Hamid takes the nation on a ride!
9. Have we forgotten Dr. Afia? No we have not. US war crimes and crimes against humanity are long but none so serious as abduction, incarceration and conviction of Dr. Afia. Raymond Davis also killed our citizens, we have not forgotten the Salala massacre, Abbotabad raid was also a violation and insult to our dignity but we can never forget what US has done to an innocent mother whose life and family has been mercilessly butchered by the US. It is her revenge we take in every way we can.
How does Afia jumps in this whole issue? What is Afia to do with NATO supply? Afia is in jail for 9 years, the NATO supply has nothing to do with the imprisonment or releasing of Afia from US jail. In fact, nothing can be done about this issue. No power can surpass US judiciary. Zaid the conspiracy theorists is only playing with public emotions. A tool he knows how to use!
Calling the Abbotabad raid a violation is a strategy to digress from the main issue. That is, how was a terrorist hiding near the Kakul military academy? Was the establishment playing a double-game with United States? Why didn't ISI know about this? Rather than answering these questions, Zaid Hamid foolishly shifts the basic discourse.
10. It would be the most staggering military blunders of all times to let the enemy supplies pass through our land when it plans to invade us with the help of Indians to turn us into another Iraq and then into another Yugoslavia! We know their game now and their war against Pak sarzameen is hurting us every day. Now this nation won’t be part of their diplomatic non-sense and lies. If the rulers try to open the supplies, there would be an open armed rebellion in the country against the government.
This is simply senseless! How can re-opening supply route help Indians in turning Pakistan into Iraq or Yugoslavia. Is the author lost his mind till he reaches the last point.
Zaid Hamid is publicly forcing people on a civil disobedience movement. He has completely lost his grab on the issue, and like a losing debater, he know wants to fight with the winner. Zaid Hamid will be alone in his fight, as the nation know the benefits of re-opening the supply routes.
