| September 29, 2002 | Sunday | Rajab 21, 1423 |
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WTC: punishing the culprits
Islamic rule in India
Sovereignty comes first
Degree-awarding status
Beggary menace
Election expenditure
Liberation of Northern Areas
Ideas 2002
Statue of liberty
Protecting wildlife
Bush in contempt of the United Nations
I WOULD like to add a few details to the historical perspective of letters exchanged in your paper on Jinnah’s viceregal role.
Gandhi was disowned by Jawaharlal Nehru, his heir and Sardar Patel, the strongman of Congress, when they forced partition by equivocating over the Cabinet Mission Plan after Jinnah had accepted it.
The concept of Indian nationalism, a European import, was contrary to the genius and history of the subcontinent which had been divided and sub-divided territorially between ruling dynasties, foreign and naturalized, for many thousand years. But the Harrow and Cambridge educated Jawaharlal had no clue about it despite his discovery of India.
Jawaharlal was the last viceroy of the Indian empire, significantly aided and abetted by Mountbatten, whom he rewarded for his services, personal service to him and his cause. Jawaharlal’s viceregal model, presumably, was Lord Curzon.
The concept of more than one Qaum within a brotherhood Mulki Bhai, Sir Syed’s idea, was not entertained by Congress because Nehru was possessed by the grand design of personally shaping India into a revival of the Gupta empire. The vision of BJP and Hindutva of the Sangh Parivar, is the Indian nation of Gandhi and Nehru in its monolithic manifestation. This is what it was to be, and what it is!
AKBAR NAQVI
Karachi
REFERENCE is made to the letters written by Brig (r) A. R. Siddiqi, Mr S. M. Zafar, Prof Anwar Syed and Mr Irtiza Hussain.
The point implied in the expression ‘chose to use his viceregal power’ is that the Quaid-i-Azam in the case under reference acted not on the advice of the prime minister but in his own discretion. Legality was not under discussion. Of course, the action was in accordance with the Government of India Act 1935, adopted as Constitution of Pakistan as an interim measure.
Whatever the exigencies then and explanations now, the fact is that it did set a precedent for the later day appointees to ride roughshod over elected institutions of the state.
M. ZAFAR
Karachi
IT was the afternoon of a sunny day of August 2002. From Princeton, New Jersey, we had driven to New York. Reaching the site of the fallen towers of World Trade Centre was not difficult. It was thronged by tourists from all over the world. Their cameras clicked continuously.
The place was cordoned off with the fence of wire, covered with curtain cloth which was torn or removed at certain points from where the onlookers joined their heads to have a better and clear view of the Ground Zero.
The security staff pushed no one. They were polite. It seemed that the government wanted that all should feel and realize the intensity and magnitude of the tragedy.
The debris and rubble of the smashed towers had been cleared. Standing behind the fence, I found it difficult to imagine that a few years ago, I had gone on top of one of the towers and surveyed the great and grand city of New York.
People around were expressionless and mute feelings dominated. About 3,000 innocent people had perished in the catastrophe.
Sometime one feels that God has ordained that the number of innocent people to be perished in wars and other catastrophic events will always exceed far the number of criminals and the guilty.
Two or three Japanese or a few might have decided to bombard the Pearl Harbour naval base during the World War-II but the retaliation in targeting Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear arsenal mercilessly eliminated hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children.
The decisions which started World War I and II might have been taken by two or three rulers of Europe but they eliminated millions of innocent people.
The conspiracy to carry out dastardly attacks on twin-towers of the World Trade Centre might have been hatched by a dozen or so persons but the retaliation brought a similar disaster to Afghanistan.
When will the world know how and when to punish the real culprit... without harming the innocent? Nobody knows!
TANVIR AHMED
Karachi
THE killings of Christians in broad-daylight in the middle of Karachi’s bustling district on Sept 25 is yet another horrific example of the government’s failure in protecting minorities.
In fact, the world today is plagued by the persecution of minorities. In the homelands of democracy in the West, violence, discrimination and persecution upon Afro-Caribbeans, Hispanics, South Asians, Muslims, Jews and other minorities is so common that it is almost accepted as part of life. Two of the most discriminatory states, India and Israel, are secular democracies where minorities have been persecuted regularly for over 50 years.
Practically, it is Islam’s ruling system that is unmatched by secular democracy in producing harmony amongst peoples.
A Jewish citizen had won his right against the Caliph Hazrat Ali. In the times of the Hazrat Umar, the Christians of Syria prayed for the Muslims to be victorious over the Roman Christians. During the Crusades, the Christian citizens of the Islamic state joined the Islamic army to fight against the European Christian invaders.
In India, too, the Islamic rule had a great success in looking after non-Muslims. Although the Hindu historians and Muslim apologists today try to present Muslim rule in India as just another form of imperialism, the reality is that the best time for ethnic and sectarian harmony in the Indian subcontinent was under Islamic rule. Before the British rule, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims lived together peacefully under the rule of Islam enjoying security to their life, property and honour.
People of all faiths, desiring return of harmony and progress to the society, must turn away from democracy and work for the re-establishment of the Khilafat.
DR ABDUL WAJID
Lahore
THE importance of health, education and socio-economic issues cannot be over-emphasised, but national integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan are no less important.
The problem of Kashmir, in my opinion, is not the cause but the result of the hostility of our eastern neighbour, who has never accepted our existence.
For it, the problem is not Kashmir only but also the whole of Pakistan and it has made a successful attempt in aiding and abetting the secession of former East Pakistan.
It would be an over-simplification of the problem to assume that a compromise on Kashmir cause will improve our relations and there will be no need to spend on defence.
The problem is a more complex one and that is why the ambassadors of Hindu-Muslim unity had to modify their perceptions and demand a separate homeland to thwart the hegemonic designs of the enemy and preparedness to respond to any external aggression requires acquisition and maintenance of defence capabilities and we are spending our resources for national integrity and sovereignty.
I do not think that we are engaged in a war in Kashmir. Instead, the presence of the Indian army there is no secret. We can compromise on our bread and butter and we can compromise on our lives but how can we compromise on our independence? We do not compromise on courage.
MUHAMMAD SHAHZAD
Lahore
I HAVE recently completed my Master’s from Kinnaird College, Lahore. I, like my fellow-students, am concerned about the degree-awarding status of the college and would like to get my degree soon. However, this issue has not made me change my opinion about the quality of education that I received at the post-graduate level at Kinnaird. The increasing number of students applying to Kinnaird’s post-graduate programme every year, despite knowing its degree-awarding status, attests to this.
I studied both environmental sciences and mass communication at the Master’s level at Kinnaird. The variety and breadth of courses offered in each programme as well as the level of effort required from each student was, frankly, much greater than I could have gotten anywhere else.
The emphasis on practical work (this includes compulsory internships) is a focal point of both programmes. Being semester-based, the programmes require students to work regularly throughout the year to attain good results, unlike the regular annual system in most institutions, where cramming down a whole year’s work in the last few weeks leading up to the exams, gets one through.
I am now going to the University of Oxford on a scholarship to do further post-graduate work in environmental sciences. I am the only Pakistani student to have been granted admission in my course to the Oxford University this year. I think that says a lot about the level of education being imparted at Kinnaird.
I request the government to solve the issue of the degree-awarding status of Kinnaird as soon as possible as we truly deserve it, and I would also request my fellow-students to think twice before maligning their Alma Mater publicly in the future.
MUNA S. A. BAIG
Lahore
THE presence of beggars in the shopping areas and at traffic signals is a matter of shame for all of us. They are professional beggars and must be removed.
The government has the resources and authority to deal with this ugly situation. The city administration should round up all the beggars and take them away to a place 100kms off Karachi for their rehabilitation.
A big dormitory should be built to house them. Medical care should be provided to them free of charge within the dormitory. They should be engaged in some gainful employment to become useful citizens.
M. M. KHAN
Karachi
ONE cannot understand the instructions issued by the Election Commission regarding expenses for election. What is the method to check and control the expenses of the candidates?
By the prevailing methods, no one can be caught by the Election Commission for crossing the limit of expenses. And it is better to be without laws that are not enforceable.
AZHAR KHALIQUE
Hyderabad
THE Dawn report on the visit to Pakistan by Major Brown’s widow to deliver to the government the documents related to the liberation of Gilgit and Northern Areas has rightly invoked appreciation of your informed readers. These documents will no doubt help write an integrated history of the liberation as well as the accession of Hunza and Nagar states to Pakistan.
General Iskander Mirza’s participation and role in the saga has yet to be told and acknowledged.
Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, in his book The Emergence of Pakistan, has cryptically referred to his role in these words: “In response to a request to take over the administration (of Gilgit and Northern Areas), the Pakistan government flew a representative to Gilgit on November 14, 1947.”
In his memoirs, Iskander Mirza has disclosed that he flew to Gilgit along the most hazardous route in exceedingly dangerous weather conditions in order to accomplish the mission of establishing the writ of the Pakistan government in Gilgit and Northern Areas.
Iskander Mirza has paid glowing tributes to the Political Agent, Muhammad Aslam Khan, and the bomb disposal officer for their bravery during the bombing of Gilgit by Indian Air Force planes.
S. AFZAL HUSAIN ZAIDI
Islamabad
THIS is with reference to the letter ‘IDEAS 2002’ by Mr Munir Ahmed Mirjat (Sept 24). He has pointed out a vital issue concerning our economy.
Our consumer goods’ market is completely dominated by multinational giants, mostly owned by Jews. They are making huge revenues for their mother countries and their community.
I’d like to request local investors to come forward and help keeping our money inside our country.
FARHAN A. KHAN
Karachi
AFTER 9/11, the US has enacted several laws which overwhelmingly deprive its citizens and other residents of their personal liberties. Such legislation include those related to arrest for an indefinite period without assigning any reason and disallowing any contact of the detainees with their lawyers, etc.
The point to ponder is how to describe the present status of the statue of liberty, or of liberty itself?
Z. A. KAZMI
Karachi
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the wildlife department towards the dwindling variety of wildlife in Pakistan.
The population of wildlife and also its variety is decreasing at an alarmingly fast rate. The major reasons are rural development work such as road construction, urbanization, industrialization and extensive irrigated agriculture with heavy use of insecticides, besides the increasing human population. But the most important factor is the excessive and indiscriminate shooting of wildlife.
Among all animals, birds are most mobile and keep on migrating in search of suitable sites for their survival and reproduction, during different seasons. The best example of migration into Pakistan is that of ducks which come in the autumn and spend the winter here. In spring, they migrate back to the north and spend their summer in relatively cold areas. When these birds reach our country, they are shot as a game.
Illegal shooting of wildlife is increasingly becoming common and that is why various species are fast disappearing. The wildlife department should take concrete measures against this to protect the precious vanishing species.
SARDAR ALI SHAH
Hyderabad
IN every civilized society, courts of law and lawmaking institutions are protected against contempt. Any frivolous, vicious, spiteful or discourteous comment by any citizen, howsoever highly placed, will invite instant prosecution for contempt. If the parliament’s paramountcy is questioned even by implication, contempt proceedings will be instituted against the offender.
The world has now to decide the status of the United Nations, its General Assembly and the Security Council. One cannot think of any reason why the UN General Assembly be not considered the parliament of the world and hence entitled to all the respect, privileges and protection that is assured to the parliament of any member state.
One is breaking no news by asserting that the United States of America has proved to habitually unmindful of this etiquette. It has spoken of, and behaved with the UN — the General Assembly, the Security Council and so many of the UN subsidiaries —, in what seems to be a deliberate attempt to hold the world body in utter, unrelieved contempt.
Remember Ronald Reagan had once said he would love to see the United Nations sink beyond the New York sunset.
Examples of such solecism and indiscretions run into hundreds. Look at the latest: the Security Council passed a resolution, expressly forbidding members from certain action in Palestine.
First, the US did not have the courage to vote. It took the line of moral impotence, abstaining from voting. That made the Security Council resolution tantamount to unanimous.
President Bush brusquely told the whole world that “If the UN would not act, US would.”
Apart from political impropriety, this is clearly a case of highly dubious personal manners on the part of a man who heads the most powerful member of the world community. In addition, it is a declaration of revolt against, amounting utter contempt of, the United Nations.
Of late, US President Bush has chosen to act and speak with an arrogance that is sheer bad manners. Such unprovoked insolence accords ill with the status, power and dignity of the most powerful nation of our times. Above all, the US should learn to have due respect for the United Nations that represents not only the wisdom of the entire world, its self-respect and pride but also its hope for the future.
Fellow citizens of the world, let me invite you to start worrying over the thought that in the hands of a man as volatile and temperamental as George Bush lies the power to annihilate this planet and all that exists in it in one afternoon. I repeat: in one afternoon. This is no exaggeration.
From now on, the peoples of our direly imperilled planet and the leaders of the world should start thinking how to rein in the US President before he goes completely haywire.
There is a clear case for calling a special session of the UN General Assembly to consider how to deal with the persistent disrespect and disregard the Bush White House is heaping upon the United Nations. It would be totally facetious to see this as any different from a calculated and persistent insult to the entire world community.
A. B. S. JAFRI
Karachi
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