| August 28, 2003 | Thursday | Jumadi-us-Sani 29, 142 |
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Private school fees
Request to Wapda
Ban on entertainment
Dr Kelly’s death
Woman’s status in Islam
Registration of servants
‘Jinnah’s sister, Fatima’
Tasman Spirit — II
Why Pakistan should send troops to Iraq
THIS refers to former ambassador Shahid Amin’s article “Some forgotten facts” (Aug 14). Mr Shahid has very conveniently forgotten the facts which led to the partition of Punjab and Bengal.
He says: “As a nation we must recall history in the correct perspective, avoid distortions and learn the right lesson from it.” Yes, we should but which lesson — the lesson of deliberately forgetting the facts that the majority Muslim provinces like Punjab and Bengal had sacrificed their majority for the sake of the Muslims of the minority provinces?
Their representation was transferred to UP, Bihar, CP and other provinces. The seats of the Muslims in UP should have been 45 but they got 66, in Bihar their share according to population was 25 seats but they were given 42 seats, in Bombay the Muslim seats were 15 and they were given 30 and so was the case of other minority provinces.
This increase in the seats of the Muslims in the minority provinces was possible only when Punjab, Bengal and other provinces had to part with their due share in the assemblies. The 56 per cent population of Punjab was allotted 86 seats, turning them into minority. Instead of having 98 seats in the house of 175, they were content with 86, never become a majority party.
Mr Shahid says: “Many in Pakistan who claim a monopoly of patriotism need to remember that in the ‘Muslim majority provinces, which now constitute Pakistan, the attitude of many towards the demand for Pakistan was less than enthusiastic ...” Punjab had non-Muslim League government until four months before Pakistan came into being.”
The forgotten fact is that the Muslim League in Punjab emerged as the single largest party with 76 seats but ... the British governor quite contrary to the democratic tradition never invited the largest party to try to form a government. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the great freedom fighter, came from Delhi and cobbled the Unionist-led coalition government of the Unionists, the Congressites and the Akalis which was practically responsible for setting the undemocratic tradition with the help of the British rulers. This government was directly responsible for the bloodbath of 1947. You still call them less enthusiastic towards the demand of Pakistan?
Another fact about this co-called enthusiasm. The success percentage of the Muslim League in the provinces was: Punjab 88.4; UP 82 and Bihar 81. Punjab got 76 out of 86, UP got 54 out of 66 and Bihar-Orissa got 34 out of 42 Muslim seats.
I fully agree with Mr Shahid’s remarks: “It is strange that, forgetting the historical record, there are those who take all the credit for the creation of Pakistan while forgetting the sacrifices of the Muslims left behind in India.” Who mainly claims the credit ... from Liaquat Ali Khan down to MQM and Mr Shahid himself. Who left and forgot the sacrifices of the Muslims left in India? Liaquat Ali, Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, Nawab Siddique and Naqvis, Zuberis, Jafris, Khans, Syeds and Mirzas?
And the only assembly which supported the Pakistan was that of Sindh. These are also bitter facts and should not be forgotten, Mr Shahid.
S. U. KHAN
Lahore
I ADMIRE the excellent article “Some forgotten facts” by Mr Shahid M. Amin. I believe that two points highlighted by the writer may form the subject of a doctoral thesis, which are:
(1) That religious parties have ‘hijacked’ the ideological moorings of Pakistan after having bitterly opposed the creation of Pakistan and Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal during the pre-partition independence struggle, and
(2) Muslims living in the minority areas of India participated in the freedom movement knowing full well that they would be uprooted from their ancestral homes.
Taking the second point, it is regretted that we Pakistanis have betrayed Indian Muslims now being butchered in Kashmir and Gujarat by bigoted Hindus. Even the most pacifist Hindus talk of “cross-border” terrorism but have connived at the war crimes in East Pakistan when Bharat violated international law by sending their armed forces to break Pakistan into two. These Indian peaceniks also ignore the acts of their deputy prime minister and home minister (Mr Advani) who masterminded the most heinous crime of destruction of Babri Mosque, which has now been proved that it was not built on the ruins of any Ram Mandir.
Now we Pakistanis can atone for our indifference to Indian Muslims (we have already ditched Pakistanis in Bangladesh) by not creating any hindrances for many Indian Muslims who wish to obtain nationality of Pakistan. I know many instances that Indian Muslims wishing to marry Pakistan girls complain about the difficulties in obtaining Pakistani nationality, which has happened after the law of citizenship was passed in 1950.
I appeal to President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada and Muttahida Qaumi Mahaz members of parliament (who now matter in Pakistan) to pass a law to amend the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1950, facilitating the Indian Muslims to obtain Pakistan nationality without much fuss and procedural snags.
This would be a balm for the bruised sensibilities of Indian Muslims whose ancestors consciously voted for Pakistan knowing their bleak future in the now saffornized Bharat where bigots rule the roost. It would be an expression of Pakistan gratitude to our Muslim brethren in India where they are facing communal hatred, discrimination and persecution, latest attempt being made to enforce a uniform civil code, in supercession of centuries-old personal law of Muslims and other minorities.
ABDUL SAEED KHAN GHORI
Karachi
BECAUSE of low standard of government schools, private schools have their monopoly in Pakistan, said the news report headlined “Private school fees” (Aug 17). Being a teacher, I have enough experience of these private schools which I want to share with your readers.
Without being monitored and regulated by the government, every school has its own structure of fees which are regularly increased. Apart from fees, a handsome amount is to be paid by the parents in the name of annual charges, tuition fee, security charges, transportation, donations and annual functions.
In addition, the parents are made to buy course books and copies, journals and even stationery items from the school’s bookshop at nearly double rates and no concession. The parents are told to buy the uniform from the recommended shops so as to cope with the changes made in the uniform almost after every two years. Again, the prices are kept very high.
In the name of recreational and extra-curricular activities, thousands of rupees are to be paid out of the guardian’s wallet. Another interesting thing is the introduction of new methods and international techniques of teaching, enough to enchant the parents. This method too demands vigour of the parents. For example, if there is written “swim-suit” or “batman” in a book, then, just to have practical exposure, children are asked to bring one the very next day.
But when it comes to the studies, the standard is stumpy. There are the so-called Cambridge schools where the students cannot even speak English properly and are not able to write a single sentence correctly.
Despite these devastating facts and deteriorating condition of the schools, parents are coerced into relying on these schools as they do not have alternatives. If there were the state-owned school providing quality education, why parents have had to bother with the private ones? How can a nation like ours flourish which has made education the money-spinning industry?
SABEEN JAMIL
Karachi
WHEN the East India Company came to the subcontinent, it first destroyed all the local economic activity and then spread its laws and authority to all areas until the whole country lay under its suzerainty. We cannot, of course, expect such attitude from our own companies.
In response to my request, very graciously published by the national press, for shifting of 11 KV lines from over my plot and over those of many others, I have received a letter, dated 4.8.2003, from the Wapda House, Lahore, informing me that since at the time of laying those lines this area was outside the city (and the city was never supposed to expand?), so an amount of Rs59,000 must be deposited if those wires are to be removed.
No gainsaying that it is impossible for any individual to come up with that kind of money. Furthermore, the shifting of those wires will not be beneficial to me alone but for a whole segment of society. I request the ministry (though, unfortunately, according to press reports the ministry and Wapda are currently not on good terms) to provide that sum to solve this problem. Such a move will also help in extension of Muzaffargarh beyond Farid Colony and reduce housing shortage of this neglected district city.
I also request Wapda authorities to adopt a nationalistic, rather than self-centred, outlook as it is but our own national company and it should not see people as an adversary to be kept at bay but as fellow-citizens who need help and compassion. Moreover, it must make allowance in its working philosophy for future housing expansion requirements of all regions.
DR J. A. KHAN
Muzaffargarh
THE commitment and passion with which the cable operators have heroically jumped into the suicidal stunt which is to ‘deprive 200,000 people of their jobs’ for the sake of Indian entertainment channels to continue being watched reminds me of the truth in Sonya Gandhi’s words when she said: “We have won the cultural war over Pakistan through our media’s hold over the minds of the Pakistanis”. Nothing could be truer. I commend the gusto with which the cable operators are out to ‘satisfy the needs’ of the viewers. But I just wonder what ‘needs’ these could be — the ‘need’ to gratify the carnal lusts through cheap ‘entertainment’?
And I cannot see the point in making public opinion so instrumental in this case. This is a matter of simple ‘wrong’ and ‘right’ — those absolute, unvarying terms — and it seeks definition from the universal moral code we all know. The defining criterion is not the opinions of a public so deluded and brainwashed by the media onslaught.
This media onslaught, and the very culpable recklessness with which it has till now been allowed to take its toll, has, after all, taken its heavy toll. We have lost the criterion which can define for us what is truly good and what is not. How then can the opinions of an intellectually besieged populace be made decisive in such matters?
If your people have stopped thinking straight, educate them into self-awareness. Give them their identity and their sense of pride for being themselves. Give them a national, a moral consciousness that takes inspiration from their own religious values. Let them think and be capable of generating a public opinion that can make itself heard, that can cast its weight. And for this purpose, believe me, giving them all the colourful ‘entertainment’ of Indian channels, which sends a few cheap thrills down the spine will not be a lot of help.
MOMINA SAIF UL ISLAM
Lahore
THIS refers to the letter by Col (R) Riaz Jafri (Aug 8). In my estimation, only truth compelled Dr Kelly to die rather than tell a lie. Whether he committed suicide or someone murdered him is not our business, and the British government is already investigating the matter. What is relevant for us is that he sacrificed his life, in his precious advanced age, for the golden principle of truth instead of salvaging the sinking political ship of Mr Tony Blair.
He was not made of the same stuff of which we are when we sell our conscience for a few rupees for sending men of our own faith to the gallows or for getting a reward. We, Muslims, from the deepest corner of our heart salute the late Dr Kelly in his eternal abode, who adhered to his strong belief, not for any Christian country but for the Muslim Iraq.
A. REHMAN SHAH
Hyderabad
THIS refers to the ongoing debate about woman’s status in Islam. I fully agree with Dr Mahnaz Fatima that there are much wider issues to tackle in a society like ours that is plagued with every kind of injustice, for both men and women alike. For example, it is a ‘hari’ (hired farmer) in a typical Pakistani village setting who has to treat his landlord as god.
Or, is a prisoner in any jail held for false charges and denied any justice any better than a woman suffering in prison or at the hands of her husband or whatsoever social element? The answer is simply ‘No’. It is time we started talking about structural and social reforms and a system based on fundamental right for every citizen rather than wasting our times on gender rights.
NAZIA AZFAR
Hainseville, IL, USA
THIS is with reference to news-item “People told to register servants with police” (Dawn, Aug 25). Following specific instructions by Sindh police chief Syed Kamal Shah, the police have launched a campaign to inform people about pre-emptive and precautionary measures to help prevent crime.
While appreciating the advice to shopkeepers and office owners to keep in the touch with their neighbours through bulb signs, bells or any other modes enabling them to convey their message of distress, it is a bitter truth to realize that TT pistols in the hands of criminals keep the on-lookers at bay. Immediate contact with Madadgar 15 hardly results in timely arrival of the police, the root-cause being attributed to lack of conveyance etc.
The instance of looting several shops by 3pm (Aug 21) at Sunset Commercial Street No. 2 was a glaring example reported to have been brought to the notice of the police. What happens now is “to lock the stable-door when the steed is stolen”. Squads of police are seen belated, for two or so days but hardly any police thereafter.
Scores of consecutive burglaries in Defence IV have recently been reported, mostly during outings of the residents. Flats and bungalows are not spared even when the residents are present. Hardly any cases are reported to the police because doing so does not redress the grievances. Instead, it causes inconvenience or harassment to the complainant.
Robberies, burglaries and other crimes could be curbed should it be made possible for honest and efficient law-enforcement agencies to play a vital role in this regard.
HAJI ESSA KATCHI
Karachi
REFERENCE is made to Janbaz H. Jafri’s letter of Aug 26.
Ideology: He should refer to the New Larousse Encyclopaedia.
Fatima Jinnah: He should refer to p-143 of the book recently published by the National Book Foundation, entitled Fatima Jinnah (Life and Works, by Dr Agha Hussain Hamadani, from which the quote was directly taken. May I suggest he take the matter up with the learned Dr Hamadani?
ARDESHIR COWASJEE
Karachi
MR Saadat Yar Khan in his letter of Aug 26 states that my ‘article is incorrect’ (i.e. my column, ‘Tasman Spirit — II’ of Aug 24).
He should refer to The News of Aug 22, page 2, news item headed ‘Tasman Spirit fiasco: for more parties become intervenors’, paragraph 1.
ARDESHIR COWASJEE
Karachi
THE US is desperately trying to muster support from various countries over its continued occupation of Iraq and to commit them to send troops as peacekeepers. All this is being done to ensure that its actions gain the approval of the wider world, and to reinforce their justification for the war on Iraq, which has been in serious doubt from the very beginning.
Pakistan has been in the limelight over this issue recently and is being pressured by the US to send its troops to Iraq to support the US operations there. Pakistan has yet to formally accept or reject this request, but any future strategy on part of Gen Musharraf and the army must be based keeping in mind our country’s potential gain from this deployment.
Pakistan should negotiate a lucrative financial deal with the US on return of its troop deployment, with the inclusion of written-off debts and getting F16s or some newer fighters for our air force. If the Pakistan troops are eventually deployed in Iraq, they would have a very difficult, thought not an impossible, task at hand. With delicate and careful planning, the troops could play a vital a role in containing the volatile and fast- deteriorating situation there.
Pakistan should send its troops not as “another occupying force” aiding the overstretched, tired and de-moralized US troops, but as peacekeepers from a friendly Muslim nation, who would have come in aid of the suffering Iraqis. The sole purpose of our troops stationed there should be to help Iraqis, re-build their shattered and devastated country, and this mission statement should be emphasized repeatedly by the Pakistan government, specially through media outlets such as Al-Jazeera. In addition to this, taking into confidence countries like Iran and Syria prior to the troop deployment would prove to be a crucial success factor.
The troops should not arrive in full combat gear with helmets, but wearing peacetime berets with minimal display of firepower. This tactic of swapping berets for helmets, used by the British advance forces in Basra during the first few weeks of the conflict, helped them to gain control of the region without significant hostility from the common people.
Right from the outset, it should be made clear that Pakistan troops would not take part in any combat missions alongside the US forces, specially raids on civilian homes in search of Saddam and others on their hit list. On the contrary, our troops would only be there to take part in purely humanitarian activities alongside UN and relief agencies, such as ensuring consistent delivery of food, water, etc. This would ensure that the elements opposed to the US occupation would not target the Pakistan troops during their raids on US forces.
Being Muslims, the Pakistan troops should attend prayers at local mosques rather than remain confined to their barracks. This would enable them to interact with the general population and thus have an excellent opportunity to remove any misconceptions about their presence in Iraq. They would also be able to pinpoint day-to-day problems that these people are facing due to the collapse of vital infrastructure. Our troops should take into confidence the local imams to deliver their goodwill intentions, thereby avoiding any hostile messages being spread by the clergy at a local level, which could severely hamper the Pakistan mission.
Today, Pakistan is faced with tough choices but at the same time an opportunity has risen to show the world that we are capable of handling this tricky situation, and that its presence in Iraq would lead to positive outcome, not just for the Iraqis but for the entire Ummat.
DR SHAAZ MAHBOOD
Uxbridge, UK
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