| 17 December 2004 | Friday | 04 Ziqa'ad 1425 |
Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link
'No water under the keel'
Hijab issue
Two-nation theory
Guarantees of freedom
National sports centre
BBC and militants
Lata and Asha
Bike menace
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This is in response to Mr H. Haider's letter "Myth of Muslim bloc vote" (Nov 30). Mr Haider is our colleague working in the American Muslim Alliance and has every right to differ with the stance taken officially and democratically by almost all major Muslim organizations of the US. This is a welcome opportunity to discuss the status and direction of American Muslim politics.
The Muslims of the US have been en bloc turned into second-class citizens in the aftermath of 9/11. They have been subjected to arbitrary treatment by the security and immigration officials as a consequence of the drastic changes in security laws and regulations that have been deemed to be against the spirit of the Constitution and civil polity. Since 9/11 they have been seeking a full restoration of civil liberties and human rights for all.
But the American Muslims, who constitute less than two per cent of the American population (roughly the same ratio as Christians in Pakistan), were faced with two main political parties: one responsible for the backlash against Muslims and thus openly hostile, and the other critical of the many policies suppressing minorities' rights, and thus lukewarm.
While the Republicans knew what they had done to earn the wrath of the Muslim community, they were trying to split the Muslim vote. The Democrats, on the other hand, were expecting to capitalize on the situation and get the bulk of the vote without making any clear commitment through negotiations, quid pro quo, or public acknowledgement.
The challenge for the Muslim leadership was therefore to fashion a response calibrated in exact measure to the situation at hand and they did exactly that. A bloc vote is certainly different from a popular vote.
Many people voting for the same candidate but for different reasons constitute a popular vote while a sizeable majority of the community (70 per cent or higher) voting together for a common purpose based on a negotiated framework is what characterizes a bloc vote.
The American Muslim Taskforce (AMT) was formed to democratically guide the community on elections and related affairs. It did not alienate the Republican administration; it was already alienated.
Muslims had nothing to lose by casting their votes against the Bush administration except their chains, both literal and figurative, but during this process they gained the rich experience of organizing and expressing themselves.
Democrats, on the other hand, were obviously pleased with the AMT endorsement. That is why the Democrats planning to run in 2006 are already contacting Muslim groups for their support. Obviously the candidates don't ask who you voted for the last time; they ask you who you are going to vote for next time.
The AMT's decision on Oct 21 this year was a landmark in the history of the American Muslim community inasmuch as it demonstrated that the bloc vote in 2000 was not a fluke.
It also demonstrated that the Muslim bloc vote was unmistakably linked to demands for the restoration of civil liberties and human rights for all. After all, without developing the concept of a bloc vote, how could the American Muslims reflect and highlight their grievances in a polarized situation?
Here is how the BBC reported the Muslim bloc vote: "In addition to the Washington Post endorsement, Mr Kerry has also won the backing of leaders of America's seven million-strong Muslim community. However, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections criticized him for failing to commit to a broad civil rights agenda."
Regardless of the outcome of the election, the AMT has been able to gain world wide coverage for its demands for equal justice. That by itself is a major achievement as the coverage is for highlighting the demand for the full restoration of civil liberties particularly for the Muslim community and not merely for Muslim organizations themselves.
The independent Zogby poll commissioned by Georgetown University recorded that 81 per cent of American Muslims supported the AMT's election plan and the strongest support came from the African American Muslims.
On the other hand, all post-election statistics have indicated that 93 per cent of Muslim voters polled for Kerry and six per cent for Nader, while only one per cent stood behind Bush.
If one is to judge the efficacy of a bloc vote by Kerry's loss, then the Muslim vote was no less effective than those 55 million Americans who voted for Sen Kerry, including 89 per cent blacks and 76 per cent Jews.
The American Muslim community can garner the first benefit of its qualified yet highly disciplined support for John Kerry by joining hands with Sen Edward Kennedy, who had personally pleaded with the Muslim leadership to vote for Sen Kerry, American Muslims and their civil libertarian allies can organize a potentially policy-altering debate during the upcoming confirmation hearings for Alberto Gonzales, the attorney general-designate.
There is currently a strong feeling around for the case of the American Muslim community and even a moderate reduction in official harassment of American Muslims will be considered a gain since a quantitative change by hammering the content is required to precede a qualitative change in form. Nothing to lose but a strong chance to gain would doubt lessly be taken as the most prudent game for the American Muslims.
G. MUJTABA
Surrey BC, Canada
Khokhrapar-Munabao rail link
Before independence people going by rail from Karachi to Mumbai had to change trains twice. They first had to change at Hyderabad from the broad-gauge N. W. Railway train to the metre-gauge Jodhpur Railway and then at Ahmedabad to the broad-gauge train again of the Bombay-Baroda and Central India Railway.
This journey now would involve the same two changes at Mirpurkhas at Munabao because the track has been altered in both Pakistan and India. The change of gauge in India only made for easy access to the Pakistan border.
The history and background of the change from broad to metre-gauge beyond Hyderabad before the NWR handed over the section to Jodhpur Railway is detailed on page 12 of Hundred Years of Pakistan Railways (1962).
In 1974 I inspected all three metre-gauge sections of the NWR by meter-trolley. I intended to submit a proposal to dismantle all metre-gauge and narrow-gauge sections.
The narrow-gauge sections were constructed in the NWFP and Balochistan for the control of Afghanistan and tribal areas. Narrow-gauge wagons cannot carry modern field armaments and since political conditions have changed considerably after independence retaining them is unjustified.
The dismantled lengths could be converted into roads for surrounding villages. Out of the three metre-gauge sections, only the Jhudo loop was commercially viable. If the Mirpurkhas Khokhrapar section (up to the border) is converted into broad-gauge for a Karachi-Bombay train journey, it will be necessary to convert the remaining two sections also to broad-gauge or abolish them completely.
It will not be possible to use them as metre-gauge because of the track's poor condition and the over half-a-century-old rolling stock. The Mirpurkhas Chhor track section was in very good condition in 1974 but has not been adequately used since then.
H. A. HAJI
Karachi
'No water under the keel'
This is apropos of Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee's "No water under the keel" (Nov 28). Seth Mohammad Ali Habib, who founded the Habib Bank on Aug 7, 1941, in Bombay (Mumbai), was in Karachi and not with Mr Cowasjee's respected father, Rustom Cowasjee, in London, negotiating to charter vessels, on Independence Day on Aug 14, 1947.
Seth Ali Habib reached there a few days after Aug 14, as given to me by Kaki Captain who was also on the team in London. Mr Cowasjee relies on the published memoirs of the late Kassim Bhai Dada, A Ramble through Life. But he has also transcribed the introduction. Kassim Dada had invited my father, Haji Bhai Esmail Dossa, and me for the launch of A Ramble through Life at our mutual friend Sadru Hashwani's hotel in Karachi.
Kassim Dada personally attested the volume for my father that is in my library. My father read A Ramble through Life and observed that his friend Kassim Bhai had made a slip when he said that the patriarch of the Khoja Isna'asheri's community, Seth Mohammad Ali Habib, was in London on Aug 14, 1947, because he was actually at a Karachi Club banquet hosted by its members for Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on the night of Aug 14, 1947.
The author graciously conceded that my father's recollection was correct. Indeed, he maintained, Seth Mohammad Ali Habib was in Karachi on Aug 14, 1947. Kassim Dada related that it was not the Seth but his wife, Sakkar Khanum Bai Mohammad Ali, who had witnessed Pakistan's flag unfurl at the opening of the Pakistan embassy in Knightsbridge, London, on Aug 14, 1947.
Kassim Dada and Rustom Cowasjee were among the invitees. Sakkar Khanum Mohammad Ali Habib pulled the string and the flag of Pakistan fluttered in the air of London, to the cheers of the celebrating audience.
MOHAMMED AZIZ HAJI DOSSA
Karachi
Hijab issue
This is in response to Misbah Nomani's view on hijab, "The Hijab Issue: A Secular View" (Dec 10). I would like to question the writer's baseless relation between veiled women and increased violence against them.
The people of areas cited by the writer- such as interior Sindh - are mostly victims of their own cultural demands and restraints. Similarly, the women there wear the veil not out of choice but out of custom.
On the other hand, there is a strong and proven co-relation between the way women dress and violence against them; the more exposed they are, the greater the violence.
Discussing and giving our opinion and interpretation of what is stated in the Holy Quran is simply speaking without knowledge and making a mockery of the God we claim to believe in.
If we are Muslims, or profess to be, we have to surrender to the will of Allah. Allah points out in Surah Al-Noor (verses 30-31) which men women can and cannot display their beauty and ornaments to.
Common sense tells us why this differentiation has been made. Clearly, there is a distinction between men of the family and men of the streets. The writer stated that with time purdah has been used to victimize and exploit women.
But violence against them has increased due to many factors such as the disintegration of moral values and ignorance of the essence of Islam. This should not be blamed on the command of Allah in Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 59, where ALL believing women are commanded to cover themselves when they leave their houses.
DR FIRDOUS ROOHI
Islamabad
Two-nation theory
My letter of Nov 27 has invoked some interest. A healthy debate is always welcome. But your correspondents are confusing two different issues: historical facts and the merits and demerits of a historical event. Historical facts cannot be denied whether one likes or dislikes them but people can always have different opinions on what took place.
I must repeat once again that nowhere in the history of the Pakistan Movement was it envisaged that a mass migration of Muslims would take place. The emphasis was on the areas of Muslim majority. This was not an ideal solution but perhaps a possible and attainable solution. I still feel that mass migration was not a practical solution for the following reasons:
1. You would need to work out number of households needed by the total Muslim population of the subcontinent and then give an enlarged area to Pakistan that would have that many households - for example, by including East Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and parts of UP.
2. Not only the above but also the households would have to be the correct mixture of rural, urban and suburban types.
3. You would have needed to work out land holdings and other landed properties on both sides of the border.
4. You would then have to persuade all non-Muslims in enlarged Pakistan to migrate to India.
5. You would also have to persuade all Muslims to migrate to Pakistan. I can assure you that they were not ready to do it. I migrated from East Punjab and I know it as a matter of fact that while we were sad at being excluded from Pakistan, there was no one even thinking of migrating.
It was only after Aug 10, 1947, that people were forced to move at gunpoint. Even then, most people hoped to return to their homes after a few months when things cooled down. Surely, the whole Muslim population of the subcontinent and an equal number of non-Muslims could not be moved at gunpoint.
6. You would then have to convince all Hindus, Muslims and the British government to accept this weird proposal.
7. The migration of refugees in 1947 was the biggest migration in human history. Luckily, millions of empty households were available in Pakistan, otherwise refugees would have stayed in tents for generations.
The Pakistani nation should be ever grateful to the Muslims of the minority provinces for their great sacrifices. Why did they support the creation of Pakistan? It was the same spirit in which they supported the Khilafat movement in 1920s or the way they support the Muslims of Palestine today.
They were not thinking of migrating to Turkey or Palestine. I salute them for their selfless struggle for Pakistan. It is a great irony of history but their forefathers who were great pioneers and entrepreneurs did not have a crystal ball when they accepted the challenge of settling in distant pastures centuries ago.
They made great contributions to arts and crafts, architecture and literature of the subcontinent. Even Pakistan's national language was developed by them. Pakistan cannot forget their sacrifices and unfortunately is unable to repay the debt.
Prof Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan (Dec 7) is confused about the 1946-47 situation in Punjab. This was undivided Punjab with nearly 50 per cent non-Muslim population. Nearly 90 per cent of Punjabi Muslims supported Pakistan.
But the Congress was clever enough to join hands with 10 per cent Muslims to gain a majority in the Punjab assembly. In fact this situation highlights the fact that even in a province like Punjab, 90 per cent of Muslims could not cope with the political games of the Congress.
Hence all the more reason for a partition of India. In the end, the Muslim League was able to form a government in Punjab in March 1947. The overwhelming majority of Muslims in Sindh and the NWFP supported Pakistan. Their support came gradually because they were less politically conscious than the people, say, in UP and Punjab.
KHALID AHMAD
London, UK
Guarantees of freedom
The UN General Assembly's social and humanitarian committee has passed a resolution (Nov 24) decrying the increase in Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia.
This resolution calls on member states to provide "effective guarantees of freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief," and was, most encouragingly, adopted 177-0. This indicates the official position of the global community, which is laudable.
However, ground realities reflected by the phobias against Islam and other religions and peoples are a matter of concern and need to be effectively addressed. Millions of people in places like Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, parts of Africa and South America are largely being denied physical, economic and other basic freedoms.
From Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, it follows that if a person's basic needs are not being met, he or she cannot be expected to pay heed to higher matters. Much of the intolerance in the world is a direct consequence of the denial of fundamental human rights.
It is imperative that the powerful countries of the world, led by the US, ensure that people suffering from genocide, repression, lack of security and hunger, etc., are treated fairly.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
National sports centre
The National Sports Training & Coaching Centre near the National Stadium, Karachi, is the only such centre for a population of 15 million. Citizens of all ages go there, not only to train, but also to jog. I am 65-year-old retired engineer and go there to jog.
Unfortunately some 'commercial' activities are disturbing the peace of the centre, which was officially meant to develop athletics and physical activities. Weddings and other similar functions are regularly held on its grounds.
Private entrepreneurs have reportedly been asked to build a bowling alley and petrol pump on its land. There are also plans to build a gymnasium at the first floor of the proposed petrol pump, which is most unsuitable environmentally.
Is there not enough 'commercialization' in Karachi already? Will the authorities do something to stop this?
A CONCERNED CITIZEN
Karachi
BBC and militants
I completely agree with Mr Abd Al-Hameed (Dec 12) that the BBC is obsessed with attaching Islam to the word 'militant' every time news is broadcast of any Muslims involved in any militancy.
This is not just a lack of understanding on its part, but a very clever and conscious decision to malign Islam as a religion and portray every act of a Muslim as somehow related to Islam.
I would like to add that this obsession is not limited to the BBC but most of the western media is doing the same thing. Their obsession and their mindset became evident when one western TV channel, while reporting on the deaths of innocent Muslims at the hands of Thai forces, recently called them "Islamic deaths".
TANVEER ASLAM
Via email
Lata and Asha
Mr Sultan Arshad's rejoinder (Dec 9) to my letter (Dec 2) on Ms Lata Mangeshkar's Guinness Book fraud merely reinforced my contention that to expect even a modicum of balance and scholarly assessment from "fan clubbers" is like asking for the impossible.
My bone of contention with the profoundly poetic Mr Arshad was that while discoursing upon Ms Mangeshkar's "unmatched" and "memorable" records in a general perspective, he should surely have presented also the flip side of the coin, i.e., Lataji's "unmatched record" to end all "unmatched" records - the Guinness Book fraud of epic proportion and the upright song stress having hoodwinked the world for over a quarter of a century of being an artiste with a fabricated tally of 30,000 recordings.
It would certainly have not been "totally out of context" for Mr Arshad to set matters right on this score, particularly as the Guinness Book number controversy and Ms Mangeshkar having deprived sister Asha Bhosle of her rightful place in the book were glossed over with masterly skill by Mr Saeed Malik in his platinum jubilee extravaganza on the singer.
Surely a matter of such paramount significance to anyone professing to have an academic interest in the music of the subcontinent should have superseded in priority the trivia that Mr Arshad chose to put in its correct perspective instead, i.e., which one of Ms Mangeshkar's songs preceded the Ghulam Hyder- composed "Majboor" number.
DARIUS KAKALIA
Karachi
Bike menace
The rapidly increasing number of motorcycles in Karachi has added to the traffic mess. Ninety-eight per cent of them are not properly equipped with indicators, rear and head lights and rear-view mirrors.
Many motorcyclists take six to seven passengers, even infants and schoolbags. They also dangerously zigzag between fast-flowing traffic, and few wear crash helmets.
I request the civil and police authorities to restrict motorcycles on the roads of Karachi to protect human lives and educate the public through the electronic media.
TAIMUR MUGHAL CHANGEZI
Karachi
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