| August 28, 2005 | Sunday | Rajab 22, 1426 |
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Jinnah and Nehru
Clemency appeal
New Murree project
Online match-making
Remodelling metropolitan police
Clifton underpass
POA affairs
Bill, no phone
Calling cards
Security needs
Traffic police
RECENTLY a number of formal apologies of worldwide interest have been tendered in the public domain. Prime Minister Kizoumi of Japan has apologized for the sufferings inflicted on subjugated peoples at the hands of Japanese authorities during World War II. (Earlier German leaders had expressed deep remorse and regret for the persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany.) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has apologized to the Sikh community for the killings of 1984. The Dutch foreign minister has recently apologized to the Indonesian government for his country’s refusal to recognize Indonesian independence from the ending of the Japanese occupation in 1945 and dating it instead from the final Dutch withdrawal several years later.
The importance of an apology, as an acknowledgement of responsibility for serious wrongs done to others, is not necessarily important in the material domain. For instance, reparations and compensation had been extracted from Japan and Germany even before the tendering of apologies on behalf of these states. It is also true that apologies do nothing to bring the dead destroyed back to life.
Formal apologies are, however, important as a fundamental test of civilized behaviour involving an instructive appreciation of the feelings of others and an ability to place oneself in the position of the other party, thus raising some hopes for more sensitive behaviour in future. In the words of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him): “Justice can only be established on earth if one who sees injustice done to another feels it as much as if the injustice was done to him”.
Although the Indian prime minister has rightly apologized to the Sikh community for the depredations of 21 years back, no such apology has been tendered to the Indian Muslim community for the most recent of the series of anti-Muslim pogroms, namely Gujarat (2002) and Mumbai (1993). According to Mr Kuldip Nayar, “The RSS had so pacified prime minister Vajpayee that by the time he reached Goa from Gujarat (in the aftermath of the killings), his ire had been turned against Islam”. In the case of the killings in Mumbai, which also went on for several days, it was Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress which was in power both at the centre and at the state level. In the case of Gujarat, the culpability at the political and official level has been clearly brought out.
Is it because in contrast to the Sikhs, the Indian Muslims are still regarded as outsiders that no apology has been forthcoming in their case? In a recent publication marking the centenary of Nirad C. Chaudhuri, arguably the most celebrated Indian writer in the English language, K. M. Daruwala, a known Parsi intellectual, recalls how in response to his remonstrance that the Parsis should not be regarded as aliens, since they had lived in India for 1,300 years, the celebrated author had maintained, “You do not become an Indian in 1,300 years”. In a similar vein, Khushwant Singh recounts how at the home of the Jhabwalas, another eminent Parsi family, Nirad Chaudhuri had told Mrs Jhabwala: “Parsis are not Indians. No Indian looks upon them as fellow countrymen”.
In the context of the above references to anti-minority depredations, it may be relevant to refer to an observation by Nirad C. Chaudhuri given in the centenary publication referred to above. Referring to the “incorrigible militarism of the Hindus”, the author maintains: “In the 23 centuries between Asoka and Gandhi, there is not one word of non-violence in the theory or practice of statecraft by the Hindus”. Admittedly sweeping but, nonetheless, thought-provoking.
If man’s inhumanity to man is to be curbed, tolerance will have to be inculcated as reverence for all possibilities of the truth and empathy and compassion for the distressed and the aggrieved accepted as the supreme virtue, whether apologies are forthcoming or not.
MAHDI MASUD
Karachi
REFERENCE the ‘Jinnah and Nehru’ correspondence, I would like to narrate some historical records as under:
That the Cabinet Mission Plan in April 1946 provided that only three subjects would belong to the centre — defence, foreign affairs and communications. It divided the country into three zones, A, B and C, because the mission members felt that this would give a greater sense of assurance to the minorities. Sector B would include Punjab, Sindh, the NWFP and British Balochistan. This would constitute a Muslim majority area. In Section C, which included Bengal and Assam, the Muslims would have a small majority over the rest.
The Cabinet Mission scheme was accepted by both the Muslim League and the Congress. However, on July 10 Jawaharlal Nehru, at his press conference in Bombay, stated that the Congress would enter the Constituent Assembly “completely unfettered by agreements and free to meet all situations as they arise.” He said further that the Congress had agreed only to participate in the Constituent Assembly and regarded itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it thought best.
This statement proved counter-productive. Mr Jinnah immediately issued a statement that Nehru’s declaration demanded a review of the situation, as he had declared that the Congress could change the scheme through its majority in the Constituent Assembly, and this would mean that the minorities were placed at the mercy of the majority.
The Muslim League Council met at Bombay on July 27 and Mr Jinnah reiterated the demand for Pakistan as the only course open.
HAJI ESSA KATCHI
Karachi
THIS refers to Sarabjit Singh alias Manjt Singh, an Indian citizen, who has been convicted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, on charges of espionage and terrorism. He was arrested in August 1990. He is one of the may hapless prisoners languishing in Pakistani and Indian jails for a long period of time on similar charges. Fifteen years is a long period of time to spend in jail. This is the usual period of a life sentence. Manjit Singh has not seen his daughters, whom he last saw when they were infants. Now they are young girls in their early teens.
He might have committed acts of espionage and terrorism, but he and his family have suffered much. Manjt Singh’s appeal of clemency is waiting the decision of President Pervez Musharraf, a great exponent of the policy of enlightened moderation. The very term enlightenment is a humanistic concept and forgiveness and pity are its basic elements. Therefore, the president is requested to grant clemency to the convict. Such a humanitarian gesture will win the hearts, not only of the members of Manjit Singh’s family, but of many Indians as well, especially those living in East Punjab.
It will also be conducive to the further improvement of India-Pakistan relations. And in addition, it may lead to the release of many Pakistanis languishing in Indian jails.
DR MEHTAB ALI SHAH
Sindh University,
Jamshoro
THIS is with reference to the Punjab government’s claim’s about the facilities that will be on offer at the proposed New Murree tourist resort.
Approval of this project by the Punjab Assembly does not make it a holy cow. This kind of acquiring state land must be discouraged. There are contradictions in the statements of various government agencies and in the case of the New Murree project everything does not seem ‘kosher’ to us. Although President Musharraf seems in favour of preserving greenery in Pakistan, his response to this issue, with reference to the National Assembly’s standing committee on environment, has been removed from his official website.
Hordes of tourists, many with no civic sense, have already seriously damaged the fragile ecosystem and greenery of hill stations and mountains of Pakistan. Murree is in a shambles and Nathiagali, once a pristine is full of garbage and plastic shopping bags and concrete monsters are emerging everywhere.
The green canopy of Abbottabad has disappeared and influential people have grabbed most of its green spaces.
Now these influential ‘developers’ are after the Margalla Hills and forests of Patriata, Murree. They say that only 4,000 trees will be removed and that 850 houses of 4,000 square feet each will be constructed in the reserve forest land. This does not seem to be correct for a mega project which will apparently attract 60,000 people a day.
The strain of 60,000 visitors dialy and the garbage produced by them will cause a lot of stress on the remaining eco-system.
The project is a bad idea and should be reviewed. We will have to choose between a pristine natural forest and a garbage and human waste-infested concrete jungle.
MAHMOOD ASLAM
Via email
I WANT to bring your attention to a recent trend concerning online match-making. I am a 22-year-old-girl and have done my MBA. A few months back my mother heard about some match-making websites and registered me and my elder sister who is a software engineer on the website.
Unfortunately, the experience turned out to be horrible, and lucky for us the damage was not permanent. What I experienced was that most of the men who had registered themselves were just doing this as a means of fooling around and having some fun. Obviously, the one who suffers in this is the girl whose feelings are toyed with by such non-serious and unscrupulous young men.
There are some men who claim to be from the armed forces and have pictures to prove such claims. However, this is usually done because many parents like to marry their daughters to serving armed forces officers. Some of the men who claim to be officers have no such affiliation.
We received more than 100 proposals in just six months and not even a single case was genuine. The same goes for my sister and two of my friends. I just wanted to bring this issue to public attention because personally I think that such services can do some good but some people are misuing them.
What I want to know is whether there is any way to stop this dangerous and immoral exploitation of girls in the name of online match-making. Do such websites have no means of authenticating a person’s identity when he/she is registering?
SEHRISH KHAN
Rawalpindi
KARACHI, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan with an estimated 12 million people, needs a most modern, highly sophisticated and fully competent police setup to meet the challenges of crime, terrorism, and security.
Under the devolution plan, the city of Karachi was divided into 18 towns plus one town comprising cantonments. These 19 towns replaced the previous five districts. However, the CPLC maintained its set-up of five districts, and the Rangers continued with their three zones. The position of DIG, Karachi, who had five districts under him, was changed to that of the CCPO. The rank of the CCPO was also changed to that of additional inspector-general of police. As the setup stands today, the CCPO has got one DIG (operations) under him who has 19 TPOs reporting to him.
As a management consultant, I can say with confidence that the present city police setup has severe handicaps. I endorse the division of the city into 19 towns to decentralize the authority, responsibility and accountability of the civil and police administration. However, the operations wing of the city police needs to be remodelled in line with the principles of management as well as the setup of the related agencies such as the CPLC and Rangers.
The span of control of the DIG (operations) is too wide. It is simply impossible for a single DIG to effectively oversee the operations of 19 towns. As a rule of thumb, I believe, one DIG (operations) should not have more than five to seven TPOs, reporting to him directly. Likewise, the span of control under each TPO should be confined to five to seven units, reporting to him directly. As such, the city police needs three to four DIGS, operations wing, reporting directly to the CCPO.
The chain of command should also be compatible with the span of control. That is possible only when each echelon of the hierarchy from constable to the CCPO has clearly defined authority, responsibilities and accountability. Responsibility without authority is meaningless and accountability without responsibility is useless.
Side by side the changes in the hierarchy of the police setup, it is imperative to bring about revolutionary changes in the criteria of selection, training, pay and perks, monitoring, appraisal and promotion for every cadre from constable to provincial police officer.
The metropolitan police force also requires proper uniforms, weapons, personal and operational motor vehicles, telecommunications apparatus, computer data centre, forensic labs and a research and development wing to devise measures to improve policing in line with other developing countries and to advance professionalism through research, management services, professional development training and publications.
The working environment of the police posts and police stations needs to be drastically improved with adequate office accommodation, furniture and equipment, heating and cooling systems, telephones, fax machines, computers, indoor games, library, prayer rooms, wash rooms, and canteens. Those on duty outside the police stations should have access to drinking water, food and transport.
The police force of a metropolitan city like Karachi remains devoid of the global positioning system, geophysical information system and automotive vehicle location system, long introduced in other parts of the world. Interpol is reported to have recently decided to introduce a global police telecommunications system in Africa to track down human trafficking and stolen vehicles across the borders.
Last but not least, the government should fulfil its oft- repeated promise to depoliticise the police force. Let there be a separate force to deal with dissidents if the government cannot tolerate opposition. Let us make the police a law-enforcement agency of respectable stature and the right public image.
MUMTAZ A. PIRACHA
Karachi
I WOULD like those at the helm of the FWO or anyone else who is in charge of the construction work going on currently for the Clifton underpass and road expansion at M.T. Khan Road to read the following:
I happened to be in Mumbai during the time that city had its worst rains in 100 years. While it wreaked havoc in some areas, many neighbourhoods remained untouched and did not show any sign of damage other than the falling of trees, etc. The roads did not develop any craters, or have any pool-sized puddles as is the case with roads in Karachi.
This means that in Mumbai at least the roads are constructed keeping the basic principles of drainage in mind. Most of the roads are banked — that is, they are higher in the middle and slope towards the sides where drains are present and are not blocked. I hope that the underpass being built in Clifton will have this basic design feature.
DR. S. K. BABAR
Karachi
THE executive committee of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) which met a few days ago discussed only administrative matters pertaining to various international commitments.
It failed to discuss the core issue of development and promotion of sports. Nor did it impress upon the administrators to carry out their responsibilities with honesty and dedication.
There has been a steep decline in sports, particularly Olympic sports. There is no dearth of talent; it is only a question of effective management and proper channelling of resources. Rural areas and schools which are the reservoir of talent remain ignored and neglected. Things are unlikely to change unless the Sports administrators come out of their offices and dirty their shoes to look for talent.
It was a good decision to set up a sports trust. However, no criterion has been laid down as to the eligibility for assistance the trust would provide. It has been left to the whims of a few who hold dual offices.
A. SHAMSHAD
Karachi
I APPLIED for a telephone connection vide demand note dated Oct 11, 2004. Despite repeated queries I was told that no line was available.
To my dismay, the other day, I received the bill for telephone # 6666052. Although the address is correct, so far I have not been provided with a connection.
G. SAMAD SHAH
Karachi
THIS is in reference to Tayyaba Khan’s letter (Aug 26). These days there is considerable activity in the telecom sector, with heavy investment being made in it.
It is a pity though that the massive investment has not seen a corresponding rise in the quality of service offered by telecom service providers.
These days calling cards have become popular, because advertisements say that their call rates are cheeper. However, it has happened to me so many times that a card’s balance runs out well before I would have expected it to. So one day I used a stop-watch to check for myself the time the card lasted, as I made a call to a friend living overseas. I was astounded by the result, which was that the card finished in nearly half the calling time advertised.
The telecom regulator, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, should investigate the claims made by various calling card firms in their ads. At the very least, the consumer is entitled to get what he or she paid for.
HABIBUR REHMAN
Via email
I RECENTLY moved back to Karachi after six years. In the last weeks, my brother was robbed twice in the Korangi Industrial Area, while my car was broken into and the thieves took away a cassette and CD changer.
There seems to be a breakdown of law and order in the city and every day that one is not shot at or robbed of his/her valuables should be counted as a blessing. Are we supposed to live in fear for the rest of our lives? Is anyone listening to our security needs?
SHOAIB SAVUL
Karachi
HATS off to the Karachi traffic police. They have done a marvellous job by taming the traffic on Sharea Faisal. May I request similar steps for Gulshan-i-Iqbal?
Traffic in this area is maddening, particularly in the evening. Buses, coaches and even large UTS buses compete with each other, without any consideration for other vehicles or pedestrians crossing the road.
It is suggested that traffic management and control personnel should be deputed in the area, particularly on University Road, to monitor the movement — and lack of respect — of passenger vehicles.
M.A. NAYEEM
Karachi
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