| January 01, 2007 | Monday | Zilhaj 10, 1427 |
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Our Eid celebrations
How to reverse the brain drain
A matter of caste
Shifting blame is not the solution
Who will bell the cat?
Taken for granted
Hunting or mass slaughter?
Passport anomalies
Gutter Island
Lake dies
Highly skilled migrants
Importance of democracy
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
THREE years ago my family and I packed our belongings and moved to our home country, Pakistan, land of the pure, if you really want to get literal. Now that I’m here, I can’t help but notice that slowly and gradually moral values and every last trace of etiquette and amiability has decayed. No one has the decency to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
Holding open the door for someone is a sign of inferiority. If you don’t carry your precious RS17, 000 worth cell phones in your hand, people might actually think you can’t afford one and to heck if you can even tolerate people believing such a thing. And whatever happened to “use it, don’t abuse it”?
We can’t go two kilometers in the car without throwing something smelly and disgusting out the window, possibly onto an unfortunate pedestrian. We clean our houses and dump all the unwanted toxic waste onto our neighbours’ garden or the empty plot beside our house and fail to notice the ‘keep your country clean’ signs strewn so futilely all over the place.
If someone overtakes us on the road, they’re deranged loonies but if we happen to imitate them, we’re just running late for work. It took my family weeks to realise that in Pakistan, red means ‘go’ and green means ‘stop’. Oh, I’m sorry, we’ll be careful next time; we don’t want to be the only fools waiting alone in front of a red light so that other cars could cross safe and sound.
We’ve made drinking and drug abuse a common pastime for misguided teens. We’ve lost all sense of dignity and honor when it comes to protecting our femininity and will cross all borders in the name of fashion. We feel it our right to treat all those below our social status like our slaves. We cuss at all the rich, important people and blame them for corruption but when it comes to accepting bribe we welcome it with open arms. We spend thousands of rupees on expensive luxuries but when someone from the domestic staff asks for money, we frown and turn away. I never was much of a TV person, but thanks to Pakistani media, I’ve broken the habit completely. Glamorous cat walks, soap operas, vulgar dancing and obscene flirting just isn’t my idea of entertainment.
I think it’s about time we defined ‘prosperity’, don’t you agree?
ROMESA KHALID
Lahore
IT was surprising to read the news about Haj-i-Akbar in your paper lately, along with the Islamic date of 7 Zilhajj on Dawn’s masthead. Apparently there is a time difference of two days here, when the time difference between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is only one hour.
I don’t know who is at fault in celebrating Eid-ul-Azha Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is responsible for the Haj of nearly three million people, and Pakistan is responsible for 130 million Pakistanis.
I don’t understand why the ulema in Pakistan do not accept the scientific method of moon sighting despite accepting all the other scientific advancements.
Perhaps they fear losing the allowances they receive in connection with the Ruet-i-Hilal meetings to determine the beginning of Ramazan, Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha and the countless other holy days.
Media all over the world are making fun of our Eid celebrations ? the fact that they were observed on three different dates in the same country. It is a scientific fact that if the duration of the visibility of the moon expires before sunset you cannot spot the moon, no matter how high an elevation you goes to.
Also, if the atmosphere is cloudy or rainy, the naked eye cannot spot the moon either. If we decide to ignore the existence of the moon just because our eyes cannot see it, we are in fact delaying the beginning of our Islamic calendar. It is just like denying the existence of something altogether, just because we cannot see it. Surely this is a clear sign of our immaturity and illogical thinking.
SYED RIAZ AHMED
Georgia, USA
THIS is in response to Zubeida Mustafa’s article “Do we really need foreign expertise?” (Dec 27), wherein she asks, “where are Pakistani engineers, architects and planners?”
It is a known fact that due to internal political, economic and social conditions Pakistan has been losing its professionals to foreign lands over the last several decades. It is safe to assume that almost 95 per cent of Pakistani professionals leave the country as soon as they can.
After getting my engineering degree from NED University, my first job was at a multinational company which was the largest electrical manufacturing company in the country, and supposedly had a better pay scale than most. Later, I was shocked to realise that even the starting pay of the secretaries was much higher than that received by engineering graduates.
Today, Pakistani professionals are spread all across the globe, equipped with the latest engineering know-how that could be made available to develop Pakistan’s dilapidated infrastructure.
However, to recruit from this enormous pool of professional talent abroad, Pakistan must develop an enticing package of benefits that is far better than those presently available to most of us in foreign lands.
Also, to retain its new cadre of professionals coming into the job market, Pakistan should develop an egalitarian society based on the rule of law and order where corruption in the upper and middle echelons of the business community and government bureaucracy is completely removed.
Pakistan should facilitate the enhancement of its professional community’s prestige and status. And highly paid professional jobs should be made available to alleviate brain drain.
BEHRAM B. ATASHBAND
Austin, USA
M .J. AKBAR’s op-ed article, ‘Shrinking jobs for Muslims’, (December 21) is both thoughtful and timely. It underscores the principle that affirmative action the world over is the only way for disadvantaged communities to become part of the pool of effective human resources.
B.K. Vasan’s response to Mr Akbar’s piece, ‘Learning from the Brahmins’ (December 27) deliberately introduces a logical flaw by equating Brahmins with Muslims and Christians. Brahmin is a caste, a traditional hereditary system of social stratification in which social classes are defined by a number of hierarchical inbred groups, while Islam and Christianity are belief systems open to all humanity.
Mr Vasan had better take a long hard look at the philosophy of his forebears rather than extend specious arguments that go against the Indian constitution (and for that matter the Pakistani constitution), which outlaws caste. To quote but one example, here is what Brahministic philosophy as propounded by the successors of Manu had to say about treating disadvantaged people who try to educate themselves:
“If the shudra intentionally listens for committing to memory the veda, then his ears should be filled with molten lead; if he utters the veda, then his tongue should be cut off; if he has mastered the veda his body should be cut to pieces.” (Manu-Smriti, XII. 4)
Any system that accords permanent supremacy to people by virtue of their birth is repugnant to most world religions and all democratic principles. Mr Vasan’s exhortation to Muslims and other disadvantaged communities to pull up their socks through hard work smacks of the defunct Apartheid philosophy, in which the white minority government of South Africa pretended that separate and equal development was possible if the non-whites worked harder.
DR ADAM NAYYAR
Islamabad
THIS is with reference to S. Qadri’s letter titled “Unjust to Women” (Dec 21). We never fail to make exaggerated claims that we respect women more than any other culture, then who are these men who harass women in public place, and assault them physically as well as psychologically. My own field study in Pakistan found that 100 per cent women in urban areas and nearly 50 per cent in rural communities experience harassment at least once in their lives.
Though the idea that Islam gave women rights more than any other society is contestable in the historical context, which Muslim state today accords women equal status is still to be known.
Women in Muslim countries like Pakistan, Iran or Saudi Arab, are legally denied many rights. Restriction on women’s mobility, acceptance in public space, choice of profession, not to mention the honour killings that still occurs in Muslim countries and communities in the West are but a few examples of our reality.
Women have every right to question the orthodox interpretation of religious texts that subordinate them to men and do not allow them to grow professionally or personally as human beings.
Though it has been rightfully quoted that Islam lays emphasis on giving the women their due rights, yet Muslim countries have failed to do so. When it comes to the question of women’s rights we always take refuge in arguments that it is urgent to distinguish Islam form Muslims, yet this leads to the important question of why such supposed equality failed to be achieved in any of the countries practicing Islam.
Blaming the West’s Orientalist perspective is not the way to handle issues within Muslim communities and countries.
Muslim women are demanding rights not merely under the influence of Western feminists, but due to the hardships that they face in their daily lives as women and contest these claims of equality that do not exist in the state or societal structure in which they operate. Muslims need to examine issues and deal with them rather than shifting blame on the West for everything that has gone horribly wrong in the Muslim world.
DR TAHMINA RASHID
Melbourne, Australia
IN his letter titled “IRI survey” (Dec 25) Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, while lamenting the lack of astute political leadership in Pakistan, states “That a nation of 150 million people cannot find leaders other than those who have repeatedly failed is most alarming”. I agree with his assertion, but the primary reason for this dearth is the feudal mentality of Pakistani politicians.
Generally, one has to be an exploiter of religion, a self-serving feudal or tribal landlord, the sitting army chief, a corrupt businessman, or at least a puppet of one of these elements to be able to enter and withstand the heat of Pakistani politics. For as long as politics is out of the reach of the common man and woman, the country will not find sincere and honest leaders whose only concern will be the welfare of Pakistan and its masses.
If Mr Bhutto had not been a feudal landlord would he be in politics? So much is feudalism engrained in his personality that he does not write his name without the prefix of “Sardar”. Moreover, Pakistani politicians treat the political parties as their personal possessions, keeping the working class members subservient to them.
When was the last time an ordinary, non-feudal member of Mr Bhutto’s party was encouraged to run for party leadership? For that matter, when were elections held in his party? Or, if elections were held, were the universal standards of internal party mechanisms followed? Such a sorry state of affairs inflicts just about every political party in Pakistan. Therefore, a shortage of principled political leaders in Pakistan should not be a mystery.
Before claiming to be a custodian of principled politics Mr Bhutto should tell us where his principles were when his cousin Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s autocrat of the early and mid 70s, suspended the fundamental rights enshrined in the 1973 Constitution shortly after the Constitution was adopted? Did Mumtaz Ali Bhutto resign from the government in protest against this abuse of power?
Before Pakistan has a clear shot at attaining honest and sincere leaders that can launch the country on the road to unadulterated democracy, it ought to abolish feudalism, tribalism and the so-called Sardari system. This epochal development would, in turn, ensure the eventual end of exploitation of religion as well as the army’s interference in politics and a gradual, but eventually considerable, decline in corruption.
The question remains: who is going to “bell the cat”? As long as the entities mentioned above are its beneficiaries, the status quo will prevail. Mr Bhutto and his ilk will continue to pretend to be the people’s well-wishers while an orphaned electorate will continue to have to deal with “those who have repeatedly failed”.
SIDDIQUE MALIK
Louisville, USA
YOUR front page photo (Dec29) was, to put it mildly, horrifying. The police, given all its authority, has no right to pull off people’s clothes in the open street and that too in front of their loved ones. As one who likes to go through the morning paper with his wife and daughter, I felt unable to even turn the page in front of my family. Acts like these make us hate the police even more.
I would request the concerned authorities to make a more civilised gesture to control small protests or agitations. The law should not be taken for granted by its very own custodians.
Z.H. KHAN
Karachi
IT was sad to see the news item (Dec 27) about the two federal ministers who visited the Chotaryoon Dam in district Sanghar and shot 800 partridges and 20 wild boars in a single day. Even more repulsive was the fact that this mass slaughter was perpetrated in the presence of the district nazim.
One should understand that hunting is desirable only to the extent of personal need and not for the sake of fun and making score. The poor and underprivileged, when caught for having in their possession even a single bird, are locked up by the game wardens under the charge of illegal hunting but for the rich and influential hunting is a sport where more killings bring more cheering and ultimately a feast to enjoy.
Wild birds such as partridges, sand goose, etc, are already facing extinction due to the extensive use of insecticides and destruction of their natural habitats. If such cruelty continues, the time is not far when these rare species will face annihilation.
MANSOOR UL HAQ SOLANGI
Karachi
AFTER perusing the new computerised passport, I would like to bring to your notice a few anomalies within. It lacks the signature of the bearer which should be made mandatory, the date of birth should be omitted and the profession of the bearer should be added.
The omitted information may still be kept on the embedded record bar. Those passports that have already been issued should be signed by the bearer and new passports should have the signature on the first information page.
DR S. RAHMAN
Karachi
WORK on the sewerage line at the junction of Ch. Rehmat Ali Road and Clifton Road has again been abandoned for the fourth time in the last 12 months — this time because the KWSB contractor did not pay the labourers and the sub-contractors their dues. They have packed up and gone. Will some responsible government official please hold an inquiry into this delay which has cost my business loss in lacs of rupees in this past year? I reserve my right to file a claim in the court of law.
SADRUDDIN RAJABALI
Karachi
APROPOS of the news item “One more lake dies in Sindh, spews salt” (Dec 29), there is a Native American prophecy which goes: When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover, you cannot eat money.
LIAQUAT THAHEEM
Karachi
I WOULD like to bring to your attention a serious issue currently faced by people working in the UK on the Highly Skilled Migrant Program (HSMP) visa. There are approximately 50,000 HSMPs currently in the UK of which a significant number are from Pakistan and are contributing to their country’s economy by sending across foreign exchange.
Despite clear statements to give us indefinite leave to remain in the UK after four years of coming here on HSMP visa, the UK government has implemented a new point based system for renewal of HSMP visas which is affecting more than 90 per cent of HSMPs living here and we fear that we will be forced to leave the UK.
We still have a number of prospective HSMPs in Pakistan who are preparing to come here to fulfill their dreams but are unaware of what is going to happen with them here. I would like to highlight this issue so that the Pakistan High Commission and other authorities will take remedial steps in this regard.
This issue is not of an individual nature; rather it can affect us all as a nation. The authorities should also inform those people ? who are preparing to come here under this scheme ? about what is happening in the UK and ask them to proceed cautiously.
HSMP VICTIM
Manchester, UK
RECENTLY there has been an exchange of letters on this page between Syeda Abida Hussain and the son of late President Iskander Mirza. I cannot shed any light as to who is right or wrong but let me tell you about an event to which Syeda Abida Hussain had been invited. The readers can judge for themselves.
At the time when Abida Hussain was ambassador of Pakistan to USA, a friend of mine had arranged a fundraiser for an American delegate and had also invited Ms Hussain. On the date of the fundraiser the chief guest (American delegate) came on time and mingled with the Pakistani-American guests.
Ms Hussain came with a bunch of Pakistanis (maybe Pakistani embassy employees) about one and a half hours late, and without apologising, sat in a corner with her friends and smoked up a storm.
She did not try to mingle with the Pakistani Americans who had gathered for the fund raiser. Her attitude was arrogant and haughty, even though she belonged to a party that had been elected democratically in Pakistan.
Once these ex-bureacrats are out of power they look at themselves in a different light, and all of a sudden democracy is very important to them.
SYED J. QAMER
Virginia, USA
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