| January 08, 2007 | Monday | Zilhaj 17, 1427 |
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Most productive year?
Muslim League celebration
Is Talagang in Pakistan?
Sindh Education Commission
As soon as possible
50 years of research
Posts of civil judges
Abida Hussain’s claims
Kotri bridge
Oil consumption
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
I HAVE been reading Dawn’s Sunday Magazine with amusement as Amar Jaleel peddles his favorite myth of history at the exclusive expense of the genesis of the idea of Pakistan. Week after week, he rails against the Muslim League and its “villainous” role in partition of India. Perhaps this one-sided narration of events which sought to make Gandhi and Nehru into global figures at the cost of Pakistan and its antecedents would have been acceptable before the declassification of the “Transfer of Power Paper” documents, but not now.
Since the 1980s enough documents have been declassified to tell the true history of partition. H. M. Seervai, India’s greatest constitutional lawyer, wrote Partition of India: Legend and Reality, which proves conclusively that the Muslim League bent over backwards to allow for a minimal union but it was Nehru and Gandhi who could not entertain any other constitutional vision of India, except that which was acceptable to them.
Stanley Wolpert has also written a book recently called Shameful Flight which reaffirms that in fact it was the Congress Party that wanted a complete partition, while the Muslim League was looking for an overall union of India.
In fact, Wolpert shows that if anyone was in league with the British, it was the Congress Party. Yet another work Liberty or Death “ by Patrick French makes plain that the leaders of the Congress were in a large part responsible for driving the Muslim League away.
In this respect, A. G. Noorani, a columnist in India’s The Hindu “ newspaper, has also written several pieces which show how and when the final break came.
Furthermore, Amar Jaleel’s accusation that it was the Pakistan idea that caused the deaths of millions has been pooh-poohed by most serious historians, almost all of non-Pakistani origin, as nothing but a myth. The violence at partition happened because of Congress’ insistence on dividing Punjab and Bengal, which was completely opposed by the Muslim League till the end. Declassified documents actually show that the Pakistan government was quite successful in putting down disturbances and that a great majority of those massacred at the time of partition were in fact those moving west in Punjab — and that was entirely under Congress watch.
Upcoming works by many unbiased and balanced scholars will show that in fact Congress leader Patel was directly involved in the massacres in 1947. Therefore, it would be useful if Amar Jaleel could at least do some fact-checking before levelling unsubstantiated allegations against a mass movement that brought about the country we breathe in, and also the newspaper he so boldly writes in — even if under a pseudonym.
It is quite ironic that while historians all around the world have studied partition and South Asian history and, after the declassification of documents pertaining to that era, reached the consensus on Congress’ insidious role in the tragedy which led to the widespread bloodbath in South Asia, our own columnists have taken to distorting history without any sense of fairness or decency.
YASSER HAMDANI
Islamabad
THIS is with reference to the report ‘Final year of Sindh PA most productive’ (Dec 30) by Habib Khan Ghori. The writer has compared four years of the Sindh Assembly, declaring 2006 as the most productive, particularly on the basis of 15 government bills adopted by majority in the House.
As a legislator, I feel that any piece of legislation being passed by an honourable House should fulfil all procedural requirements. Part 3 of Chapter XI of the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly deal with the consideration of bills. It is disheartening when such rules are bypassed by the treasury on the basis of their numerical majority, merely to show that legislation is being carried out.
Another interesting fact about these bills is that, saving the odd one or two, all the bills came to the House as ordinances by the governor. Article 128 of the Constitution allows the governor to promulgate an ordinance in case of emergency when the Assembly is not in session. A blatant example of the misuse of Article 128 of the Constitution was when my private bill No.11 of 2005 ‘The Sindh prohibition on manufacture, sale, use and import of polythene bags, 2005’ submitted on Nov 14, 2005 was still pending to be introduced in the Assembly, an ordinance regarding the same was promulgated, brought to the House in September 2006, and adopted on the basis of treasury’s majority, in November.
The writer talks about 15 bills in 2006, out of which 13 were brought to the House on Nov 15. My colleagues and I suggested amendments to these bills which were callously rejected by the treasury benches because they are never inclined to work on laws before adopting them. When the opposition members protested against such obvious disregard for their suggestions and railroading of bills, the government representative persisted in reading of the bill without pause.
To this, of course, the opposition did not want to be party, and when they were not being heard as responsible legislators, they felt it better to boycott the undemocratic and one-sided passage of bills.
An extract from Dawn reported by Mr Ghori himself on Nov16 said, “Treasury benches passed as many as 10 bills into law within 25 minutes.” This surely warrants a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the Sindh Assembly. The government was in such haste that they did not even take out the clause repealing the already expired ordinances from the bills until the Opposition pointed this out.
Moreover, there are, sadly, approximately 35 private bills on major social issues like women’s empowerment, senior citizens, homeless children, disaster management, physically challenged citizens, and many others, submitted by Opposition members, currently pending either introduction or consideration which in the year 2006 were completely ignored.
Talking about productivity, compared to the current Assembly, the last Assembly where the PPP was in power, 33 bills were passed in 1994, 14 in 1995, and 20 in 1996.
Lastly, I refer to the title of the report “Final Year of Sindh PA most productive”. Unless Mr Ghori has inside information regarding the imminent dissolution of the assemblies, 2006 was not the final year – technically, we still have one more to go.
SHAZIA MARRI
MPA, Sindh
THIS is with reference to Raja Irfan Nasr’s letter “Muslim League celebration”(Jan 4) in which he writes that what we have seen since Aug 14, 1947 of the Muslim League is a shame to all.
It needs to be realised that the creation of the Muslim League is also something that we should not be proud of. The formation of the Indian National Congress was seen as a threat by the British. Some preventive measures were required: a new political instrument that could prevent the Congress from dominating the political scene. The British authorities approached Muslim notables to discuss the formation of a loyal, separatist organisation. On the viceroy’s behalf, the Aga Khan assembled a bunch of people to create the Muslim League in 1906.
The deputation described its own class origins with perfect accuracy: “We the nobles, jagirdars, taluqdars, zamindars, lawyers and merchants, subjects of His Majesty the King-Emperor in different parts of India”. The new organisation made no effort to conceal its principal aim which was “to foster a sense of loyalty to the British Empire among the Muslims in India”. This it sought to do and achieved in permanent alliance with English commissioners, deputy commissioners, magistrates, etc.
The British had adopted two policies in the various territories subjugated by it throughout the world. The first was the ‘divide and rule’ policy and the second was the transfer of land to the feudals. The second policy is clear from the statement of British general Allenby when soon after the Second World War with reference to Egypt he stated: “The English can evacuate Egypt with an easy mind: in effect they have created a class of large landowners on whom Great Britain can rely to assure her policy in Egypt”.
The second policy was implemented in the subcontinent with great enthusiasm as land was allocated to those who were loyal to the British. The Muslims to whom such land was granted joined the Muslim League to safeguard the interest of the British. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the struggle of the Muslim League led to transfer of power from the British to the Muslim feudals on Aug 14, 1947.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Lahore
STATE-of-the-art health, educational, industrial, commercial, financial and similar facilities are being concentrated in Islamabad and a few other major cities, and now being expanded to meet requirements of the increasing ruling elite and the rich.
In comparison, the interior of the country is being neglected but exploited primarily for food supplies, cheap labour, mostly low-grade government servants, power generation, various natural resources, etc., to cater for requirements of major cities, particularly for the affluent class. For example, the Baloch of the Sui area are living in abject poverty whereas Sui gas worth billions of rupees is being consumed every year elsewhere for over 50 years.
Similarly, over 300 MW electric power generated by the Chashma nuclear power plant and Chashma barrage hydroelectricity plant is being supplied to high-priority areas whereas Mianwali is experiencing frequent loadshedding, power breakdowns or voltage fluctuation, and many affected by the Chashma barrage are suffering even after a lapse of over 35 years.
Most people in the interior, including Talagang, are struggling for survival while the ruling elite and the affluent class in major cities are fun-starved. For example, in Islamabad, poor residents of a historical village are being uprooted on a fake pretext to open additional fast food outlets, and Rs5 billion has been allocated for some amusement projects in F9 Park, which is mostly utilised by residents of posh E and F sectors.
Now, I may mention the reason for this injustice to the interior. Unfortunately, almost all decision-makers, including the so-called elected representatives from the interior, reside in major cities to avail themselves of modern facilities. Naturally, they favour more and more modern facilities where they reside. As such, there is no one to speak for modern facilities for the interior which creates the feelings of deprivation, exploited by the very same politicians who are actually responsible for it.
This disparity is not in the interest of national unity. The rulers are advised to stop further concentration and expansion of modern facilities in or around major cities, and plan their dispersal in the interior, including Talagang, where the majority lives.
MALIK FATEH KHAN
Talagang
I WOULD like to congratulate the Sindh governor, provincial education minister and the Sindh education secretary for proposing and deciding to set up Sindh Education Commission (SEC) on the pattern of the Higher Education Commission.
The Sindh Education Commission is expected to cater to the emergent needs and advancement of the school and college education sector (Classes I-XII) in Sindh. This will contribute to a balanced growth and strategy for the education system in the province.
Being institutions that prepare youths for higher education, schools and colleges need a more serious attention with well-planned strategy and resources. Besides being an independent entity with a professional organisation and structure to (a) improve, innovate and reform the education system, (b) strengthen public-private partnership and (c) attend to the immediate requirements of teacher education, special education, education of girls and technical/ vocational education, the SEC should have financial input that matches the proportionate outlay for higher education.
It is satisfying to know that under a well-planned and an organised strategy adequate and requisite funds are being spent on higher education - the more vocal sector - and rightly so if Pakistan has to keep pace with developments in higher education and be reckoned as a developed nation. This has all been made possible through the efforts of the chairman, Higher Education Commission, who is a world-class scientist and administrator.
The school and college sector of the education system comprises the (1) primary, (2) middle and secondary and (3) higher secondary sub-sectors. Urgently, the primary education (Classes 1 to V) sub-sector needs universalisation at the earliest which aims at making basic schooling functional and accessible to all school-age (5 to 9) children, the middle and secondary education stages (V-IX) require systematic vocationalisation, making education purposeful and related to real life and the higher secondary education stage (XI-XII) needs specialisation which should focus on strengthening and diversifying it into well-staffed and equipped alternative streams/ groups for students to choose from.
The SEC will entail (1) the establishment of district and town/village level education authorities to manage and monitor progress of education for restoring confidence of the people in education at the grassroots' level on the present district and city/town government pattern and (2) seeking the cooperation and assistance from Unesco and friendly and advanced countries like the US, Japan, the UK and Germany for educational development in Pakistan.
DR RASHID SHAH
Kean University, USA
AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai has said during a press conference with our Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that Pakistan is harbouring terrorists who are creating havoc in Afghanistan. This is coming from the president of a country who has not only been harbouring known terrorists like Osama bin Laden, but is known for having the biggest industry of narcotics drugs in the world.
The irony of this is that Pakistan has been supporting Afghanistan’s refugees for so many years by giving them freedom to live in Pakistan, as well as supporting Afghanistan when it was attacked. The people of Pakistan had to go through a lot of problems and still do have problems with crime, public service, etc., to support the Afghan refugees.
But I guess Karzai is not the only one as all the Afghans I have met have never had a kind word for Pakistan and I guess they never will. Therefore, I think the only good thing to come out of this meeting was that both countries agree that the Afghan refugees need to be repatriated. Now I just hope that they are repatriated as soon as possible.
SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER
London, UK
A LETTER appeared in these columns (Dec 21) suggesting the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) to celebrate its 50 years of research. The idea is not bad. It is, however, more than a year that the PCCC was deprived of its majestic building and research laboratories that stood for more than 50 years on M.T. Khan Road, Karachi. Now it is making do in a rented plaza on Shahrea Faisal and gasping like a fish out of water for its existence. Such being the fate of the PCCC, it can now only give us its sad story of deliberate destruction without any sense of new direction.
K.B. KHASKHELI
Karachi
THIS refers to the letter 'Posts of civil judges' (Dec 23). Recently, the Sindh High Court announced the posts of civil judges. However, no experience of two-year practice as a lawyer was required for appointment. Persons having a law degree and enrolled in any district bar association (regardless of period of two-year experience of practice of law), or those law graduates in civil service having completed a two-year service tenure in connection with the affairs of the province of Sindh, or federal government, were eligible to apply for the said posts. Therefore, the Lahore High Court should also waive the condition of two-year experience as a practising lawyer for appling for the posts.
IMTIAZ ALI
Larkana
I WOULD like to remind Ms Abida Hussain that out of the 'three' times she claims to have been elected members of cabinet, twice there was a caretaker government setup. It was only in 1997 during Nawaz Sharif's tenure that she joined as an elected representative.
I would also like to reiterate that this was the notorious election that was heavily rigged by Farooq Leghari, in which the PPP was not even allowed a single seat in Punjab.
As for Fakhr Imam, he has the dubious distinction of being the only speaker in Pakistan's parliamentary history to have been ousted by a vote of no-confidence, so much for his popularity and university of California degree.
Principles don't seem to be her strength either or she may be suffering from a severe case of selective amnesia. All one needs to do is just take a look at her previous anti-PPP speeches and propaganda to realise what her character constitutes of as she suddenly jumps into the Benazir Bhutto bandwagon, yet again switching her alliance for what seems like the umpteenth time.
WAHID UZ ZAMMAN
Karachi
THE gigantic steel structure raised over the Indus river about 110 years ago to carry a railroad and vehicular traffic on both out-riggers is intact today as it was when built. It has faced a huge storm of river discharge in 1973-74 passing about 700,000 cusecs. It is now facing another challenge of taking huge loads of heavy vehicles on both sides for its entire lengths of five spans. I admire the foresightedness of the designer who in the days of bullock cart traffic constructed it so strong to take the present-day load.
Its piers and abutments are at their best even today. The only things required are (i) regular painting of the steel structure with non-deterrent paint honestly done with and (ii) prohibition of every kind of traffic with more than two-ton load per axle. This prohibition was set aside by the late Dr Khan Sahib, chief minister of West Pakistan in 1956, who allowed all sorts of traffic free of toll tax.
This will save this important structure to be witnessed by our tens of generations, and save our billions of rupees on constructing an alternative bridge.
RAEES AHMAD KHAN
Karachi
PAKISTAN'S oil consumption increased by 80 per cent (Dec 21). This is a pleasant surprise but one may need to know whether the increase includes the volume of oil we sent to Afghanistan.
Z.A. KAZMI
Karachi
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