| April 30, 2007 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 12, 1428 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Kalabagh dam
Separation of religion and state
Express & elevated
Unity, faith and discipline
Language of entertainment
Presidential poll
Blaming religion
Leaps of progress
Study in mother tongue
Ad hocism
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
YOU have very correctly observed in your editorial (April 25) that President Musharraf seems to be alone in proposing a mediatory role for himself in the Middle East dispute. Also, that a debate was unnecessarily started five years ago on the possible recognition of Israel by Pakistan.
While answering questions on this subject, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam made some questionable assertions (April 24). First, that the president was willing to take any step if there was an assurance that it would help in the resolution of the Palestine issue.
This is probably the worst example of childish and wishful thinking one may ever come across at such a high level. Who can provide such a guarantee? Not the US, the EU, Russia or even Israel, much less the helpless Palestinians. In any case, Israel is too devious and never lives up to its promises.
Second, like her boss Kasuri had done after the signing of the Makkah accord between Hamas and Fatah, she not only credited Mr Musharraf with helping to bring it about, but went another step by claiming that the visit of the Iranian president to Saudi Arabia also happened because of his Middle East initiative.
Her third contention was that a number of Arab and Muslim leaders had requested Musharraf to play a role. It may be recalled that a similar assertion had been made, among others, for the Palestinian president, before the September 2005 meeting between the Pakistani and Israeli foreign ministers, but a senior Palestinian official had immediately denied it – but that seemed to embarrass no one in Islamabad.
Ms Aslam also tried to justify the president’s efforts by saying that Pakistan is eager to play a role because the situation in the Middle East has deteriorated and it directly impacts Pakistan. May one ask whether the situation in Afghanistan impacts this country more or the one in Palestine? The relations between Kabul and Islamabad are the worst ever and Musharraf has not succeeded one bit in improving them despite the commander-in-chief George Bush’s intervention.
How can he realistically hope to make any difference in the Israel-Palestine relations given the many factors that clearly impede the mediation by any non-Arab Muslim leader? Israel has already refused his offer, while Hamas has just called off the truce with Tel Aviv, given its unending violence and killing of the Palestinians. Also, King Abdullah had said in unambiguous terms during the Makkah summit that the Arabs should be left alone to sort out their own problems.
Besides, a look at Gen. Musharraf’s record shows a number of bunglings. The insurgency in Balochistan is defying a solution; the Pushtuns in the north are alienated while the judiciary is in the worst-ever crisis caused by none else than him, leading to widespread anger amongst the majority of Pakistanis.
He had also claimed to have ordered the bombing of the madrassah in Bajaur where dozens of children got killed but did not allow politicians, journalists or human rights workers to visit the place, which incensed the nation. If there was nothing to hide, then why stop others from investigating? A few schoolboys have now died in Bara, reportedly due to security forces firing (April 24).
The president also failed to ensure a good performance by our cricket team in the World Cup, in spite of being the patron of the PCB for eight years and having all the powers. After Bob Woolmer’s shocking death, nothing was done to save the players from the insulting behaviour and harassment by the Jamaican police, as revealed by Younus Khan. This is no way to run such a high-profile sports entity.
The cause of all this puffing and panting in the Middle East while neglecting graver issues facing Pakistan appears to lie in Washington. Given the Bush administration woes in Iraq and failure to bail out Israel from the devastating effects of its attack on Lebanon last summer, it had tried to use ‘moderate’ Arab states to isolate Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
However, the Saudi king’s blunt talk about Iraq’s occupation being illegal; the successful formation of a unity government in Palestine and lack of progress in kick-starting parleys with Israel must have disappointed Bush. The Americans are, therefore, obviously goading the ever obliging Musharraf to do it for them. By responding, the general would only belie his claim that Pakistan comes first.
AN OBSERVER
Karachi
I AGREE with Imran Khan Sial (letter, April 20) that the government should rethink big dam strategy as no consensus could be achieved, especially in three provinces, which are deadly opposed to the Kalabagh dam and any attempt to siphon away any more water from the Indus which, according to them, belongs to Sindh and Balochistan, which are the lower riparians.
They also regard the Chashma-Jhelum link as being in violation of the agreed allocation of Indus water below Tarbela. On top of all, the design of the Kalabagh dam also envisaged further siphoning of Indus water through several canals. If this controversy continues, people feel that it might result in a serious dispute, with disastrous results and, therefore, deserves to be wound up, sooner the better.
Apart from this, almost a dam-sized water storage capacity is lying choked up in the old irrigation headworks from Khanki to Punjnad on the Chenab river, besides some on the Ravi and the Sutlaj too. These have no floodgates and as such have raised the river beds up to 15 feet, resulting in very high flood devastation every few years, in upper and lower Punjab, including some spillover in Sindh.
The Punjab government, instead of continuing the Kalabagh dam controversy, should provide floodgates in all these defective irrigation weirs on top priority, to release huge water storage, besides saving colossal flood damage every few years during wet cycles which are now becoming more unpredictable due to global warming.
As regards smaller dams, based on personal observations, it is suggested that we should seriously consider creating underground reservoirs in Balochistan, Sindh and Cholistan, using subsoil clay dams up to the water-bearing strata wherever the soil and surface conditions permit.
I have seen huge quantities of water flowing across rail and road breaches, dips and bridges on Quetta-Koh-i-Taftan link which, if stored in batteries of such subsoil clay dams, could turn the vast areas of west Balochistan green, bringing a real green revolution. Similar efforts in Sindh and Cholistan can also be helpful in improving the prosperity of these areas.
The authorities concerned are requested to take up all such mattes seriously and start some research projects to prove their viability, instead of continuing wasteful controversy over the Kalabagh dam, merely for cheap popularity or election stunt.
S.M.H. RIZVI
Karachi
THIS refers to I. H. Mahmood's letter (April 17) on the subject of separation of religion and state. Initially holding this premise, he goes on to propose elimination of collective Islamic practice from the daily life at large, carrying an eerie echo of Tony Blair's recent stance on the purdah issue. He also cites the example of Kamal Ataturk as a benchmark.
All of which raises several questions: Is Turkey a superpower today, or is it still the 'sick man of Europe' begging at the heels of EU for admittance? Has Turkey had an illustrious career in world history post-Ataturk? Secondly, incorporation of Islam in daily lives has not hampered but rather benefited many nations, the prime example being Malaysia. Most developed nations in the world, while non-Muslim, have their roots and structures firmly etched in religion.
Islam doesn't hurt anyone. It is gracious and benevolent towards minorities. It opposes use of force at any and at all levels. It is most certainly not defined by the Mulla Omars of today, rather they are the West’s foster children for the war against Islam. Following the same parallel, we cannot define Christianity by the actions of George Bush. One would think that most people would have a sense to discern these simple facts.
Sadly, common sense seems to have deserted many of us. Why is it that the key to all progress is considered to be only the removal of religion by certain quarters of our country? Their finger-pointing is restricted to Muslim states -- they have no objection to other religious states in the world. And terming Islam as the biggest cause of corruption in Muslim states is not only brutally simplistic and heavy-handed, but displays an ignorance of the basic teachings of Islam.
Supporters of 'enlightened moderation' don't realise that their train of thought practically begs the president for a forced elimination of anything and everything that is Islamic from our daily lives. The next logical step for such people would be to denounce observance of Ramazan and Eid as 'extremism', or for that matter, any other collective religious activity. All the while the hundreds of other religions in the world preach and practise at will, never being accused of being fundamentalists or extremists.
Why have we become so apologetic towards our own identity?
TALHA BIN HAMID
Karachi
THIS is in response to the very angry letter in your columns (April 21) by Engr I. R. Khan. I cannot help but agree with his statements. It is indeed true that many projects that, in a better society, would never have seen the light are in existence due to the advice tendered by my fellow professionals.
I also cannot help but disagree with his accusation of us running with the hares and hunting with the hounds.
The IAP has been very assertive and vociferous on its opposition to the Elevated Expressway.
When a government/private developer approached the Sindh government for a massive increase in plot ratio for a commercial project, the Karachi Chapter of the IAP was instrumental in convincing a committee appointed by the chief minister to render a loud and categorical ‘No’ verdict. That the chief minister has now chosen to proceed against the recommendations of his own committee is another matter.
The Karachi Chapter of the IAP hosted two conferences on the proposed Karachi Master Plan 2020, bringing together the city government and the architects and planners of the city together to talk to each other. Consequent to that, we are engaged with the CDGK to further this partnership. We did not achieve miracles, but we have created an environment in which, I am happy to say, the CDGK welcomes the infusion of great participation by the private citizen professionals in this regard.
Sir, the architectural community, like all other communities in our land of the pure, has both – those who see their salvation with the hares, as well as those who salivate with the hounds. To paint all of us, especially the IAP, with such a broad brush is, to say the least, unfair.
Perhaps I. R. Khan feels the engineering community has done better to stem the rot of the insatiable greed for power and pelf that pervades our nation.
HUSNAIN LOTIA,
Chairman, Karachi Chapter,
Institute of Architects, Pakistan
IT is a common practice among political leaders to divert attention from one crisis by creating another diversionary crisis of some sort and embark upon an overseas visit from where photographs and statements of achievements flood the front pages of all newspapers.
In the midst of our current crisis involving the removal of the chief justice and the ongoing struggle by the legal fraternity in defence of the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan, the Jinnah Society organised a talk show at Karachi by eminent scientist and social activist Dr Pervaiz Hoodbhoy, who delivered a talk on ‘The Dialectics of Faith, Unity, Discipline – What does Pakistan need today?’
Mr Jinnah used these words for the first time in a speech on Dec 28, 1947 when he said:
“We are going through fire: the sunshine has yet to come. But I have no doubt that with unity, faith and discipline we will not only remain the fifth largest state in the world but will compare with any nation of the world. Are you prepared to undergo the fire? You must make up your mind now. We must sink individualism and petty jealousies and make up our minds to serve the people with honesty and faithfulness. We are passing through a period of fear, danger and menace. We must have faith, unity and discipline.”
In 1943 Mr Jinnah said that “in a few years we have made of the Muslims of India, who were only a crowd, a nation. They were a scattered mass, disorganised and apathetic. The Muslim League has electrified them from their stupor and knit them together”.
In 1940 the Pakistan Resolution was passed at the Lahore session of the Muslim League. From then on, the establishment of a separate and independent homeland for the Muslims became a cherished goal.
Mahatama Gandhi challenged Mr Jinnah, after the Lahore Resolution was passed, by making a charge that the Muslims as children of India were originally Hindus and a mere change of faith could not denote a separate nation. Mr Jinnah’s classic rejoinder was as under:
“We maintain and hold that Muslims and Hindus are two major nations by any definition or test of a nation. We are a nation of a hundred million people and, what is more, we are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilisation, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral codes, history and tradition, aptitudes and ambitions, in short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law we are a nation.”
Because Mr Jinnah had started advocating that the Muslims of India constituted a nation, these three words were intended to strengthen the concept of nationhood by Pakistanis having faith in themselves, faith in their leaders, faith in their country and faith in God as they marched ahead as citizens of the new state of Pakistan with unity among their ranks, without falling prey to parochial and sectarian differences and discipline in their ranks so that they may follow and comply with applicable laws and rules of human behaviour which would lead to the Muslims of Pakistan becoming capable of meeting challenges that lay ahead.
LIAQUAT H. MERCHANT
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the article 'The language of entertainment' (April 24) by Dr Tariq Rahman. The writer has made a very valid point that the language of Bollywood films is not chaste Hindi but more of a Hindi-Urdu mix or Hindustani. The language of so-called Hindi films was never pure Hindi. It always had Urdu/Persian words like mohabat, ishq, arzoo, nasha, salaam, dil, insaaf, jurm, jung, dos , dushman, etc.
Over years we have seen inclusion of more of this Urdu-Persian vocabulary (especially in songs written by poets like Javed Akhtar and Gulzar). Another interesting point is that at one time Muslim actors in Bollywood had to adopt Hindu name like Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, Meena Kumari but today the top heroes of Bollywood (the three Khans - Shahrukh, Salman and Amir ) have retained their Muslim names. The reason behind this shift is to a large extent commercial.
Nowadays Bollywood films are seen all over the Muslim world from Malaysia to Morocco. The size of the Muslim audience has outstripped the size of the Hindu audience for the Bollywood films. It makes commercial sense to strike an emotional chord with the Muslim audience by having Muslim actors, characters and names in the films. Bollywood is simply aligning with the market realities.
AJIT AGARWAL
California, USA
PRESIDENT Musharraf is hoping to be chosen as an ‘elected’ president by the current National Assembly. Would Gen Musharraf dare to accept a challenge for his seat from non-functional Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, given that non-functional CJ is willing to contest the presidential election against Gen Musharraf?
If yes, then perhaps all problems being faced by Gen Musharraf may be solved.
DR FAHIM A. QURESHI
Lahore
I AGREE with Khawaja Khusro Tariq’s letter entitled ‘Making religion the scapegoat’ (April 24). I have read many articles by Irfan Husain and have arrived at the same conclusion as Mr Tariq.
Irfan Hussain needs to take a reality check and look into other causes for the chaos that exists in Pakistan.
His continuous effort to heap the blame on religion was pointless to begin with but has now become absolutely boring.
FAISAL SIDDIQUI
Edmonton, Canada
WE, the residents of Airport Housing Society, Rawalpindi, are suffering from the epidemic of loadshedding these days which has struck this country with devastating force.
Unfortunately, the disease strikes the residents of the society for no less than five hours daily from 9 am to 2pm. Children cry because of the intense heat and the honorable gentlemen, who unfortunately happen to be our national leaders, keep blathering about economic prosperity and leaps of progress that this country has taken in the past few years. Alas!
M. TAHIR MAZARI
Rawalpindi
APROPOS of Zubeida Mustafa's article `Language question in education' (April 11) and subsequent letter of Dr Muhammad Suleman Shaikh, chairman, Sindh Graduate Association (April 19), I feel that no nation can develop until they study in their own mother tongue.
It is simply understandable by everyone. The crux of the matter is that you have to develop the relevant teaching material available in your own language before teaching takes place. In Hyderabad, India, the university used to teach every subject of science in Urdu, even medicine, but now, because the current research work, globally, could not be produced in Urdu, they opted for English.
Let us start producing the quality scientific and other books in Sindhi language and start teaching in Sindhi. This will certainly give the required boost to higher education and the confidence to the students.
Simply teaching three languages for the sake of language does not help the child knowing either language technically. Instead, this becomes a burden on the child, encouraging him/her to run away from studies.
ASLAM JAFERY
Bahria Foundation College,
Mirpurkhas
AD HOC lecturers in Sindh are in great distress because their salaries are paid after four or five months after completion of every six months’ extension notification. This uncertainty has made their future insecure.
I suggest the authorities concerned should immediately regularise the services of such lecturers.
AYAZ KALHORO
Larkana
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.