February 12, 2002

The publication of this book could not have been more timely. As the armies of the two nuclear powers of South Asia face each other on their vulnerable frontiers, it is indeed important to evaluate the thinking of the conscious section of the population on the current explosive situation. It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that never for a moment, the writers, poets and intellectuals of the subcontinent have deviated from the path of peace and understanding between nations.

Be it Japan, Vietnam, Rwanda, the Gulf region or Afghanistan, they have consistently upheld the cause of justice and fair play. How else can one explain Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi‘s memorable short story, “Hiroshima se pahley, Hiroshima ke baad”? Hiroshima was far away from Lahore where Qasmi lives. But he shared the anguish of a people who were subjected to incredible atrocities dropped on them in the form of an atomic bomb. And now when two Asian neighbours are threatening each other with nuclear options, once again the community of writers has raised its voice against this menace.

Here we are not concerned with the hawks of Pakistan and India who are blinded by hatred for each other. They are found in every society and every country and at all times.

When some insane individuals embark upon a devilish mission of defacing the beauty of the Earth through atomic explosions in the hills and the seas, writers have the responsibility of guiding the people to the path of reason. In these testing times, who else but Zamir Niazi has come forward to document the outpourings of committed writers and poets in a book? This indefatigable chronicler of the press in Pakistan has produced a revised and enlarged edition of his book first published a year ago.

Zameen ka nauha is a rare anthology in many respects. Besides Zamir Niazi‘s exhaustive and informative treatise on the rise and expansion of nuclear devices, the first part of the book contains articles by Khalique Ibrahim Khalique and Asif Farrukhi. They have discussed the implications of a nuclear war and its aftermath for the entire humanity. Though the literary excellence of the writings by various writers and poets included in the book cannot be judged and properly evaluated at this stage, comforting is the fact that all of them felt and realized the horrors of a nuclear conflict between two states. Along with the elder writers and poets a sizable number of them belonged to the younger generations.

Apart from Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi‘s memorable short story, the stories by Saadat Hasan Manto, Hasan Manzar, Intezar Husain, Zahida Hina, Masood Ashar, Firdaus Haider and Fatima Hasan are quite poignant literary pieces. Two new additions to the edition under eview are Hijab Imtiaz Ali and Ibne Saeed. The latter has captured the images of Hiroshima after its total destruction. He is instinctively a fiction writer. It‘s a pity that he has stopped writing in Urdu. Manto‘s masterpiece “Chacha Saam ke naam panchwan khat” embodies the frustrating helplessness of a people who are condemned to live at the mercy of a big power.

Besides original writings several short stories and poems written in other languages and translated into Urdu have also been included in the book.

The nuclear explosions in India and Pakistan also stirred up the imagination of the poets of the two countries. Inspiring poems were written by Sheikh Ayaz, Habib Jalib, Ahmad Faraz, Sehr Ansari, Parveen Shakir (new entrant to this edition), Zia Jalandhri, Mohsin Bhopali, Kishwar Naheed, Fahmida Riaz, Hasan Abidi, Muslim Shameem, Saeeda Gazdar, Saba Ekram, Azra Abbas, Attiya Dawood, Hilal Naqvi, N.M. Danish, Zeeshan Sahil and host of other equally gifted poets. It is not possible to name all of them. Neither is any discrimination intended. All of them have felt the pain that humanity may have to endure as a result of nuclear conflicts.

Zameen ka nauha will be regarded by the future generations as a proud legacy handed over to them by their ancestors. This is a valuable document that records the feelings and fears of bewildered people who were once alive to witness the horrors of the atomic blasts. It also serves as a reminder to humanity to be on guard against the designs of self-centred and ambitious rulers who are ever eager to dominate the world through nuclear terror.

The book is a remarkable contribution of revered writer Zamir Niazi. It was indeed a painstaking task to collect literary pieces written in Urdu and other languages on the nuclear explosions in South Asia . But he has successfully and neatly done it. The Urdu reading people would always remain grateful to him.

Zameen ka nauha
Compiled and edited by Zamir Niazi
Scheherzade, B-155, Block 5, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi
E-mail: scheherzade@altavista.com
375pp. Rs100

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