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June 22, 2003
REVIEWS: Admitting the truth
The trouble with autobiographies is that one can never really expect a sense of objectivity out of them, but then by their very nature this genre of writing tends to be insightful into history as perceived by the author. Life Story of an Ex-Soldier by Brigadier S.S. Abul Qasim clearly could have offered this perception considering the diverse and wide ranging experiences of the author, whose claim to fame includes being Director Artillery Eastern Command in the disastrous military campaign in East Pakistan and a mention in Marquis’ Who is who in the world as a prominent transport professional.
The author’s stated purpose behind writing the book in his own words has been that it should serve as a record of his family’s history to the next generation and inspire other readers to draw examples of how he chose to live his life. The book is not much of a genealogical record but the author’s early life with the partition in the background makes for interesting reading on Muslim communities in South India. However more details would have been welcome.
The defining moment in the book is the author’s account of the conflict in East Pakistan. As the director artillery, the author had a bird’s eye view of the shortcomings that the Pakistan Army had to cope with while fighting the war in the eastern theatre. While the author has tried his level best to bring in as diverse a political, economic and military viewpoint to the conflict, the continual lack of detail in the text is frustrating, as it’s obvious that the author knows a lot more than what has been put to paper.
For example, while he has gone to great lengths to include in the book newspaper editorials written during the war, there is no mention of the surrender ceremony in East Pakistan. The account of life in the POW camps is also sketchy. One wonders why, though this would have been a major event in his life.
Probably the only thing that particularly stands out in the author’s analysis of the 1971 conflict in East Pakistan is a reproduction of a paper that the author wrote on the performance of the artillery in East Pakistan, in view of the overall defensive posture and counter-insurgency operations that were taking place in the region.
Brig Qasim’s analysis of the East Pakistan crisis differs notably from other military historians in his admission that the majority of the population of East Pakistan was against the continuity of the Federation in 1971. It is a surprising fact that a number of military historians in this country still refuse to acknowledge that fact, choosing to lay the blame squarely on India and the Bengali political elite.
His defence of the conduct of General Niazi and General Tikka Khan during the conflict also separates him from most military historians. According to the author, both men performed impeccably under the most trying circumstances that they found themselves in. He puts the blame on the 2nd command tier of the Army for some atrocities with particularly harsh criticism of Brigadier Jehanzeb Arbab and others. He also implies that the senior officers of the surrendering Eastern Command were given the impression that their forces would be quickly repatriated to West Pakistan.
The author’s conclusion is that protracted involvement in civil affairs has eroded the professionalism of the military. Materialism has robbed it of the altruistic charm that previously made military service so attractive. This is refreshingly candid coming from someone with a military background.
The book devotes considerable space to the author’s career as a transport professional. He served as chairman of the now defunct Karachi Transport Corporation (KTC) and was an honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport (CIT), which is a rare honour bestowed on a select few around the world. The author is widely travelled, but he gives very little detail of what he observed in the transport system of the countries he visited.
An irritating fact that mars the whole book from beginning to end is the extremely bad editing and proofing which makes the book quite ordinary with a few good moments here and there. Had it been better edited the book would have been an enjoyable read for a section of readers interested in military history and transport issues.
Life Story of an Ex-Soldier
By Brigadier (r) S.S. Abul Qasim
Self published
Available at Thomas & Thomas, Shahrah-i-Liaquat, Opposite Odeon Centre, P.O.Box 8790, Saddar, Karachi. Tel: 021-5682220
276pp. Rs250
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