LAHORE has just emerged from the annual battle between religious and social organizations for securing hides of animals sacrificed on Eid-ul-Azha. The event took place, as always, on the streets of the city and although there was nothing extraordinary about it, the intensity of the elements vying for top position on the victory stand was unprecedented.
The battle was fought between religious and social sector organizations with traditional weapons, innovative advertising skills and selfless workers who knocked at doors to personally persuade citizens that their organization deserved the hide of the animal they had sacrificed more than any rival.
Suzuki vans blared credentials and eligibility from loudspeakers across the city and workers made house-to-house calls though some organizations relied on their faithful to come to their shamianas and deliver the required object in person. Jamat-e-Islami (JI), was predictably the front- runner in the campaign.
This was for obvious reasons. It possesses better know how in this field than any competitor, its workers are trained and it has a reliable group of backers that has sustained the party in all seasons. They retain faith in JI’s ability to deliver what it promises on social, political and religious fronts.
Their trust in the party hasn’t been shaken by its showing in the political arena. JI may not score in the electoral field but it has all that takes to clinch the hides contest. However, in view of the presence of some new entrants of impressive contribution so far and great potential for future and formidable rivals of impeccable credentials, the outcome of the fight for hides cannot be viewed as settled in favor of JI.
Many other organizations were in the arena and some of them were without a publicity blitz or collection centers backing their claim on the hides. For instance, one did not come across advertisements urging the people to donate hides to Eidhi Foundation. Practically every urban citizen of Pakistan is familiar with Maulana Eidhi and his work and the two should be a household name in rural areas too.
The Foundation does not have to go to people for support of any type; people approach it themselves. The track record of the Foundation is a recommendation nothing can match. Chances are that the number of hides donated to it were in excess, possibly far in excess of hides collected by any other organization. People have their own way of judging individuals and organizations and Eidhi and his Foundation stand high in their estimation.
Imran Khan’s Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital project has won wide respect. It is a rare effort and speaks highly of the crusading commitment of the man who established it. Few people comprehended the idea and its possibilities when Khan presented it before the public and sought financial support for turning the idea in to reality.
It got off promisingly as Imran Khan was a name in the world of sports and had recently led Pakistan’s cricket team to victory in the World Cup. His popularity among the masses served him well and the idea soon began to take concrete physical shape, despite unfair restrictions from the PPP government. Over the years, it hasn’t been established only but has also rendered a remarkable service to the people in the diseased sector of public health.
Imran Khan’s project has however not reached the comfortable position of JI so that people collecting hides for the hospital can sit under shamianas and wait for well-wishers to step forward without being approached and it is yet to build for itself a reputation like the Eidhi Foundation. That status takes time. However, Khan is a contemporary man and realizes the importance of the latest communication methods and has no hesitation in deploying them.
Khan’s next move, a cancer hospital in Karachi was publicized on television and in newspapers with ads for donation of hides and vans moved around for collection. His campaign was given a boost on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha by the visit of the President and Chief Executive, General Pervaiz Musharraf to the hospital.
That provided timely publicity though I am not sure if people regard support from any level of government as helpful. The hospital in Lahore has been quite successful in its treatment of cancer patients and people have generally developed faith in its functioning and respect for the efforts of Imran Khan. One hopes that hides donated to the hospital would be a source for bolstering finances for the next hospital.
A number of other religious, educational and health organizations were also in the fray for collecting hides to finance their public service undertakings. They are said to have managed varying degrees of success and one hopes that the resources thus created would be invested in activities for which they were collected.
That takes me to the comments of the prayer leader who is invited to grace the main mosque of the areas where I reside. A soft-spoken scholar, he talks in pragmatic terms and laces his address with a touch of humor, a style far apart from most of his rabble rousing, full of themselves colleagues who address people from inaccessible pedestals. He has no problem establishing a rapport with members of the congregation as he sounds like one of them. His unassuming, affable manner has a convincing quality all its own. His humility is instantly accepted authority.
Instead of confusing people with a learned discourse on complex religious issues, he talks of every day problems. One of the subjects he took up on Eid-ul-Azha was disposal of hides of sacrificed animals. He provided general guidance without specifically recommending any organization.
“The hides are for you to dispose off whatever way you think is best,” he told the congregation, recalling that there was a time when they were used for personal requirements like preserving water or making prayer mats. They can be donated as charity too he added.
He pointed out that only religious organizations collected hides till some years back but many social sector organizations were competing for securing them now and advised the members of the congregation that there was no limitation on their donation to religious organizations or those working for providing facilities in health or education sectors or for the alleviation of poverty.
Having said that, he added that judging from the financial value of the hides, one shouldn’t be surprised if the government also staked a claim for hides of sacrificed animals in the near future. He did not elaborate the remark. That is understandable because doing so would amount to trekking tricky territory.
He erred a bit at that point or perhaps he did not take all possibilities into account. He maybe right in thinking that the state could get in to the field of hides of animals to bolster its resources; privatization and renting out facilities may not generate the required funds and another source would be welcome. But the government, we all know, is already in the business of collecting hides.
The spiralling price index constantly informs of how the populace is being skinned by everyone who has a chance of doing so. As far as the authorities are concerned, they operate in this area by enhancing fuel, energy, gas and other charges when conditions do not warrant such raises. They actually go one up on Eid ul Azha: they do the skinning before collecting hides.
LAHORE has just emerged from the annual battle between religious and social organizations for securing hides of animals sacrificed on Eid-ul-Azha. The event took place, as always, on the streets of the city and although there was nothing extraordinary about it, the intensity of the elements vying for top position on the victory stand was unprecedented.
