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A mission impossible?
The Somanatha controversy WITH reference to Ashfaque Naqvi’s letter, regarding the article, The Somanatha controversy (August 8), he has mentioned his visit to Pattan where the temple is situated. He did not mention the date of his visit (which is probably pre-’47 Nawabi days of Junagadh) when he observed “no one was allowed to perform any rituals”. On September 24, one of the Indian television channels showed Mr L.K. Advani performing rituals and announcing grander annual rituals at Somanath. Not only did Sardar Patel retrieve the doors from Afghanistan but he also ordered the rebuilding of the temple to its old glory. I visited Somanath in the recent past and found a very imposing structure by the shores of the Arabian Sea, presenting a magnificent picturesque sunset. What struck me most was that the ruins’ rubble, scattered around the new structure in original shapes of broken images, created by the invaders, was preserved, a scene I later captured on canvas. Also, I would like to recomend Dr Romila Thapar’s excellent research paper on Somanath (Somanatha, The Many Voices of a History) in which she has thrown new light on the idol controversy. A.R. NAGORI Karachi Dancing queens of Swat WITH reference to the article, Dancing queens of Swat (September 26), it is a shame that in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the obscene custom of dancing girls prevails. What is more shocking is that the article is in favour of the custom. Girls are not allowed to dance in front of na-mahram men. They have to observe purdah. I can only hope and pray that Pakistan rids itself of these customs. SANEELA ALTAF Karachi | ||
WITH reference to the article, A mission impossible? (August 22) what I want to ask is why the ruling parties in Pakistan, including the Muslim League, are running the country with a strong centre? This despite the fact that more than 50 years back, when the Planning Commission had proposed a plan that called for a loose federation called “Union of India”. The plan called for Defence, Finance and Communication to be with the Centre, while the rest remained with strong local units. The All India Muslim League had accepted it while ironically, Congress had rejected the whole idea. A strong and forceful Centre is also one of the reasons why we lost East Pakistan.|
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