My maternal grandparents hailed from Karachi and my mother and all her siblings were born there. They had to flee Karachi in the wake of the partition in 1947, leaving behind a comfortable existence and had to start a new life, struggling to make ends meet in a new place amongst strangers. My mother was just entering her teenage years during that time and her memories of her childhood and those years is vivid and I have heard a lot of stories about those times from her. My father was working in Karachi at that time as well and he too had to leave Karachi and find his fortunes elsewhere. The tales that my parents have told me over the years have made Karachi hold a special place in my heart.
I stumbled onto Karachiwali's blog a couple of days back. Her posts about the Mumbai incident and the comments by her and her fellow bloggers were painful to read. I left a comment for her requesting her to revisit what she had written earlier and to her credit, as of now she has taken down all Mumbai related posts and comments off the blog.
Yesterday I watched Bhowani Junction on the telly which talks about the identity crisis of the Anglo-Indians and realised that the Muslims of our subcontinent are facing a similar identity crisis. Sooner or later they will have to decide who they are and where they belong. Are they expatriate Arabs, Iranis, Turks, Afghans or Mongols, living in a land conquered by their forefathers? Or are they the sons and daughters of the soil of this subcontinent? Do they wish to regain the lost glory of their ancestors and rule over the infidels, or do they want to be citizens of a modern nation having a stake in the stability and prosperity of this area? Most Muslims can trace their ancestry back to a Hindu ancestor even if they tend to hide it and glorify their Arab or Middle Eastern origins. They have to accept their origins and dispose of their victim mentality. Because the Muslims too have a hand in the mess that the subcontinent is in today. Taali kabhi ek haathse nahin bajti.
Edit: I think it is more of an identity confusion than an identity crisis.
Showing posts with label pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pakistan. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Lure of the Gulf
Visit any Gulf country and you will see Indians laboring away industriously in all types of jobs, from the menial jobs that no local would want to do, to the highly sophisticated ones which require professional qualifications. Most of these migrant workers are from South India and a great percentage of them are from Kerala. This has led to the saying that most people from Kerala are more familiar with Dubai than they are with their own Trivandrum.
Southern India has enjoyed a historic trade relationship with the Arab world with Arab settlements in almost all notable coastal cities and ports of Kerala. The current outflux of workers to the Gulf began in the seventies with the price of oil skyrocketing and the Gulf economies starting to enjoy an economic boom. Most of those workers migrate on bachelor status, leaving their families behind. They live in cramped accommodations, segregated from any interaction with the opposite sex for long periods of time. This results in a host of social and psychological problems both among the migrant population and the population left behind in the home country.
Most of those migrant workers work hard and long hours and remit their savings back home for their families to enjoy a comparatively good standard of living. This influx of Gulf money has proved unhealthy for Kerala. Because it has not generated any lasting development back home. Instead, it has made the local economy even more dependent on exporting its human capital for the purpose of earning remittances.
But things are changing. It is not only monetary considerations these days which come into play when a highly qualified professional decides to migrate to the Gulf. Nowadays for the Muslim professional from the subcontinent, migrating with his family to the Gulf is a chance to enjoy the best of both worlds. Because they get all the material benefits and the infrastructure of the first world, while living in an Islamic state and retaining their own cultural heritage and identity. So they get to live in the West, but without its decadence. Plus they are close enough to the home country to be able to frequently travel and visit their relatives back home. While for other non-Muslim migrants looking for a better life and looking to escape the madness that is the subcontinent, the Gulf is the first step in their trajectory of ultimately migrating to the West.
Southern India has enjoyed a historic trade relationship with the Arab world with Arab settlements in almost all notable coastal cities and ports of Kerala. The current outflux of workers to the Gulf began in the seventies with the price of oil skyrocketing and the Gulf economies starting to enjoy an economic boom. Most of those workers migrate on bachelor status, leaving their families behind. They live in cramped accommodations, segregated from any interaction with the opposite sex for long periods of time. This results in a host of social and psychological problems both among the migrant population and the population left behind in the home country.
Most of those migrant workers work hard and long hours and remit their savings back home for their families to enjoy a comparatively good standard of living. This influx of Gulf money has proved unhealthy for Kerala. Because it has not generated any lasting development back home. Instead, it has made the local economy even more dependent on exporting its human capital for the purpose of earning remittances.
But things are changing. It is not only monetary considerations these days which come into play when a highly qualified professional decides to migrate to the Gulf. Nowadays for the Muslim professional from the subcontinent, migrating with his family to the Gulf is a chance to enjoy the best of both worlds. Because they get all the material benefits and the infrastructure of the first world, while living in an Islamic state and retaining their own cultural heritage and identity. So they get to live in the West, but without its decadence. Plus they are close enough to the home country to be able to frequently travel and visit their relatives back home. While for other non-Muslim migrants looking for a better life and looking to escape the madness that is the subcontinent, the Gulf is the first step in their trajectory of ultimately migrating to the West.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Revisiting Words, Swords and Gold
In this post we will talk about a sect which has used all instruments at its disposal, the Sword, the Word and Gold to achieve its dominance over other lines of thought.
In the year 1740, the ruler of a small town in Arabia and an Islamic scholar, both of whom were ambitious and visionary, entered into a pact. The ruler undertook to support and promulgate the vision of the scholar, while the scholar undertook to accept the ruler and his descendants as temporal leaders of the movement.
This partnership has been one of the most fruitful of all times for both parties concerned. It has impacted the lives of people in every part of the globe and changed the course of history as well as the nature of society and culture in many parts of the world.
The partnership endured and after quite a few ups and downs, by the early 20th century, most of Arabia was under the control of the Saud family with the help of the Wahhabis. The Wahhabi movement in turn was provided with a state and assumed power to dictate religious behavior in the kingdom.
With the discovery of oil wealth and the influx of itinerant workers in the region, the movement found itself with a source of funding as well as a pool of people to influence and convert to its way of thinking. The converts, when they returned, further influenced and converted their communities back home by constructing madrassas and mosques with their newly acquired wealth, preaching their new doctrine. With time this movement came to dominate the Muslim communities of the subcontinent.
I would like to end this post by quoting Iqbal :
khanjar hilaal kaa hai, qawmi nishaaN hamaara
In the year 1740, the ruler of a small town in Arabia and an Islamic scholar, both of whom were ambitious and visionary, entered into a pact. The ruler undertook to support and promulgate the vision of the scholar, while the scholar undertook to accept the ruler and his descendants as temporal leaders of the movement.
This partnership has been one of the most fruitful of all times for both parties concerned. It has impacted the lives of people in every part of the globe and changed the course of history as well as the nature of society and culture in many parts of the world.
The partnership endured and after quite a few ups and downs, by the early 20th century, most of Arabia was under the control of the Saud family with the help of the Wahhabis. The Wahhabi movement in turn was provided with a state and assumed power to dictate religious behavior in the kingdom.
With the discovery of oil wealth and the influx of itinerant workers in the region, the movement found itself with a source of funding as well as a pool of people to influence and convert to its way of thinking. The converts, when they returned, further influenced and converted their communities back home by constructing madrassas and mosques with their newly acquired wealth, preaching their new doctrine. With time this movement came to dominate the Muslim communities of the subcontinent.
I would like to end this post by quoting Iqbal :
cheen o arab hamaraa, hindostaaN hamaara,
muslim hain hum, watan hai saara jahaaN hamaara
and
khanjar hilaal kaa hai, qawmi nishaaN hamaara
Monday, January 19, 2009
The Word or the Sword?
My last post was about a sect that depended solely on the Sword to propagate its version of Islam. This one is about another sect which is diametrically opposite and believes that the time of the Sword is over and the Word has to be solely relied upon to achieve Islam's objectives.
When a Muslim citizen of Pakistan applies for a passport, he has to sign a declaration which states the following:
1. I am a Muslim and believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad the last of the Prophets.
2. I do not recognize any one who claims to be a prophet in any sense of the word or any description whatsoever, after Hazrat Muhammad or recognize such a claimant as a prophet or a religious reformer as Muslim.
3. I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani to be an impostor nabi and also consider his followers whether belonging to the Lahori, Qadiani or Mirzai groups, to be non-Muslims.
I have been interested in Mirza Ghulam Ahmed for a long time because one of my children shares her birthday with him. He was the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement and declared that he was the “Promised One” of all religions, fulfilling all messianic prophecies found in many major world religions. He gave up the Jihadi Sword and forbade carrying out physical Jihad, either for the sake of religion, or against a government which gives freedom of religion. According to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, their motto is “Love for All Hatred for None”.
The contributions of the Ahmadiyya community to Pakistan have been conveniently forgotten. A case in point is that of Dr. Abdus Salam, who not only happens to be the first Muslim but also the first and only Pakistani to win a Nobel Prize. Instead of celebrating his achievement, he has been conveniently forgotten in Pakistan because of his belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect. Under Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan embraced intolerance and declared Ahmadiyyas to be non-Muslims and since then their persecution has been going on in that country.
When a Muslim citizen of Pakistan applies for a passport, he has to sign a declaration which states the following:
1. I am a Muslim and believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad the last of the Prophets.
2. I do not recognize any one who claims to be a prophet in any sense of the word or any description whatsoever, after Hazrat Muhammad or recognize such a claimant as a prophet or a religious reformer as Muslim.
3. I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani to be an impostor nabi and also consider his followers whether belonging to the Lahori, Qadiani or Mirzai groups, to be non-Muslims.
I have been interested in Mirza Ghulam Ahmed for a long time because one of my children shares her birthday with him. He was the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement and declared that he was the “Promised One” of all religions, fulfilling all messianic prophecies found in many major world religions. He gave up the Jihadi Sword and forbade carrying out physical Jihad, either for the sake of religion, or against a government which gives freedom of religion. According to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, their motto is “Love for All Hatred for None”.
The contributions of the Ahmadiyya community to Pakistan have been conveniently forgotten. A case in point is that of Dr. Abdus Salam, who not only happens to be the first Muslim but also the first and only Pakistani to win a Nobel Prize. Instead of celebrating his achievement, he has been conveniently forgotten in Pakistan because of his belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect. Under Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan embraced intolerance and declared Ahmadiyyas to be non-Muslims and since then their persecution has been going on in that country.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Assassins: Words, Swords and Gold
Sam, dam, dand and bhed are legitimate tools of state policy according to our very own Chanakya. Sam and bhed are Words while dam and dand are Gold and Sword respectively. A state should utilize all or any of the above to protect itself against any real or perceived threat as well as to expand its power and territory according to him. It would be foolish for us to expect our enemies to not indulge in the same activities that we consider legitimate when used by us.
It is possible to bring about change with the help of the Word, the Sword and Gold as it has been amply demonstrated throughout history. The Cult of the Assassins, established in the 11th century by Hassan Al-Sabbah, used assassinations of political and religious leaders as a way of bringing about change. It depended more on the Sword than either the Word or Gold to attain its objectives. Most historians credit this cult with being the first to use assassinations as a tool of state policy to bring about social and political change. They grew in power in Persia till the arrival of the Mongols led by Halaku Khan, when they were defeated and their power base was destroyed.
This cult aimed to achieve the social and political supremacy of the Nizari sect of Shii'te Islam. As fate would have it, this sect today has no geographical location to call its own and is scattered around the world with the Aga Khan as their spiritual leader. Perhaps the lesson here is that what is gained by using the Sword alone is of temporal nature.
It is possible to bring about change with the help of the Word, the Sword and Gold as it has been amply demonstrated throughout history. The Cult of the Assassins, established in the 11th century by Hassan Al-Sabbah, used assassinations of political and religious leaders as a way of bringing about change. It depended more on the Sword than either the Word or Gold to attain its objectives. Most historians credit this cult with being the first to use assassinations as a tool of state policy to bring about social and political change. They grew in power in Persia till the arrival of the Mongols led by Halaku Khan, when they were defeated and their power base was destroyed.
This cult aimed to achieve the social and political supremacy of the Nizari sect of Shii'te Islam. As fate would have it, this sect today has no geographical location to call its own and is scattered around the world with the Aga Khan as their spiritual leader. Perhaps the lesson here is that what is gained by using the Sword alone is of temporal nature.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Why War and At What Cost?
"yūnān-o-misr-o-romā, sab miṭ gaye jahān se
ab tak magar hai bāqi, nām-o-nishān hamārā"
ab tak magar hai bāqi, nām-o-nishān hamārā"
When faced by the onslaught of the invading armies in the eighth century, both the ancient cultures of Egypt and Persia were completely wiped off the face of the earth, while the Hindu culture somehow survived. Surely there is some redeeming quality in our culture which other civilizations lacked.
The above couplet is from the well known tarana-e-hind by Allama Iqbal, penned years before he changed his mind about co-existence with infidels.
A lesser known fact is that Pakistan's first national anthem was written by a Lahore based Hindu, Jagan Nath Azad who later migrated to India when his personal safety could no longer be guaranteed by his Muslim friends and well wishers. The interesting thing is that Jinnah himself insisted that
The
We are not concerned with how this came about. What we are concerned with is that this state will and is using all available options at its disposal to first weaken and ultimately dismember our nation. We are at war, whether we like it or not, and neither the battleground, nor the tactics are of our choosing.
The terror spree at Mumbai is just one facet of the war that is forced upon us. The other facets are evident in our troubled
Our much maligned father of the nation is on record as saying that "I WOULD risk violence a thousand times rather than risk the emasculation of a whole race." and "I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence... I would rather have
The question that we are faced with now is when we are at war, whether declared or undeclared, should we retaliate or not? I think Mahatma Gandhi has answered that question for us. And this is no ordinary war, it is a war of survival because the enemy’s sole objective is to destroy us as a nation and dismember us.
The political climate in our country is not conducive for a war at the moment because we are headed for a general election soon and the army needs a few months to prepare for a sustained war anyway. Our diplomats too need time to build up international opinion. So I expect the war to be a few months away, when the army is fully prepared and if there is a willing coalition at the center.
This war has to be taken to its logical conclusion of forever eliminating the threat that we face, by dismembering Pakistan. because there is no middle way left. We simply cannot fool ourselves by talking about coexistence. It has to be a sustained war till our objectives are achieved. There is a high possibility that there will be heavy casualties and not just military. The civilian death toll is going to be high as well. Because when it finds itself in a corner,
The whole essence of the BhagvadGeeta for me is summed up in this shloka "karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachan..." which translated in English would be:
"You have a right to perform your prescribed action,but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action.
Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities,and never be associated to not doing your duty."
Monday, December 29, 2008
Water as a tool of war
The time has come to use whatever powers and advantages we have at our disposal in order to win the war that has been forced upon India. Because conventional war is out of the question and diplomacy can only go so far with a two-faced adversary like Pakistan who says one thing, means something different and ultimately does what it intends to do.
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed by Nehru and Ayyub Khan in 1960 with the World Bank as the third signatory. It gave Pakistan exclusive use of the Indus waters as well as its tributaries, the Jhelum and the Chenab. While India was allocated the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej. But India also has a right to 'run of the river' projects which do not disrupt the flow of water to Pakistan. One such project is the 450 Mw Baglihar hydro-electric dam project across the Chenab in Kashmir. This was inaugurated earlier this year amid strong protests by the Pak Government.
In 2005 Pakistan had sought the World Bank's intervention to stop construction of the Baglihar dam and the hydroelectricity power project, but Bank-appointed experts had cleared the project while asking India to restrict the overall height of the dam.
Earlier India had to stop construction of Tulbul Navigation Project on the River Jhelum on account of objections raised by Pakistan. While India maintained that the project was designed to improve navigation, especially during the winter when the water level recedes, Pakistan said that it is a storage project which will affect the flow of water. Work on the project has remained stalled for 20 years.
The Indus Waters Treaty is in fact the only treaty which has withstood all Indo-Pak wars, Kargils and the various terror attacks that we have witnessed lately. And this has been due to India's taking a moral stance and not using water as a weapon of war.
The Tulbul Navigation Project was one of eight issues under discussion in the stalled Pakistan-India Composite Dialogue process. Now is the time to use this to our advantage and restart its construction unilaterally, to send a strong signal to Pakistan.
The Indus Waters Treaty was signed by Nehru and Ayyub Khan in 1960 with the World Bank as the third signatory. It gave Pakistan exclusive use of the Indus waters as well as its tributaries, the Jhelum and the Chenab. While India was allocated the Ravi, the Beas and the Sutlej. But India also has a right to 'run of the river' projects which do not disrupt the flow of water to Pakistan. One such project is the 450 Mw Baglihar hydro-electric dam project across the Chenab in Kashmir. This was inaugurated earlier this year amid strong protests by the Pak Government.
In 2005 Pakistan had sought the World Bank's intervention to stop construction of the Baglihar dam and the hydroelectricity power project, but Bank-appointed experts had cleared the project while asking India to restrict the overall height of the dam.
Earlier India had to stop construction of Tulbul Navigation Project on the River Jhelum on account of objections raised by Pakistan. While India maintained that the project was designed to improve navigation, especially during the winter when the water level recedes, Pakistan said that it is a storage project which will affect the flow of water. Work on the project has remained stalled for 20 years.
The Indus Waters Treaty is in fact the only treaty which has withstood all Indo-Pak wars, Kargils and the various terror attacks that we have witnessed lately. And this has been due to India's taking a moral stance and not using water as a weapon of war.
The Tulbul Navigation Project was one of eight issues under discussion in the stalled Pakistan-India Composite Dialogue process. Now is the time to use this to our advantage and restart its construction unilaterally, to send a strong signal to Pakistan.
Friday, December 05, 2008
You have blood on your hands
Holding candlelight vigils and marching in protest against terror......... You are kidding me.
Do you think those candle lighting events and protest marches are going to have any impact on the menace that we are facing? What they do, is give your conscience a momentary satisfaction of having done something to help the fight against terror. And then you revert back to what you have been doing all along.
When was the last time you stopped yourself from bribing an official to get a shortcut out of a situation? You keep on bribing everybody from the lowly traffic cops to high officials to get your work done. YOU are the one who has helped poison the very moral fabric of this nation. When you buy a property, do you not agree to pay a certain amount in black? Where do you think this money goes?
Do you think that the Mumbai carnage would have been possible without the collusion of the local underworld? I feel that some factions of the underworld must have provided logistics support in either planning or the actual carrying out of this incident.
If you have ever paid protection money or if you are a celebrity and have danced to their tunes, you have blood on your hands. If you have used recreational drugs you have blood on your hands. Because guess who benefits from the trade in illegal drugs? The same people who helped carry out the carnage in Mumbai.
Those showcase events are not going to change anything. The short term measures have to be taken of course, but the long term solution lies in beginning at the grassroots level. With you and me. And by doing the right thing. Take a moral stance, even if it is detrimental in the short term. Instill the correct values in your offspring. Start taking an active role in finding solutions to existing problems and be prepared for a long tortuous journey ahead. Because only WE can help bring about change.
Do you think those candle lighting events and protest marches are going to have any impact on the menace that we are facing? What they do, is give your conscience a momentary satisfaction of having done something to help the fight against terror. And then you revert back to what you have been doing all along.
When was the last time you stopped yourself from bribing an official to get a shortcut out of a situation? You keep on bribing everybody from the lowly traffic cops to high officials to get your work done. YOU are the one who has helped poison the very moral fabric of this nation. When you buy a property, do you not agree to pay a certain amount in black? Where do you think this money goes?
Do you think that the Mumbai carnage would have been possible without the collusion of the local underworld? I feel that some factions of the underworld must have provided logistics support in either planning or the actual carrying out of this incident.
If you have ever paid protection money or if you are a celebrity and have danced to their tunes, you have blood on your hands. If you have used recreational drugs you have blood on your hands. Because guess who benefits from the trade in illegal drugs? The same people who helped carry out the carnage in Mumbai.
Those showcase events are not going to change anything. The short term measures have to be taken of course, but the long term solution lies in beginning at the grassroots level. With you and me. And by doing the right thing. Take a moral stance, even if it is detrimental in the short term. Instill the correct values in your offspring. Start taking an active role in finding solutions to existing problems and be prepared for a long tortuous journey ahead. Because only WE can help bring about change.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Grandstanding
Zardari is at it again.
I have written about this earlier here. And I still believe that he is just playing to the international media and trying to mollify his western benefactors by uttering platitudes. The fact remains that he has no control over either the Pakistani Army or the ISI which are the defacto policy makers regarding Pakistan's policy towards India.
Remember the Pakistani Army waging a war in Kargil without authorization from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?
For the record, India has already declared its nuclear 'no first use' policy, under Vajpayee. What Zardari has said is that he favors it, but has not declared it as state policy yet. Perhaps because he does not have the power to do so, or perhaps because he is just testing out the feelings this might invoke in his own country. Because how can one end the hatred for India, which is the raison d'etre for Pakistan? This hatred is the unifying factor that Pakistan relies on to exist as a viable state.
I have written about this earlier here. And I still believe that he is just playing to the international media and trying to mollify his western benefactors by uttering platitudes. The fact remains that he has no control over either the Pakistani Army or the ISI which are the defacto policy makers regarding Pakistan's policy towards India.
Remember the Pakistani Army waging a war in Kargil without authorization from the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?
For the record, India has already declared its nuclear 'no first use' policy, under Vajpayee. What Zardari has said is that he favors it, but has not declared it as state policy yet. Perhaps because he does not have the power to do so, or perhaps because he is just testing out the feelings this might invoke in his own country. Because how can one end the hatred for India, which is the raison d'etre for Pakistan? This hatred is the unifying factor that Pakistan relies on to exist as a viable state.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Zardari loves India
Don't be fooled into believing that we will be seeing a sea change in Pakistan's attitude towards India, just because Zardari says so. Do not even think for a moment that the Kashmir problem can be solved just because Pakistan changes its public persona. That is exactly what he is, Zardari is the face that Pakistan presents to the world community at the moment. He does not have any control over the army, or the ISI, which are the actual policy-makers with regard to India.
And look at the context in which he is saying all those sweet nothings. Pakistan is in dire economic straits and Zardari is asking for a $100 billion aid package. Do not forget that he is the original Mr. 10 per cent. Of course he will be excited at the prospect of billions and of his personal cut from it. I am sure that is why he has that glint in his eyes. He must be wringing his hands in glee, mentally calculating his personal windfall from the aid package which Pakistan's friends are bound to come up with. He sure can say even sweeter things so that they can part with that money with a clear conscience.
After all, doesn't Pakistan have all those nukes, and can the world and especially The Friends of Pakistan let it slide into anarchy? Who said that nuclear weapons are, at best, deterrents? In the case of Pakistan, they have become a tool for blackmailing the entire world into coughing up aid and supporting a failed state.
And look at the context in which he is saying all those sweet nothings. Pakistan is in dire economic straits and Zardari is asking for a $100 billion aid package. Do not forget that he is the original Mr. 10 per cent. Of course he will be excited at the prospect of billions and of his personal cut from it. I am sure that is why he has that glint in his eyes. He must be wringing his hands in glee, mentally calculating his personal windfall from the aid package which Pakistan's friends are bound to come up with. He sure can say even sweeter things so that they can part with that money with a clear conscience.
After all, doesn't Pakistan have all those nukes, and can the world and especially The Friends of Pakistan let it slide into anarchy? Who said that nuclear weapons are, at best, deterrents? In the case of Pakistan, they have become a tool for blackmailing the entire world into coughing up aid and supporting a failed state.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
