Pakistan: A transitional polity
By Raza Rumi Pakistan’s existentialist crisis is no longer a strictly Pakistani issue. Its potential repercussions have emerged as a cornerstone of global debates on regional stability and international concerns on terrorism and nuclear proliferation. The clichés on Pakistan’s disintegration and meltdown have also been done to death in the international media and policy brigades across the world. Perhaps, what the world has not yet fully comprehended is that Pakistan is essentially a transitional country where the old order is crumbling, giving way to a newer society that is grappling with geostrategic compulsions, domestic violence and a post-colonial state which refuses to realign its structures and priorities to a ‘new’ Pakistan. To begin with, never in Pakistan’s history have so many women been active in the public spheres: from higher education to … Read entire article »
Alternative narratives: ‘History rewritten to further political ends’
People named their sons after Dahir and Chach until 1960s, says historian Manan Ahmed. LAHORE: The view that Pakistan was conceived as soon as Muhammad bin Qasim set foot in Sindh amounts to rewriting of history, Historian Manan Ahmed said on Saturday. He was speaking to an audience of academics, journalists and bloggers at the Nairang Art Gallery. Earlier, he had read excerpts from Kashful Mahjoob by Ali Hajveri and Chach Nama by Ali Kufki. … Read entire article »
Nations within a Nation – The Search for a Pakistani Nation – 2
By Adnan Syed “Indeed, world is ruled by little else but ideas.” — John Maynard Keynes The Two Nation Theory and Inequality in the New State of Pakistan The two nation theory was primarily based on distinctive majority-two-nations within United India. The distinction was cultural as well as religious, where both of these characteristics freely overlapped each other. Given the dominance of religion within the edifice of the Muslim nation, it was inevitable that religion will form a large part in the new nation state that was carved due to the Muslim nation identity. And given a strong tradition of political Islam within the Muslim body, it was inevitable that the very political Islam will find its way through the vague contours of the shifting idea of an Indian Muslim nation … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamism, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion, Rights, secular Pakistan, secularism
History must not lie
By Shahid Javed Burki EVER since gaining independence Pakistan has done a remarkable job of either ignoring its history or simply not telling the truth about it. The first is true for economic history, the second for the part of history that concerns the country`s political evolution. In a well-known work Khursheed Kamal Aziz — or simply KK as he was known to his friends and admirers — wrote about the series of lies and distortions that crept into the writing of history. In , one of his last works, he confessed that he was also guilty of committing this crime. The Making of Pakistan In the officially sponsored which for many years remained the definitive account of the founding of Pakistan as a separate state for the Muslim community of British India, … Read entire article »
Filed under: History
Karachi at the End of the Raj
Karachi as seen by a British soldier sometime between 1942 and 1947: lively … Read entire article »
Bulleh for our times
By Ali Abbas First published in Islamabad Dateline Mystifying is the turn of time, indeed. Refuted by clerics of his time, the same Bulleh Shah who was refused burial in his community graveyard is quoted by contemporary mullahs and holds worldwide reverence today. Same can be said for all mystic poets who lived to challenge the rigid interpretation of religion prevailing in their times. One wonders if he would have been charged for blasphemy and assassinated like Taseer or Bhatti if Bulleh were to say ‘whatever is in the heart’ in our society at present — mou’n aye baat na rehndi aye. … Read entire article »
“Problems of a Multi-Cultural society and the way out”
By Riaz Ali Toori A particular community of people living in a country or region, and having shared customs, laws, and organizations is called a society. The social fabrics of a society make it inter-dependent. There could be peculiar differences among the people living in a society that lead to conflicts that sometime lead to great dilemma like war on terror. The gush of unrest we are witnessing today is just because of clash of thoughts and lack of tolerance among the individuals. The other human catastrophes including poverty, unemployment and inflation also play a vital role in fortifying the conflicts. The influx of divergence could be disastrous enough to lead this world towards complete collapse. We need orchestrated efforts to bring down the rising temperature to a freezing point in order … Read entire article »
Saudi Islam
Panorama is on BBC One at 8.30pm on Monday night. Thursday 10 February 2011 Muslim pupils learn to cut off hands of thieves Muslim children are being taught how to chop off thieves’ hands and that Jews are plotting to take over the world at a network of Islamic schools, it has been disclosed. A diagram from one of the text books By Graham Paton 10:42PM GMT 21 Nov 2010 Up to 5,000 pupils attending weekend schools across Britain are being exposed to textbooks claiming that some Jews were transformed into pigs and apes, and that some offences could be punished with stoning. One book for six year-olds warns that those who do not believe in Islam will be condemned to “hellfire” in death. … Read entire article »
FACT: Jinnah would have been murdered like Taseer by the Mullahs today
By Yasser Latif Hamdani Some Mullah websites are now once again spinning old lies about Jinnah vis a vis the Ilamdin case. They say if you do not counter a lie, it becomes the truth but I will come to that in a second. First let us review what Jinnah, as a member of the select committee, had to say when 295-A came up for the discussion in the Indian Legislative Assembly. 295-A was discussed and enacted in response to Rajpal case. Bear in mind 295-A is a much more lenient law than 295-B and 295-C. This is what Jinnah had to say: “We must also secure this very important and fundamental principle that those who are engaged in historical works, those who are engaged in the ascertainment of truth and those who are … Read entire article »
Filed under: History
Babur, the first Moghul emperor
Courtesy The Economist – Dec 16th 2010 ON A bright winter’s morning lines of plane trees and immaculately tended rose bushes fall away down terraces where men crash out on carpets and sheepish young couples sit as close together as they dare. The plants are fed by a central water channel, the signature feature of a Moghul garden. Below is the brown smog of Kabul; beyond, snowy mountains. The tomb of Babur, … Read entire article »
Was Jinnah A Democrat?
A continuation from “Was Jinnah secular?” and “Did Jinnah want Pakistan?”. By Yasser Latif Hamdani There are many people who criticize Jinnah – quite incorrectly in my opinion- of having laid the foundations for subsequent periods of authoritarian military rule. They allege that Jinnah’s decision to become the Governor General was the first blow to parliamentary democracy in Pakistan. Unable to distinguish the argument of constitutional purists pleading the ceremonial and executive roles of president and prime … Read entire article »
Did Jinnah Want Pakistan?
By Yasser Latif Hamdani This is partly a continuation of my earlier article “Was Jinnah secular?” but mainly a response to a letter posted by Moin Ansari addressed to Mr. Najam Sethi called “refuting Mr Sethi’s blasphemy” in response to a TV show the latter did on the distortion of history in Pakistan. Ahrari Fifth Columnist Moin Ansari is from a breed of self appointed Pakistani McCarthyites who abuse and attack anyone who tries to point out some facts … Read entire article »
Islamist lies about Allama Iqbal
By Yasser Latif Hamdani On 9th November this year, Pakistan was off on account of the great poet and philosopher Iqbal’s birthday. I wonder why? It is time we had a discussion on whether Iqbal was legitimately a founding father of this country. In my opinion, Pakistan has only one founding father and that is Mahomed Ali Jinnah not Iqbal, without belittling Iqbal’s contribution to the idea of Pakistan. However it does not end there. The right … Read entire article »
Religious Right in Their Own Words; Apostasy Punishment, Jihad and the Role of Non Muslims in the Land of Infidels
Part 3 By Adnan Syed This series revisits one of the pivotal events of the early Pakistani history; the riots by the religious right wing parties to get Ahmadis declared as non-Muslims, and the subsequent Munir-Kiyani inquiry commission report into the causes behind the riots. The report went on to interview the religious leaders of the newly formed state of Pakistan regarding their motives and their ideas of Pakistan as a pure Islamic state. As the interviews revealed the incongruous replies of various leaders, they also showed vague but chilling ideas that the right wing parties harboured to turn the newly formed Muslim nation into a politically Islam dominated theocratic nation. The interviews reveal the role of democracy, non Muslims, Jihad and punishments like apostasy that would be practiced in an ideal … Read entire article »
Filed under: Constitution, Democracy, History, Identity, India, Islam, Jinnah, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, minorities, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion
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Sunrise at the Arabian Sea, Charna Island
24 Dec 2011
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