Pak Tea House » Entries tagged with "Partition"
Kapil Komireddi’s butchery of history on Jinnah
By Yasser Latif Hamdani So complete have been the state sponsored mythologies in the subcontinent that both Indians and Pakistanis are incapable of looking at the past objectively or with any kind of intellectual ability. Consider for example jingoistic Indian columnist Kapil Komireddi’s piece for Daily Beast titled “Pakistan’s Mohammad Ali Jinnah is not Mandela”. As if Jinnah would care he would be compared to Mandela. Nelson Mandela is no doubt a great leader of our times … Read entire article »
Filed under: Jinnah
Hamid Mir, Nasim Yousaf and distorting the image of the founding father
By Yasser Latif Hamdani Pakistanis like to claim a lot of nonsense about Jinnah. Most recently Hamid Mir of Geo has claimed that Jinnah had willed that Shabbir Ahmed Usmani would lead his funeral prayers. What can one say to such patent nonsense? I suppose Jinnah told his butler, “I have decided that Usmani old boy would lead my funeral prayers” while holding a cigar in one hand, a class of single malt in the other and his pet dog resting in his lap. Ludicrous. There is absolutely no evidence of any kind – primary or otherwise- that seconds such a ridiculous claim. As a counter-question, one may also ask why then a separate Shia funeral was held at the Governor General’s residence? Was that also willed? It goes without saying that … Read entire article »
Baloch Separatism is not a liberal cause
We are posting this exclusive article by Yasser Latif Hamdani. It should be noted that this is the personal view of the author and should not be construed as the stance of Pak Tea House, its editors and contributors. PTH Admn It is become some what of trend in chattering classes of Pakistan where causes are fads and the latest fashion. If you disagree with Baloch separatism you are automatically illiberal, Islamist, ISI Stooge, Punjabi elite boys, fakester, Fake Liberal, racist against Baloch people and so on and so forth. Therefore let me state it at the outset- Baloch Separatism is not a liberal cause. In fact it is not much of a cause as much as it is a bunch of political actors fighting over royalty from Gas well heads … Read entire article »
Filed under: baluchistan
Maulana Azad on Jinnah and Partition
From Watan 1948: Muslims alone are not responsible for it. This strategy was first adopted by the British government and then endorsed by the political minds of Aligarh. Later, Hindu short-sightedness made matters worse and now freedom has become contingent on the partition of India. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Partition of Sudan: Learning from India and Pakistan
By Yasser Latif Hamdani Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has been partitioned into two much like British India was partitioned in 1947. The principle on which South Sudan today stands as the newest member of the comity of nations is the same principle on which Pakistan was founded. In both cases the underlying principle was not religion but rather a group identity escaping the majoritarian identity of the mother state. At the very least it … Read entire article »
Filed under: Jinnah, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, Partition
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 »
Religious Right in Their Own Words; the Concept of an Islamic State
Part 1 By Adnan Syed This two part 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 political- 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, Islam, Islamism, Jinnah, Judiciary, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion
Daily Times: Nationalism: inclusive versus exclusive — III
Cross Post from Daily Times Published July 13, 2010 By Ishtiaq Ahmed Rather than hate India, we should learn from India. It has five times a greater population, far greater ethnic and linguistic variation and myriads of religious faiths and cults. It is not a democracy in the social sense but it is a sophisticated democracy in the political sense I have presented, mainly, the exclusive model of nationalism and state-nationalism that I have argued emerged in Pakistan, notwithstanding the very bold attempt of Jinnah to supplant it with inclusive nationalism. Exclusive nationalism — whether based on race or religion or some other cultural factor — discriminates, constitutionally, people who do not qualify as members of the community because they do not share the specific cultural ties that have been chosen to define the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Identity, India, Islam, Islamabad, Islamism, Jinnah, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, minorities, Pakistan, Religion, secular Pakistan
Daily Times: Nationalism: inclusive versus exclusive — II —
By Ishtiaq Ahmed When the Hindu members of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly expressed their worries about ‘sovereignty over the entire universe belonging to God’, Liaquat Ali Khan assured them that a Muslim state should have no problem in having a non-Muslim as prime minister. However, this was not true Jinnah wanted to establish a Muslim-majority state, but not a Muslim-majoritarian state that would privilege Muslims over non-Muslims in their status and rights as citizens; hence he spoke of Pakistani nationalism and not Muslim nationalism when on August 11, 1947 he addressed the Pakistan Constituent Assembly: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamism, Jinnah, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, minorities, Pak Tea House, Pakistan
Daily Times – Nationalism: inclusive versus exclusive — I
At PTH, we have argued for the partition as a nuanced set of events that were characterized by extreme mistrust between the two major political forces of that time. These major parties harboured deep distrust against each other. The Muslim League politics increasingly focused on the idea of Pakistan as a bargaining chip to win the rights for the sizeable Muslim majority within the United India. The British hurry to leave the United India, emergence of Muslim League as the sole spokesman for the Muslims, and Congress unwillingness to recognize the Muslim nation demands within the United India resulted in a bloody and messy partition. We still live with the scars of the partition that resulted in one of the largest uprooting and human migration of modern times. … Read entire article »
Filed under: culture, Democracy, Egalitarian Pakistan, History, Identity, Islam, Islamabad, Islamism, Jinnah, minorities, Pak Tea House, Pakistan, Religion, secular Pakistan
The J-Man and His Pakistan
I was informed that this article has resulted – to put it euphemistically- in giving wedgies to quite a few chaddiz over at Bharatrakshak.com (as I had predicted in the article). So I dropped by and just as I predicted… their rear is entirely up in smoke. And the responses are hilarious. One genius is suggesting that Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind are “secular” and the Majlis-e-Ahrar were good guys (that they laid the foundation of Anti-Ahmadiyya bigotry and led the movement … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Why Pakistan is not a nation
And how it could become one. By Pervez Hoodbhoy Himal South Asia, June 2010 Pakistan has been a state since 1947, but is still not a nation. More precisely, Pakistan is the name of a land and a people inside a certain geographical boundary that is still lacking the crucial components needed for nationhood: a strong common identity, mental make-up, a shared sense of history and common goals. The failure so far to create a cohesive national entity flows from inequalities of wealth and opportunity, absence of effective democracy and a dysfunctional legal system. While it is true that most Punjabis think of themselves as Pakistani first and Punjabi second, this is not the case with the Baloch or Sindhis. Schools in Balochistan refuse to hoist Pakistan’s flag or sing its national anthem. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Identity, Islamism, Pakistan, Partition, secular Pakistan, Society, state
One Myth, Many Pakistans
Cross Post from The New York Times By ALI SETHI Published: June 11, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/opinion/13sethi.html?pagewanted=all FOR many Pakistanis, the deaths of more than 80 members of the Ahmadi religious sect in mosque attacks two weeks ago raised questions of the nation’s future. For me, it recalled a command from my schoolboy past: “Write a Note on the Two-Nation Theory.” It was a way of scoring easy points on the history exam, and of using new emotions and impressive-sounding words. I began my answer like this: The Two-Nation Theory is the Theory that holds that the Hindus and Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent are Two Distinct and Separate Nations. It is a Theory that is supported by Numerous Facts and Figures. During the War of Independence of 1857 the Muslim rulers of India were defeated by the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Democracy, FATA, Identity, India, Islam, Islamabad, Jinnah, minorities, Pakistan, Religion, The New York Times, Writers
The Death of Jinnah, The New York Times Obituary
In this post, we take a trip down the memory lane. Below we are reproducing the obituary of Quaid Muhammad Ali Jinnah that was published in the New York Times on September 13, 1948. In a first glance, there is nothing in this obituary that we don’t know of today. The narrative may seem slightly odd for many among us who have gotten used to a fast paced narrative in the internet blog age. Yet, this narrative sheds light on Jinnah as the West saw him in the years immediately post partition of the Sub Continent. For starters, it seems that Jinnah’s death was quite an unexpected event for many observers at that time. The obituary speculates on a succession struggle for Jinnah, the brain and the heart of the “Moslem” League. Unfortunately, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Identity, Jinnah, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pakistan, Partition, south asia, USA
Khuda Hafiz Pakistan
by Nirupama Subramanian Cross Post from http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article258515.ece “There is a Pakistani in every Indian; and an Indian in every Pakistani,” President Asif Ali Zardari famously said two years ago. Those words rang in my head with new resonance as I packed my bags and left Pakistan recently after a nearly four-year-long assignment as this newspaper’s Islamabad-based correspondent. It should have been easy to leave a country that is by word and deed hostile to India, and where the state machinery treats every Indian as a “RAW agent”, spending considerable human and material resources on the surveillance of the only two Indian journalists — from The Hindu and Press Trust India — that are permitted to be based there. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Army, culture, Democracy, India, Islamabad, journalism, liberal Pakistan, Media, Pakistan, Society, Terrorism, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Zardari
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