My home is on fire. Lahore was attacked again yesterday by cowardly brainwashed zealots. Within a space of one month it was second attack where Punjab Police sacrificed eleven lives on the altar of terrorism. Only difference this time was that four of the perpetrators have been caught alive. Though, the Ministry of Interior has been quick to point fingers at usual suspects, and Baitullah Mehsood, head of a banned militant outfit alleged to be responsible for assasination of ex Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has accepted responsibility for yesterday's attacks, I hope that those caught alive will point to real culprits who financed, planned and help with this attack.
This is the second kick in the backside of intelligence agencies in a month. When the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked I wrote that there is no lack of skills and intelligence capacity and capability in Pakistan. Even in this case the Intelligence Bureau had alerted the Punjab Goverment of the risk of another attack on a government facility. It is the incompetence of our ruling class and their misplaced priorities that is resulting in this continuous loss of life. Listenining to the pointless policy speech by President Zardari addressing the joint session of the parliament I could only think of a verse from Urdu poetry
Barbad gulistaan karne ko to ek hi ullu kaafi tha
Yaha..har shaakh pe ullu baitha hai anjam-e-gulistan kya hoga
Literally meaning
For destroying the wonderful garden, even one owl is sufficient
Here there is an owl on each branch, wonder what would happen to the garden
There is still some light at the end of the tunnel. With the return of ousted Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, a known competent administrator I hope that focus of provincial administration will return to providing security to common people and establishing once again the rule of law.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Terrorists against symbols of love and harmony
Sow flowers so your surroundings become a garden
Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet
If you shoot arrows at others,
Know that the same arrow will come back to hit you.
Don’t dig a well in another’s path,
In case you come to the well’s edge
You look at everyone with hungry eyes
But you will be first to become mere dirt.
Humans are all one body,
Whoever tortures another, wounds himself.
Not many people in the west, living in a media savvy world of today where the North West of Pakistan is being portrayed as the hub of global terrorism and current head quarters of Al-Qaeda, would realise that these verses were written three centuries ago by Rehman Baba, eminent Pushto sufi poet. Rehman Baba lived his life, practised his personal form of sufi-ism and wrote his poetry in the same tribal belt where American drones are killing dozens of ordinary civilians every week while hunting for Osama Bin Laden and his cronies.
World as we see it today might have been significantly different had any in American CIA and Pakistan's ISI working with the then military Dictator General Zia paid heed to Rehman Baba's words "Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet" when gathering, creating and training a rag tag army of Jihadis from all over the Islamic world into a professional guerrilla fighting force to hit the final nail in the coffin of a dying Soviet Empire. These thorns that were sown in the rugged mountains terrains of Afghanistan and North West Pakistan have come of age and are now pricking the feet of the entire world, not only their creators.
But, a huge price is being paid by the historically self effacing Pashtun populations of these regions who have over the last three decades suffered material and human losses, at the hands of these imported jihadis and those who created them, and are now being inflicted with emotional torture by targeting of shrines. On 23rd March terrorists targeted the shrine of Rehman Baba - a place of reverence for Muslims across the ethnic divides.
Rehman Baba belonged to a long list of sufi scholars and poets who are credited for the spread if Islam in the Indian subcontinent through their literature and life. These sufi poets were did not follow or pursue the ways of established religious establishments. Three hundred years ago Rehman Baba’s "pursuit of God outside the mosque led to confrontation with the established religious hierarchy. His quest for God made him a solitary mystic with little interest in formal religion." Some historians believe that Rehman Baba’s unorthodox views inflamed the local religious establishment:
I got nothing from being a sheikh or from my righteousness
From now on it is my turn, to do whatever I can at the tavern
I washed my hands of piety when the musician picked up the rebab
Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet
If you shoot arrows at others,
Know that the same arrow will come back to hit you.
Don’t dig a well in another’s path,
In case you come to the well’s edge
You look at everyone with hungry eyes
But you will be first to become mere dirt.
Humans are all one body,
Whoever tortures another, wounds himself.
Not many people in the west, living in a media savvy world of today where the North West of Pakistan is being portrayed as the hub of global terrorism and current head quarters of Al-Qaeda, would realise that these verses were written three centuries ago by Rehman Baba, eminent Pushto sufi poet. Rehman Baba lived his life, practised his personal form of sufi-ism and wrote his poetry in the same tribal belt where American drones are killing dozens of ordinary civilians every week while hunting for Osama Bin Laden and his cronies.
World as we see it today might have been significantly different had any in American CIA and Pakistan's ISI working with the then military Dictator General Zia paid heed to Rehman Baba's words "Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet" when gathering, creating and training a rag tag army of Jihadis from all over the Islamic world into a professional guerrilla fighting force to hit the final nail in the coffin of a dying Soviet Empire. These thorns that were sown in the rugged mountains terrains of Afghanistan and North West Pakistan have come of age and are now pricking the feet of the entire world, not only their creators.
But, a huge price is being paid by the historically self effacing Pashtun populations of these regions who have over the last three decades suffered material and human losses, at the hands of these imported jihadis and those who created them, and are now being inflicted with emotional torture by targeting of shrines. On 23rd March terrorists targeted the shrine of Rehman Baba - a place of reverence for Muslims across the ethnic divides.Rehman Baba belonged to a long list of sufi scholars and poets who are credited for the spread if Islam in the Indian subcontinent through their literature and life. These sufi poets were did not follow or pursue the ways of established religious establishments. Three hundred years ago Rehman Baba’s "pursuit of God outside the mosque led to confrontation with the established religious hierarchy. His quest for God made him a solitary mystic with little interest in formal religion." Some historians believe that Rehman Baba’s unorthodox views inflamed the local religious establishment:
I got nothing from being a sheikh or from my righteousness
I washed my hands of piety when the musician picked up the rebab
and,
Rather than the unacceptable worship of the hypocrite, I prefer to be drunk on Saqi’s wine.
Whether knowledge, rosary or recitation, I am happier asleep than awake with these.
I don’t like the Tooba tree’s shade, but prefer to be burnt like a kebab in the flames of your face.
Attack on Rehman Baba's shrine is another attempts to establish a religious hegemony upon the local population by invading Jihadi Mafia. A lesson from history that invading powers of all sizes and sorts have forgotten that Afghans and Pashtuns have never surrendered to invasions. I hope that the declaration of war by attempting to destroy the sanctity of Rehman Baba's shrine will act as a rallying cry for peaceful Pashtuns to stand up against what's trying to destroy the very roots of Pashtun traditions.
Whether knowledge, rosary or recitation, I am happier asleep than awake with these.
I don’t like the Tooba tree’s shade, but prefer to be burnt like a kebab in the flames of your face.
Attack on Rehman Baba's shrine is another attempts to establish a religious hegemony upon the local population by invading Jihadi Mafia. A lesson from history that invading powers of all sizes and sorts have forgotten that Afghans and Pashtuns have never surrendered to invasions. I hope that the declaration of war by attempting to destroy the sanctity of Rehman Baba's shrine will act as a rallying cry for peaceful Pashtuns to stand up against what's trying to destroy the very roots of Pashtun traditions.
Pakistani poets in struggle for democracy - II: English translation of some of Habib Jalib's poems
In my hand I hold a pen,
in my heart the light of consciousness.
How can your forces of oppression ever win?
In response to my last post about Habib Jalib I was asked if there were any translations of his poetry available in English. Here is a small representative selection of English translations of his work.
I copy below a translation of one of his most mutinous (according to ruling dictators of the time in Pakistan) poems "Dastoor" also famous as "Main Nahin Maanta" - literally "I refuse to accept". You can also watch the great man reciting the poem in this video
I refuse to Accept
The light which shines only in palaces
Burns up the joy of the people in the shadows
Derives its strength from others’ weakness
That kind of system,
like dawn without light
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept
I am not afraid of execution,
Tell the world that I am the martyr
How can you frighten me with prison walls?
This overhanging doom,
this night of ignorance,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept
“Flowers are budding on branches”, that’s what you say,
“Every cup overflows”, that’s what you say,
“Wounds are healing themselves”, that’s what you say,
These bare-faces lies,
this insult to the intelligence,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept
For centuries you have all stolen our peace of mind
But your power over us is coming to an end
Why do you pretend you can cure pain?
Even if some claim that you’ve healed them,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept.
Translation of another example of his revolutionary poems used sometimes very effectively by media during the struggle for democracy under General Musharaf's dictatorship is produced below. This video is an example of how media used his poetry for political messaging.
So I said this to him…
So I said this to him:
“Your 100 million people,
are ignorance personified,
Their minds have gone to sleep,
And every ray of hope,
Has been lost in the darkness,
It is completely true,
They are the living dead,
Completely unaware,
A disease of life itself,
And YOU hold in YOUR hands,
The cure for all their ills”
So I said this to him:
“You are the light of God,
Wisdom personified,
The Nation is with you,
And it is only through YOUR grace,
That the nation can be saved,
You are our morning bright,
After you there is only night,
The few who dare speak out,
Are simply mischied-makers,
You should tear out their tongues,
And throttle them on sight!”
So I said this to him:
“Those eloquent with pride,
Their tongues are silent now,
There is calm now in our land,
Oh what a difference there is!,
between today and yesterday,
People are in prison today,
At their very own expense”
So I said this to him:
“China is our friend,
We’d give our lives for her,
BUT the system that they have,
Let’s steer well clear of that,
From far off say ‘Salaam’,
The hundred million asses,
referred to as ‘the masses’,
How could they become rulers!,
Of this there is no doubt,
And my only prayer now is,
That you’ll always be our boss”
There are some more English translations of Jalib's poetry available at this site.
in my heart the light of consciousness.
How can your forces of oppression ever win?
In response to my last post about Habib Jalib I was asked if there were any translations of his poetry available in English. Here is a small representative selection of English translations of his work.
I copy below a translation of one of his most mutinous (according to ruling dictators of the time in Pakistan) poems "Dastoor" also famous as "Main Nahin Maanta" - literally "I refuse to accept". You can also watch the great man reciting the poem in this video
I refuse to Accept
The light which shines only in palaces
Burns up the joy of the people in the shadows
Derives its strength from others’ weakness
That kind of system,
like dawn without light
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept
I am not afraid of execution,
Tell the world that I am the martyr
How can you frighten me with prison walls?
This overhanging doom,
this night of ignorance,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept
“Flowers are budding on branches”, that’s what you say,
“Every cup overflows”, that’s what you say,
“Wounds are healing themselves”, that’s what you say,
These bare-faces lies,
this insult to the intelligence,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept
For centuries you have all stolen our peace of mind
But your power over us is coming to an end
Why do you pretend you can cure pain?
Even if some claim that you’ve healed them,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept.
Translation of another example of his revolutionary poems used sometimes very effectively by media during the struggle for democracy under General Musharaf's dictatorship is produced below. This video is an example of how media used his poetry for political messaging.
So I said this to him…
So I said this to him:
“Your 100 million people,
are ignorance personified,
Their minds have gone to sleep,
And every ray of hope,
Has been lost in the darkness,
It is completely true,
They are the living dead,
Completely unaware,
A disease of life itself,
And YOU hold in YOUR hands,
The cure for all their ills”
So I said this to him:
“You are the light of God,
Wisdom personified,
The Nation is with you,
And it is only through YOUR grace,
That the nation can be saved,
You are our morning bright,
After you there is only night,
The few who dare speak out,
Are simply mischied-makers,
You should tear out their tongues,
And throttle them on sight!”
So I said this to him:
“Those eloquent with pride,
Their tongues are silent now,
There is calm now in our land,
Oh what a difference there is!,
between today and yesterday,
People are in prison today,
At their very own expense”
So I said this to him:
“China is our friend,
We’d give our lives for her,
BUT the system that they have,
Let’s steer well clear of that,
From far off say ‘Salaam’,
The hundred million asses,
referred to as ‘the masses’,
How could they become rulers!,
Of this there is no doubt,
And my only prayer now is,
That you’ll always be our boss”
There are some more English translations of Jalib's poetry available at this site.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Pakistani poets in struggle for democracy
I have been planning to write about the importance of literature in general and poetry in specific in highlighting a nation's state of mind at a particular stage in its history. A friend at the British Council (Anwar Ahmad) beat me to this by sharing the following message which unfortunately my readers who cannot read Urdu will not be able to appreciate fully - apologies for that. Anwar wrote:
When we think about the [recent] restoration of judiciary, we should not forget many people who fought for this cause in the most hostile conditions in the absence of any media on their back. And how can one forget his great poem when [military dictator General] Zia's Martial Law administration was trying to silence every voice which did not endorse his philosophy. Jaalib was beaten up on the Lahore's Regal Chowk. A police officer kicked him [repeatedly], on writing against Zia. And what a beauty the poem was. Who says that propaganda can not be artistic:
His widow refused the government grant when it was offered after his death. PPP applauded him when it was in opposition but in government it was hardly any different to him. He and his family lived a difficult life. I end the message with his ghazal which describes his ideology in his own words:
"piece of good news coming from Pakistan - which is likely to go unnoticed largely - is that finally the government has decided to award posthumously the highest civil award to a man of letters, no less than Habib Jaalib. Jaalib, who belonged to a, [economically] lower class family, fought all his life for civil liberties, democracy and the people of his country. He would have been a great romantic poet had he not devoted himself to writing 'revolutionary poems'. When he started writing poetry, his famous ghazal was much appreciated by the critics and readers alike. The first bait [verse] was:
Is shehr-e-kharabi mein gham-e-ishq ke mare
Zinda hain yehi baat bari baat hai pyare
But as a true revolutionary, he suffered a lot. His family often did not have any resources to lean back upon while he was in jail. When he wrote his famous poem, Dastoor, on the 1962 constitution, Ayub administration did not tolerate it. And only someone like Jaalib could be so indiscrete:
When we think about the [recent] restoration of judiciary, we should not forget many people who fought for this cause in the most hostile conditions in the absence of any media on their back. And how can one forget his great poem when [military dictator General] Zia's Martial Law administration was trying to silence every voice which did not endorse his philosophy. Jaalib was beaten up on the Lahore's Regal Chowk. A police officer kicked him [repeatedly], on writing against Zia. And what a beauty the poem was. Who says that propaganda can not be artistic:
His widow refused the government grant when it was offered after his death. PPP applauded him when it was in opposition but in government it was hardly any different to him. He and his family lived a difficult life. I end the message with his ghazal which describes his ideology in his own words:
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Pakistan - governance by "Containers"
One of the most haunting images of last weekend (13-15 March) from Pakistan was that of forlone loo
king presidential palace in Islamabad hiding behind long containers, nomally used for ferrying goods across the country. Someone in authority thought using these containers would be the best way to block highways and access routes to Islamabad. Objective was to stop the civil society, protesting and demanding the return of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, from marching on to the federal capital.
Out of panic our "Hardward" trained Minister of Interior, Rehman Malik panicked into issuing orders to stop, confiscate and as a result grinding to a halt the goods transport industry in Pakistan for the whole week. His experience in Security Industry (he was in charge of Benazir Bhutto's personal security - and promoted to the rank of top sleuth in Pakistan after her assassination) led him to believe that blocking roads with long containers will stop people from marching towards the capital.
Long March is now successfully over, Chief Justice returned to his duties to administer justice, and the Prime Minister was busy dining with Mian Nawaz Sharif, head of the opposition today. I am not sure that we will ever find out the true cost to an already faltering economy of a week long hijack of goods transport industry. Containers that were confiscated were not empty - they were full of goods that had to be delivered somewhere according to an agreed time frame. Large number of these containers were carrying perishable food items. In the absence of a working insurance industry most of the losses were not covered and will be borne by the traders.
There was a human element to this episode, as well. For every truck that was impounded, for every container that was left on a road to block traffic, there was a truckers assistant left behind - for those not aware of how trucking industry works in Pakistan - with every truck on the road there is a character on board to accompany the driver, called a "cleaner". He is a lackey, under training and spare driver, person responsible to take care of the truck and do odd jobs. These poor creatures were left behind to look after the containers and its stocks, in many cases in deserted areas far away from residential and commercial facilities without access to food and amenities. They were few of the real victims of this crisis who will never be compensated.
king presidential palace in Islamabad hiding behind long containers, nomally used for ferrying goods across the country. Someone in authority thought using these containers would be the best way to block highways and access routes to Islamabad. Objective was to stop the civil society, protesting and demanding the return of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, from marching on to the federal capital. 
Out of panic our "Hardward" trained Minister of Interior, Rehman Malik panicked into issuing orders to stop, confiscate and as a result grinding to a halt the goods transport industry in Pakistan for the whole week. His experience in Security Industry (he was in charge of Benazir Bhutto's personal security - and promoted to the rank of top sleuth in Pakistan after her assassination) led him to believe that blocking roads with long containers will stop people from marching towards the capital.
Long March is now successfully over, Chief Justice returned to his duties to administer justice, and the Prime Minister was busy dining with Mian Nawaz Sharif, head of the opposition today. I am not sure that we will ever find out the true cost to an already faltering economy of a week long hijack of goods transport industry. Containers that were confiscated were not empty - they were full of goods that had to be delivered somewhere according to an agreed time frame. Large number of these containers were carrying perishable food items. In the absence of a working insurance industry most of the losses were not covered and will be borne by the traders.
There was a human element to this episode, as well. For every truck that was impounded, for every container that was left on a road to block traffic, there was a truckers assistant left behind - for those not aware of how trucking industry works in Pakistan - with every truck on the road there is a character on board to accompany the driver, called a "cleaner". He is a lackey, under training and spare driver, person responsible to take care of the truck and do odd jobs. These poor creatures were left behind to look after the containers and its stocks, in many cases in deserted areas far away from residential and commercial facilities without access to food and amenities. They were few of the real victims of this crisis who will never be compensated.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Pakistan's sports in exile
There is some political calm in Pakistan after the unecessary chaos and civil strife created by president Zardari's political adventurism in Punjab and his desire not to abide by the desires of the civil society in Pakistan to re-establish the judicial superiority over dictatorial power setup. With the return of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and the political activists back in their drawing rooms one can now focus on the future, or lack of it, of sports in Pakistan.
Recent attacks on Sri Lankan cricket team have highlighted the fragility of security situation in Pakistan in specific and the Indian subcontinent in general. Face of terrorism has changed since th
e cowardly attacks in Islamabad, Mumbai and Lahore. New methods adapted by well trained terrorists have made it easier for them to strike any where with deadly effect. Though the immediate impact of attacks in Lahore is on future of all kinds of sports in Pakistan but in reality the face of sports across the world will change. The day attacks happened in Lahore reverbrations of Munich Olympics were felt again. Football world cup in South Africa and London Olympics, though years away, will not be the same now. Terrorism is striking at the heart of sports, what has been and could be the best tool for international cultural relations. At a time when the world should be standing united to tackle this international menace, there are those who are trying to make Pakistan an international sporting pariah - another example of collective punishment being inflicted on a nation for the crimes of a few stateless and mindless criminals. Reminders of Gaza - anyone! but on a different scale.
Matters have been made worse for any kind of international sports in Pakistan. Most of the immediate impact has been felt by cricket fans of Pakistan. Visit by Sri Lankan team was expected to revive the confidence in security situation in Pakistan but ended up destroying it completely. Australia, New Zealand, and Indian cricket teams have refused to travel to Pakistan over the last two years. Any hopes for an international team visiting the country for at least next five years are completely gone.
It is not only cricket, though, that has suffered due to security concerns. Hockey, the second most popular sport has also faced the same situation. Champions Trophy in 2007 was moved away from Pakistan due to similar concerns. Foreign sports people of all backgrounds are refusing to travel to Pakistan. Pakistan Football Association couldn't recruit a Hungarian as a national coach because he refused to work in Pakistan in worsening security situation.
With cricket, at least, there is some hope that Pakistan can choose to play in UAE and England as home grounds. Large cricket loving expatriat populations in these places provide an ideal alternative to home crowds and grounds. This is provided that out of any mis-founded partriotism the decision makers in Pakistan's cricket establishment do not carry on trying to make a case for foreign teams to visit Pakistan - a highly improbable scenario. Note that Bangaladesh cancelled a visit by Pakistan cricket team to Bangladesh out of security concerns. Pakistan's priority should be to make sure that Pakistani sports people do not fall behind in opportunities to compete at international level even if it means more international travel and no international competition at home. While doing this it is vital to focus on revisit and develop local sports infrastructure - perhaps its time for government to bury the hatchet and ask for Imran Khan's help.
Recent attacks on Sri Lankan cricket team have highlighted the fragility of security situation in Pakistan in specific and the Indian subcontinent in general. Face of terrorism has changed since th
e cowardly attacks in Islamabad, Mumbai and Lahore. New methods adapted by well trained terrorists have made it easier for them to strike any where with deadly effect. Though the immediate impact of attacks in Lahore is on future of all kinds of sports in Pakistan but in reality the face of sports across the world will change. The day attacks happened in Lahore reverbrations of Munich Olympics were felt again. Football world cup in South Africa and London Olympics, though years away, will not be the same now. Terrorism is striking at the heart of sports, what has been and could be the best tool for international cultural relations. At a time when the world should be standing united to tackle this international menace, there are those who are trying to make Pakistan an international sporting pariah - another example of collective punishment being inflicted on a nation for the crimes of a few stateless and mindless criminals. Reminders of Gaza - anyone! but on a different scale.Matters have been made worse for any kind of international sports in Pakistan. Most of the immediate impact has been felt by cricket fans of Pakistan. Visit by Sri Lankan team was expected to revive the confidence in security situation in Pakistan but ended up destroying it completely. Australia, New Zealand, and Indian cricket teams have refused to travel to Pakistan over the last two years. Any hopes for an international team visiting the country for at least next five years are completely gone.
It is not only cricket, though, that has suffered due to security concerns. Hockey, the second most popular sport has also faced the same situation. Champions Trophy in 2007 was moved away from Pakistan due to similar concerns. Foreign sports people of all backgrounds are refusing to travel to Pakistan. Pakistan Football Association couldn't recruit a Hungarian as a national coach because he refused to work in Pakistan in worsening security situation.
With cricket, at least, there is some hope that Pakistan can choose to play in UAE and England as home grounds. Large cricket loving expatriat populations in these places provide an ideal alternative to home crowds and grounds. This is provided that out of any mis-founded partriotism the decision makers in Pakistan's cricket establishment do not carry on trying to make a case for foreign teams to visit Pakistan - a highly improbable scenario. Note that Bangaladesh cancelled a visit by Pakistan cricket team to Bangladesh out of security concerns. Pakistan's priority should be to make sure that Pakistani sports people do not fall behind in opportunities to compete at international level even if it means more international travel and no international competition at home. While doing this it is vital to focus on revisit and develop local sports infrastructure - perhaps its time for government to bury the hatchet and ask for Imran Khan's help.
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