A Letter from Veer

People of Pakistan, my name is Veeresh Malik. I am male, 42, and live in
New Delhi, where I am a motoring person who also writes, does TV and surfs
the net. I used to be in the Merchant Navy, have worked with Pakistanis on
board ship as well as elsewhere, and having travelled over 70 countries,
have come to realise a few things in life. My father wore an Army uniform,
so did most of my uncles and many of my cousins.

They fought Pakistan with pride, and achieved enough by way of medals and
glories to ensure that nobody would ever suspect me of being anti-National, though they sure try every now and then. If India was attacked by Pakistan, tomorrow, I, too, would not hesitate in trying to get back into my uniform and doing my bit for India. That is one thing. But that does not mean I have animosity towards a people who share the same gene pool as me, does it?

Like this, there are a few things to set down. They have been said often
enough, let them be said again? Slightly differently, and not in the usual
"political journalist" or "culture vulture" tones that Indo-Pak media
usually evolves. Lets talk ground level, shall we? You and me, at home?
How many of you, in Pakistan, know somebody with the surname "Malik"? So
if I was a Pakistani Malik, you would say, "Vaah, kyaa baat kar raahaa
hai". But because I'm an Indian Malik, you may say "Kuch hidden agenda
zaroor hai". Most of you, right? Never mind. Read on.

First and foremost being the fact that the colonials never really left our
countries independent, they only left behind their stooges to continue the
overall despotic control they exercised on us for centuries. It suited
them to play with our histories and our political borders so that we grew
up with mistrust. When we should have been fighting the common enemies of
religious intolerance, ignorance and hunger, we were pushed into
destroying everything that the other country achieved. This is our
greatest tragedy, that 52 years on, we are still not a free people,
furthermore we are under the yoke of our own.

Next, is Muslim intolerance worse or better than Hindu intolerance? Does
my shit stink more, or does yours? Is my hell-hole better or worse or is
yours? Religion, unfortunately, cannot be something we can blame the
colonials for. All we can take solace in is that the problem of religion
causing destruction is worldwide, and not just restricted to us. It is
like a 'factor X' which we shall have to live with, a certain percentage.
Religion culls its own, maybe? So be it, maybe that is its larger purpose,
and if I die for the greater glory of my faith, well, I'm only practicing
what others preach!

Now, lets move on to why Indian media reports on the Sethi incident. Very
soon we shall see reportage, from Pakistan, on how this is another of
India's efforts to destabilise your country. Maybe true, maybe not, I
don't know, I am just an ordinary motoring journalist with chromosones
that go back to Jhung, now in Pakistan, where people I don't even know
have been given the land my grandfather saved up for me where I could have
been an idle landlord. Now I am forced to write for a living. So I give my
reasons. Safai pesh kar raha hoon jaahan koi pooch nahee raaha hai.

My reason for taking an interest in this episode is simple.

We have an 18 year old daughter, Shauravi Malik, currently holidaying
after a rather gruelling 12th Standard Board exam. One of her best friends
is a girl called Aarti Sethi. So she called up on phone a few days ago and
said, "Hey, Dad, they have Sethis in Pakistan, too?". And I said, "Yeah,
and they seem to be filling up the jails lately". "So, is that correct,
and what would you do if Aarti's Dad was put in jail unjustly?" Hmm!

That's it, Mr. Najman Sethi. I've never met you, though I've read you of
and on. Now we'll see more of you, I guess? But the reason I'm spending
time and energy here in New Delhi, India, to try and help you is very
simple.

You could very easily have been my daughter's friend's father, too, no? Is
that enough for you, people of Pakistan?