Aunty Vilayatpasand Thinking Aloud

Mrs. Vilayat pasand,

What i understand from your incoherent ramblings(which you call an attempt at humour) is one (or all) of the following:

1.) you copied different parts of other articles (much like an amitabh movie)in a desperate attempt to get something out there.

2.) your thoughts are not fully composed and you are in your evolutionary stage as a writer (from KG to secondary school).

3.) you love america for the fabulous opportunities it holds for your family (though uncle vilayat may well be a cab driver)....but you hate america for the heinous it has committed in the afghan areas??? make up your mind my friend.

4.) you have a severe case of inferiosis (what others may call an inferiority complex-a rampant disease in pakistan often said to have been induced by satellite TV) and would flee Pakistan at the first sight of a remote chance.

It remains a mystery how someone with such a silly moniker can write so well. I wonder if Bad Girl can be tempted to write for an overseas Indian publication. Drop me a note at sdhume@princeton.edu if interested.

As for the part about all Pakistanis being descendants of Arabs. That is an obvious canard. Aren`t all Pakistanis descended directly from the Prophet, or at the very least from his tribe?

In jest,

Sadanand

re Aamir

Thank you for your comments, Aamir. I will give you a short description of myself. I grew up in Pakistan, attended university in the US and now live in the US.

Regards :)

Hi, MAK.

I did misunderstand you; I apologize. I wasa confused by your use of the word areas, I thought you meant geographical areas. Of course, I agree with you completely about the army`s role in selling pakistan out.

When I was saying all those horrible things about indians, arabs, palestinians, baluchs, pathans, I did not mean them seriously. i was just writing down what i had heard different paksitani`s say about these different people. i wanted to show how stupid it is when people buy into the stereotypes that stereotype them or people like them.

Re: Bad Girl`s comments

Everyone is well aware of our army and characters of some corrupt generals. No doubt our army is well recognized in the world but this is inevitable fact those corrupt generals (and their ancesstors) have been rejoyicing themselves. They are those people from `specific areas` (I should have used the word `quarters`) involve in henious crimes from trading heroin to killing innocent people to exploiting sectarian and ethinic violence just to bewilder people so those malicious generals could do whatever they want. Recall all the information disseminated by USIS in which pakistan army and air force personnel have been revealed involving drug smuggling.

You shouldnt have mentioned the name of any race or ethinic group in Pakistan. I know alot people from different ethinic background who also confronting the same problems as one could consider himself. Our poor and innocent people never know what game is played on upper level without disseminating proper and true information. From Gen Ghulam Muhammad to Gen Zia every general played like a toy in US hands and thats the whole point in my last posting that now an ordinary american knows about our characters but I`m not like that so why should I be blamed or despised. Some notorious people (Generals) from specific areas (Quarters) have disparaged our reputation and dignity as a nation.

Re Afrasiyab (as promised)

The monologue was not just an attempt at ``humor``. I was trying to use the stereotypical voice of a stereotypical desi immigrant to put all the prejudices and stereotypes in the Pak-American society out there. (I was frustrated that Pakistani`s were buying into these stereotypes of `terrorists` and Baluch/Pathan barbarians without realizing that these stereotypes are about people like them)

I wasn`t trying to link violence in Pakistan to ``world peace`` - though as Pakistan is a part of the world, it`s peace is part of world peace. If that was confusing, I apologize. (The last bit was tacked on from a longer article that was published in a local magazine. Should have edited it better)

Okay, here`s my problem with the word ``fundamentalist``. It is supposed to mean anyone who believes that religion should be followed according to its fundamentals. So, the Islamic equivalent would probably be the Wahabis. However, in popular conversation and writing, fundamentalist has come to mean militant Muslims/Islamists with an anti-western agenda. That may be true in some instances, but not always. Also, the popular use of the term to mean Muslims exclusively, excludes Hindu, Christian and Jewish fundamentalists, some of whom have similar militant and anti-some one or the other agendas. (Some of the rightwing Hindu, Christian and Jewish stuff out there is pretty ugly.) So, to answer your question, I would say that I dont know if the young Palestinian man is a ``fundamentalist``. Devout does not necessarily mean fundamentalist. In any event, I think the term I used was ``terrorist``. And, I dont disagree that some of those called terrorists are terrorists, I am just unhapppy with the doublespeak. Calling them warriors fighting against the evil empire at one point and terrorists at another. They`re the same guys with the same persuasions. Can the fact that they were courted and nurtured when they served a different purpose be acknowledged? And how about labelling Israel and the US `terrorist states`, which they are, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and many others.

What, you actually dont believe that the CIA was heavily involved in the Afghah war through Pakistan and the ISI? It was widely acknowleged during the war in the manistream US press!

And, no, I am not trying to say that the CIA`s involvement ``caused`` sectarian violence in Pakistan. What has been suggested, not just by me, is that one of the legacies of the Zia regime (supported by the US) is the combination of right-wing, sectarian and separatist organizations and weapons. = violence, or no?

Cheers ;)


Re: MAK

Sorry, MAK. Are you saying I misunderstood you? If I did, I apologize.

Could you please tell me who these `specific people` are? Punjabis or Sindhis?
Thanks

Re: Afrasiyab

Sorry. Was not going to ignore your comments. Your analysis of the article is pretty much on the mark - no disagreement there. I find it a little incoherent (to say the least) myself. Will respond to your other questions soon.

Re: Bad Girl`s comments

Categorically I would say you pretended yourself a bigoted with irrational attitude intentionally (or unitentionally) thru your article. You despised yourself having Pakistani identity and felt a little composure showing an Indian convincing Whites of your light color.Your satirical comments could give you a sapidity but one could be in doubt of your sanity. You declared Pathan-and-Baluch type people uneducated, barbarians and robbers who are the obstacles in front of your Mr. Vilayatpasand`s credibility. Dont you consider those comments irrational and provokative.

When I say people from `specific areas` disparaged pakistanis throughout the world I mean it. People from `specific areas` have been ruling over pakistan since the founders expired and started indulging themselves betraying the cause of pakistan. What extent those people have reflected our image I tell you, once I was waiting at Silver Spring metro station in Maryland to get Union station in DC. I noticed one middle-age white American man staring me then he came to me after a while and asked `you are pakistani, i guess`. I noded and said positively. `Hows Butto` he asked. `She is doing well` I replied without any hesitation (that happened when Benazir first time came into power). `but I dont think so she would do well all the time` the white said vehemently. `we can buy your government, we can buy your departments, there is everything on sale and ..` he added further. `No, I dont think so. they never reflect what the mass think` I interrupted with a little pang. `But you people selected her` his smile was meaningfull. And I had nothing to respond hime anyway. Who selected her how, again people of `specific areas` and these odious and spurious patriots deserve to be ostricized.

You did a `subtle analysis` of Afghan war but didnt come up at any conclusion. You didnt disclose who to be held responsible for that entire game and whether the role of pakistani government reflected the thoughts of the mass in pakistan.

BG, You did not reply to any of my questions. I thought we were trying to build consensus from these postings.

Dear MAK and MA,

If you present your view, dont just reiterate a stereotype, explain why you think what you do. Otherwise you just sound bigoted, angry and irrational.

I wrote the monologue to put some of these stereotypes out there, but certainly not to invite offensive ethnocentric comments from readers like yourselves.

Without any prejudice I would say the Bad Girl described some of the facts we people really confronting these days. This is an obvious fact people from `specific areas` (she described as Baluch or Pathans) cause(d) to ruin reputation of pakistan all over the world. Furhtermore, in Zia regime hundereds of thousands of Afghanis flooded into pakistan with sophisticated weapons and stinky heroin hidding (or without hidding by the grace of our `Chowkidars` at the borders) in their many-folded turbans and long `chaadars` that become available throughout the country. Thats true that Pakistan experienced the worst political and social crises since the inception of this war and that influenced on our society and economics.

We should think what consequences we achieved by helping Afghanis with passion who not only devastated our political scenario but changed the political attitude of people as well.

re blame the US

PS: I think that the US`s role in the war and its consequences cannot be underestimated. Yes, there are always corrupt, collaborating, unprincipled governments, but then there are the weapons, training and intelligence provided by the US that have devastating long-term effects on different regions of the world. After all, we are left with the guns and most of the heroin. We are also left with a legacy of right wing Islamic militants, of the variety that have appeared in Algeria, Egypt and Bosnia after the end of the Afghan war. Pakistan has ended up doing most damage to itself and Afghanistan, and some to its other neighbors. The US has to suffer ocassional `terroristic` attacks. The magnitude of the consequences of US involvement is too large to be ignored, especially, as the US media has a feeding frenzy on Muslim terrorists and almost completely ignores the history of the US`s own love-affairs with these terrorists.

Re: ``blaming the US``

When I pointed out the US`s role in the Afghan war and its support of `terrorists`, I was not trying to absolve the Pakistani government and army of its share of responsibility. Of course, they were complicit in all that - how else did Zia hang around for 11 years! I basically explored the CIA-Kansi connection, which was one of the several themes in the issue. And you have pointed out another - the role of the Pakistani government itself.

Subject: ``Blame the US``

The writer accuses the US of having played a very cynical and selfish role in the whole Afghan War affair. I think everyone will agree that the US was not in it for charity or for humanitarian reasons. So what else do we expect? That is what Imperialist Powers do. I think we should be happy that the US troops were not committed as they were in South East Asia. The US only fought a proxy war in our back yard and we eagerly colluded with the might Western Empire and invited it use our garage.

So now what did we get? The Soviet Empire in our back yard and the CIA in the garage...

Pakistan`s military leadership is directly responsible for landing the country and the society in the mess it is because they deliberately went to bed with the ``Great Satan`` on the pretext of fighting the ``Evil Empire``. In reality, when Nur Mohammad Tarikai was ousted by Barbak Karmal who hitch hiked to Kabul on T-62 Tanks, the hunta in Rawalpindi saw it as mana from heaven. It gave the Generals an extended lease on their political power. It was an opportunistic jackpot which the generals fully exploited. Fazle Haq and Akhtar Abdur Rehman made more money in those years than Asif Zardari ever could. That, I feel, is where bulk of the responsibility lies.

Members of the Islamabad establishment often begrudgingly admit that they feel decieved and let down by the US. I recall a private conversation with a highly placed individual who was venting his anger and telling me how ``unfaithful`` the US is as a friend. I could not help but point out to him that the Pak government was in no position to feel ``jilted``, as if she were a princess and the ``Great Satan`` a suitor who`d left her after having shared intimacy. That, I say, was no holy matrimony. It was an illicit commercial relationship. Services were rendered and monies were paid and that was that.

Let`s keep the blame where responsibility should rightly rest. On ourselves.

I think the article makes its points
(- the US being responsible for what they now proclaim a ``terror``
- being themselves the ``real terror``
- average ``vilayatpasand desi`` being ignorant of this fact)
with less than expected finesse but not unconvincingly.

I would agree with Afrasiyab that there is more analysis and thought in the frame somewhere that needs to come out.

Again I am not sure where Athar Mian is coming from in calling the author lonely etc. and alluding to Lewinsky. And after calling someone a consistently bad writer, and a lonely human being yearning for attention, promptly claiming it is not at all personal affrontery.

Note to Ed.: `twould a great pity be if bitteress of soul and dimness of sense ever kept sincerity off Chowk.

To: Chowkidaar

You (or anybody) should be no judge of what constitutes a personal insult, or otherwise.

If Bad Girl is merely a handle, then its owner can never be personally insulted. If not, the self-depricating label explains itself. Perhaps you got carried away by emotion...it helps to be level-headed.

And yes., I am a bored, 55-year old woman, if that revelation can help overcome your boredom !