Follow the People to Peace

RE Shankar

You should know about RAW because word has it that you are a super ISI agent who has penetrated RAW using the powers granted by penile worshipping. :)

URstruly,

Dont fret pal. Jiye Sindh & his gang are actually Indian RAW agents planted on Chowk. They are spreading viscious propaganda about how Punjabis are oppressing Sindhis. The nerve of these guys! Its only a cheap trick in response to your true propaganda of how Hindians are oppressing Kashmiris.

My dear Sindhi Brothers and Sisters

Please go through in detail the proceedings of the World Sindhi Congress. Spread awareness of the ills prevailing in our(Sindhi) community so that all of us collectively can work towards the common goal of a ``Sovereign Secular and Democratic Sindh``. Punjabis can no longer justify their exploitation in the name of religion. Sindh would be a modern secular state and NOT an Islamic state like Pakistan where the establishment commits all sorts of atrocities in the name of Islam. We, the people of Sindh, demand a pleibiscite under UN supervision, so that we can decide our own future.

http://www.world-sindhi-congress.com/perchar/2000/vol7no5/page3.html

``

Chairman World Sindhi Congress, thanked all the delegates and congratulated the newly elected office bearers. He emphasised that historically Sindhis are a peaceful nation but are being pushed towards violence by the intimidation and harassment of the Pakistan establishment. He reiterated the words of His Excellency G M Syed, late father of Sindhi nation, that ``We do not want guns or money, but we seek recognition from the international community``.

Dr. Halepota said that World Sindhi Congress has always promoted the cause of Sindh & Sindhis, specially the down trodden farmers, women and children. Reassuring the delegates he emphasised that World Sindhi Congress will continue to strive for the rights of Sindhis all over the world.

Dr. Halepota repeated the demand for ``Right to Self-Determination`` for all the historical nations including Sindhis, Siraikis, Balochs and Pashtoons as per international law. He repeated his call for referendum under the supervision of United Nations and international community to allow Sindhis to exercise their right to self-determination.

``

The main enemy of Sindh may be Punjabi BUT THE GREATEST ENEMY OF SINDH IS WADERA. The feudal system in the interior of the Sindh headed by waderas must be the first institution that needs to be done away with. Sindhis have to introspect and understand the factors that have reduced them into a poor shadow of their glorious past of Indus Valley civilization. Let us see what the eminent people said at the World Sindhi Conference.

http://www.world-sindhi-congress.com/perchar/2000/vol7no5/page3.html

````There are other problems. ``If the accused is a powerful man, a `wadera` (feudal lord), or even an SHO, the police may point blank refuse to file a FIR. This tends to happen in the interior,`` says Shakir. This means lawyer for War Against Rape (WAR). The police tend to be particularly insensitive with rape victims. They ask embarrassing questions, and revel in the detailed narration of the rape scene. For instance, in one case, a recording officer asked a 13-year-old if she ``enjoyed her first sexual encounter``. Questions such as these tend to close up the victim and an accurate statement of the facts may not be recorded in the FIR, which weakens the case``.

Jiye SIndh: Whether the history books in Pakistan are fair or unfair is not what I am concerned with. Nor what someone said to someone else a half century ago. Nor what the well-off Sindhi feels about other ethnic groups sitting in his air-conditioned car.

This is my concern: What is standing in the way of the poor people in Sindh from improving their lot? More specifically:

(a) Has the settlement of non-Sindhis in Karachi and other urban areas over the past 50 years made a difference for better or for worse for the poor people in Sindh? My own thinking would be that while the non-Sindhis (particularly businessmen coming from Bombay and other parts of India) have contributed a lot to the development of Karachi, and this in turn can only benefit the Sindhis. But I am no expert having lived for more than a few days only once way back in 1959.

(b) Has the settlement of non-Sindhis in rural areas in Sindh made a difference for better or for worse for the poor people in Sindh? I dont know the answer, but I do know there cannot be a simple answer to this. Any insights you can throw would help.

(c) What is the role of the wadera? I know that the waderas oppress the Sindhi peasant.

Any education you could provide on these based on your first hand knowledge and experience (no quotes from politicians please) would be appreciated.

Ras Siddiqui 64

At this time Pakistan wants nothing more than a no-war pact. Pakistan wants gurantees that it can keep doing kargils and keep sending terrorists without the fear of being punished heavily.

India wants a no Kargil, no terrorists pact. Will Pakistan accept that? It wont. Matters end there.

Tahmed321 # 57

``Please try to keep your posts short``.

Does this edict apply to Sindhis only? :)

Regards.

Indians and Pakistanis could benefit a great deal by starting here from The Hindustan Times
today at:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/240701/bigidea.asp

Let us start with what makes sense...

Ras

Declicious Karachi # 43

If you are on the right path then why try to hide anything or why try to withhold iformation. In this day and age when information is at your figer tips it is a futile effort any way.

Jiye_Sindh # 46

I think you can safely take off point# 14 from your agenda. Such a legislation exists. Since, in Paksitan, all killings whether ``honor`` or ``dishonor`` are prosecuted under Pakistan Penal Code Section 302; under which the maximum penalty for murder is capital punishment and second is incarceration for life. PPC 302 has been in place since the Government of India Police act of 1861.

Rest assured that in Paksitan ``almost`` all killers are tried. They may stay on loose as long as their relatives keep on greasing police or they may avoid prosecution through the corruption of police and loophole in the legal system but they are all tried. I have a dubious honor of attending a ``ceremony`` in Bhirya Road (interior Sindh)area where a man was brought to the police station accompanied by whole village, as a hero who had jsut murdered his sister who had eloped with her lover.

If the ``honor killings`` do bother you then try to get the answer to two questions first:

1. Does Islam as a religion ``allows`` honor or dishonor or any killing?

2. Is it a cultural and social thing?

When you will find an honest answer to these two questions only then you can think of the ways how you can influence and change the social attitude of the people? And I always wonder when the question of ``legislation`` is brought up. I wonder what legislation would it be. Would it state that ``From now on it is banned to kill your sisters``, ``From now on it is banned to avenge the indignity that you suffered because of your women`` I wonder how will it be implemented. Or do you demand a legislation which delivers a punishment that is more harsh than capital punishment?

So Jiye-Sindh there is an easy way to do things i.e. sit down at your word processor and type an agenda and the other thing is to get your butt down into the people and try to raise their level of education and awareness and hence changing their social attitude.

Amina Shah # 47

You didn’t have to be regretful about your comments since I only wanted to get the clear picture of what you were saying. I have been called worst at Chowk and now I am kinda immune to anything that is hurled at me. But thanks anyway.

You have asked questions which cannot be answered succinctly. Especially when you want to know my political convictions based on my reply. But let me try:

Your first question is `` what you felt when E.Pakistan trouble started. Were you for their freedom or tieing them to Punjabi dominated pakistan?``

My answer:

When the E. Pakistan tragedy happened I was in diapers so I do not have a first hand account of what happened. My present take on B.Desh is based on the books and articles that were written by foreign as well as Pakistani journalists and writers and also the family memebers. There is no denying that there is a lot of cover up by the Pakistani intelligentsia. However, the truth is out there which is now so hard to hide in this age of Internet and other electronic media. I personally like the work of Mr. Saleem Ahmad ``Hamood-ur-Rehman Comm. Report-Generals and Politicians``. Mr. Saleem Ahmad is not an agent of Punjabi/establishment/army since he was punished by leashes on his back by the army for speaking for the people of East Pakistan. This book guides you to a lot of international and national sources from where you can attest the contentions of author.

I personally think that the creation of Bangladesh is a big affirmation of the Two Nations Theory. I believe that whenever a polity denies a system of Social Justice to its citizens `two nations` are automatically created – the oppressed nation and the oppressor nation. The creation of Pakistan took place when Congress leadership failed to take into confidence the Muslim minority that a polity based on principles of Social Justice was possible-thus Pakistan was created when a potentially oppressed nation based its nationhood on an ideology i.e. a religious ideology since the basis of discrimination was the religion. The creation of Bangladesh then reaffirmed the TNT when politicians, army, and powers-that-be failed to deliver the promise that was made to the Muslims of sub-continent that they will get a piece of land where a system of Social Justice will rule. It did not happen. The Bengali ethnic group felt alienated. Two nations were formed again on the basis of ethnicity this time since the basis of discrimination was Bengali ethnicity. But personally I think Bengalis had a higher moral ground when they had won 1970 election with clear majority. But they lost this moral high ground for two reasons:

1. They deliberately did not take any nationality from West Pakistan into confidence. If Punjab was the main culprit, the oppressor, then what about NWFP, Baluch, and Sindh? Was the whole West Pakistan corrupt? Whereas we see that West Paksitanis including Punjabis were sacrificing their lives, property and dignity for the cause of democracy on the West side.

2. They (Bengalis) embarked on a way of genocide of West Pakistanis and non-Bengalis. That happened weeks before Army action when 100K West Pakistanis were murdered in cold blood by the Bengalis. The murder of West Pakistani army personnel and their families about 15000+ (as reported by international media) caused Pak Army to avenge the deaths of their comrades and resulted in a genocide of Bengalis in turn which could easily have been avoided.

These two factors make the ``freedom`` struggle of Bengalis very questionable; not to mention the role of India during the whole fiasco.

But the main issue still is there as day one-the issue of Social Justice. Now that Bangladesh is ethnically cleansed; all foreigners and oppressors have left and all non-Bengalis have been confined into concentration camps for the past 30 years-the question still is: Has Bangladesh been able to establish a system based on Social Justice?

So extrapolating this scenario let me ask you the question, what if Sindh is ethnically cleansed of all the ``foreigners`` and all the ``oppressors`` will the powers-that-be in Sindh today relinquish their powers, which they have been exercising for centuries, voluntarily. Will they do it out of the goodness of their hearts? If they are so good then why don’t they do it now? What is holding them?

Make no mistake, I am a die-hard Federalist. But I believe in a federation where all units enjoy the benefits of a system that is based on principles of Social Justice. Sindh is the richest province in Pakistan, if this statement is true then people of Sindh have the first right on the riches of Sindh. And a federal constitution must guarantee that. And I think the constitution of 1973 pretty much delivered that. But one must keep in mind that the constitution is a living document that is updated continuously through a democratic process, which unfortunately hasn’t happened for the past 23 years.
Therefore, to answer your question `` Are Sindhis nation do you accept?`` Yes I do. And not only Sindh I recognize all groups of people as nations who want to identify themselves as such. However, we must work hard to prevent this group of nations into turning into two nations of oppressed and the oppressor. This can only be achieved if we establish a system based on social justice.

One must be honest to recognize the sacrifices made by Punjabis for the cause of Democracy and establishment of such system. Unfortunately, army has a majority of Punjabis and army is the one who always breaks the constitution. But blaming it on whole Punjab is unfair and counter productive. When smaller provinces blame whole Punjab as an oppressor the Punjab becomes defensive and isolated from the very beginning. In other words you have effectively immobilized 65% of Pakistan from the very beginning. Punjabis by nature strongly believe in a federation since it was Punjab who had to sacrifice half of its motherland when Pakistan was born and it was Punjab where over 80% of the carnage happened. It is ingrained in our psyche that only way to prevent such tragedy to happen again is by sticking together. Punjab is willing to give more than it has to but only if smaller provinces consider its people one of their own. When whole Punjab is labeled as an oppressor and it is isolated it only favors the real oppressors i.e. Army, fascist politicians, and the powers-that-be.

Now this is gonna change. In this day and age when internet and information revolution is taking over our villages and towns it is becoming hard to hide the truth. It also doubles the burden of responsibility on our shoulders, the people who can think, to spread the awareness and not the hate. We must work together to raise the level of awareness of the very downtrodden and teach him how to dream. We must give him hope that dreams will come true, may be not in our life time, but they sure will if believe in them from the depth of our hearts.

Tahmed

No I am not a wadera. May be my possts are a bit long but I think any Sindhi reading them will recognise their worth. Why Pakistani(read Punjabi) history textbooks have not given G.M.Syed his proper place. Let me repost a portion of the conversation between G.M. Syed and Khan who had seen through the future of Pakistan.

``At present, the Hindu trader and moneylender’s plunder is worrying you but later you will have to face the Punjabi bureaucracy and soldiery and the mind of U.P. Then you will know whether the partition of India was good or bad. You live in a dream world about the 1940 Resolution. That is why you are ignorant of the practicalities of politics. In practical politics, there is little room for promises, resolutions and principles. Read history and you will find that religious edicts and agreements among governments, have been often sacrificed at the altar of power, facts, individual and group interests and local situations, requirements and considerations. The Pakistan for which you keep worrying day and night will, at a later stage, become a headache for you. It will pose a threat to Sindhi independence, Indian unity and the peace and progress of Asian nations, After the creation of this aberration, you will have to struggle to fight its concomitant evils.``

tahmed321 # 57

Dear Amina:

You write:

``I feel Pakistan may be abstract Idea for Indian muslims living 1000 miles away``.

An abstract idea -- it is NOT.

The Jihadi Pakistan is a living nightmare for Indian Muslims living 10 miles away from the border.

And one more thing for Jiye Sindh and Amina: please try to keep your posts short. Remember (as I mentioned in my previous post that got drowned out by your multiple posts): it took just one word from Napier (Peccavi, or ``I have sinned`` or ``I have Sindh``) to announce the takeover of all of Sindh. And you need miles and miles of posts to voice your complaints as Sindhis.

If you want anyone to take your grievances seriously, you should have the sense to keep your posts short. Regards.

Jiye Sindh: You are obviously not a landless peasant. I hope you are not one of the waderas either. If you are not a wadera, we can talk. Otherwise, please read my recommendation wrt waderas, the true oppressors of the Sindhi people and the evil in our midst in Pakistan.