Love On The Line Of Control, a Story by Col Dharam Pal

Syed Ahmed #49 I had forgotten about the judgement and courage Gen Yakub displayed when he told Yahya that he was not prepared to use the military in then East Pakistan. That is where he really distinguished himself. Later, as Foreign Minister, I think he could have done more to resolve the Kashmir issue, though. But what do I know about the internal pressures that people like him and PM face.

I guess the Pakistan military does produce good generals once in a while - PM being another one who has so shown good judgement and courage (so far).

Bad Cruise: When someone says that you are Pakistani-born (which I assume you are, or Indian-born, or wherever the hell you were born) does his jaw drop with awe? Why do you then assume that when calling someone Iranian-born one`s is awed? I also see that the word Iranian-born also trigerred other associations with skin color in your fevered little mind.

Your post tells me a lot about you, my complex-ridden friend. Maybe you need someone to assure you that you are a human like anyone else, regardless of where that person was born, and not one of the lower apes.

sigalph #43 There is not a whole lot I can add to what I already mentioned about Gen Yakub, and sorry that disappoints you. It was back in 1966 or 1967 that he had visited this hill station near Murree where they stayed at a guest house that was reserved for brigadiers and up to bring their families. The general and his wife spent a couple of weeks there. While I did not meet them myself (I had more important things to do back then, like running down the mountain covered with pine trees, and then climbing back up again), I remember my parents discussing how the two were no trouble at all and refused any special privileges. These privileges included things like meals being delivered to the guest house from the officers mess, special phone lines (a luxury back then), and so on. My mother also commented, after taking the general`s wife around, on how gentle the general`s wife was and how she even made sure that the canteen (the Pakistan army`s answer to the Sears department store) was not kept open especially for her.

That is about all I remember. I vaguely recall that he was connected to some Nawab family but never really investigated it further...

Re Syed Ahmed

Ah it is good to get the internet back at work.

Let me add my two cents worth to your dialogue.

The Khaleelis are very much still in Madras and are big builders running a company called Southern Investments which for the longest time used to be the only high end builders in Madras. Knew a few of their kids growing up via the Madras Gymkhana Club.

While they may have supported Jinnah and had some family members migrate, all these families, who were shia, stayed on in India for their business interests and have generally thrived. The Dawood family is known for shoes for example. The same applies for Sir Mirza Ismail`s family--a lot of them still are around Madras and Bangalore and my father is quite well acquainted with some of them--he also went to Presidency College Madras with Aga Shahi and his cousins.

Dear Stuka

``Ideally a Chateau De Neuf Pape from Cote Du Rhone, accompanied with tenderloin, scalloped potatoes with hollandaise sauce and tender asparagus.``

Arey yaar, unfortunately the meagre funds of a student do not allow him to indulge in such luxuries. Even Merlot is a dream what to say of some vintage French wine. Khair if you want to bring one(French wine??) you are welcome :-)

Re: Banjaara/tahmed....

Yakub Khan is best an enigmatic personality... His wife I believe belongs the Iranian mercantile family of the khalilis and shirazees... The khaleelis were a prominent Iranian family based in Madras... They are also related of Sir Mirza Ismail ( from Bangalore) - who are also Iranian whose progeny includes the Aga Shahis and the Aga Hilalis...

The Muslim mercantile Houses of the DAwoods, Daabhoys, Harooons in Bombay/Karachi .. the Khaleelis and the Shirazees of Madras/Bangalore and the Isphanis of Calcultta were all either friends or business associates of Mr Jinnah - who had galvanized them to furnish the financial backing for the Muslim League....

Yakub Khan is much admired in Pakistani circles - because in the 71 conflict he did the right thing.... The two officers .. Admiral AAhsan ( Retd) who was Governor of Bengal who refused to go along with the Army solution to Bengal and was subsequently retired....

And the hawkish GOC Eastern Command Lt Gen Yakub who whne ordered by Gen Tikka Khan ( aka Butcher of Dacca- the man who replaced Admiral Ahsan as CMLA)to attack civilians in Bengal.. - refused to do so and resigned.... He was demoted to Maj Gen , arrested and imprisoned in Karachi...subject to summary Court marshal ...
Subsequent events were to prove him right .... because his reoplacement K.K Niazi disgraced the nation and the army by commiiting the various attrocities that the Bengal debacle is famous for....

Yakub Khan was subsequently rehabilitated by Zia and his former rank of Lt Gen was restored...He later went on to become the FM of Pakistan ...

#: 32

``[[tahmed321

On Gen Sahibzada Yakub: Many years ago (late 1960`s), I recall this gentleman and his wife (I think she was Iranian-born) staying ]]``



TAhmed,etc.

Can any one (spl.Pakistanis) Explain this sense of awe & looking up to ``iranian born`` in Pakistan is all about??.I mean ,yes they are of (some atleast) fairer complexion,BUT how does that make them ,more desirable than say Kashmiri (some of them are fairer)Bhuttos wife Nusrat, ,is iranan too.Her daughter in law is Lebenoni .I MEAN IT MUST BE VERY EASY FOR MID EASTERN & IRANIAN ,LEBENONI TO `SUCCKER` PAKISTANI IN JUST BY THAT,

Re: Stuka

``Ideally a Chateau De Neuf Pape from Cote Du Rhone, accompanied with tenderloin, scalloped potatoes with hollandaise sauce and tender asparagus.``

Food is one of the things the white man has a long way to go in learning from desis. Hollandaise sauce?? Gooey, bland, and dangerous if left out too long. Scalloped potatoes? I won`t even go there.

Let`s cut the white man a little slack though...can`t expect him to have much taste or skill with food given that his ancestors had to survive on pickled herring fish and slabs of unflavored meat for centuries until they found us in Asia and stole our spices (we should be getting royalty payments...in this day and age we would have patents over them.)

kafir k khan,

that was very good, to say that menon, and not memon is a kerala name. Same with zorawar, yes I agree, rahul is a liar, a true hombay stuff.

By the way why should it be bollywood, for several decades now, bombay produced more movies, is seen by more people than anything that hollywood can dream of. May be it is hombay for hollywood., or holbay

re nasah

How come I was not invited to the curry and wine party? I want to be there too. I will even settle for cheap wine (Rinunite` Lambrusco) or cheap beer (Coors Orig). Please, please, please me too..

re tahmed321

For the longest time I am looking for some material about the life of General Yakub Khan and his family. If you can suggest something, I`d be grateful. Even if you could tell me more about him, personality, demeanor etc, it will be appreciated.

Why? I have met a few generals here and there. Never did a person look more a `real, classy` general of the old school than the Sahibzada. I was only ten or eleven but it was an impression etched for good.

What do you know about the Rampur royal family? Weren`t they Rohillas or something?

Okay I`ll wait for your reply.

Hey Zafar, you are great!

Dear Akash ji:

``Merlot with beef curry`` -- munh mein paani bhur aya -- dekhiye, biryani nu bhooliye gaa --

Dear Akash jee:

Let me recite a line from the persian sufi peot Hafiz Shirazi about getting along with Hindus and Muslims -- it goes something like this:

Hafizaa gur wasle khahee tu agar ba khaas-o aam

baa mussulmaaN Allah Allah ba brahman Ram Ram

Dear temporal mianN:

If you really want -- khoob nibhe gee jo mil baithaiN ge diwane do -- then shurbate rooh afza – even a hundred year old one, wont do – kaam naheiN chalegaa – you have to try what our good Muslim Hafiz Shirazi prescribed:

Pick up the joy giving wine and come hither.

Temptations of mean foes decline and come hither.

O friend, from your foes your heart release,

In pleasant company drink the good wine with ease.

Confer with those who know, open your heart

And from the ignorant fleas flee like the breeze

Sometimes Ifeel that if only our Prophet would have allowed a little sip of that red wine -- for its Ummah -- as Moses and Jesus did for their Jews and the Christians -- the Maulanas wouldn’t have been as wound up, angry and tense as they are today – a little lick of that dukhtar-e ruz -- and all that hostility/aggression of a deprived life would have melt away – as Hafiz would say :

Spend time with wine by a stream,

And let anger melt away like a stream

shub bukhair

Good imagination - coming from same district, same village, sharing same school, come together to same goal of demarcating the line of conrol. It is utter nonsense. Can anyone check back these facts please. Can anyone call Col. Azad. Is there any Indian army officer who can check it out.

Now, next question - Is it possible to have open border between India and Pakistan ? Would Indians open their country to evermigrating Afghans with birth rate of 7.88% with doubling population peroid of 24 years? Can India absorb another 156 millions muslims in the country ?

Can India have two constitutions: one for main stream Indians and another for muslims run by Mullahs ? If a priest is not state why should a Mullah be seen directing the country. Defying a Mullah is defying Allah. Can a secular India tolerate that. As Bush told in his speech,``Where Taliban defines how big a beard a person supposed to keep``.

Dharam Paal you are a hypocrit. I suggest you keep busy on your computer games. Do you play PLAYSTATION II. Are you still cocooned in the sleeping bag. Why don`t you write another article rather than post same stinking boring story the second time.

I am most upset by the bl--dy lies you wrote thinking the readers are fools. First, you paint this picture in Dec 1971. There was no problem in Kargil either in 1971 or in 1972. I know the area well. Second, Memon is not a Kerala name. It is Menon. Third, Keralites are Southern Indians and Zorawar is not, repeat not, a Keralite name.

A Colonel in Indian Army in 1972 would around 48 years old. He would be at least 71 years old now. Story is good enough for Bollywood if someone can believe this. The fact he remained a Colonel is because he was not a General material.

Kafir Kamaluddin Khan