Jinnah’s Ustaadi

Shammi,

Are you familiar with Iqbal`s writings on `Khudi` or the philosophy of Ego?

Slink,

Thanks for your kind post and wishes.

About Sheema Kirmani:

1) At Yale the topic of discussion was `Peace between Pakistan and India` presented by International Conflict resolution group and not dance in Pakistan so her diatribe against the so called `Laws` in Pakistan was unfounded. She became the laughing stock of the Yale`s student body. I didn`t need to insult her, eventhough when I spoke, her answers to my queries were very embarrassing for her. Instead of answering my questions like a mature educated person, she tried to take shots at me by first asking me the name of my high school in Pakistan and then declaring that she hadn`t heard of it. At the dinner afterwards Sunil the president of Indian Students association there came up to me and apologized for Sheema Kirmani`s behavior. Imagine that, an Indian apologizing for the behavior of my fellow Pakistani.

2)She was not talking about Zia times, she claimed it was going on today. Had she said Zia times and blamed it on Zia, I would have been her biggest supporter but she went on a tirade against Pakistan. To me Nation comes first, so I will expose anyone who lies about Pakistan to gain mileage for their social agenda, no matter how noble that agenda may or may not be.

3) Her lie about the `exile` of Naheed Siddiqui was hilarious.

Whatever she might have done for Pakistan and women`s rights in Pakistan comes to naught when one takes into account the deliberate hate mongering she indulged in that day. People like her should understand that not everyone can reach the stature of Asma Jehangir or Hina Jelani though they are not without faults either.

hamzad afaqui #50,

i have to say that was much more innovative and interesting than rehan`s article.

YLH

``...I do not have an extraordinary conception of my greatness...``

Actually, you do. Listen to Shankar, heed his advice, and you may one day turn out to be what you think you are today.

zafar al-talib #60

being a ``hill road type`` (bandra west), as was my boss tariq ansari, i object to your condescension.

gheun tak, as balasaheb (whose goons incidentally have laid seige to our office as i write, over a valentine`s day story) would say.

aakar patel

ylh:

“Nevertheless what is wrong with KGS? Or Aitchison? Why must such elite institutions always be maligned by self proclaimed intellectuals and `liberals` like our own Mr. Rehan Ansari, who one can be sure off was brought into his life with a gold spoon in his mouth. These people are usually with an inherent guilt for their previlege.”

….an inherent guilt for their privilege??!?…. *snort *...i don’t know about kgs, but most (repeat most) aitchisonian guys are the most pretentious snobs who think that it’s their daddy’s wealth given right to do as they please…

dear ylh,

this bits and piece reply thing is indeed very difficult to follow, but i`ve discovered this little thing called a mouse which allows me to scroll up and down ;)

i did read your whole post. my point was, since you are someone who still has the strength of your convictions, keep it in reserve for those who can do you and your convictions real damage, rather than people who generally have only as much impact on your life as you let them (like writers). of course, it goes without saying that i also need to take my own advice.

i am sure we agree on many things, not least of which is the belief that pakistan has great potential. and some amazing people. if you ever spent time with sheema kirmani, or were familiar with the work she has done as a dancer, a performer and an activist through tehrik-i-niswan, i think you would have done her greater honour than try to humiliate her at yale. she is right in that there are no purpose built auditoriums for the study and performance of classical dance (or any kind of dance), dancing WAS banned on television and at any public gathering (watch recent interviews of Naheed Siddiqi on PTV and you hear her refering those days), and as for her last point she was probably trying to say that sometimes in pakistan you could get shot for doing something disapproved of by the authorities. as is the case in many nations

tehrik-i-niswan brought street theatre to many parts of karachi and sindh. they have also used television and the press to further the causes of womens rights and development. their contribution has been significant and praiseworthy, and i think your dismissal of her as someone interested only in self glorification does you and your knowledge of the realities of pakistan no credit. sometimes we will agree, and sometimes we will disagree :)

Reply Rsax #: 51

“you delhiwallahs have a serious case of bombay envy...you guys are sneaking in everywhere...today it`s malabar hill, then it will be nariman point, then cuffe parade, then even juhu beach...what`s wrong with that connaught place or whatever it`s called?...”

Go home to Ghatkopat, you Hill Road Type! CP has been renamed after Rajiv or Indira (I forget which. Vaisai I suggested Chhatrapati Shivaji Place, but mera kaun suntha hai?)

Romair,

My comment was in regard to the Pakistani Silent Majority led by Pervez Musharraf. Seems like the Indian ailment is infectious. Kindly read my post again. I do not have an extraordinary conception of my greatness, but I do have the staunchest faith in the ability of my nation.

Sincerely

YLH

More in reply to Shandana:



Hope you don`t mind my answer in bits and pieces. I have work you see and thats the reason I am giving you answer in bits. If you read some of the

posts I have written you will realize that some of my favorite writers have very different world views (if not different views on Jinnah for whom

they all being reasonable people have a certain amount of respect) ... These writers/thinkers include the late Eqbal Ahmed, Salman Rushdie, Edward Said, our own chowk Veteran Farzana Versey, and Najam Sethi (well sethi and I prescribe to very similar world views so I don`t think thats an appropriate example) this should suffice to show that my anger against Mr.Rehan Ansari is not because of his goody goody wannabe southasian give up borders humanism, but the fact that he is masquerading as such, when he is really a very petty creature full of spite. His comment was neither a criticism nor an intellectually driven argument. It was a reflection was deep down ugliness which prompted him to single me out for attack. People like him are a dime a dozen.





I am open to dialogue and discussion on the lines outlined by Aisha Sarwari in her post. But I am not very tolerant of people fingering without reason and then leaving without defending their ill founded assertions. So I am waiting for the coward to pen a response. But he will not precisely for that reason.

ylh #42: ``All three are scared of me and many like me. For they cannot beat us fair and square, since we are since we are intellectually, morally and logically on a much higher ground even if its a tight rope``

You are dangerously too sure of yourself. You are intellectually, morally and logically on the same ground as everyone else, in my opinion. There is nothing I have seen in your comments that would indicate otherwise. There are very very very few people in the world who are, ``intellectually, morally and logically on a much higher ground,`` in comparison to people around. Infact, there are very few people who reach a higher plane in any one of these three areas, much less in all three areas together.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people in the world who think they have achieved this status. They start believing that the world, or their own surroundings, revolves around them. And they feel they are being attacked by everyone else. When actually, the rest of the world is trying to stop them from attacking it. Benazir is a good example of this.

Even Prophet Muhammad was forty years old or so, when generally it was accepted he was, ``intellectually, morally and logically on a much higher ground.`` And that too only by his closest followers. Jinnah reached this status towards the end of his life (and even he was considered intellectually and thus logically superior to those around him; morally he was considered a normal person). Gandhi achieved this status late in life also (and he was genarlly considered morally at a higher plane; intetllectually and logically, he was considered to be just like everyone else). These individuals had a long track record of success. They changed the world.

How exactly can you justify that you, and, ``many like you`` have reached this status of being, ``intellectually, morally and logically on a much higher ground`` in comparison to anyone else.

So this is a good time for a reality check for you, and others like you: You are in no way in a higher ground in comparison to anyone. You are on the same plane as anyone else. And I hope you will accept this. Otherwise, you will never be able to reach any kind of a of a higher ground, since you will never see your own faults. You will always project your own shortcomings onto other people, and blame them for attacking you.

Reply Rehanhasanansari # 33

“…I always find something strangely missing form what you write…”

I am talling you a nd talling you to put in glossry because many people are not understanding aap kay big big word and lumbay chauday sentebnce….do not angry, I am o nly advising as friend, ok?

(Aap love interest aur pictures bhee include kartay to fayedah hee fayedah…)

Best wushes. (1st Ipo sted by mstake on wrong bored. sory.)

Sigalph,

I am always encouraged and touched by your belief in us when the world around considers my kind intemperate and irresponsible.

Thank you.

Aisha

YLh BTW did you see the latest TFT. Check the learned profs article - where he says Pakistan should import Indian profs to teach science to pakistanis.

What a sad state of affairs - that true blue blooded pakistanis like yourself, descendents of the old mughal noblity etc etc etc are feathering their nest in the west while the true inheritors of india are going to go back to the land they belong to too.

oops the fish is there it needs to be reeled in.

Slink,

Furthermore, your article in The Friday times `Perv`s Swerve` is a testament to the fact that you understand what I am saying regardless of what you might say here on Chowk.

PS Furthermore, you are right I shouldnt have lumped Rehan Ansari with the fundoos and Lunatics. Atleast the fundoos and lunatics don`t sacrifice Pakistan for their own glorification.

Dear Shandana Minhas,

Please be patient and read the whole thing.

Let me clarify, I think everyone has the right to their own opinion no matter what. But I too have the right to criticize them to the nth degree. By arguing with them doesn`t mean I am out to put them 6 feet under. Are you equating my use of pen (or Keyboard) to show Mr.Rehan Ansari in his true colors which are really ugly with real violence?

The fact is that Rehan Ansari has criticized my belief in Jinnah`s ideals, but he hasn`t mustered up the courage to actually put something up that is concrete and factual. In other words, what he did was not criticism but just provocation. There is no substance to his criticism. He says what is worse is for everyone to see, but he doesn`t elaborate. He just wants to look cool, sound cool, more `intellectual` .. the dissident. Only time will tell who the real dissident is though, and believe me its not Rehan Ansari.

People like Rehan Ansari are a dime a dozen. They lie to get accepted. One such morally bankrupt wannabe intellectual self loathing P-O-S is Sheema Kirmani the famous dancer. At Yale University, much to my annoyance, she made three inaccurate claims which you will see are proposterous:

1) There is no Auditorium in Pakistan.

2) Dancing is BANNED in Pakistan.

3) Government shoots the dancers.

Now let me tell you something, I went to school with the famous Naheed Siddiqui`s kid. Naheed Siddiqui is one of the most famous dancers in Pakistan. Shima Kirmani wishes she was like Naheed Siddiqui. In all three schools I attended in Pakistan we had a class for Dance or Music. There are auditoriums all over Pakistan.. surely Alhambra or the famous Ali Auditorium in Lahore are just two. There are more a 100 in Lahore, many more in Karachi

So I got up and I informed Shima Kirmani that she was out of line.. I gave her the example of Naheed Siddiqui.. and guess what her answer was : Naheed Siddiqui has been in exile for 20 years. Now that is the biggest lie anyone could have told and this woman told it at Yale. Naheed Siddiqui was married to the famous actor Mr.Zia Mohiyuddin and she got divorced getting the house in England while Mr.Mohiyuddin moved to Pakistan. She performs regularly in Pakistan and her family is big in Pakistani plays and dramas: Arifa Siddiqui and her mother etc.. I am sure you know very well who I am talking about.

So what was Shima Kirmani`s motivation in describing Naheed Siddiqui`s residence in England as an `exile`? I think it goes without saying.

Sincerely

Yasser Latif Hamdani

PS: If you see my pal Khalid Muhammad in Karachi tell him to email me.