Look Ahead In Terror

#12 by Harpreet

``It has democratic tyranny, ...... ``

What kind of tyranny is it if 58 innocent people are burnt alive or 38 sikh farmers are slaughtered, just because they they are that? What kind of tyranny is it when victims some how become suspect? What kind of tyranny is it if people who raise such questions are classified as bigots?

After Akshadharam, Modi and BJP did the right thing. Thirtyeight people are dead. No riots. But, ``we should catch the criminals``.

This is for all the liberal pakis who get all worked up about gujrath ... ``you should catch the criminals``.

Faiz is a magnificent poet but I don`t think he would be a fair source to use for pakistani history; he`s far from objective being a staunch socialist as is evident from his poetry and his lifelong friendship and love for communism and the USSR...Thus he looks at history with the eyes of dialectic materialism...

Yet who can fail to love his poetic gems such as:

raat yoon dil mein teri khoee huwi yaad aayee

jaisay veeranay main chupkay say bahaar aajaaye

jaisay sehraoon main chalay holay say baad-e-naseem

jaisay beemaar ko bay wajha qaraar aajaaye

:-)

Then again having just visited pakistan for the first time in a decade I have undergone a 100% change in my views about what is important for pakistan: education, jobs, economic, social, technological and scientific development are the needs of the day. I wasn`t aware of how poor the average pakistani was. No one is interested in idealisms. People want the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their children (hence why everyone wants to go to the West!)--and THAT is what pakistan`s govt must deliver on. Above all else economic and social development.
If that requires swallowing the bullet and making peace with India and even giving up the nuclear bomb I now think it is worth it. When no Pakistani child goes to bed hungry and we have 100% literacy and people can get good jobs and earn a respectable living THEN we can return to the more idealistic dreams I used to think were our priority! Yes, I think that the country`s leaders need to make these economic goals the priority EVEN if to achieve that we hav to become a secular state temporarily. I learnt that the vast majority of ordinary Pakistanis are devout, moderate Sunni (Barelvi) Muslims who do NOT want an ``Islamist`` state but rather worry about their daily bread and that of their children. I think the keys to this are education and scientific advancement, female equal opportunities etc and NOT nukes!!

After all, to paraphrase Sayyidina Umar ibn al Khattab the leaders will be responsible if even a single dog goes to sleep hungry!

Peace
Faiz is no doubt one of the greatest sons of the land now called india and pakistan. Tanhai was published in Naqsh-e-Faryadi, which was his firts dewan, and includes poems from the years 1928,29 to 1934, 35, which was his college and early adulthood days when he got the first ``Ghao`` (wound) of ``Ishq``. There is another poem from same Naqsh-e-Faryadi called ``Kuttay`` (dogs). Its a beautiful poem which on a quick glance looks like an overview of life of a dog in the street. However if you, realy want to understand the message just replace the word of ``Kuttay`` by the people of our beautiful land. Isnt it ironic that the miserable conditions of dogs about which Faiz is crying, are actualy the same of the people of south asia.
I am glad to see that in 20 responses so far there is no reflection of hate as we see in some other responses to the articles on chowk. This may be because the author cleverly hide his message in a fairly benign introduction
##Look Ahead In Terror by rehan ansari 12/31/2002

In college I decided that that I would learn Pakistani history through Faiz Ahmed Faiz`s poems ##
This way all these hate mongers who we see at other places in chowk paid no attention to the article, as they know that if somebody is talking about Faiz then the message would be of universal love and that of greatness of the human kind, and about the ways to achieve the lost integrity of the soul, and means and methods of achieving the Nirvana of human greatness, and these people have no time for this bull$hit. They only care about how to acuse India or Pakistan and the people of this reagion for all the things which are wrong in their lives, and just sit there spread more hate without any practical effort to rid themselves of the evils of their lives.
Enough for them, its great to see that there are some people who still hope fro good and want to work for that. ( compare the number of response to this article with number of responses to some other hate filled articles ).
Peace

Scout,

Thanks matey. You`re a doll!!!

Umer M.

UmerMurtaza,

as long as freesoul, saminashah, harpreet, ansari, sadna, ghalibzaman,
humsab, ahmedmadani, ras, and aisha-sarwari keep quiet, your secret identity is safe with me....scout`s honor..

Re: ahmedmadni (5)

I like ur pessimism, and the ironic yet optimist wishes for us.

:)

Oh $hit,

The bloody thing didn`t change names. Seems I need to explain myself... Right then, I am Moarsh. Moarsh stands For Mohammad Arshad because that`s the name of my unc. No, I am not 12 head incarnate and neither do I intened to stalk anyone. I Promise.

So let me explain, I got this ID `cos I wrote something (nothing offensive - I want you to know - I don`t need a ID for it - I`ll say something offensive it if I have to) in the lit unplugged board which I just didn`t want anyone knowing I had written. Don`t ask why...hence the ID. Now I`ll just have to get another one.

B0ll0cks!
Umer M.

#12 by Harpreet

Well, ur definition of democracy is like giving knife to mentally deranged man.

Yes, India can be democratic if it encourages or permits killing of its minortities by majority, yet it would not be civlized.

At the end of the day, a man killed by govt-supported party or his racist neighbour, is an innocent man killed. What is the difference? In the first case. u might end up with 600,000 ppl dead.

This is just a general comment/question to y`all,

-h- mentioned about Democracy so this question just sprang to mind. I have always thought of democracy as empowerment of people. In the ideal democratic model, I would like to think that the public was running and contributing, and aware of every single affairs of the country, as opposed to just putting your faith in someone and hoping that he`d/she`d do their best.

However, I also believe that the democracy the world practises is anything but the ideal model. Governments do get away with murder, literally. But I wonder whether democracy can be used as a tool to legitimise terrorism (in the sense of killing innocent civilians). After all, we are the people who go out and commit `democratic slaughter` by electing politicians who commit such actions. Does that then make all of us a little responsible for that other person`s misery?

Thank you,
Umer M.

Mr Ansari,

Didn`t Faiz also write
`aaj bazaar mein ba-wa-joulan chalo`(which Mr. Freethinker kindly translated for some of us on chowk)

Would leftist poets ever advise `wait and see`, wouldn`t they rather rouse to thought and action? Of course, cannot answer for leftist with charpoy, ie a tired leftist.

Your (literary) attitude towards the Hindu right in India seems the same your attitude toward the Muslim right in Pakistan, ie highminded passivity.

PS: Modi said that if the Congress wins in Gujarat, Pakistanis would celebrate. Seems he got that one right.

Rehan

The difference between Gujarat and Pakistan is that Gujarat has democratic slaughter. Therefore India is more superior to you.

It has democratic tyranny, ie: the tyranny over the minority has been legitimised by the voters and is therefore unquestionably unfortunate but hey, its the will of the people.

Not like Pakistan where your minorities are terrorised by unelected killers. How outrageous.

I mean I would so much rather be killed by democratically elected and accredited politicians than by the dregs of a military dictatorship.

Now that is real freedom of choice.

Its called democracy.

But I wouldnt expect you Pakistanis to understand because you are all soooo backwards.

-h-

Madani sahab,

Good to see you back! Kaise hain aap? Aapki poetries tau lajwaab hain. Here`s wishing you a very new year!

Aamir

Scout,

Please come to CUNY; you need to be spanked very badly ;)

reha nan sari,

i know you meant well with this article, but it was boring and made me hate desi politicians and desi politics even more. why waste time on those jerks when you can`t do anything about them.

#5: ahmedmadani

This is the BEST poem I have read on CHOWK to date. It is also a harbinger of many more ones to follow. Your prose is excellent as well.

Very original & with no pretense or affectation this IS the stuff chowk needs . I, like many others, have been rendered a cultural & intellectual cripple and ideologically-corrupt by the english-intellectualisation of our `education` system.

Please accept my humble salaams.