Terror in Okara

In a very fundamental level there is not much distance from Okara in
Pakistan to Narmada in India though the former is uglier becuse of the brazenness of the way the power has acted.
One other difference is that the people in the Narmada valley can continue their struggle and hope to draw the attention of the rest of the country. In India the state can not continue to neglect the masses for its they who wield the ultimate power. I am not that hopeful about Pakistan where uterances against the army constitute blasphemy.

Yet another example of the inherent hypocrisy in our military cum politico environment. This is not a singular occurence of misdemeanor, not a handful of bad generals but sadly enough a fairly accurate refection of the essence of the minds that run our country.
We really need a massive revolution, on all fronts, one that steers far away from religious boundaries.

While it is important to discuss the misdeeds of some of our military men, what one should always keep in mind is that while doing this he should never pass the blame to the entire Pakistan Army or the officials of the institution that protects us.

Ref nadeemakr #32

[The present day India and Bangladesh were fortunate to have been subjogated by the Brits in the early and mid 1800`s. They benefited in terms of getting rid of the Zamindars and Tawalkadars, a Mogul legacy...]

Actually, you are in error on a matter of fact here. The Bengal Settlement by the British government created a whole host of zamindars, who grew so rich that they decided they didn`t have to live near their lands -- primarily in East Bengal -- and moved to Calcutta and even called themselves Rajas, as if they were kings! The British rectified some of the mistakes when they went through the land settlement process in the Madras Presidency. Nonetheless, zamindars existed in the Madras Presidency as well, primarily, the minor kings and chieftains of pre-British times who were recognized as holders of public land, not owners.

One of the first acts that the Indian government took was to abolish the zamindari system -- without compensation to the zamindars. This issue was litigated all the way up to the Supreme Court of India and the court held that depriving the zamindars of their economic interest in the land -- which they have enjoyed for decades if not centuries -- without just compensation was unconstitutional. It took an amendment to the Indian Constitution to overturn the judgment of the Supreme Court.

It takes a lot of political courage to go against moneyed interests and do the right thing. It is to the credit of the Congress government of the early 1950s that they stuck to their promise of abolition of the zamindari system and carried it through.

[... Pakistan was less fortunate as following the mutiny of 1857, Brits changed their minds and abandoned their policy of ``Christianizing`` India. The notion of ridding fiefs of their misfortunes was sheleved and tbe Brits annexed Punjab, Frontier, Balochistan and Sindh by awarding large tract of lands to individuals who helped assisted their northward expansion.]

Till the canals were built in the late 19th century, Punjab was considered a desert. The area was overgrown with the brush and undergrowth that characterized the Indian jungle. After the canals were dug, land was given away to people willing to clear and farm the land and the British government rewarded a lot of Muslims with land in Punjab. As for awarding large tracts to Sindh and Balochi tribal leaders, this probably was no different than recognizing the various maharajas, rajas, ranas, nawabs or poligars of India with regard to their overlordship over the land they had ruled traditionally. The Indian Government, after Independence, also straightened out this mess by separating the personal property of these rajas and chieftains from the property of the states/lands they ruled. The land that was not titled to anyone but traditionally farmed by certain families were deeded over to those families. Without mechanised form of agriculture, most families could only farm a few acres and hence the land was distributed pretty equitably. All you need to do is look at a map of pre-1947 India with special reference to the Madras Presidency. You will find a lot of little princely states such as Vizianagaram in Andhra, Pudukkottai and Ramnad in Tamil Nadu, etc., covering hundreds of thousands of acres. These lands were taken away from the rajas and distributed to the peasants. That map would not have shown the lands given to zamindars or poligars because they were part of British-ruled India, sizeable though those areas were. Those zamindari lands were also taken away from the zamindars.

The credit for the abolition of the feudal system in India belongs to the Indian politicians. The feudal system in India was in fact created by the British in areas where it did not exist and was strengthened in the Moghul-ruled areas. After all, the East India Company started its land-grab in India as a jagirdar of the Moghul Emperor.

[It is time that we take the bull by the horn and call spade a spade; illegal occupation, even if it means a century old dwelling, is still illegal and therefore needs to be dealt accordingly.]

That may be the LEGAL thing to do. The MORAL thing would be to deed the land over to those who have farmed it for centuries. They have earned the right to call that land their own.

shafiq #48 Agreed on other points. But when you say ``The only good thing about a war, is that the majority of these Fauji generals would be wiped out, giving Pakistan a fresh start that it needs. `` I think you underestimate the self-preservation capabilities of our esteemed generals. There USED to be a time when pakistani generals would expose themselves to the same dangers as their troops - that was back in 1965 when individuals like Brig. Shammi died leading their troops into battle. No more, I think. You cant run WAPDA and buy homes in UK and the US and be a professional soldier at the same time.

Well what can I say, things change with time and increased levels of education. The mere fact that we are discussing this point about Okara, and that it has not been forgotten is a start.
The only good thing about a war, is that the majority of these Fauji generals would be wiped out, giving Pakistan a fresh start that it needs. By the way do you know that the Pakistan Army is the best paid (per Capita GDP) in the world!!! Amazing...!!! To think people this inept and useless are getting paid proprtionately more then highly trained SAS or Marines for losing every war they have ever fought.......!! They must be laughing all the way to the bank!

Paigham #40 Okara, not Okra you idiot. So much for your survey of Lahori families in the US. Dont you people have enough misery in India that you think it is fun to crow at problems on the Pakistan side? The misery of poor people, whether in Pakistan or in India or anywhere in the world, is food for laughter only for low class scumbags.

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12-head #43
What! How can you compare those pureminded moralists, the Pakistani military, bravely fighting the unprincipled Yindoo-Yehudi press with that fatally flawed rogue state facing imminent collapse, the US?

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As with everything else, the fundamental question is - which is more important to Pakistan, the Army`s corporate interests or the wishes of its people?

Bravo Mr. Hoodhbhoy!

Please continue the investigation and keep everybody informed. Scandals such as these should be printed on the front page of every newspaper in Pakistan. This raises a lot of questions:

*Why are prominent human rights activists like Asma Jehangir silent about Okara?? What is HRCP doing about Okara??

*What is the Rangers` official explanation for the seige of Okara?? Is that explanation endorsed by the high command in Islamabad?? Has this incident been brought to their attention??

*Benazir, Altaf Hussain, Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman have proclaimed themselves as crusaders for human rights and justice. Why are these crusaders silent about this incident??

*Why are Pakistani newspapers not informing the public about these deaths?? Why are there no fact-finding teams being sent to Okara??

*Why is the higher courts not taking suo moto action against the concerned Rangers officials in Okara?? Why hasn`t someone filed a writ in Lahore High Court against the Rangers??