Taslima’s Lies, Ismat’s Truth

Dear Farzana:
Different soups, different flies!

I have read a lot about Taslima (who hasn`t?) and picked up a copy of her Lajja on my last trip to India but haven`t gotten around to reading it. I have also read a fair bit about Ismat Chughtai, read one story by her, and saw a very mediocre film, Society Girl, made by her husband and scripted by her. So, my comments may not be the best informed.

With that caveat, I tend to agree with nasah saheb, i.e, they are different kind of flies in different kind of soups. Ismat Chughtai wrote during the times when there was less religiousity in the society, even if it was divided along communal lines. She meant to shock and did shock, but her shock was to the middle class sensibilities, not particularly directed against any religion. Her `Lihaf` would have been just as shocking if the characters were hindus rather than muslims. In this, she was more like Manto. The risk she took was ostracisation from her family, relatives and the ``thekedars of samaj`` but there was never any risk to her person.
Taslima meant less to shock than to provoke. And her provocation was against her own religion. In some senses, her risks were greater because she threw the gauntlet at a time when religious sensibilities are much more heightened than they were at the time of Chugtai.
From what I have read, she does not compare favourably with Chugtai on the talent score, but that probably makes her stand even more provocative. She probably had to, in order to get noticed and market herself, presuming that was an objective of both women.

``I am taking a break from courageous women for now``(Farzana)

Now you are one courageous woman yourself, Farzana Versey -- never afraid to step in the lion`s den with opposing views -- now where are you going -- let`s hear from you about the last decade of Ismet Chughtai and Amreeta Pritam.....and about that peot writer peon..

Eid Mubarrak

Eid Mubarak Temporal sahib

Eid Mubarak BulluKhan sahib and Saminasha Begum ...Eid Mubarak Chowkis...

{Had you not resorted to dots, yours would have been two sentences. And just in case you don`t know...men may like quickies, most women don`t :) }

...tru say

Eid Mubarak

with wishes for health and peace for you and yours!

...t

ps: check out Dubya`s Eid Message too;)

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nasah saab, PunjabiZulu:
The Safdar Hashmi case reveals a lot about what we think is creative freedom, its real consequences, and how society infringes on an individual`s right to have an opinion that is in consonance with prevailing thought. Hashmi was only expressing what people felt and experienced everyday...

Yes, there has been a just verdict after all these years, when the act was done in broad daylight and the culprits were known. I am sorry to sound cynical, but sometimes I think more than justice other factors come into play...like who is in power and wants to hit out at whom.

This does not take away from the tremendous courage of that family, especially the mother.

nazarhayatkhan:

A couple of responses are already here...I believe that the `divide` has always existed in certain pockets. It is a subconscious Them vs Us feeling, and such pulls and pressyres are a part of the human dilemma. We do need an Other to prove who we Are. It could be in religious terms, economic, political, psychological, racial, regional...in our part of the subcontinent religion plays a major role in `socialising` us, and colours political views, economic position and even our mindset.

Therefore, the sparks that suddenly create havoc are playing on this inbuilt psyche. Most people do not go around with this baggage, but when the smelly socks are held up, they have no choice but to notice.

In India, the situation is both wonderful and complicated at the same time. Muslims shoemakers were making the `padukas` (wooden sandals) for the kar sevaks at Ayodhya, Muslims light diyas on `jumeraat` and their agarbattis are often `Lakshmi chhap`, and many Punjabi families continue to have one male child initiated into Sikhism.

The Partition has created a chasm which has been further consolidated by recent happenings. People want to regain what they assume is lost glory by trying to wipe out chapters of that history. What Mrs. Hashmi says at the end is true. This is where India is losing out...

Sorry for the long reply, and perhaps it does not even answer your question adequately.

t:
Good going...I am taking a break from courageous women for now and trying to do my bit for tragedy queens;)

#78 by rsaxena:
[..so we take it farzana does not like taslima and has a bone to pick with her...it takes only a sentence to say this :)...]

Had you not resorted to dots, yours would have been two sentences. And just in case you don`t know...men may like quickies, most women don`t :)

Anil # 80, Dionysus # 79

Thanks.

Probably, I pressed to Post in a certain very simplistic frame of mind.

There are no perfect homegenous societies. Differences & divides are natural in every society. And the political processes resolve those differences; and let people live in peace among each other.

Differences are in the nature of human beings - and probably they make the life worth living - these differeces are even within faiths, within ethnicities, within states. And literacy & a balanced education result in a higher threshold of tolerance.

Farzana, you need not answer my post. It will take your topic way off the mark.

dear Farzana -- thanks for posting the touching Hasmi interview -- what a 79 year woman -- the interview very poignant very encouraging --

though delayed -- Justice was done -- the Indian courts like their US counterpart drag their feet -- but ultimately get their culprits and do punish them --

life sentences for all ten of them is very satisfying.......obvioudly this is not the Cngress I used to know -- but then again it could be a local phenomenon -- Hashmi children being refused housing because of Muslim identity -- India is full of contradictions as any other country including the United States....not that it should be an excuse for discrimination......

but it`s good to see that the old struggle against communalism, hatred and bigotry in favor of secularism and democracy and the minority rights is still on -- and the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Hindus are fighting these battles side by side shoulder to shoulder...as they used to do in old days....

secullar Safdar Hashmi the famed theater artiste was at the forefront of these battles finally found his justice........from the secular Indian courts .......rule of law prevailed .....viva la Indie

nasah & bullukhan:

in # 56 i wrote:

…yes i agree…but as i have said earlier…she is swimming in other’s wake…and besides she is not so gutsy after all…sitting in the west…even you or i can claim much more…i would acknowledge it readily if she returns and faces her adversaries head on…that would be courage…

…i withdraw my words about her returning back to b’desh…the point i wanted to highlight for you and others is ensconced in and by the west it is easy to mouth opinions…in my bad choice of words that got diminished somewhat…

Nasah:

..you are cordially invited to drop in next time you are here in TO…i have more taped interviews you might enjoy…wajida tabassum, ali sardar jafri, kaleemuddin ahmed, malik ram, allam dattarya kaifi, akhtar ul iman and many others…:)

Ferzi & Nasah:

You guys can be intimidating…ok will try and get them on the hard disc…and will see how it goes…

…and speaking of pioneers…Ferz have you written or will write about bulbul-e-hind sarojini naidu and bulbul-e-bangal prema devi?…now they were some courageous women;)

rgds,lve,

t

Dear Nazar Hayat Khan:

I really like your perspective. Your simple question ``So when did this divide come?`` has complex answers. It was a Big Bang, whenever it happened. We can only study it, like the other Big Bang, through its impact. Another way to look at it, may be that Big Bang indeed created the Universe we live in, and we accept it.

Best regards.
ANIL KAPURIA

nazarhayatkhan #77 ``So when did this divide come. Obviously, not during the Congreess days since Congress represented all those who lived in India. Did it come with the coming of Muslim Leaugue? Or it came with the passage of Lahore Resolution .......Or with the partition itself? ``

Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab have regarded each other as untouchables for CENTURIES, and not simply as a result of relatively recent politics. I`m surprised your father never mentioned this to you. It was one of the first things my elders told me about life in the Old Punjab.

FarzanaVersey

re: Safdar Hashmi

Killed by Congress goons.

What a repulsive rabble of thugs, gangsters and mafioso is that ``political party``

And this is the alternative to the BJP?

Farzana # 74

I did not want to disrupt this board on writers. But your this post has instigated me to ask a question. Please do not reply if you do not wish you.

My question may sound stupid to you. But it is a fact. Since I have never lived with Hindus or Sikhs, I treat them just as I treat Italians or Chinese or Beligians. In fact, I am far more comfortable with the Indians since it is so easy to cumunicate, eat the same food & have a lot of other things common.

So I thought that this divide is a result of partition - and mainly for the people who experienced partition first hand. I am presently reading Khushwant Singh`s ``Truth, Love & a little malice`` - and he talks of his school days around 1930s - and says that Hindus+Sikhs sat togather and Muslims sat separately; and they did not mix.

Whenever my father talked of the pre-partition days, he never spoke in such terms.

So when did this divide come. Obviously, not during the Congreess days since Congress represented all those who lived in India. Did it come with the coming of Muslim Leaugue? Or it came with the passage of Lahore Resolution .......Or with the partition itself?

I do not know? Please do not answer if it is too irrelevant.

..so we take it farzana does not like taslima and has a bone to pick with her...it takes only a sentence to say this :)...

``i would acknowledge it readily if she returns and faces her adversaries head on…that would be courage....``

temporal sahib -- you surely don`t want to get her killed -- or do you.....:-)

Tasleema is one heck of a courageous woman...God bless her

Many Indians would be familiar with the name of Safdar Hashmi. A Leftist, he was brutally murdered by Congress goons when he was staging his play `Halla Bol` in the streets of Delhi. He suffered with death; I had interviewed his widow, Moloyshree, and realised the kind of pressures creative people work under, especially if they want their work to reach the ordinary person. Safdar`s mother is a writer and the following is an interview that appeared in today`s Times of India. Note the voice of dissent and especially her comments on not forgiving.

* * *
TODAY`S INTERVIEW: Stories of Separation - The Times of IndiaTUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 25, 2003


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/301542.cms

Seventy-nine-year old Qamar Azad Hashmi , author and mother of the slain theatre activist and writer Safdar Hashmi, refused to leave the country even as the rest of her family migrated to Pakistan after Partition. With a Delhi court recently convicting those responsible for Safdar’s murder almost 15 years ago, she spoke to Humra Quraishi :


It has taken 15 long years for the verdict in the Safdar Hashmi case to be delivered. The delay must hurt.


Even now, it is the lower court that has given the verdict. So, it is open to appeal in the higher courts. All these years have been very painful. Nothing can take away from that pain. It is there to stay. I also feel that this kind of delay in justice only encourages the criminals. Also, it increases the chance of the case weakening as there is always the danger of something untoward happening to the witnesses.


Recently, after the verdict was handed out in the Graham Staines case, his wife spoke about how she had forgiven the culprits.


My own view is that forgiveness is not a morally correct position since it ends up emboldening the murderers.


This sounds quite political, quite different from what one might expect from an average middle class woman. What can I say to that? Perhaps, it is because of my background. My father was a sufi poet from Kakori (UP) who brought out a publication — Piyam-I-Ummeed — and my mother was from a Kashmiri family settled in Punjab . I had a very liberal upbringing. In common with thousands of other people, we were badly affected by Partition as we had to shift out of our home in Delhi and live in a refugee camp set up in Humayun’s Tomb.


And, although I went with my family to Pakistan initially, I returned the very next year and got married here. While my husband’s family had moved to Pakistan , he was determined to stay put though his business suffered tremendously after Partition. So we lived and brought up our children in very tough financial circumstances.


Your children — all five of them, including Safdar. How did you raise them?


When they were young, I’d read out to them stories from Chinese and Soviet literature every night. I told them how, despite the difficulties and struggles their father had to go through, he never once compromised. I suppose the atmosphere at home leaves a definite mark on the children and we taught our children never to accept injustice and zulm.


Besides, I never imposed any restrictions on them and allowed them to pursue their passions. Safdar was a quiet child. He did his early schooling in Aligarh , college at St Stephen’s and later taught English at the Kashmir University ( Srinagar ). He quit the university job because it did not offer any scope for theatre. He then joined the West Bengal government. The 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi really affected him. For days, we were witness to the horrifying carnage. It was shocking to see the brutality of it all.


What was your reaction to your son Safdar’s murder?


I remember the day. It was the day when my elder sister was to reach New Delhi from the US and I was busy tidying up the house and cooking and then suddenly one of Safdar’s friends rushed in to tell us about what had happened. We rushed to the hospital. I can’t put into words my reaction to his death...


I wrote Panchwan Chirag four years after Safdar’s death... SAHMAT came into being because of Safdar’s friends and activists. We wanted to establish a platform for the values Safdar lived for.


What is your view of today’s politics?


I feel that today the middle classes are turning a blind eye to the developments taking place around them. But this kind of apathy has grave consequences. If we want our country to be saved, we cannot sit quietly and be indifferent to the political mess.


As for the fate of minorities, you have already seen what’s happened in Gujarat . Once reactions and counter-reactions start, there is no knowing what might happen. After all marne se pehle aadmi haath uthata hai .


As a woman with a Muslim name, do you feel safe living in the Capital?


Yes, I do. On the other hand, two of my children couldn’t get a house on rent in New Delhi ’s Rajinder Nagar because the minute landlords heard their names they’d bluntly say that they would not rent their homes to Muslims. Till my retirement, I had government accommodation (as an NDMC school employee). So there was no problem on that score... but the divisions along religious lines are definitely there, indeed even at the school level. In fact, just the other day my seven-year-old grand-daughter came up to me and said that children in her class ask her whether she is a Hindu or Musalmaan, I told her to tell them that she is an insaan.


If Safdar was alive today, what role would he be playing?


Raising his voice at the injustices, at the communal happenings... he had the courage and spirit to fight for a cause and, like his father, he would never, never compromise on principles.