My Pakistan Diary: Lahore Aaya Main Othay Dil Chhod Aaya!

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DM
//...who among us is going to deny that such a perception exists? ...//

Not me. Like you said - let`s deal with it in an honest way.

The perception of linking IMs to pakistan exists and widespread. No small thanks to crass vote bank politics and subtle ghettoisation of muslims promoted by Congress and other like-minded parties. And no small thanks to intellentsia and so-called leaders (which includes muslims themselves) who played along with such dirty politics.

I mean - this game played out for 40 years - did you see muslim/secular intellentsia or leaders protesting against it? No. Only after the backlash started and BJP capitilized on it - zombies suddenly woke up and started crying rivers for ``secularism``.

How cynical can you get!
From today`s Hindustan Times:
``Modi is expected to campaign at 30-35 seats across the state, taking care to avoid places with large Muslim populations. At many seats, he will be accompanied by Uma Bharti, the firebrand chief minister of Madhya Pradesh. Constituencies with a strong Muslim presence will be left to Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and new entrant Arif Mohammed Khan. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his deputy L.K. Advani will stick with their campaign schedules. RSS pracharaks Sanjay Joshi and Pyarelal Khandelwal have already been tasked with overseeing the work of the cadres.``

Reality Check!
It`s crass opportunism on the part of the BJP to ask Muslims to vote for it because it is seeking friendship with Pakistan. ABV is seeking peace with Pakistan because it is good for India, its economy and its international image, and not because it`s good for India`s Muslims, and that`s the way it should be.

But...let`s get rid of this political correctness folks; it may be wrong to link Indian muslims with Pakistan but who among us is going to deny that such a perception exists? This pereception has not been created by the BJP; it has existed since the creation of Pakistan and the role of the IM`s ancestors in its creation. The pre-BJP govts did nothing to change that perception, except an occasional reminder of muslim soldiers who died fighting Pakistan. So, right or wrong the perception exists - and all of FV`s articles on IMs speak of the anguish of someone who is at the receiving end of this (mis)perception.

So, why deny this perception and, instead, why not deal with it in an honest way? I have always maintained that Indian Muslims are the worst sufferers of Ind0-Pak enmity. Even at a personal level, it is they who suffer when visas are denied or travel restrictions are placed - 95% of those seeking visas for Pakistan -cricket visas don`t count- are IMs. Why would (H)Indians suspect IMs if they have no enmity with Pakistan? I remember the 1962 war with China in which IMs were in the forefront of patriotic fervour -IM film artists like Dilip Kumar and Rafi came out with patriotic short films (Aawaaz Do Hum Ek Hain!). The suspicion of IMs is linked with Pakistan and Pakistan only; no one thinks that they have any loyalty to other Muslim countries like Bangladesh or Iran or Afghanistan; even if India goes to war against Saudi Arabia, I dont think anyone will doubt the loyalty of IMs.

And though crass, I don`t really see anything wrong with the BJP trying to exploit the situation to seek Muslim votes. Heck, if Joh Kerry pledges to end the war in Iraq I fully expect him to exploit that situation to seek Arab/Muslim votes in the Presidential elections, and successfully too. If the BJP is not successful in its strategy, it is because it does not have a clean slate vis-a-vis muslims in India: this cat has eaten too many mice before proceeding to the Haj.

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#223

i beg to differ with all of you. no one here knows farzana best. no one on chowk that is. but given that you would rather resort to this repetitively, i wonder what if anything you know best.

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#219 by FarzanaVersey on April 29, 2004 12:48pm PT

Ofcourse! the points of agreement with FV are innumerous- but those points on which we disagree to the point of getting `abusive` can be counted on the finger tips (I can understand that ladies tend to have a crush on OBL because of his lovely flowing beard, the noor on his face, his himmat and his AK-56).
Infact FV is right most of the time- and gives very `chatpata` and readable analyses on topics ranging from culinery delights, literature, cinema to cricket. But she gets overboard at times with her own discourse and pushes it beyond the bounderies (which she is very much aware of) just to gauge the reader`s reactions. I would hate to call her as the Shobha De of Indian Political Journalism but that could be because the two styles are similar- pithy, bombastic, sarcastic and overall very `spicy`. But I love all her articles and read them with great delight.

FarzanaVersey #219
The Vajpayee Himayat committee took out ads supporting Vajpayee which included pictures of Musharraf.

(dost-mittarji, please pardon the digression to a digression that has already taken place!)

Make up your mind:
Here...

[#206 by ballukhan on April 28, 2004 5:55pm PT
#196 by vertex on April 28, 2004 1:36pm PT

I think this is more obfuscation from some one claiming to represent IM. On the issue of Paki Muslims as a counterfoil to RSS Hindutvadis I think that is exactly the trap that BJP has been trying to lay on IM- by linking the issue of Muslim assimilation in Indian democracy with the issue of good relations with Pakistan and the resolution of Kashmir issue. ABV has been harping on the `good` relations with Pakistan as one the `achievements` of his gevernment to the IMs. Are these issues linked- Heck, No! And only those Paki Trolls who subscribe to the `strategic depth` into the Indian territory would gladly accept ABVs linking of the issues before IM with the relations with Pakistan. And I can only say that those so called IM who agree that the two are linked are either trolls or are actually Pakistani Muslims masquerading as Indian Muslims on this board.]

FV in `Murder on Helm Street`, March 31:

[I am terribly afraid of what is happening around. The BJP has even stooped to selling itself to the Muslims via Pakistan. I had written on the ‘Peaceful Strokes’ Board: “…it isn`t about cricket; this time it isn`t about money and sponsors either...we are fighting an election campaign across the border”.

It has turned out to be true. Pramod Mahajan has made two short films with scenes from the Indian team’s victory to be used in its election campaign.

You might rightly ask: Does this not mean that Indian Muslims ally themselves with that country? The answer is: no. The truth lies in the fact that the BJP can now tell its largest minority, “Look, we are not telling you to go to a nation that was created for you, we are saying stay here, but if you want safety of movement, of choice, of work, of education, of thought, of anything, then you will get it only from us.” The underlying sentiment would be, “You can stay in this prison, everything is on the house, but we will be the guardians, the custodians of your fate.” ]

This person on `Murder...` board:

[#186 by ballukhan on April 4, 2004 11:04am PT

Conspiracy theorists like FV abound within US. And they have amply utilized the `KICK` WE get in hiding OUR mistakes by attributing all the miseries to people and factors outside us ( the Pitch being the recent enemy in Paki Cricket). Why? Because we have great egos and want to avoid the painful path of introspection . So we attribute ALL the ills to an enemy outside - and this whining and sulking has been the endemic problem and has almost become a part of OUR general character.]

Same person on `My Saarc Diary` board:

[#5 by ballukhan on January 7, 2004 5:00am PT
How the media plays Joker of the Indo - Pak Circus-
FV- These guys have been raving and ranting like jokers on the streets of Pakistan. The same natty anchor went to interview the street urchins playing cricket on the streets to get the “young voices”. They were asked whether they know Sachin . One kid said no. The other said yes. The anchor’s closing statement was- every Pakistani is looking forward to Indian team ..and all that crap!! I fail to understand why the stupid Indian journalists in Pakistan want to turn this into a mela and keep lying about the undercurrents.
And that headline regarding the film LoC - Who the hell is the Pakiland to tell us whether we should make films on terrorism or Kargil sponsored by them or not- why is the General ASHAMED and EMBARRASSED of his stupid acts getting exposed in the Public- the film LOC should be seen by all the Indians compulsarily- FV is right in stating that all this is a planned strategy to ignore Kargil while the Indians and Pakistanis played their games of peace? Yes, contemporary reality must leave some room for history

The last line was of course taken from my piece to effectively echo my sentiments! Just thought I`d refresh certain memories...

satyamvada #215

Agreed. Both pakistani jihadism and saudi wahabism need to dealt with sternly and with the full weight of our security forces. But that does not contradict the need for people-to-people contact and revival of cultural and economic ties between india and pakistan.

BTW, here is an article from Tavleen Singh on extremist behavior of various groups in India.

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http://iecolumnists.expressindia.com/full_column.php?content_id=45720

Blame Cong for rise of Hindutva




At about the exact moment the Congress party declared Sajjan Kumar its candidate in outer Delhi, Sonia Gandhi declared that India would not survive without secularism. ‘‘An India that is not secular will simply not survive. Secularism is our destiny,’’ she said loftily to a Delhi newspaper. She explained what she understood secularism to mean. ‘‘Secularism in the sense of equal respect for all religions, in the sense of combating communalism of all kinds, in the sense of giving minorities safety, security and equality of opportunity.’’
Secularism does not mean any of these things. It is a European word that relates to separating the church from the state and in that sense irrelevant in India since no Shankaracharya ever ruled or had an army, as the Vatican once did, but why quibble, let us take our Italian prime ministerial aspirant up on her own definition. Combating communalism of all kinds. Giving minorities safety and security. So how should we understand the rehabilitation of a man who was seen leading mobs that dragged innocent Sikhs out of their homes and burned them alive in front of their wives and children? Did the widows of the murdered men misunderstand his purpose for being present at the scene of the massacres? Was he really there only to ‘‘combat communalism’’ and provide them security?

Can we please cut the crap? Can we acknowledge once and for all that it is because of the Congress party’s twisted ‘‘secularism’’ that we saw the rise of Hindutva. You cannot justify the killing of Sikhs in Delhi and condemn what happened in Gujarat, you cannot condemn Narendra Modi if Sajjan Kumar is your man in Delhi. But, Congress gets away with occupying the ‘‘secular’’ high ground because 50 years of propaganda have brainwashed most of our thinkers, academics and hacks into believing a lot of nonsense about communalism and secularism. On the ground this translates into many becoming partisans of Congress for supposedly secular reasons. So if you run into a ‘‘secular’’ hack you get one version of what this election is about and if you run into someone as ‘‘communal’’ as your columnist then you get another version.

My ‘‘communal’’ viewpoint is that religion has played no role in this election and that if Muslims continue to fear the BJP they do so because they are the real victims of Congress secularism. This kind of secularism allowed the growth of an unattractive, unpleasant Islamism that was allowed to discriminate against women and promote hysterical religiosity of the kind I personally encountered at the Dar-ul-uloom seminary in Deoband last week. This institution, incidentally, is where the Taliban got their inspiration from and has been allowed in our supposedly secular country to create a little patch of Saudi Arabia.

Don’t believe me? Read on. I was in UP trying to get a sense of how Muslims would be voting and thought that the Dar-ul-Uloom would be a good place to visit. So, from Muzaffarabad I turned off the highway on to an impossibly bumpy, broken ribbon of road that took me to Deoband. A ramshackle town even by UP standards but get to the gates of the Dar-ul-Uloom and you see quite a different Deoband. Fine Islamic buildings, whitewashed and shining, and a mosque whose minarets rise so high they seem to touch the sky. Sadly for me, my problems began at the gates. The chowkidar said I could not enter till he was instructed to let me in. So, I waited and waited while he talked to someone on the telephone. When this conversation went on a little too long I took the phone myself and requested permission to meet the chief Maulana of the seminary.

The person at the other end said he had no authority to allow me in and I must go back to Delhi and make an appointment. I assumed he was some lowly employee and asked to speak to someone higher up, at which point the chowkidar said: ‘‘How dare you talk like that, you were speaking to the chief Maulana.’’

A passing student, in Islamic skull cap and beard, intervened here and told me that in any case the Maulana would not see me because I was not in purdah. Unveiled women were banned, he said, and because this struck me as curious, I did my own, un-permitted tour of the Dar-ul-Uloom premises and saw only two women, both covered in black from nose to toes.

I also met students who told me they could speak only of the Quran and the hadith because that was all they were allowed to learn about at the seminary. Some were openly hostile and told me I had no right to talk to them and that my presence was offensive.

Tell me, please, oh fighters for secularism, how you would describe the Dar-ul-Uloom? Secular or communal? Tell me if the rigid, fundamentalist version of Islam that the students are being taught at this seminary is capable of producing anything but Taliban? Tell me how an institution that seals off not just the modern world but women can deal with the issues that concern the international community ever since Osama bin Laden became the face of Islam?

Sonia Gandhi, for her part, needs to tell us if she believes it was wrong for the Congress party to encourage and defend the worst kind of minority communalism (Muslim personal law) in the hope of keeping the Muslim vote. She needs to recognise that the Hindutva lunatics with their trishuls and saffron bandanas are the direct result of Congress secularism.


Write to tavleensingh@expressindia.com

satyamvada 215 . . . boss, one has been travelling the world for over 30 years now. For me, assimilation in our societies will occur when I reach a gateway to India (and Pakistan . . .) where I am not beseiged by people asking me to fill forms for them because they can not read or write.

I do not know what role the Bukhais and Shahabudins with their ``Kaum Khatre Main Hai`` monotones will have. I do know that the ``Muslim vote`` is no longer considered a ``bloc`` and is thus assimiliated.

Now all we need is the poorer and illiterate people in our country to assimilate with God the Rupee. And that is happening, I see that, in India. Pakistan may be a few years behind, but if we in India were able to catch-up 50 years in 5, then they have a chance too.

Towards that, opening doors to Indian tourists may be one ticket.

The next will be re-conversions, back to religions of grandparents pre-1947.

Don`t believe me? Go to Sheikhupura.

#211 by ballukhan

Somewhere on the board I had already said that after accusing Congress for years of minority appeasement, the BJP went a step further and actually introduced Pakistan into Indian politics. Congress never did that. This backfired in Muslim community and I think the majority community got turned off too.

Elections are temporary, what is a said and done in election has a long-standing impact.
The BJP has jack-knifed the Indian community relations by using better relations with Pakistan in its election campaign. If the BJP loses elections the back draft would hurt Indian Muslims more than anything else did before.

Guju,

`Excerpts from Indian constitution , if you don`t mind..

If Indian Muslims , who you claim to represent , support Kashmiri separatism , you are guilty of the violation of Fundamental Duty (c) , i.e. ,

``(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India`` `


a) I don`t represent Indian Muslims...

b) I could well argue by supporting Hindutva types, or even legitimizing their presence in Indian politics, you are most definitely threatening unity and integrity of India for you risk alienating Muslims...they also violate f) and i). oh, but that thought never entered your head of course. It is for Indian Muslims to obey what the majority defines as threatening `unity and integrity` of India...heck I could argue we`re just re-visiting the spirit described in b), which would lend one to think that Indians would be sympathetic to `freedom` struggles the world over....

c) India has already, from her point of view, given up 1/3 + some more of Kashmir. Given your interpretation of the constitution, all Indians are OBLIGED to wage war against Pakistan and China to re-instantiate India`s territorial integrity...sounds familiar, no?

d)The Kashmir problem is an issue of separation...such problems may have to be dealt with outside the framework of the constitution. The right to self-determination need to be weighed against the `territorial` rights/integrity of India. Constitutionally, there could be compromise...e.g. autonomy - which I think is the case. India can deal with Kashmir with an iron fist...but that will not go well with India`s Muslims, and will prove to threaten Indian `unity` more than ever.

If you want to invoke the constitution on this matter, then it`s a cheap matter of fascistic speech suppression. Realistically, you have to address the separatist sentiment...there be problems up north, buddy! Let`s not kid ourselves....

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ballu,

`You said *Sigh* to that query by Sadna.`

Sure did.

`It is indeed understandable that pan Islamism is good for religious reasons- but political pan Islamism is a creation of OBL types.`

Actually, OBL is a creation of CIA types. Once soviets were gone, OBL was all about evicting the Americans from Saudi soil, and discovered his pan-Islamic shtick once the Americans were after him... but we`ll forget that for now, I suppose.

``If it was so good then Bangladesh and Afghanistan would not have seen all that bloodshed. ``

What`s your point? So if one Indian Muslim is concerned about another, that constitutes pan-Islamic sentiment? So be it...

pmishra and Veeresh,

both of you are right about assimilation, but you are not focussing on one thing.
- the ideology that keeps some in India from assimilating- that ideology emanates from
Pakiland and Saudiland.

Now that the Saudis are under pressure and cut of funding to the Pakis and the
Indian mullahs - you will probably see more assimilation.

With the funding cut off, the Bukharis and the Shahabuddins will start assimilating
before you can say ``la ilahi....``

The Saudis have started cutting the free oil (almost a Billion dollars) to the Pakis,
and as the Indian economy surpasses the Saudis - the Pakis will also start falling
in line.