Ranchor Line ka Firangi

Wajahat,
Allow me to pick from the Fugitive, the innocent victim of blind justice.Whenever and where ever, law and order is enforced with the use of force, there is collateral damage. As for 1992, I need not remind you that there was a democratic government then in place and the whole cleanup operation was supervised by the elected representatives. Army was requisitioned by the Sindh Government in Aid of Civil Power, while most of the enforcement was done by the Civil Armed Forces controlled by the ministry of interior.

Your entire view of the Karachi fiasco is myopic and through a funneled vision. Karachi in those days had grown beyond the land of BHatta in which organised crime, narrow nationalism and jingoism had interfaced to erode the provincial and federal writ. Kidnappings, assasinations and extortions were the order of the day and everything was controlled from NINE ZERO. It was a turf war of sorts for influence within the MQM, factionalism, marginalisation of migrant workforce from the other three provinces and Kashmir and logjamming of the entire industrial potential of Karachi and the Port. So please don,t portray the image of a helpless minority group though armed to the teeth.

Nonetheless, as a Pakistani, I believe in Pluralism and the political reality that violence with political motives at some stage permeates into mainstream politics. So I support the inclusion of both factions pf the MQM in the political process and expect them to renounce violence and BHatta in return.

Last, wow for your sense of history. I think your first instinct to keep this as a ilog reveals the contradictions within you.

By the way, your poem is not your reflection of what myself and Zahraj keep reminding you of.

Cheerios

soy, stuka, tintin, malik

Thank you for your kind words which means a lot to me.

Warm Regards

Syed

it is so weird that all the karachi violence did not register AT ALL in indian media. maoist violence in Nepal registers higher. why?

Syed Ali,
You have got a very natural writing style. It`s easy going, lucid, and confident. It gives me a great pleasure to read your stuff. I also recommend Syed Ali`s other piece on the front page to all the Chowkies.

Wajahat

This is one of the most heartfelt, genuine works I have read here. I feel like I know Kaleem and that is a tribute to you.

Most inspiring...a very subtle yet brilliant tribute to all those who were wrongly vicitimized during the `92 operation in Karachi...

There are many more Kaleems dying everyday in kashmir, waziristan, manipur, and srilanka.

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1992 in India . . . pre-Internet and pre-private television in India . . . pre-Outlook for that matter . . . so much of the media in India was, then, ``controlled`` . . . I wonder why the Indian media didn`t publish much about this?

Hmmmm . . . theories theories.

T Bhai

You ilog is indeed a complete revisit to the horrors of 1992 and karachi. Operation Cleanup was a terrible event brought on by a few so called minority leaders who only had there own ambitions to peddle and roused the masses along nationalistic lines to support their greed and an Army which has failed to learn any lessons from 1971 war. The most terrible thing of all is that both these evils still prevails and still continue upon the same line and length.

Veeresh

It was the beggining of 1992. An event which many of us karachites are totally numb about and have tried to wipe out of of our memories. I recommend that you read temporal`s ilog which is a hauntingly accurate representation of the time.

Thank you all for your interacts & thank you for sharing.

I remember once having developed an extreme case of Inferiority complex in school in regards to a certain person, so much so it was hindering my studies. I remember talking to Kaleem about it, and I can still remember his frankness and candid reply, he said “Wajeeh, look at me yaar, the only thing that has carried me forward is my faith in Allah and my faith in myself. Know you worth and you might be digging gutters, yet have a smile on your face. Nothing is permanent, nothing remains and it is our will and our belief in ourselves and our dreams that helps us evolve and consequently change everything around us by our sheer will power”. His advice has helped me overcome a lot of adversities in a lot of testing times. He has left yet he will always be here. Is it not amazing that here we are, the expats, the elites discussing a kid who died years ago, only based on his abilities. Kaleem, atleast for me has left his mark on time.

Its a remarkable efforto to page ``Ranchor Line Ka Farangi``...I only remember those black days in newspapers when headlins were filled with casualities in Karachi...Or the library films shown in Khabarnama... And the flames of atrocities had blisters on much of the families...

Life is taken very easily and very brutualy but there is a long way and paths lost behind...Strolling through them again makes masterpieces like this...

Bravo!

Thank you for another view of Pakistan, good, bad, pretty, ugly, warts and all, the works.

What year was this Op Cleanup in?

This is probably one of the best piece of writing on Chowk for a long time.

you already know what i think about it :)

very moving

Karachi ka Kaleem -
Kaleem was not alone - my father works for IB at kinda good level and he happens to be one of those ` hindusturas` he was posted as DG Baluchistan back in Naseerullah`s period of killing us and he wanted to force my father to kill them my father rufused and asked everyone to stop killing the result was he was made OSD .
I don`t blame Army for what they had done they were simpily obeying there CO , I blame Punjabi Establishment and The so - called Feudral Class for what they had done - ...
Altaf Hussein and us ( everyone who votes ) are to blame partly but things has changed we had learned our lesson - we had dealt with the police officers who took revenge from us killing those - now we have forgiven !
Karachi will one day be Karachi again !

the beauty and the fulfillment of the life lies in its journey. and not its goals. kaleem led a much more fulfilling life than many of his countrymen.

wajahat:

...a heartfelt and poignant tribute to your friend kaleem…he will forever be ensconced in our memories…

rgds,

t

ps: here is a digression on operation cleanup...since i do not take this beautiful tribute in that ugly direction will not submit it here….hope you understand

Pragmatic’ Altaf wants LoC as border
http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=58473

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Nicely written. The story moved me to tears. Kaleem`s story is an eyeopener to all and a lesson to mankind. Kaleem`s loss is not only a loss of literary endeavours but a loss to humanity.

I salute this farangi. May his soul rest in peace and may heaven embrace him. Ameen.

Kindest regards.

Hey wajahat! moving account. despite the tragic outcome, Kaleem should nonetheless be an inspiration! it would be a tribute to him.

qatl gahoun say chun kar hamaray alm, aur niklain gay ushaaq kay qaafalay...jin kee khatir hamary qadm, mukhtasir kar chalay dard kay faaslay...(Faiz)

Cheers!

syed sahib - this was a really moving account. thank you for sharing.

sub kahan kuch lala o gul mein numayan ho gayeen
khak mein kya sooraten hongi ke pinhan ho gayeen

Speechless ....