Ban on Play Mr. Jinnah

Arvind Gaur,

Are you interested in showcasing your play in Pakistan?

Sincerely

Yasser Hamdani

Let me ask you both if you have a conscience?.Agin`, if you did you wouldn`t write this drivel!.Did you ever stop to think of the thousands of indian military personnel who have laid down their lives so that you could dare to offend the sensibilities of millions of your countrymen and women , by claiming `free speech`, by staging a play about a controversial personality long gone, who created a state that has since it`s inception tried every which way it can to destabilize disrupt and maim the indian nation?.I hope you don`t have children, `cause the curses of the families who lost loved ones through terrorism fostered by your new found `friend`s` be upon you and your families.Thoo.

The hatred between the two countries has been created by the politicians of both sides to hide their own blunders and people have been deliberately kept blind about the facts.
To an average Indian,Jinnah has been made to be believed as a villain and likevise all Hindus have been turned into hateful creatures on the otherside.

Now when people are becoming aware of the facts and also the governments have been forced to talk of peace initiatives and exchange of trade,culture,tourism,art etc.,such acts as banning a play indicates that either they (rulers)dont have faith in what they are doing(improving the bilateral relationships) or they are just idiots of the highest order who donot know that in this age of IT,no information can be held back from people.Such acts will actually raise curiosity and urge people to know what it was.

Whether Jinnah was a villain and what were Gandhi,Nehru and Patel doing in those fateful days,let people know it and decide for themselves.People have right to know and now they have the means as well.........they will surely ask questions.

Delhi has been notorious for its problems with artists because artists speak the truth.I am sure people have not still forgotten Safdar Hashmi and his theatre group.

Dear Arvind Gaur,

From what I understand, the Delhi Police did give you a response which stated that:-

a) The hand-written script was illegible. You have been requested to provide a typed copy, in what is a standard format.

b) The licence of the theatre at the IHC where you wished to present your play was and still is suspended, and is under routine scrutiny. That is an established and verifiable fact.

c) Fact remains that you went ahead and sold tickets even before you had applied for the required permissions. How do you blame Delhi Police for that?

And most of all:-

d) There has been no ban on your placing another application for another valid theatre.

Mr. Gaur, I think that in your petulance, you are being very economical with the truth at chowk.com, which, in my humble opinion, is slightly off on your part. I would humbly request you to please respond to the points I have raised, and also place a copy of the script on the internet.

Or are you reluctant to enter into open debate?

Veeresh Malik

ps: Next generation doing fine, thank you, so maybe that load is now off your shoulders?

This is true but I think in India plays regarding partition have always been thorny affairs.

#1:

Arvind,

If you`re going to do it please give a role to Mantolives in your play. Jinnah liked pets? Dogs maybe? Or perhaps you can stage ``Ek Gadhe ki atma katha`` and give Mantolives the lead role. Already he`s doing a great job of making an ass of himself.

Cheers

Arvind:

Wake up! Free speech has never been a 100 percent free right in India! If the authorities did not want you to glorify an opportunist of the highest order, revered by many ignoramuses of the same order, in Pakistan and (yes, let’s face it) in India (Farzana leading the VISIBLE pack) too, they do have that authority!

[It is no longer a matter of just a play, because it is obvious now that the govt. and authorities are trying to censor our thoughts and speech.]
It’s obvious NOW? Where have you been for the past 57 years?

[If you really think that the burned bridges can be built and it will heal the mass anger and hurt by taking another perspective at the events which were just a part of our history books.]
And yes, and the world can be turned topsy-turvy – just turn your head upside down! See, it’s so easy! Now only if we could go through the whole life like that!

[And if you are optimistic enough to accept that to love or hate a person first you need to know about him, then please come and see Mr. Jinnah.]
And conveniently ignore all the obvious facts and results of Jinnah’s charming fruits of labor which already stare us in the face!

[I am not saying this because I am part of the cast, but because I feel that they are taking away my fundamental rights….]
To make a public spectacle of your asinine ideologies! Don’t cry, you guys still ARE one, in my book!

[And we being the generation of today, if we don`t stand up now then we will leave our next generations mentally and creatively crippled.]
And come up with the likes of you! Been there and done that!

#3 by drlokraj

Dr. Sahib,

Let’s be honest! The hatred is not really between countries – but between Hindus and Muslims – mostly reserved for unknown individuals. (Once individual members of each community come to know each other, they learn to sometime trust THOSE individuals, but it NEVER changes the wariness with which they regard the rest). The politicians, like politicians everywhere, merely take advantage of existing rifts to obtain gains for themselves.

I used to think that partition could have been avoided; since obviously it was a totally moronic move and a blunder (the results speak for themselves, for those who care to open their eyes and look). Recently, some of my blinds have fallen off. There IS an element of Muslim exclusivity in the eyes of SOME Muslims everywhere – perhaps less so in countries where they represent a minority. As the percentage of Muslims in numbers go up, this segment slowly becomes more “in your face” – like that foolish Farzana is (a little ahead of our time, aren’t we?) although she is no politician, perhaps a mere opportunist!

I now think that partition was as inevitable as a Tsunami – even though the ONLY positive thing that came out of it was that because of partition some of such type of Muslims (from those times) left India – and took away their pet peeve, of not having majority-like clout in a country where they were a numerical minority (go figure)!

Anybody who thinks that there is no animosity and mistrust between Hindus and Muslims at the grass-root level is highly mistaken! We have many at this site who appear to entertain that romantic notion (I used to be one!) that all you have to do is to let people live together and know each other and slowly they will get to like and trust each other. THAT experiment has already been tried – for a few centuries! It only works among individuals – never changes the mindset – since on one of the two sides, the mindset is grounded in the Book and NOBODY from that has the guts to question the Book (they get fatwas otherwise, NOT a good thing in life)!

[To an average Indian, Jinnah has been made to be believed as a villain and likevise all Hindus have been turned into hateful creatures on the otherside.]
Dear Sir, what kind of mango stuff they have been feeding you this time? Most Indians don’t need to be made to believe anything about Jinnah, the results he accomplished speak for themselves. Plus note the difference – Jinnah was ONE individual whereas those HORRIBLE HINDOOS are a whole class of people. Are you able to see the difference?!

Beejay:

let me ask you a question. has farzana versey become your current pinyata? is it so vital for you to bring up her name, like some others do, on every bleeding board? or to respond to her wherever she is by tearing what she has to say apart. not even those ``who know where she`s coming from`` do that. you`ve gone one up even on those who call her names like b itch and w hore on boards she hasn`t even participated on: you`ve included her as your favorite writer, without meaning a single word, as a slam in your ilog.

keep it up! it will eventually say just as much about you as it does her!

Re: # 2 A million people lost their lives in Nagasaki n Hiroshima, for a decision taken not by them but their leaders. Was that a just cause, mass brainwashing, or political bigotry?

Re: # 10

The WWII leaders fought a war.They were honorable.Let the current crop of pak goondas in power be honorable and declare war on India.I will not say anything.

Not another jinnah article :)

But banning the play is just plain stupid. Unfortunately, there is a history of such ridiculous bans - sometime back somebody did a play on Godse [gandhi killer] and that was banned. Such bans are complete over-reaction on part of the police and completely unnecessary...... jinnah, godse or whoever - everybody knows about them already. There is no secret about these personalities, where they came from and what they did.

These plays will not bring out any earth-shattering revelations....Even if they do - so what? Let`s say that the plays actually prove that Jinnha was NOT a jack-a$$ ... or that Godse was actually a saint-in-disguise. SO what? jinnah`s land is still a terrorist state and Veeresh is still a refugee ..... and Gandhi is still dead.

Let the play go on. Let people hear what Arvind has to say.

Re: # 9

Yo Ana - I thought you are taking a break from FDC - no?

yo mohar! #13:

this isn`t actually about FDC. this is about beejay. d`you know of a certain multiple-nicked dude who has it in for certain women on this website, and follows them wherever they are to call them names. it`s looking a lot like beej isn`t too far away from that. i happen to like some of what beej has to say. i don`t want him going the same route.

sometimes you`ve got to let go and realize there really is more to life, and there`s room for everyone, even those you just cannot stand. :) but hey, if you`re feeling so left out, i can be the MDC too! but something tells me you don`t need me to defend you. neither does she! i don`t have to be anyone`s DC. not even my own. but i do whatever i please. what d`you think of them apples!

oh, but you`re concerned about me, yet again. and again, i`m grateful. :) you can defend me any ol` time and i won`t berate you for it!

Hai hai,

kya nafrat in BharatiyoN sey!!!

You all show your true colours now dont you! if this had been a reverse situation, where the Lahore police had stopped a play on Gandhi or Nehru, you would`ve been up in arms telling us how backward and narrow minded we are!

It seems its the Indians that need to open up and allow themselves to befriend or at least know other people, and truth of their own history.

- Being so insular `we dont need them` and
- playing the victim `hai hai, hamarey saath kya kiya in logoN ney` (yet forgetting the massive attrocitites of your troops against the people of Kashmir and elsewhere, no not 30 yrs ago, but everyday to this day since not that long ago!),
- remembering what Muslim invaders done hundreds of years ago (yet forgetting the good done by the saints who were the ones who spread islam more than any jahil arabi general) and using this fact to kill, maim, supress, psychologically terrify and discriminate against your own race who happen to follow a different religion.

All lead to an insular, destructive, progress stopping behaviour and destiny. VHP and MMA types are the ones that lead countries to self destruct painfully. These kind of `third world` attitudes do not bid well in the international commity of civilised, and progressive nations, to which India wants to join. India has so many aspirations and i really hope India rises to fulfill them, but with attitudes as bitter, twisted, prejudiced, outright racist and pesemistic as the ones constantly displayed on chowk from Indians, one can only wonder about that nation, and feel nothing other than pity for the smallness and unlightenedness of some of its people.

And before you all launch into a tirade against Pakistan. Let us Pakistanis tell you who we are;

-Yes, we are corrupt
-Our govt. openly discriminates against religious minorities, we even legislate for this
-Women are treated like shit, and again we legislate to keep it this way
-We are not democratic, secular or liberal, and our army and clergy ensure that
-We are plagued by internal strife and religious tension again ensured by our clergy
-Our govt has effed up our social fabric by creating the likes of Taliban and letting them and their mentality infiltrate our country.

BUT, WHAT WE ARE, IS IN FRONT OF YOU!

Jo hum hai.n aapkey saamney hai.n, at least we have the guts to admit it, and call our politicians lottas when need be, we make no qualms about trying to hide it, we admit these problems and many of us, beleive it or not, actually work to try to rectify them.

But you, you Indians (finger pointing towards you), you all try to portray something else to the outside world and are something else from the inside, and when people like Farzana (your own race and people) try to tell it how it is, and explain their fears, all you guys do is cut them down.

You guys are just as jahil as our Mullahs.

At least with our Mullahs we know where we stand, when i read posts from the likes of you, i want to rush to Karachi and mattha Thek infront of Quaid-i-Azam`s mazar to thank our GREAT Leader for having the insight and rescuing us from the likes of you. Given the choice i would much rather live in my effed up Pakistan, in peace, than with the pareshani of Farzana V in India.

I suppose it’s asking the impossible but I do wish that the arts could be separated from politics and decades of religious hatred. The bottom line is, that this is an issue of censorship and for a democracy it is an unwise precedent to set (yes Beej, I read your post, it’s been going on for the last 57 years you say).

I think most people who have their minds made up about Jinnah either as a saint or as the devil are intransigent. I doubt whether watching a play would sway them to the other end. And there are hardly any new facts that are in danger of emerging. So, let the people make up their own minds instead of making it up for them. Those who desire to boycott the play just don’t have to purchase a ticket.

I would also like the writer to respond to veeresh’s post #4 in the interest of full disclosure.