Growing Up Red

Re: # 41
Here is a comment I posted earlier on another page. We agree to the extent that we even use some of the same words! I hope that we are taken seriously, and that some will begin to more closely examine their religious beliefs.
When we humans can`t easily create prejudice and hatred through obvious physical differences we invent ways. The formation of religious groups is one of the principal means we`ve invented in order to classify and separate one person from another. It (religion) stimulates hatred and violence, sometimes in service of theologians and often in service of demagogues and tyrants. My antipathy towards all religion resides principally in this...the prejudice it engenders and the hatred that follows.
Today`s prejudices for the most part are not caused by historical events - the real causes are proximal, not distal. They are nearer in time and nearer the heart. Demagogues and other unprincipled people use historical events and distort religion to arouse our latent prejudice and hatred, but we can do it on our own. We are fully capable of citing religious texts or historical events to ``justify`` the expression of feelings or attitudes that are within us, that are profoundly a part of (or a chink in) our nature.
mirmir

Re: # 43

Bhatti Saab… Ay Lahore da Panni ee Kuch aysa ay key Satr Asee Sal taeN Jawani Khatam naee hondi.

Ay Phajay dey Pawvey tay Darulmahi di Machchee kithay BuDDah hon daendee ay? Tusi vi kisi vaylay Chakar lao tay tunhanoo vi VikhawaN gay.


Re: #38

Aashee Ji, I have nothing but admiration for Faiz Ji. I consider him to be my spiritual Guruji. “Chale bhi aao ke Gulshan ka Kaarobaar chale..”

Ali’s account of his growing up and his memories of his Nana are as much about him as much it is about men of his generation who could possibly not see the light as those around us were so towering and we continue to live under their shadow. It is a story of Paki baby boomers.

#47 by fuzair
“We have it on record, from no less an august revolutionary than Tariq Ali,”

Your record as usual came from the cooked up army history books in Kakul.
Tariq Ali was never in the communist Party of Pakistan so how did he know?
Tariq Ali left Pakistan when he was barely out of college. Never worked for the communist Party, did not know a single soul from the party. His parents Mazhar Ali Khan and Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan were communist sympathizers but never members of the communist Party.

In fact, His father’s magazine “Viewpoint” was reportedly financed by Russians.
Most of the communist in Pakistan were Urban intellectuals and Labor/ social workers none of them was capable of killing even a bird. Only a person with Fauji background and a follower of bloody thirsty generals would accuse a humanitarian and peaceful person like Faiz to be part of a plot to kill people.

There is no historic tradition of political killings and massacres in Pakistan during any type of coup. Four Generals have successfully attacked the civilian governments in Pakistan but even those general never killed anyone during the coup. What they did afterwards is a different story.

What Stalin has to do with conditions in Pakistan or India? Russia had a tradition from the Czar era and before of killing political opponents but that was never the case in India and Pakistan. So historically, your accusation is also not tenable.

Only a blood thirsty fauji would accuse civilian political workers and intellectuals of plotting to kill people.
Read some more about your hero Tikka Khan before coming out with lies about Faiz or any other civilian politicians of Pakistan. Stupid fauji murderers.

#35, #50 by Kulharee
``I consider him to be my spiritual Guruji.``

Then what is the need to be disrespectful to someone’s nana or nani?

Faiz and Mrs. Faiz met in London. Her father owned a book store and Mrs. Faiz worked along with her sister (who married another Pakistani intellectual from Lahore). Faiz used to go there to buy books and that is how they met.

Thanks

re #51
What Stalin has to do with conditions in Pakistan or India?
Dunno about Pakistan but Naxalites (violent communists) in India do not shy away from executing the bourgeois and other assorted ``reactionaries``. There is a passage in one of Naipaul`s books (Million Mutinies?) where an ex-Naxalite justifies killing a small baby if the baby was born in a landlord family.
Currently the Communists of Nepal are the leaders in commie style revolutionary executions in South Asia.

Re: # 51

Dear HP Sahib, Thank you. I had read that much. It was an honest question, and not meant to be disrespectful. I could never even imagine being disrespectful to Faiz Ji.

Manzur yeh Talkhi yeh Sitam hum ko Gawaara
Dam hai to Madaawa-e-alam Kartey rahenge

Re: # 47 Fuzair.

``We have it on record, from no less an august revolutionary than Tariq Ali, that the Communist Party of Pakistan had a (presumably long) list of people that it was going to kill as soon as the coup was carried out; no trial, no hearing, just executions. ``

What is the evidence to support this statement? How has Tariq Ali corroborated it. I always thought that the Rawalpindi Conspiracy was just a bunch of huey and at best it was a sort of a pre-emptive strike by the GOP at the urging of their Americans masters.

fuzair, HP, kulharee...
fuzair saheb, your bracketing faiz with lenin shows your bitterness with the commies, faiz saheb was a drawing room communist who like sajjad zaheer and other high profile intellectuals was worried about the masses and wrote about it in their works but they wanted their comforts too...here a grandson is reminicsing about his grand father and growing up with the tag of a dahriya because of his association with a supposed dahriya... it`s immaterial that the one throwing the stone at him or his progeny was no where in the same class as faiz as a poet, as a human and as an artiste... look at his poetry, look at his humanity, look at his concern for the people and look at his popularity across the social class... he was a great poet, probably the greatest after ghalib, a wonderful human being million times better than a maudoodi, qutub or osama...as for rawalpindi conspiracy is concerned HP`s clarification is better than army`s lying...

hum parvarish e lauh o qalam kerte raheNge
jo dill pe guzarti hai raqam kertay reheNge

I`ll respond to the braindead moron who calls himself HP, and his fellow travellers, in a day or so when I have more time but you can read about the hit list from the horse`s mouth, ;-), yourself. Take a look at footnote #4.

http://www.newleftreview.net/NLR25301.shtml

As to how serious was the coup attempt and how likely was the CCP to carry out the killings, that is immaterial. The leaders of the party planned to do so. If they didn`t plan on it, I doubt Tariq Ali would deliberately strengthen the Army`s case against the plotters. Or is the fact that he is a Trotskyite enough for him to side with the Army against the Marxist-Leninists (assuming you idiots know the difference between the two....).

Thank you to everyone who took time to read the article and respond. Writing it was cathartic for me in a way, although it brought back some painful memories. Thanks to everyone who loves and admires Nana`s poetry, I count myself as one of you. I wish I had begun to understand and appreciate his work before he died so I might have discussed it with him but c`est la vie...
I am not going to comment on the politics of his life or my own social/political/religious beliefs (that would require another article and I`m not sure I want to open that Pandora`s box ;-) except to say that yes, a person`s life`s work defines his life and those of us who chose to pursue goals higher than simply working for a paycheck pay a price for that (unfortunately, I haven`t had the courage to do that yet).

Thanks also to all those who have contributed titbits about Nana`s life that I never knew about. It has been informative and illuminating.

Re: # 45

Yes, I am Moneeza Hashmi`s son.

# 58

oops, I called your mother Salima Hashmi in one of my posts. I appologize.

Chowk Staff - Why hasn`t Saminasha been banned permanently?

This is what she posted in her own ``WTF`` thread:


#97 by Saminasha on September 30, 2005 9:38am PT
Stuka,

Fuck you. Seriously. Make all your references than act like it was out of innocence

#56

“The Inspector-General of police was not amused to see that his name was fifth on a list of notables to be executed without trial, and even less pleased to discover that the friendly professor he had met at dinner had compiled the list. Jawaharlal Nehru—a family friend of Zaheer—intervened and the latter was released and returned to India. It was quite bold of Musharraf’s mother to claim friendship with two convicted traitors.”

So this is what you are relying on make your claim. Tariq Ali quoting a Police officer about a list compiled by Sajad Zaheer. It shows how stupid you are and how stupid Tariq Ali is.

People who know Tariq Ali also know that he writes things to project himself as somebody who knows but the truth is he did not know a whole lot. Did the list say “execute” these guys without trials or was it a list of people Sajad Zaheer knew?

Just for your benefit during the whole Rawalpindi Sazish case no list was ever presented and why are you so idiot to believe that Sajad Zaheer would compile a list with police officer’s name on it? Try and think from what is left in your spaghetti brain. No police officer in Pakistan was ever so important to be on any list. Even in 1948, 49, 50 or in 51.
There was no list. That was all part of the propaganda that was fed to the media when Liaquat and Ayub tried to destroy opposition both in the army and in civilian politics.


It is well known now that there was no coup attempt by anyone. It was just another case that was created to fix the opposition. Remember the Agartala Sazish case and then the Hyderabad Sazish case. Every one knows who the real Sazishis are.

It may be true that Sajad Zaheer stayed at Mazhar Ali place but I am sure Tariq was in his diapers at that time to know why Sajad was at Mazhar Ali’s place. Though I am surprised at the language Tariq Ali used about Sajad Zaheer and Sibte Hasan (convicted Traitors) Coming from Tariq that is precious!
Tariq left Pakistan after College. He never took part in student politics and never came back to take part in Pakistani politics. He does lots of research but his conclusions are often bogus.

So I am gonna learn from this fazool admi about Tariq ali and his being Trotskyite and their difference with Marxist-Leninist. Get lost and get some other brief from your ISI bosses.

Guys, stop the bullcrap, who cares about the politics of yesteryear, (as if today’s mess is any better). With all due disrespect, Tariq Ali is a wet napkin – an insignificant little Commie and inconsequential in Pakistani political scene. Intellectuals like him come dime a dozen). This is about Ali’s recollect of his Nana, and here’s something from Faiz Ji. Although Faiz Ji wrote this on the passing of his brother, but it certainly summarizes how many in Ali’s generation feel:

Mujh ko Shikwa hai Meray Bhai keh Tum Jate Hooay
le gaye sath Meri Umre Guzishta ki Kitaab
Is mein tau Meri bohut Keemati Tusweerien Thein
Is mein Buchpun tha mera, aur mera Aihd-e Shabab
.
.
.
Aa ke le jao Tum Apna yeh Damukta hua Phool
Mujh ko lota do Meri Umre Guzishta ki Kitaab

Rawalpindi sazish case was an intriguing episode. I think everyone would agree on that :-). I am looking forward to further opinions/hearsays/nalysis/etc. on the case. Thanks in advance to peeps who are taking the time to write about it.

Excellent article. I suspected you to be related to Faiz even before this writing.
Faiz is no doubt in the same league of Urdu poets as Ghalib and Iqbal. One of my favorite piece of poetry is his nazm ``yeh dhoop kinara``, sung to perfection by Nayyar Noor.

Thanks for sharing.