Hunting Vole with Kestrels
``Quinton Zondervan`` has struck again, mating ants
and all. This poem has no downhill.

Ras

Don Shultz
Welcome to CHOWK, Mohammad Ali Shaikh.
I sure hope that we will be hearing more from you here. More Humor and imagination are much needed here.

Ras

Evian and Roy
The argument presented here does not hold
a great deal of water (just like Tarbela in 2007?)
Water does not divide India and Pakistan like the
border. It actually leads them to share something,
somewhat like our thought processes on CHOWK.
Veeresh, this is your most imaginative piece here
since your claim of better Kebabs. Enjoyed it.

Ras

Piece of What?
AR has developed quite a following amongst the educated elite within the worldwide Pakistani community. She writes well and is an outspoken
critic of all kinds of fascism.
More power to her.

Ras

The April Fool Referendum From The CHOWK archives...


Heat Wave

Another feature article says that
In the land of the new nuclear
The eighth amendment falls hard
On top of and not under the Senate
Of the semi-democratically elected ambitious
As a hot wind burns very untimely this year
In the Margalla Hills which cannot defend
Against bureaucratic and elitist tea parties
Discussing all aspects of faith and Chagai
With Uniforms, Nawabs, Begums, and the Stars
Who wait impatiently for a Washington discovery
When it was really time to close ranks
Behind the basic human rights and needs
Of a wronged people who are branded
As troublemakers in a paradise lost
To the crimson product of violence but
Their freedom is in the hands of time and
With whoever holds the scales of justice
In the New World Order which tips towards
Markets just opened to technological fast food
While the barbecues are still going in the bazaar
In a country that has seen time travel
And is no stranger to the touch of the Loo * *.

By

Ras Siddiqui
a Pakistani-American writer and journalist based in Sacramento California. USA

Action To Support Displaced Community in Gujrat
Ajay,
one can surely commend you and your friends for taking up this difficult task. Thanks for
trying to induct some sense of reality into our
crazy-insane world.

Ras

India’s Potential Lose-Lose-Lose Scenario
From The News International (Jang Group)

Warming up to BD

I M Mohsin

General Musharraf`s expression of `regrets`, about the `sad events` of 1971 may be seen by many as too little, too late. Though ZAB and Mujibur Rahman had broken the ice in 1974 yet both lost their lives subsequently in military coups nullifying the initial gains. However, the latest gesture was a wise move considering that Zia kept on beguiling BD and the `Biharis` till he died. The civilian governments of the 90s were too scared of the army to address the issue fairly as the atrocities and the ignominious surrender leading to the break-up of Pakistan was the consequence of the shenanigans of the junta hell bent on discharging, as Yahya Khan claimed, a ``legal and constitutional responsibility -- to save it (the country) from internal disorder and chaos``. Ayub`s constitution, custom-made for himself, did not provide for C-in-C to have such pretensions. However, Yahya Khan, like Musharraf, was financially not corrupt. Despite this strength, the former finally proved to be a power-hungry sinner. As Zia`s chicanery dictated ducking the ethical problem, the conscience of the civilians also remained dormant taking a leaf from the dictator`s book of morals. If we claim to be Muslims, the atrocities should have been avoided when the inevitability of the break-up, reinforced by the damning prospect of a permanent military rule initially under Yahya, became clear. we should have parted company with good grace and taught a lesson to the Indian forces in the Eastern theatre. Unfortunately we lost our national honour as well as the Eastern wing with the surrender and we appear to be impervious to learning even from such a catastrophe as is sadly projected by our current predicament brewing like the plot of a Greek tragedy.

In retrospect it appears that the break-up was prompted by the divergence of cultures and ethos. The Bengali Muslim was educated, poor and politically conscious. Accordingly, the Muslim League owed its birth at Dacca to the local initiative. The Muslims of UP/CP etc had also acquired astuteness and they emphasised their political rights as the Congress started the Independence movement. Those belonging to north (beyond Delhi) were the most downtrodden, illiterate and politically prostrate. It is no coincidence that such provinces did not join the fray till the mid-forties. These areas, mainly, provided the gun-fodder for the British Military to control their compatriots` yearning for liberty. Historically, the mercenaries hired by the British from these areas saved the day for them after the Revolt of 1857. Sindh was slightly better off because of the influence of Bombay and NWFP had also experienced some political awareness, thanks to the Khudai Khidmatgars/ML.

An independent Pakistan, as such, saw the Quaid-e-Azam, as Governor General, helped by the Bureaucracy and Army, mainly from West Pakistan. While the Bengalis started the process of developing a Muslim platform at the all-India level, it was quickly overtaken by the Quaid-e-Azam, particularly in the thirties because of his attributes and location. No Bengali leader had the potential to fairly challenge Mr Jinnah`s leadership. Being ardent Muslim nationalists, generally, the Bengali leaders played their part despite certain reservations to the form in which Pakistan finally emerged. The Lahore Resolution of 1940, introduced by Mr A K Fazlul Haq, with the approval of the Quaid, recommended ``that the areas in the north-western and eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent States in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.`` While the Bengali mindset was anti-feudal and defiant to authoritarian recipes, which reflected their level of education and enlightenment, the West Pakistani, generally, was submerged in an avalanche of age-old degradation wherein anybody wielding some authority became a `mai baap`. This pompous role was assumed by the government, the bureaucracy, the army and the feudal on the debris of the servility and fear complex of the populace. No wonder the perceptions differed dramatically in the two wings. Since West wing, despite its low calibre, enjoyed a monopoly on state power, the equation got heavily loaded in its favour to the detriment of the precocious bigger half as well as national integrity.

The people of East Pakistan were patriotic despite irritations. This writer was in Dacca immediately after the 1965 war with India ended. The scene was no different from the one in any major city of `West Pakistan`. Incredible show of gratitude was being showered on armed forces for their heroic performance (despite faux pas). I was told by some friends that they felt very insecure as East wing was literally undefended on the questionable fauji dictum that `the defence of East Pakistan lies in West Pakistan`. However, Ayub`s misgovernance and Yahya`s takeover drove the last nail in the coffin of Pakistan`s integrity. It created two Pakistans: one wanted constitutional rule in a democratic set-up at any cost; the other supported army dictators either out of fear or devious motives or both. Yahya did not want to give up power but the ignominious surrender by his buddy, tiger Niazi, forced him out while breaking up Pakistan. No democratic set-up, howsoever weak and not aboveboard has lost Pakistan`s territory; it has always been the brave overlords who play with the people`s destiny with abandon because of the serf-like disposition of our society.

In 1996, this writer paid a visit to Dacca on way back from Colombo wherein I had led the Pakistan delegation to the SAARC Conference on Promotion of Co-operation in Criminal Justice. It was like homecoming as I still have very many friends there. I made the then Prime Minister approve the arrangement of training two ASPs for two months each, on a reciprocal basis, every year. Such a step would create goodwill among BD police and vice versa. As there is no continuity of governance in Pakistan, nothing has happened since the BB government was sacked.

The new protocols signed should be pursued with commitment. General Musharraf should request some civilian with integrity to head a BD Cell to cultivate goodwill using the current qualified euphoria. He should not play politics, like Zia, with the `stranded Pakistanis`. The government should also take some action against those involved in atrocities of 1971.This would be in the interest of justice, our poor image and a deterrent to future misadventures.

The writer is a former Secretary Interior

imnor@brain.net.pk

The Political Economy of Droughts
There is also a continuing drought in the sanity
department in India-Pakistan relations.
But in the mean time this drought has to be faced.

Ras

San Salvador
Very interesting reading.
Well written and absorbing.
I would like to read this on paper due to its
length.

Ras

Immigrants All
Rehan,
some interesting contrasts here.
This may not be one of your best but it made
its point, Clinton and all.

Ras

Peace in South Asia
Yasser,
this is your best writing yet.
Congratulations! You have hit on much
wisdom here.

Ras

Good-Riddance Class/Caste reflections via Munshi Prem Chand and the careful translation here by Godot made this a
wonderful Friday Night reading project.

Very good job in projecting the work of one of the greatest Urdu story writers/tellers ever.

Ras

His Hurry
Very absorbing work here by Hamidah Hemani.
Content may seem a bit strange to some but
I for one also never thought that CHOWK would publish a screenplay.

A nice first.

Ras

Happy 56th Anniversary, Pakistan and India Dilip on Rediff at:

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/aug/14dilip.htm

Chowk@Five August 14 & 15 Blues?


MOSQUE OR TEMPLE?

The Indus and the Ganges shed few tears of joy
Can one imagine the Taj Mahal without admirers?
While a Brahmin says that the age of great people is over
The multitudes wait for messiahs at
The Shalimar Gardens reserved for VIP’s
Bring your own mirrors to the Sheesh Mahal they say.

Old and new dynasties suffer blow after blow
Unfortunately this is not a kushti/wrestling show
While a warrior Shivaji watches Rustam do battle
Tired soldiers shoot at Midnight’s Children as
The battlefield has now reached the qalandar/minstrel
Who only wanted to recite Urdu poems.

History they say is pregnant once again
Multiple births, the wise old ladies predict
But they have been wrong before says the hakeem/doctor
Herbal medicine will control the birth rate and
The pulse of the mareez/patient has been felt
Indigestion from eating at Delhi’s Chandni Chowk.

Yet peace will make a comeback “as always” says the shaayir/poet
Such burning tragedy is embedded in our tandoori bread flour with
An explanation that has already been written in Sindhi
A translation is in the works at a London suburb but
All this hate is blind says a Sufi/Mystic
Mosque or Temple, please mix your spirits with great care.


Ras H. Siddiqui

Blasphemy Law: An Academic Investigation
A bit late but encouraging news from the BBC at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2196275.stm

One man acquitted in Pakistan on the Blasphemy charge.

More to come?

Once again one from the CHOWK archives.......


Blasphemy

Word came in once again to hang
One`s head in shame as a member of
The human family that still stands firmly
Divided by faith, which is okay but not
To accuse, each other of disrespect with
Sentences of death looming
Based on possibly twisted facts or self interest
Backed by laws that need review
On the basis of the religion itself which once
Liberated us from such injustice and ignorance

Christians and us drink from the same well
Of enlightenment as do the Jews
With Hindus we have had much interaction while
Sharing the land of the Indus since our history began
The Bible and the Gita have lived amongst us
Along with the Ahmadi and the Zikri people
Color added from our own cultural paintbrush
But the canvas was and is in the hands of the Creator
Who has taught us much about respect and
The meaning of justice

One helpless Bishop with a gun in his hand
Conduct usually unbecoming for a man of the cloth
Has pulled the trigger and extinguished god`s gift of life
A last act of a desperate crusader for justice or
The parting cry of a human being to be seriously heard
Drawing attention to blasphemy laws as a tool of persecution
Against all believers who don`t walk the same path and become
Verbal targets of accusers and sometimes much more
In the land which today absorbs his blood
And that of many other innocent spirits
Who have chosen to be different.


Ras H. Siddiqui (5-8-98)


This writing is dedicated to two people. Bishop John Joseph of ``Khushpur`` who killed himself in protest against the current Blasphemy Law in Pakistan and Arif Iqbal Bhatti, a respected lawyer and judge, who was assassinated because he pardoned a Christian boy innocent of the ``Crime``. It is also hoped that the Government of Pakistan will launch a full investigation to rule out any foul play in the matter of Bishop Joseph.