Dr. Safdar Mehmood's column

http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/jun2010-daily/20-06-2010/col2.htm

what is really worrying is the reach these 'scholars' have through newspapers such as Jung which is most widely read in Pakistan. What historical sense people will gain? His opinion that Muslim League was a democratic party(we need to know how Muslim League council functioned?); that Musalmans of India voted for Pakistan (75% ?????, in NWFP there ... See Morewas boycott by majority); the massacres during partition were planned by Sikhs(who was killing Hindus and Sikhs in NWFP, Punjab and even in Sindh?); all these points are questionable and need scrutiny.
First book I came to access; published on Muslim League is "The Muslim League: its history, activities & achievements" by Lal Bahadur published by Agra Book Store in 1954, AHAM.
"The All India Muslim League, 1906-47" by Nadeem Shafiq Malik, Published by National Book Foundation in 1997??? Is it the first official written history of the founding party of the country? in 1997? ok after finishing 50 years in being, someone thought that it is a good idea.

"The History Of The Indian National Congress" by Pattabhi Sita Ramaiah was published in 1935 by working committee of INC. I have this book, may be not very scholarly but it shows the sense of direction of the people and workers and their leaders. Muslim League sadly has no such record.

And then he is calling 'thankless' those who want to know, how much healthy is such behavior for a progressive nation? what he wants people to do? just accept whatever thought to them without saying nay, without asking its credibility, without trying to understand the motive.
Pitty we have such people followed and acknowledged!

Abrar and Jawwad

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/images/abrar-and-jawad-draw-daggers-360 (viewed 19 June 2010)

Its a shame for both of them, and yet another display of growing intolerance in our society and immaturity of people of reputation in Pakistan. When institutions (like education, civics, law and order, journalism) are delined, effects go deep down into psychology of people and no one seems to be safe from it :( maturity and patience comes from knowledge

Here it is mentioned that the salary of Abrar's brother is more than what he stated:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrar-ul-Haq (viewed 19 June 2010)

On BoyCott of facebook

I was perhaps amongst the first who reported that 'page' as abusive, that was my first action, and it was indeed very unpleasent to see that page alive. I decided to be here as things are not that much in black and white as we want them to be, by leaving space for others and going on back foot will push us towards the wall, I think it is not a good... See More idea, not for us, neither for our next generation.
Let’s not boycott (though it is the easiest thing to do) but face it peacefully (this is also Sunnah, or say an aspect of Sunnah), so that we can present a sober and effective outlook of Muslims and Islam. Let’s try to be strong in knowledge, and economy, and then we can really make a difference, let’s do good for the people and put our energies to fight corruption and social evils in our society (I wish my people would have come out against corruption and injustice with equal zeal and emotion) and that LHC and the society has taken notice of the maltreatment Ummah of Muhammad (PBUH) received from its oppressors, I think real blasphemy is seeing corruption and abuse going on and not to raise voice against it, who we are afraid of? God or Police(or people with power)? check the level of your ‘Iman’ and resist giving bribes, safe the women from abuse, save your children from hardships, give them education, create a safe future for them, go and vote in elections, select the right people. How many of us can dare to do so in real life? Please look at the real issues, don’t just satisfy yourself; raise your voice where it is really required to be raised, say ‘No’ where it puts you in difficulty, and check if you are a real believer or not.

MQM, TTP, Feudals and Pakistan

It is not just MQM or TTP but almost all other mainstream and nationalist parties in Pakistan which are actually supported or infiltrated by the Feudal class of Pakistan. May I suggest that we should not forget the role of the Pakistani Feudal class and that we should really revisit and research on the role of Feudal, their motives and objectives behind supporting all anti progressive forces in Pakistan.
MQM specially deserves more rational and unbiased analysis, as they enjoy a mass support in Urban areas of Sindh, it is not totally true that they win because of force and violence or rigging elections, they in fact enjoy a wide stream support from the people who once were in the forefront of democratic movements of Pakistan (please do not overlook the demographic facts e.g. education rate in Karachi is far higher than any other part of Sindh, and hence people living here are more politically aware and learned irrespective of their ethnic background) , whether it was in favor of Fatima Jinnah, in favor and than against Bhutto, or against Zia. Those people (called Muhajirs or Urdu-Speaking, both terms look stupid and naive after 50 years of inception of Pakistan and 4th Generation of Pakistanis in their youth and in a city like Karachi which is rightly called mini Pakistan) were perhaps the biggest threat to the Feudal class in Pakistan. Now they have been forced to be curbed and confined within the Metropolitan Sindh. It is a pity to see major nationalist parties in Sindh adopting a biased and anti democratic behavior against Muhajirs and as a result they are supporting MQM by proving it right. During 1980s a virtual wall was build between urban and rural population of Sindh, people were forced to migrate from both sides and violence, killing, looting, rapes all brutal means were adopted to support the divide (It is a pity no one has written anything for those who were affected, those stories still waiting for our attention). It was naivety of nationalists in Sindh and Pakistani Progressives in general that they did not raise their voice against it, they failed to realize the real motive and that motive was Feudal interest and preservation of Feudal status, which we can see is defended very well. If you have any doubt please revisit Sindh, and you will feel that divide in all walks of life. So those who were supposed to be aligned on basis of class struggle are now divided on the basis of race. Nationalists have been played with, and it is apparent from the famous term 'Sindh Card' we usually heard about PPP playing in elections.
TTP or Taliban should also be analyzed in same manner, those who were supposed to get united as a class are now divided on the basis of religion, they have been kept away from their basic rights of education and health while they are wasting their energies in Jihad. Now you can clearly realize why leaders are supporting them or supported them in past.

Hazardous!!!!!!!!!!!

I wrote this on a friend's wall in facebook :

"Believe in what you think is true and don't become an egoist so that you can accept when you realize you were wrong or when you do not know; we are not complete, and we learn and so we progress. I think if you keep your focus simple then you can not get deviated because of ridicule around you; and truth is a very simple thing :) problem is that we are always afraid of accepting it because of ridicule around us; survival always takes precedence."
This was to reply her concern that it is becoming difficult for her to grasp what is right and what is wrong, what is a truth and what is a lie; surely this world has become complex day by day, or shall i say we humans and our world has become complex, both of us are not what we were thousand years, or hundred years, or few years or an year ago. Complexity is a sign of evolution, every evolving system is more complex than what it was in past and lesser complex than what it will evolve into; though the the final stage will be the simplest.

But it is not only complexity which is a problem but the deception induced in to the sources of knowledge and understanding; that deception of course is necessary and part of the process of evolution because everything tends to be what it is so as the evolving system. The system tries hard to resist a change and , this tendency to resist a change is a survival instinct; it is that same survival instinct however which becomes a tool in the hands of forces of change and a cause of evolution.

I usually do not take problems which I can not solve :) because what I can not understand is what I can not solve and what I can not understand is not worthy of my time, rather I should concentrate on what I can understand to be able to understand more of what I can not understand. That is why I always become confused when people started to talk of everything like everything is very simple; when they talk of Plato, Spinoza, Hegel, Kant and Marx or any other great philosopher and they refer to their work as it is something like a comic. Very honestly I have not even opened books I have collected on Hegel as I do not find myself able to understand him, whenever I start Freud I sleep, I am trying to read Schopenhauer these days and I had to read every paragraph twice or thrice to understand his world as will, dialectics took some time before I grasps it, and Marx is still difficult, when I take a book on Islamic political thought, I got mesmerized by the the depth of efforts people have put in to create that system, so as I feel about any other theological system of thought. I do not find myself able to reject it all let alone accepting it; for acceptance is a more difficult process than rejection.

Do not think that I am a dumb idiot who can not understand simple things; for I am not what I was yesterday and I will not be what I am today :) there are many who think I am still that dumb which I used to be ten years back, ah I am not and I can promise; if I survive till tomorrow I will not be that dumb as I am today. So what did I write about a system? Don't you think characteristically I am like that system to which I belong?

Maulana Azad on Partition of India

This is a historic speech from a well known scholar and a National leader of India. If we listen to it calmly and with an open mind, we can understand most of what he perceived earlier was right, whatever be the reason division can only bring more division. That is why I adore Abraham Lincoln and his fellow leaders of America that they never accepted division of United States, though it was an easy option. I wish our leaders (weather from Muslim League or Indian National Congress)could have that far sightedness, broad vision, tolerance and lesser egos and of course a lesser appetite for power.

Those who put forward state of current Indian affairs as an argument in favor of communalism which include emergence to power of Far right political parties like BJP or RSSS, and the communal violence against minorities; they tend to forget to look on the other side of picture which includes the secular parties and a past (more than a thousands year now) and present in which Hindus and Muslims still live peacefully together, shall I put forward examples of Kerala and Soorat? There is no violence against Muslims or any other Minority in many states of India. Communal problem has many aspects which need research and a policy of tolerance before one can embark on commenting or forming an opinion. If you start from 'Nay' you are not expected to reach any where, as Naysayers always do in all walks of life.

In Pakistan, major problem is how history is written and 'preached' to the younger generations, they have never been thought tolerance, our history as well as literature is full of wars and ultimate success. We are not told that war has a price, which we all have to pay, we have not been told about the masses who suffered during wars (holy or not), the people who were massacred, the women who were raped or enslaved, the man who were killed, their families who suffered from hunger and devastation, they are all out of our history, even if they were our own.

So as the communal problem in India, if Hindus were that bad how come our ancestors managed to live with them for more than thousand years, how came most of us are off springs of Hindus who embarrassed Islam, why not they were killed by their relations and how was this tolerated by the society? India was ruled in a decentralized way by Muslim Sultans and then Mughals, their administrative framework was geared to keep the treasury full, they never bothered to alter the Indian society hence their influence on common people was negligible and most of people in their armies and administrative work force were Hindus. Islam spread amongst masses not by force but due to other more peaceful reasons, by force it was not possible convert India to Islam and hence it was not tried otherwise what was better than that? The first Arab Governer in India Muhammed Bin Qasim never tried a mass conversion of Indian masses to Islam, as he was not ordered to do so and that was not the policy of Arabs. All Muslim rulers who came in to India after him, followed same policies. SO how was it possible that we lived and prosper for more than thousand years in Hindu majority India and all changed within hundred years of British arrival? If we see India at the time of arrival of western powers, it was by no means a Muslim ruled country, as Mughals were declined and most of India was ruled by independent rulers (both Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs), there was a communal identity but not a division.

History has been thought to Pakistanis from a communal point of view so that they can not look at the big picture which serves the interest of our ruling elite.

And forget about the Muslims of India, we do not have to do anything with them now, just like we do not have to do anything with the Bangladesh and its people. Consequences of this mentality are appearing brightly as we now have nationalist movements inside Pakistan. No matter how hard we try to blame others, it is our deed and we have to resolve or we will have to face the consequences.

My Ordeal

I took this residential unit on rent last year in June as my first residence in Sydney, and I got reference of this land lord from a relative in Pakistan. He was giving this unit on rent and I needed a place. The only friend I had here by that time, suggested that I should take what comes first because it is very hard to get rental property in Sydney. I was by that time not aware of the procedures as I was renting for the first time and did not know any one except for this friend of mine with whom I stayed and unfortunately he did not give me right guidance, he was busy in his own struggle. So I relied on the land lord (I will call him G here onwards) as he said he knew everything and he will fulfill all the procedures.

When we inspected the premises, it was under use by G and his family, and we were told everything is fine, except for what I observed immediately that washroom had a broken shower area, and carpet was very old, kitchen was old too. G said he will arrange to repair everything and that he will paint the unit as well as kitchen will be cleaned. He did paint the unit but no action was taken regarding kitchen and wash room. After moving in, we discovered that Oven was not working and the fittings in kitchen were damaged, rotten and decayed. We really put lot of efforts to fine clean the wash room as it was kept unhygienic for a long time. That was the start of our ordeal and continuous humiliation; we later found that the wash room floor and ceiling (floor of the resident upstairs) were leaking, hence whenever we used the wash room three or four times, carpet was getting soaked and wet, and then stinking. My son locked the room by mistake, and we found there were no keys of that room with us, we asked G, he came and broken the door lock. There was no fire alarm (as I came to know this is a must requirement), and the worst blow came when cockroaches started to appear by October 2008. After our complaint G came with some powder to spread across the walls and kitchen cabinets, which I did not prefer.
The after effects of all this were apparent on our health, my son has developed allergies, he was getting ill whenever there was dampness in the carpet, cockroaches became impossible to control and we lived in fear, you can imagine how would it look to see them roaming around every where, we were washing every utensil before use, we were spraying around the bed room before going to sleep, we were putting bets here and there to kill the insects, my son developed worst reactions in his mind, he started to cry whenever watching the cockroach.
I had communicated repeatedly to G, complained to him, requested him for fumigation and calling Strata management for repairs, but he take half actions, every now and then some plumber was coming to check the fittings, but no repair work, we had problem in water lines as well, cold water was coming in hot line, and we used to complaint then a plumber was repairing it every once and then. At last I asked G if he will not take action I will leave and started looking for alternate, at this notice he replied that I can not leave or I will have to pay the rent of two months to him. However after a very bitter argument, he arranged the fumigation in May 2009, but it turned out to be a cheap way of doing things, and the guy who came did it not in a professional thorough way, and result was that cockroaches started to appear again hardly in two weeks, but situation was much better for us as we had gone through the worst. Strata were also arranged after that and we got the washroom repaired. Did I forget to mention the leaking of taps in kitchen and washroom and a broken leaking and as a result full of algae and dirty pantry? Well if so, yes it was a head ache as well and never really resolved, because every plumber who came said that the setup is not made in a professional way and it needs to be done from scratch again, and G was never willing to do so. I also forget to mention the mice who are coming through holes in kitchen walls and rotting our ration. We have taken all efforts to keep them away, but they appear again after a brief period of calm. As a result we seized to use kitchen cabinets with holes and kept them closed, instead we are using plastic boxes to store the items.
In addition to all this he increased our rent during a fixed term agreement, which now I came to know is illegal. His letters still come to our mailbox, and he comes to collect them or his son or daughter is coming. It seems they did not change their address to ATO, Centerlink and banks, and as a friend told me this probably is illegal too. I have been asking him repeatedly throughout the time to change his address, and he always say that he has done so, and that he doesn’t know why we get his family’s letters.
After this entire ordeal and after fulfilling some financial obligations, I decided to move, and after finding a unit I gave him the notice. He asked me to serve a 60 days notice, which the real state agent (whom I met during my search and who proved to be my first source of real guidance) said is illegal and that only a 21 days notice is sufficient. I talked with G and he changed his statement without any shame that he never meant 21 days notice is not possible. I am still worried as I did not sent him 21 days new notice in writing, I however have SMS saved which I sent to him.
Last blow came after this notice, he asked us to provide him three days as he is intended to repair the kitchen and that the contractor will not change the dates and he will suffer the loss as he has already paid and ordered. The contractor on direction from G, started work without informing us the precautions we should take and scope of work, and they created a mess, they completely broken everything, all fittings and then tiles from walls and floor which resulted in heavy amount of dust across the unit, and now we are facing a huge hygienic problem, there is dust in everything. We asked him to provide professional cleaning and he refused that as we own the premises we should take care of it. In addition the work is not finished in three days, and the contractor suddenly disappeared, I asked G to finish the work on Monday but he said the worker is not available. So here we are, sitting by this pile of garbage and dust. We have tried hard to clean the mess and as a result my wife got ill, she is having continuous head ache and flu. My son started to bleed from nose and he has cough, he can not sleep in night. I have asked G to schedule the work as we had to leave and we had to pack and do all necessary arrangements for our shifting. But there is no action from him so far.
I asked G if he can release our bond money, and he said he will send his agent to check the premises. I consider it to be a clue of his intention to tease us for one more time, as it is stated in our agreement that Agent is not applicable, moreover he did not prepare a checklist at the time of renting (I came to know about this from web site tenants.org.au and then I went to fair trading web site, after a friend advised me day before yesterday, I was sadly not aware of these sites and other details they have provided before).
I am writing all this, to record my ordeal and to share it with the society I and my family live in. I do not know what law says about it, and I do not want any compensation, as all I want is a safe way to get out of this ordeal; me and my family are still suffering and it seems no one can help us out of it. I still have a fear in my mind that G will not let me get out of it that easily. I want moral support, as this gives strength.

Whats in a name?

If you would have asked me this question long time back, I probably would have said “nothing” very naively but no, it is not the case any more, in fact, now I think there is everything in a name. My name means ‘a good news’, I must have been for my parents and family as I was the first child arrived in that home after a long time. Still I had no say in deciding a name for myself, and in that age it was not possible as well, still I am thankful to my parents that they selected a reasonably good name for myself, otherwise it could have been Sardar or Dildar or Baidar, who could have stopped my elders naming me Barkhuddar? In fact no can stop parents and other family elders doing what they want with the new born. Do they think what they have brought in this world is their private property? I knew a friend of mine who has named his new born “Nasrulla Fakhar Omar Noman”. Don’t get frustrated it was just one baby boy born to him, he was not the first child and my friend had three children before, but this new arrival might be presumed the last, and hence all elders insisted that their respective and respected choice shall not be refused and hence it is Fakhar from father, Nasrulla  from paternal grandfather, Omar from maternal grandfather and Noman from maternal grandmother. Of course my friend thought it is the best option to name the boy that way instead of hard and passionate attempts to bring three more ‘boys’ so that the elders can fulfil their wishes and fantasies. I always feel confused whenever I try to call the baby by his name, and I am sure he too will be equally confused when he will grow up, especially as none of his siblings is honoured that way and they all have simple and single names. Real problem will arrive when they will try to attach the father’s name with this wish list.
It was embarrassing for me when I realised that my name actually is feminine and there are many from opposite sex who have equal pride in having the same name I have been honoured with. I tried to find the feminine characteristics in myself very seriously as I thought the name should have its impact but then I thought about Bahadur Khan who was always afraid of everything, and a Farmanbardar who was always angry with his parents, and then my friend Bilal Baig who was called “Laal baig (cockroach) Bilal Baig” and Shumael who was the only boy in eight siblings and we use to call him Hoor Shumael. And I started to thank God; but I still think that if someone find a feminine characteristics in myself which is a possibility, it should be attributed to my name, really!
People say name is not important; after all Laloo and Rabdi are one and same, but we can see name does makes a difference, especially if it is a surname, if this would not have been the case, Bilawal would have remained Zardari and Bhuttos would be a peaceful and thankful lot, but alas, name does play important role when it comes to image creation and public affection, or I should say it is not name but surname which is really important, otherwise Reema would not have been a Khan, but then why Yousuf became Dilip and what was the real name of MadhuBala? And statements by ManMohan while he was in United States really show how powerful the effect of name is. Useless to mention Zardari, as the name says it all; but Sharif is really confusing, in fact, amongst all the rich and famous Sharifs we know, none is a true image of the title.

And of course, you cannot call the temple a mosque and cannot say that mosque is a temple, it was tried with a Mosque once and we are still facing the consequences. Over nightly surname of a woman is changed from her father’s to her husband’s. This creates a doubt in mind if race and caste is really important? And why we cannot accommodate a temple and a mosque side by side? Why, what’s there in a name?

Two Articles from today's newspapers

Two good articles:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/kuldip-nayar-wheres-the-idea-of-india-019

Message is simple: Control Shiv Sena, its alike and ideology or risk India. Nevertheless policy should be constructive because violence and hatred can not being anything but more violence and more hatred. This article also sheds light on Nehru's vision of Indian unity and communal issues in India. He was of opinion that formation of states on the basis of language will create problems, as majority and minorities will be created and this formation of communities will start a war for economic means between them.

http://www.jang-group.com/jang/nov2009-daily/20-11-2009/col14.htm

I laughed while reading it, but issue highlighted here is certainly not meant for laughing. When you can not cry, you start laughing. Certainly this issue of the naive, unrealistic and non progressive believes in the Muslims of Pakistan is not highlighted here for the first time, but question remains same that how many of us can understand and react positively?

Back from Vacation

I was away on holidays for more than a month. It was both intentional and due to situation that I kept away from internet; and I enjoyed my time out very much. I will be back to posting new blogs in few days' time. Now a days trying to get adjusted back to normal :)