Adil Najam
This picture is carried today by both Dawn and Daily Times. Dawn’s title is “Still Heroes” and the caption reads: “Bronze statues of Quaid-i-Azam, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal put on display at the Science and Technology Expo-2007 being held at National Memorial Museum in Shakarparian in Islamabad.”
A visit to the Museum is on the top of my ‘To Do’ list when I return to Islamabad end of the month. I hope they are still there.
My first thought on looking at the picture was to note how both Jinnah and Iqbal are wearing suits here (this penchant of ours - me included - to dress up these guys in the garbs of our desires has been has been quite a remarkable historical see-saw!). My second thought was to wonder what the folks at Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa might have to say - or do - about this. I hope there is significant security against vandalism here.
But even more than that, I wonder what these three men are sitting there thinking about what is happening today in the country they helped conceive. Late at night when the museum is closed and the statues come alive and walk about, what is it that they sit together and talk about?
LOL. I had no idea this blasphemy was being allowed to happen in watn e aziz. Iqbal, Jinnah, dividers of the united India, British conspirers against islam, now clad in them suits and made idols out of em? In the holy land of pakistan? (which btw shouldn’t have been founded like I just said :P) Someone please call my friendly neighborhood suicide-bombing, gun-totting, civilization-pillaging honest and true Muslim brethren squad of bearded turtles please!
YLH, Iqbal used to be a western thinker in all aspects, and then one nazar of a sahib-e-kashf changed him forever. He became his mureed and that proved to be the pivotal point for him. Ishfaq Ahmad went through same transformation, in his last days he used to make fun of his ‘roshan khayal’ philosophical era, literally calling it crap. Lucky them. As Bulhay Shah said:
ilm bass karayn o yaraa
The level of freedom offered by this one verse should not be underestimated. Try understanding it sometime.
In all I what I am saying is after his qalbi transformation, Iqbal ceased to be a fan of western culture.
And Quaid renounced his only beloved daughter for the sake of Pakistan. That one jest is enough to tell what he had in mind regarding the Islamic identity of Pakistan.
I am afraid Jabir… Neither Jinnah nor Iqbal ever stopped wearing the western dress…
Jinnah’s approach against British economic imperialism was different… he fought for tenders to be in Indian rupees than British pounds… a move that was much more effective than Gandhi’s dhoti-only Xenophobia.
I think the best part of the picture are people in the background paying no attention at all to the sculptures. Just like we pay no attention to what these three men really stood for.
I like the picture and the sculptures look good.
I also like the notion of them statues coming alive every night to talk about what is going on in Pakistan… maybe they will also log on to ATP to check out what Pakistanis are talking about :-)
No, really. Someone shoudl write a TV play or something on that theme… it will be quite a conversation!
Good news adil, are you coming back to pakistan,only for holidays or long term??, the best would be you starting trans atlantic-pakistani media or IT venture, you know BPO is booming in Pakistan.
may be Corporate version of ATP show casing Culture,tradition and tourism of pakistan
God Speed, Good Luck & welcome Home
Gandhi revolted agaisnt the economic exploitation of his countrymen at the hands of british textile. He odrederd the british made garments be burned. His resistance gave birth to the slogan ’so deshi’. Quaid and Iqbal stopped wearing western styled cloths in later stages as well as matter of defaince against the imperial symbloism. So the picture at best is a misrepresentation of reality.
Your hate for lal masjid et al is understandable, but do not twist the history in order to vent out your frustration. It goes agaisnt the spirit of the millions of sacrifices, offered at the time of independence.
They are shaking their heads in disgust of what became of their people.
How long before the moral police of Lal Masjid becomes “bout shikans”?