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?
Saad, what are you comparing the situation in India with? Are you saying situation in Pakistan is much better?
I guess then we can conclude from the list from Saad and comments from Jabir that looking back, the plight of Muslims in India has turned out to be no better than the plight of Muslims in Pakistan.
Hum becharey musalman. Wahan auroun nay maara, yahan apnou nay maara.
Saad thank you for the links and the additional information. We have a few Indian readers, perhaps one of them will weigh in on this?
Jabir, you did not offend me (too much :) It’s true what you say, I just don’t see it as a negative.
Grey Wolf was the title of Ataturk’s autobiography and I believe Jinnah’s daughter used it positively. In Germany, “Wolf” is even a proper name (Wulf Grunwald for example). It’s not an insult at all in this context. Perhaps Jinnah admired Ataturk but did not find his policies suitable to the subcontinent’s circumstances. Perhaps he admired him, but had a lot of reservations about the steps he took to force Turkey into the modern age. We don’t really know, at least I have never read a biographer who went into detail on this point.
I can refer you to the Wikipedia article on Jinnah as the fastest place to check this. I know how people feel about Wikipedia but most of what is in their article on Jinnah is pretty much common knowledge. If I am wrong in this feel free to correct me. I am not a Jinnah expert by any means.
For those whose circumstances permit them to lead a stress free life, I congratulate them; this is truly happiness. I think most of us have to deal with many different problems though wherever we live in the world.
This one incident in sixty years does not prove a government led persecution of Muslims. It just doesn’t.
I pretty much agree with everything else that you had to say but this.
The Gujrat massacre was anything but a one off incident. Some of the other major massacres/riots targeting Muslims in India were:
1. Jabalpur Massacre - 1961
2. Ahmadabad Massacre - 1969
3. Bhiwandi, Jalgaon & Mahad - (1970)
4. Aligarh - 1978
5. Nellie Massacre - Feb 1983
6. Meerut Massacre - 1987
7. Hashimpura Massacre - May 1987
7. Bombay riots at the time of the demolition of Babri Mosque - 92/3
(just google up the names to read into the details of these incidents)
As for the Samachar Commission Report, it’s the most recent and exhaustive report on the status of Indian MUslims (404 pages) headed by a former Judge.
You can download it from here
or here.
tina I didnt mean to offend you at all. I apologize if it is the case.
Do you agree there are dedicated revisionist making changes to history all the time? This presents two faces of history, one true and the other false (revisioned). The question is which is the one you accept as truth.
And same goes for quotes about Quaid, either they are true or false. Depends on who told the story. If he was an admirer of Attaturk, how come it means he also adhered to his philosophy as well? Second,I dont think you will ever call your father ‘grey wolf’ to please him, so how can you assume Dina ‘a daughter herself’ uttered these words about his father. Unless they were being used during her opposed marraige period, in anger.
And by the way being simplton has its rewards. I have seen the best approach of solving any problem is by using the simpler means first. They carried out a study on a japanese island to know the secret of happiness of its habitants. The conclusion was they gave a damn to over complicated ‘realities’ of life. Live a stress free life, otherwise the system will squeeze you dry.
[quote]
tina bibi Kindly tell me the status of Narendra Modi - the architecht of the riots at the that time.[/quote]
Jabir, the status of nerindar modi in India is less than the status of leaders of Jamaat Islami, Jamait Ulema Islam and other “religious� parties in Pakistan who were the architecture the 1974 riots against qadianis in which many qadianis were killed and injured and their properties burnt and looted. Incidentally both events were sparked by alleged train incidents. Seems to me the Gutrat incident in India is a re-run of 1974 incident in Pakistan except in reverse. What goes round comes round?
As for divided loyalties, see the statues above. Some have suggested that Jinnah, a London educated lawyer, should not be shown in Western dress. Yet he did wear it. Also, Jinnah had a love marriage to a girl who was not a Muslim which everyone disapproved of. He was an admirer of Ataturk, and his daughter called him “grey wolf” after Ataturk to please him. Ataturk as we know was an ambitious secularist. Yet, Jinnah is the father of the Islamic republic of Pakistan.
I think we might even be able to say that Quaid-e-Azam himself experienced an internal conflict or two in his life. As previous poster noted, so did Iqbal. Saying that someone has conflicted feelings or divided loyalties does not make them a bad person. Only simpletons are completely sure of themselves all the time.