Adil Najam
Ordinarily, I might have just posted this photograph below as a comment on yesterday’s post on Diwali celebrations in Karachi (also here). But please, just look at the people in this photograph; its way too interesting to be relegated to a comments section.
The occasion is a Diwali celebration at the Islamabad Headquarters of the Pakistan Muslim League, standing (and clapping) extreme left is Syed Mushahid Hussain, Secretary General of the Pakistan Muslim League, next to him is Ijaz ul Haq (Minister of Religious Affairs, and son of Gen. Zia ul Haq), fourth from left is Tariq Azim, State Minister for Information.
The Daily Times (31 October, 2006) provides more details of the event:
Members of the Hindu community from across the country participated in the event where they performed their religious rituals and traditional dances in candlelight to mark the event… A number of office bearers of the party and ministers, including PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed, Minister for Religious Affairs Ijaz-ul-Haq, State Minister for Information Tariq Azim, Minister for Minorities Affairs Mushtaq Victor and members of the National Assembly (MNAs) Bindara, Donia Aziz, Akram Masih Gill and others were present on the occasion. Officials of the Indian High Commission also participated in the event.
Hussain said that Quaid-e-Azam had envisioned a Pakistan where all the religious minorities enjoyed equal rights. He underlined the importance of inter-faith harmony for the greater prosperity of the nation and announced that the PML would also celebrate the birthday of Baba Gurunanak next week. He said that the minorities played a vital role in building any nation. He said that the present government was allocating high importance to giving all minorities’ equal. Hindus are playing a leading role in country’s economic development and the present government will leave no stone unturned to ensure their safety and well being, he added.
This is, of course, a political gesture – some might even say a gimmick. But if so, let us have more such gestures and gimmicks. They will, in time, hopefully help change our perceptions and treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan.
Sridhar,
I am afraid you are overlooking one important difference … which changes the nature of ideologies of the historic Muslim League and the BJP.
Pre-1947 Muslim League was made up of dissident ex-Congressmen and secularists… and represented a Minority community. A US Analogy would be that references to “Black power” and “Black solidarity” is a reaffirmation of pride in one’s community but “White Power” and “White soldiarity” would obviously be racist …
BJP has never represented a minority community nor has it had similar membership. After 1958 however… the Muslim League has only been reinvented to give legitimacy to military dictators. In this as well… the ML resembles more the erstwhile Unionist party or even the ML pre-1936 than anything else.
Talha mian, Siyasat boht kutta cheez hay, baray baroun ko kutta banadeti hey =)
p.s: sorry for using the word “kutta” but that sound most appropiate word for politics and politicians :> no vulgarity intended=)
Ibrahim, you are just sooo very wrong on sooo many fronts. This talk of putting things under ‘strict limits’ stems from insecurity and leads to a death of freedoms. Niether can be good. It is a mark of people unsure of their own faith taht they become scared of coming into contact with anything else. In fact, most Islamic ‘celebrations’ and rituals are pre-Islamic (Hajj and Eid, for example) and build on existing celebrations and rituals. In that sense, Islam is inclusive and not inclusive of others.
Why not? Are we Muslims so fragile and insecure in our own beliefs that we cannot be happy in someone else’s happiness. And by the way what is a ‘non-Islamic’ activity? Is typing on the computer ‘Islamic’? If it is not, then it must be ‘un-Islamic’!
Bhai Ibrahim sahib, I appreciaet the effort you are making but I do wonder = why are you so fascinated by naked people; men and women?
Even if they were naked (and I have no idea or interest in whetehr they were or not), so what? What difference does that make to any point? I am sure Adam (Hazrat Adam to some) was also roaming about naked? [And who his sons must have had to marry would raise interesting Fruedian questions too. But why would any of this be important or relevant to anything?]
And why is any of this religius disuccssion at all relevant to this post or to this blog, which is about PAKISTAN and how Pakistani Muslims treat Pakistani non-Muslims. Let us please leave what Arabs did to other Arabs, whether clothed or not, hundreds of years ago to Arabs. Let them worry about that. The focus here is Pakistan today and Pakistanis today.
By the way, you ask in one of your many long comments: “Why do you guys not understand what I’m saying?” I cannot say exactly, but maybe it is because what you are saying just does not make sense!
I am afraid even to post this, because I really do not want you to answer any of the questions; they are rhetorical. But if you have to, please answer in the context of what this blog and this post is about which is PAKISTAN. I am sure that those who seek tabligh can find it on many other places on the Internet.
Yours, with great respect.
Sirat-ul-Mustaqeem.
Sridhar
Here is a news from 2003 Diwali in sindh and it talks about some of the ceremonies held in mandirs across sindh
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Diwali celebrated
HYDERABAD, Oct 25: The Hindu community in the interior of Sindh celebrated Diwali, the religious ceremony of lights, with traditional enthusiasm and religious spirit on Saturday.
Bhajan and Kirtan were held in temples of Hyderabad, Dadu, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Sanghar districts where Pundits highlighted the importance of the ceremony.
In their speeches, the Pundits also called upon the community members to forge unity among their ranks and play their due role in the prosperity of the country.
Special prayers for the integrity and solidarity of the country were also offered.
Thousands of people exchanged greetings and distributed sweets and dishes, specially prepared to celebrate the occasion.
Torchlit and fireworks display were also the key parts of the celebrations.â€