Adil Najam
Mohammed Hanif, the brilliant author of the engrossing book “The Case of Exploding Mangoes†(I have been planning to write about it ever since I first read it many months ago; and I will) – known to many for his stint at Herald before he joined BBC’s Urdu Service – has just written a most cogent and readable op-ed in The Times of India which is wroth reading; whether you agree with it or not. It is a good argument as well as a good read. And I say that even thought there are more than one points here that I might quibble with. But before we quibble, lets give Mohammed Hanif the floor – and a full and proper hearing. Here is the op-ed he wrote in The Times of India, in full:
Ten Myths About Pakistan
Living in Pakistan and reading about it in the Indian press can sometimes be quite a disorienting experience: one wonders what place on earth they’re talking about? I wouldn’t be surprised if an Indian reader going through Pakistani papers has asked the same question in recent days. Here are some common assumptions about Pakistan and its citizens that I have come across in the Indian media.
1. Pakistan controls the jihadis: Or Pakistan’s government controls the jihadis. Or Pakistan Army controls the jihadis. Or ISI controls the jihadis. Or some rogue elements from the ISI control the Jihadis. Nobody knows the whole truth but increasingly it’s the tail that wags the dog. We must remember that the ISI-Jihadi alliance was a marriage of convenience, which has broken down irrevocably. Pakistan army has lost more soldiers at the hands of these jihadis than it ever did fighting India.
2. Musharraf was in control, Zardari is not: Let’s not forget that General Musharraf seized power after he was fired from his job as the army chief by an elected prime minister. Musharraf first appeased jihadis, then bombed them, and then appeased them again. The country he left behind has become a very dangerous place, above all for its own citizens. There is a latent hankering in sections of the Indian middle class for a strongman. Give Manmohan Singh a military uniform, put all the armed forces under his direct command, make his word the law of the land, and he too will go around thumping his chest saying that it’s his destiny to save India from Indians. Zardari will never have the kind of control that Musharraf had. But Pakistanis do not want another Musharraf.
3. Pakistan, which Pakistan? For a small country, Pakistan is very diverse, not only ethnically but politically as well. General Musharraf’s government bombed Pashtuns in the north for being Islamists and close to the Taliban and at the same time it bombed Balochs in the South for NOT being Islamists and for subscribing to some kind of retro-socialist, anti Taliban ethos. You have probably heard the joke about other countries having armies but Pakistan’s army having a country. Nobody in Pakistan finds it funny.
4. Pakistan and its loose nukes: Pakistan’s nuclear programme is under a sophisticated command and control system, no more under threat than India or Israel’s nuclear assets are threatened by Hindu or Jewish extremists. For a long time Pakistan’s security establishment’s other strategic asset was jihadi organisations, which in the last couple of years have become its biggest liability.
5. Pakistan is a failed state: If it is, then Pakistanis have not noticed. Or they have lived in it for such a long time that they have become used to its dysfunctional aspects. Trains are late but they turn up, there are more VJs, DJs, theatre festivals, melas, and fashion models than a failed state can accommodate. To borrow a phrase from President Zardari, there are lots of non-state actors like Abdul Sattar Edhi who provide emergency health services, orphanages and shelters for sick animals.
6. It is a deeply religious country: Every half-decent election in this country has proved otherwise. Religious parties have never won more than a fraction of popular vote. Last year Pakistan witnessed the largest civil rights movements in the history of this region. It was spontaneous, secular and entirely peaceful. But since people weren’t raising anti-India or anti-America slogans, nobody outside Pakistan took much notice.
7. All Pakistanis hate India: Three out of four provinces in Pakistan – Sindh, Baluchistan, NWFP – have never had any popular anti-India sentiment ever. Punjabis who did impose India as enemy-in-chief on Pakistan are now more interested in selling potatoes to India than destroying it. There is a new breed of al-Qaida inspired jihadis who hate a woman walking on the streets of Karachi as much as they hate a woman driving a car on the streets of Delhi. In fact there is not much that they do not hate: they hate America, Denmark, China CDs, barbers, DVDs , television, even football. Imran Khan recently said that these jihadis will never attack a cricket match but nobody takes him seriously.
8. Training camps: There are militant sanctuaries in the tribal areas of Pakistan but definitely not in Muzaffarabad or Muridke, two favourite targets for Indian journalists, probably because those are the cities they have ever been allowed to visit. After all how much training do you need if you are going to shoot at random civilians or blow yourself up in a crowded bazaar? So if anyone thinks a few missiles targeted at Muzaffarabad will teach anyone a lesson, they should switch off their TV and try to locate it on the map.
9. RAW would never do what ISI does: Both the agencies have had a brilliant record of creating mayhem in the neighbouring countries. Both have a dismal record when it comes to protecting their own people. There is a simple reason that ISI is a bigger, more notorious brand name: It was CIA’s franchise during the jihad against the Soviets. And now it’s busy doing jihad against those very jihadis.
10. Pakistan is poor, India is rich: Pakistanis visiting India till the mid-eighties came back very smug. They told us about India’s slums, and that there was nothing to buy except handicrafts and saris. Then Pakistanis could say with justifiable pride that nobody slept hungry in their country. But now, not only do people sleep hungry in both the countries, they also commit suicide because they see nothing but a lifetime of hunger ahead. A debt-ridden farmer contemplating suicide in Maharashtra and a mother who abandons her children in Karachi because she can’t feed them: this is what we have achieved in our mutual desire to teach each other a lesson.
So, quibble if you will. But do tell us what you think about the argument that Hanif is making.
Dear You are really doing a good job.
I want you to do more to build the relationship of both the countries. Although if you see the past we will be more blood releated. many youngsters in India need good releationship with pakistanis. I think young pakistanis should be advised in a proper manner rather than misguiding them. we love and respect few goodthings about pakistan and pakistanis.
“General Musharraf
bonobashi, yes, let’s stick to MH’s article instead of getting side-tracked.
Regarding MH’s myths, the truth is very very few people in India (that I am aware of) think about Pakistan at all except whenever terrorist attacks happen or when there’s cricket being played. Indians, because we have such a huge country with a zillion problems, are extremely pre-occupied with ourselves, our culture and our society. Other countries whether friendly or unfriendly don’t really enter much into our conversations or consciousness in general. I am one of the rare Indians who is interested in this neighbour of ours who troubles us so much. So while MH’s myths are interesting, they’re barely scratching the surface on the level of ignorance there is about Pakistan in India. Indian views of Pakistan and Pakistanis are still mired in Mughal times – this is how most Indians think Pakistan must be, with Mughal taur-tareeqay, dancing girls, persecuted non-Muslims under Islamic Rule, and harbouring a perennial aim to conquer and convert India and raise the Islamic flag over it. I am not aware of how close to the truth these perceptions are and perhaps MH can address these issues in his next list of myths.
Gorki, right on! A victory for moderates and the reasonable elements in Pakistan is a victory for moderates and the reasonable elements in India. More power to their elbow then.
Speaking of secularism, yes, I am a secularist, of the Western sort, because I believe religion is best kept at arms’ length in public affairs, and should remain a personal matter. I think the Indian model of secularism, bringing every single religion in, is a BIG mistake. It thrilled me to bits to read Aqil Mushtaque’s last post.
Regarding your comments on free speech, they do you great credit, although I personally think that harsh measures are called for against those who preach religious or any other kind of parochial hatred. I sincerely hope you are right. I sincerely hope that the religious right can be contained without compromising democratic principles.
Is there any practical way in which we can support and help the democratic elements in Pakistan, and the democratic movement there, without being intrusive? Or setting up a backlash?
Mullahs and jihadis in Pakistan, as elsewhere, are on the run. Whether rogue elements with current or past links to ISI, or parts of the military leadership support jihadis – they have to do so VERY covertly under the many eyes of US and the world watching Pakistan and the jihadis. The war and actual loss of Pakistani soldiers has to carry on, at least, simultaneously. As for mullahs in politics, the only time in Pakistan’s history when they surprised even themselves with a bit of success was in 2002 when the ISI, under orders from Musharraf, used them as a bogeyman to scare Washington in to supporting the dictator.
In contrast, the links between RSS, BJP and Bajrang Dal are frighteningly strong and even lopsided, for all to see. BJP is no marginal or regional party. They’ve won two general elections! One of the two biggest parties! Does that not put Mr Sudarshan’s views in to some kind of context for those who would rather brush them aside? Yes, I fully respect everyone’s right to free speech including Mr Sudarshan’s and believe the only answer to misuse of free speech is no more than its proper use. But don’t the BJP voters need to ask the BJP who are they really voting for? Or, do they only vote because they know exactly who pulls the strings (since they cannot vote for RSS – which is only an ‘NGO’)? Shiv Sena at least participates in the electoral process, whatever the dangers of their playing the religion, parochialism or whatever other card and strong arm tactics (which they are not alone in using).