Adil Najam
Everytime I use the word ‘Jahalat’ I seem to invite the wrath of the self-righteous. But do tell me what other word can be used to describe this news story below?
It may seem innocuous when someone half-buries a child in the sand to seek a cure for paralysis from a solar eclipse, but quite another when superstition and misinformation blocks the way for polio vaccination. But what can one say when a life is taken willfully and deliberately?
Back in 2006 we had written about how jahalat murdered 22-year old Shagufta who was axed to death and later burnt by her family, now Mohammad Bashir Kacha, a 70 year old resident of Rahim Yar Khan is dead.
Tell us who the culprit is: Jinn or jahalat?
Here is the full story, as published in The Express Tribune:
RAHIM YAR KHAN: In the Sadiqabad tehsil, a fake peer attempted an exorcism on an old man which led to his death.
In mohallah Jalandharyhan, a 70-year-old man Mohammad Bashir Kacha had been suffering from asthma for several years. According to Dr Shah Nazir at Seikh Zayed Hospital Rahim Yar Khan, it was also likely that Kacha also suffered from epilepsy and experienced fits of rage. “Locals and neighbours are likely to term such afflictions as a man being possessed when there is a medical explanation for the condition,” he said. Kacha’s sons took him to a pir from Arain Colony for treatment. “He was getting worse and we thought that we needed to do something as soon as possible so we took him to Bukhari,” his 22-year-old son Amjad said. Amjad said that one of his neighbours had recommended that he take his father to Syed Qalandar Abbas Shah Bukhari who usually performed exorcisms and used different herbs for ‘spiritual treatment’.
Kacha was taken to Bukhari who took him into a side room, where he burnt some herbs and tried to get Kacha to inhale the smoke. When the smoke began to agitate Kacha, Bukari began to slap him. “The three djinns were not cooperating and they weren’t reacting to my treatment so I tried to beat them out of him,” Bukhari said, adding that he had deduced that Kacha had been possessed for a very long time. As the pir was hitting Kacha, his sons broke into the room and began hurling shoes at Bukhari. “He was striking blows at our father who is an old man,” Amjad and his brother said, adding that they immediately took their father to the hospital as he had collapsed after the incident. Dr Nazir said that the patient suffered from asthma and the smoke had severely affected him, “The beating only made things worse and the next day, July 10, he died.”
Kacha’s sons refused to file an FIR against Qalandar and have said that they forgive the pir. A neighbor, Hassan said that Kacha’s sons were afraid of the consequences of punishing the pir or having him arrested. “They know that he could easily have one of his djinns haunt them and that is why they are avoiding prosecuting him,” he said. Qalandar said that he regretted the death of the old man and has said that the reason for the death was that his sons weren’t able to afford the ‘payment’ the djinns required to leave the man alone.
“They asked for three goats and when the sons couldn’t afford that, they were willing to settle for three goats heads but the boys didn’t even bring those in. That is why he died,” Qalandar said, adding that he had “tried his best to negotiate with the djinns but they were unwilling to compromise.”
This nut-job-criminal has exposed the criminal ring!
Three goats? Hmmmmmmm. If not three goats, then three goat heads? More Hmmmmmm.For the three jinns? Even more Hmmmmmm. By any chance he is “in” on the real game?
Well, let us investigate.
This murderer himself has the looks (“shakloon”) of a criminal. Next, he made people believe that he has the solution to their pain. Next, he gave us clues and identified that Mr. Kacha’s problems were caused by the “three jinns”. Denied for simple 2nd generation medicine for epilepsy, this criminal gave the cover story that his sons could not “afford the payment the djinns required to leave the man alone”. Finally, the three jinns even sent an ignorant “git-pit” reporter who dutifully reported that the Mr. Kacha suffered from “fits of rage”. (Who will keep our media honest?)
So, this criminal pir has his “associates in crime”. And the three jinns you ask? His dons? (Where is Brando when you need him?) Why, of course, “I-slammed-everyone-else-abad”, Lahore and Karachi!
Elementary, my dear Watson.
And these three jinns have a need for offerings. They want rest of the Pakistan to feed to their insatiable, unjust and inequitable wants. These jinns do not believe in sharing of the wealth.
Hooooo hooooooo haha haaaahaaaaaaaa! The jinns want goats! If not goats, then goat heads!
Only Alam Lohar could bring out his “chimta” and make total sense of it:
Mera jugni kandi aye, ho mera jugni!
Hooooo hooooooo haha haaaahaaaaaaaa!
Ho phela jinn Islamabad da
Munga paisa taeray sara
Tae duja jinn Lahore da
Kuj-na tainoon dain-da
Tae teeja jinn Karachi da
PheaRah tainoon kainda
Mera jugni kandi aye, ho mera jugni!
Hooooo hooooooo haha haaaahaaaaaaaa!
(Translation for Punjabi lovers)
Mera jugni kandi aye, ho mera jugni!
Hooooo hooooooo haha haaaahaaaaaaaa!
First jinn is from Islamabad
Demands all your monies
Then second jinn of Lahore
Will give you nothing
Then third jinn of Karachi
Curses and blames you right back
Mera jugni kandi aye, ho mera jugni!
Hooooo hooooooo haha haaaahaaaaaaaa!
But wait, if you really want to hear the jinn speak, listen to Khalid Abbas Dar: At His Brilliant Best video at ATP. You will see how these jinns respond when people raise issues about clean water, sanitation, electric power, literacy.
Mera jugni kandi aye, ho mera jugni!
Hooooo hooooooo haha haaaahaaaaaaaa!
Just to be clear (it is so easy to misunderstand on the Internet), I am for vaccination but also have increased concerns on handling and lack of proper testing before administration.
Center for Disease and Control in US has a very extensive discussion on handling. An entire website is dedicated to “Tool Kit” for the entire “The Cold Chain” which is defined as: The cold chain begins with the cold storage unit at the vaccine manufacturing plant, extends through the transfer of vaccine to the distributor and then to the provider’s office, and ends with the administration of the vaccine to the patient. Proper storage temperatures must be maintained at every link in the chain.
The detail of which is:
Written protocol for appropriately storing vaccine at the alternate vaccine storage facility. Combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine (MMRV); varicella vaccine; and zoster vaccine should be stored in the freezer at 5°F (–15°C) or colder. Other vaccines should be stored in the refrigerator at 35° to >46°F (2° to 8°C). There should be adequate cold air circulation around the vaccines. Each alternate vaccine storage unit should have a functioning certified calibrated thermometer in each compartment. Temperatures inside the storage units should be monitored and recorded at least twice a day for as long as vaccine is stored this location (see the sections on Vaccine Storage Practices and Temperature Monitoring for further details).
It is truly cruel to deny people of adequate water and sanitation and basic health services. It is beyond cruelty to achieve results but numbers of vaccinations and their administration with no regard for “what was done and how was it done”.
And if you want to earn the confidence of the people, do things right, the small ones first, earn their respect and trust.
If you have never been to my house and then show up with keys for a brand new Saab 9-5, I too will suspect what will happen if I turn the ignition!
Not that any of these things are serial, they can all be done parallel just as well, but all of the basic and simple things need to be done to improve the quality of life for the good, decent, honest and hardworking folks of Pakistan.
Such incidents are sad reminder of how intolerant and ignorant our society has become. Poverty coupled with ignorance and lack of education laid the foundation for an intolerant society. We need to focus of social sector reforms and for that the donor agencies are willing to help if we ensure transparency in the use of funds
Standing against such crap wants courage. Check this out http://www.individualland.com/blog/?p=489
If we could stand up what these type of extremists are raising in society.
@ahmadi. Rapes of humanity will be a nice way to term this. This is the so called ‘jahalt’ of our country so how would the religious leaders not recruit idiots such as this for terrorism agenda I wonder!