Amongst the 152 who died in last Wednesday’s tragic crash of Air Blue flight were six members of the Youth Parliament. All death in this tragedy were sad. The death of these talented youth with aspirations of building a better Pakistan was no exception. Maybe it was tragedy compounded. But the story of one of them is sadder even than the others – and because of what happened to him after he died!
This is the story of Prem Chand, a bright young social worker from Sanghar (Sindh), one of the members of Youth Parliament, and one of those who died on the ill-fated AirBlue flight 202. His death – like the death of everyone on that flight – was a matter of national tragedy; the treatment of his dead body a matter of national disgrace.
According to news reports in The News and The Express Tribune young Prem Chand’s coffin was marked “Kafir” – a word that literally means ‘infidel’ or ‘non-believer’ but is mostly used as a serious slur in Pakistan. Literally labeling someone’s coffin as “Kafir” and not even giving them the respect to list their religion by its proper name, is a shameful and disgusting way to disrespect the last remains of anyone. All the more so the last remains of a patriotic Pakistani who was on that plane solely to represent Pakistan and to seek to be a better Pakistani – he was on his way to the ‘session’ of the Youth Parliament!
According to The News:
The members of Youth parliament [on the day following the crash] protested against the marking of the coffin of one of their colleague Prem Chand as ‘Kafir.’ “It was shocking. He could have been marked as Hindu or non-Muslim, but using the word ‘Kafir’ is the worst example of intolerance,” said MYP Muneeb Afzal.
The Express Tribune writes:
Ehsan Naveed Irfan is a member of the youth parliament and he is the one who identified Prem Chand’s body. He told me that his coffin was marked as “Kafir” first with black and then outlined with red to make it more prominent. He told me that he and his friends removed it with a marker and wrote “We love you – from the youth parliament” instead.
A friend of Prem Chand made this comment on Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi’s blog:
I am Muneeb Afzal, a Member of Youth parliament of Pakistan and a Colleague and Friend of Late Prem Chand. An extremely hard-working person he was a symbol of tolerance. My last communication with him was on night before the Air Crash, he gave his greetings to me on occasion of 15th of Shabaan.
At PIMS fortunately another friend of ours was there when Prem’s Cousin Nanik Das came to search for his body, he quickly hid the tag ‘kafir’ by putting marker lines on it, so that Prem’s family which is already suffering from great grief does not have to bear more hurt. Although later at a memorial session where media was present I criticized the inhumanity and intolerance of those who did this shameful act. I felt this was my duty to my late friend Prem Chand that I make it clear to the world that we condemn this act of intolerance and narrow mindedness. But a lot of my other colleagues have since objected to my speaking out, believing that my saying this and this news spreading in media would add to hurt of Prem’s family, and in a way they are right too. I would like you all to also keep this in mind as well…
This was probably not an official act or some state sponsored standard procedure. It is much more likely that this was an act of some sick minded individual. But it is still important for the authorities to investigate and punish those responsible, and set an example for future. Intolerance must not be tolerated. To tolerate it, or justify it, is to accept it. The authorities need to take responsibility for this incident and why it happened at all; no matter who did it. After all, it is the state of Pakistan – and we as a society – which creates the conditions in which the persecution of minorities thrives at various levels, directly and indirectly; and that is what gives individuals license to go even further – including such shameful acts.
Author’s Note: My deepest apologies to friends and family members of Prem Chand and my fellow Pakistanis from others faiths (Pakistani Hindus in particular), specially those who may not have heard of this yet and for whom this incident will no doubt be deeply painful. But we must raise our voice and condemn such acts. The one lesson that Pakistan’s history teaches us is that discrimination and intolerance must never be tolerated.
The person who wrote Kafir on the coffin might not a bigot. He could be an ignorant one. May be he doesn’t know the right word in the local language for the term ‘non Muslim’. Just from somebody’s name alone one cannot conclude that the person is a non Muslim. Majority of South East Asian Muslims and Turks do not use Arabic sounding names. Prem Chand could be an atheist also. A charred dead body looks the same whether the person is a Muslim or a non Muslim. We are all made of Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen and Nitrogen molecules. There is nothing called a Muslim Oxygen or a Hindu Carbon. A few millimeters under the skin, we all look the same. Generally speaking most of the Hindus are believers in god and most of the Chinese are atheists. Since we all came from the same source or building blocks, we cannot authoritatively say that one is better than the other. Natural world is not boring because it is extremely diverse.
Nihari bohat khoob.
ATP readers, we should demand whoever did this is brought to justice.
mustaq ahmed yusufi nay likha hai…haram zadgi aur hramzadgi mein bunyadi farq hota hai. eik paidaishi wasf hota hai aur doosar zoor-e-bazu say paida hoti hai…jis kisi nay bhi yeh harkat ki hai usay donon mein kamal hasil hai
Agar kise ko zaleel karna ho to ye kaam neem mullah khoob kartay hain. Sharafat aur insaniyat ka janaza nikalna hai. aap ko koi nahi milta aap en neem mullah khatra iman ko bulaeen.
Zalalat ki bhi koi hud hoti hai, neem mullah aik nae baab tahrir kar rahay hain.
Buray say bura insan marnay kay baad tawaqa rakhta hai kay aik decent burial milay ga.
Decent burial to insan ki aik qadeem rasm aur qadr hai. Homer nay Antigone likhi uska mozoo kiya tha, proper burial halankay uska bhai aik ghadaar tha. Ye jazba, ye qadr insan ke bunyad hai. Live with dignity, die with honor.
lekin ye dekh kar kay kuch loog abhi zinda hain insani qadroon ko buland rakhnay ka azm leay, acha lagta hai.
Allah bara rahm karnay wala hai aur jo uskay bandoon ko be-izzat karta hain, zaleel kartay un loogon par ghazab karna wala hai.
Prem Chand Pakistani, Zindabad
This problem is deep rooted. It is the result of bad teachers and others. This occurs on both sides of the border. You cannot blame the person who wrote Kafir on the coffin. Blame the media, politicians, social study books in school. The Pakistani and Indian societies are brain washed. I still remember my first experience meeting an Indian Hindu on my first day of graduate school in England. I greeted him and shook his hand assuming he was from Pakistan. In England all WOGS look alike. Afterwards, I felt like I had committed a sin by greeting a Hindu. I admit that I was brain washed in Pakistan at that time.