Adil Najam
Did you know that today, December 6, was “Sindhi Topi Day”?
I did not. But I now do. I also now know that it was celebrated with great fervor. I am glad that it was.
Even though some have raised concerns about how such a celebration might “isolate” Sindh from the rest of the country, especially in the wake of the violence that the country is in the grips of, I think the idea of celebrating our heritage is a good one. In fact, I hope that it will be followed by the “Pakol Day,” the “Karakul Cap Day,” the “Kulla Day,” and days for celebrating all the diverse and rich array of caps and turbans worn all across the country.
I mean that in all sincerity. After all, we at ATP have been celebrating the Caps and Turbans of Pakistan right from the beginning (here and here).
What I cannot understand, however, is why the centerpiece of the celebrations seemed to be guns and fancy firepower, even more than ajraks and Sindhi caps?
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Adil Najam
It seems that the PPP government has finally found its equivalent to Wasi Zafar (the absurd, and often obnoxious, Law Minister in Gen. Musharraf’s government; here and here). Listen to the Rt. Hon. Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi, Federal Minister for Defence Production, proclaiming that it is the “political right” of every politician to do corruption: “yaar, karrapshun pay humara haq nahiN hai, aur unn ka hai!”:
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Adil Najam
The headline screams out that more than 40 people are dead after a heartless and soulless suicide attack on a mosque in Rawalpindi. The story under it tells us that more than half of those butchered are children.
Numb. Enraged. Without words. One stares into space.
How many such headlines have we seen? How many more are we destined to see?
Carnage. Bloodshed. Callousness. Hatred.
These are not things that anyone with a modicum of humanity can become used to. Yet, the world passes us by. Its not even news for the rest of the world. They are too busy worrying about “their” Taliban, to care about what “our” Taliban are doing. In the crazy world that we have manufactured, not every death is created equal. And certainly not every life.
Once again, Pakistanis die. Once again, Pakistanis cry. Alone.
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