The Dark World of the Arab Child Slave Trade

 Stephen Brown

In a story last week in the British newspaper The Sun, a private investigator stated that Madeleine McCann, the subject of probably the world’s most famous unsolved kidnapping case, is in the United States. The British girl was three years old when she went missing five years ago from a seaside resort in Portugal, where her parents were vacationing. The Portuguese police, in what has been termed a “bungled investigation,” at first accused the parents of the abduction but later cleared them. Portuguese security officials halted their investigation to find the missing child in 2008 after stating she had probably been “stolen to order.”
Since her disappearance, numerous alleged sightings have been made of the little girl across Europe, Africa, in North America and in Australia. The investigator making the latest claim concerning McCann’s whereabouts is an amateur sleuth originally from Angola. He told The Sun that a Portuguese pedophile ring, also responsible for other child abductions, took the McCann girl and has handed his findings over to authorities. The claim that a pedophile ring is responsible for McCann’s disappearance has been made before, especially concerning one in Belgium. And while Madeleine McCann girl may have very well been snatched by such evil hands, it is surprising that an equally depraved institution — one of gigantic size — has never even been considered by investigators or the media as McCann’s possible kidnapper: namely, the Arab child slave trade.
While tens of thousands of adults are also victims of Arab slavers, many people only first took notice of the Arab slave trade in children when reports of enslaved child camel jockeys emerged from Persian Gulf countries. A 2004 HBO documentary on the subject was especially responsible for making Americans aware of this modern-day barbarism. These boys, who were sold by poor parents hoping their offspring would some day experience a better life, were primarily from South Asia. But instead of a life of dignity and meaningful work, they wound up in the Middle East where they were made to race camels for their Arab masters. Beaten and often sexually abused, they were all kept undernourished, so that the camels would have less weight to carry.
“As many as 6,000 child camel jockeys…languished in hidden slavery on ozbah farms, where their masters beat them and starved them to keep their weight down,” wrote E. Benjamin Skinner in his book, A Crime So Monstrous.
When investigating in the 1990s the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of black Africans in Mauritania by Arab-Berber masters, African-American author Samuel Cotton was stunned to discover that African children were still being kidnapped by Arabs traveling with camels carrying big baskets. The child, usually playing alone, would suddenly be snatched from its play and placed in one such basket, after which its new owners hurried away. The children, he was told, are sometimes found later “hundreds of miles away as slaves.”
Also during his investigation, which was summarized in his highly informative book Silent Terror: A Journey Into Contemporary African Slavery, Cotton was told there was “still a huge trafficking in slaves going on between Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates.”
Black African children are also not always stolen so surreptitiously. Until recently in the southern Sudan, the old-fashioned slave raid witnessed villages being burned down, the men killed and the women and children captured. This was the Arab slavers’ main harvesting tool of humans. Thousands of children were captured by this murderous method and forcibly taken as agricultural, domestic and sex slaves to Arab northern Sudan — where many still languish today. Darfur has also seen many children disappear  from both refugee camps and towns subjected to central government attack. They are suspected victims of Arab slave hunters.
But it is not only non-Arab children who are Arab child slave trade victims. An Egyptian newspaper, referring to a 2008 UNICEF report, stated Egyptian children are being bought and sold for about $3,000 for “domestic work and farming, among other things.” This trade in children is so extensive in Egypt, organizations are “employing brokers, and even operating their own web sites.
“Many are also sent to the Gulf States, with orphanages being a major supplier,” the story further reports.
Even from a country as far way as the Philippines children are trafficked to the Middle East. In 2008, for example, 34 minors between the ages of 14 and 16 were rescued at Manila airport by social workers as they were about to depart on fake passports for unnamed Middle Eastern countries. Again, war and poverty played a role in these young people’s desperation. They were from refugees camps in the war-torn southern island of Mindanao where an insurgency is raging between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
While most civilized people nowadays recoil in horror from the idea of slavery, especially when it involves children, many fundamentalist Middle Eastern Muslims do not. In fact, they view the psychological death and destruction of innocent lives as their legal right. Under sharia law, which rules the Sudan and the Gulf States, Muslims are legally allowed to own slaves. Bernard Lewis, the eminent scholar of Islam, writes “…the institution of slavery is not only recognized but is elaborately regulated by Sharia law.” Another reason for this inhuman sense of entitlement is the prophet Muhammad was also a slave owner, setting the example for the fundamentalists.
Besides a codified religious supremacy, there is also the element of racial superiority behind the hideous practice of Arab slavery, especially when it concerns black Africans. Arab racism is at the roots of Islamic slavery that has seen 14 million black Africans enslaved and sold around the Islamic world from the seventh to the twentieth century.
Unfortunately for its victims, the abolition of Arab slavery will be difficult to even initiate — especially when the international community remains deafeningly silent about it. The case of Dr. Abu Zayd, a Cairo University professor and Islamic theologian, amply illustrates the problem.  When Zayd contended that “keeping slave girls and taxing non-Muslims” was contrary to Islam, an Egyptian sharia court forcibly divorced him from his wife and declared him an apostate. He later had to flee to Europe to escape Islamic extremists who wanted to kill him because of his apostate status.
Slavery was only abolished in Saudi Arabia and other states of the Arabian Peninsula in the early 1960s, so one cannot expect an institution that has existed for centuries to being away any time soon. For example, the widow of the emir of Abu Dhabi and her four daughters were caught living in Brussels in 2008 with 20 slaves who they were mistreating. And Dubai is the center for the region’s sex industry that Skinner calls “a place of slavery for women.” Promised jobs, thousands of women full of hope arrive there from Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia annually only to have their passports taken away immediately upon arrival and to be forced into prostitution.
One Gulf State Arab woman, a former candidate for Kuwait’s parliament, does not even hide the fact there should be sex slaves for Arab men and claims sheikhs and muftis she spoke with in Mecca sanctioned this. As a result, Salwa al-Mutairi wants non-Muslim women captured in war made available to Muslim men, so that the men can be “protected from adultery.” She affirmed: “For example, in the Chechnya war, surely there are female Russian captives. So go and buy those and sell them here in Kuwait…I don’t see any problem in this.”
Al-Mutairi’s despicable utterances came only a week after a Muslim preacher announced that, since Islam allows Muslims to buy and sell conquered infidel women, “When I want a sex-slave, I go to the market and pick whichever female I desire and buy her.”
It is not the purpose or intent of this article to engage in sensationalist or unfounded finger-pointing. But what a crime it would be to neglect finding and freeing a child slave because the hunt for his or her captors would be deemed politically incorrect. Indeed, in light of the widespread phenomenon discussed above, why is the possibility of Madeleine McCann being a child slave somewhere in the Middle East not even remotely considered in the investigation of her disappearance? Yes, it is only conjecture, but so is looking into all the other possibilities. Why, for instance, is publicly hypothesizing that she is probably somewhere in the U.S. considered legitimate, but even breathing a word about the possibility of her being somewhere in the Middle East considered illegitimate — when it is a fact that an international Arab human-slave trafficking business is in full effect?
The fact that the McCanns were at a Portuguese seaside resort when Madeleine was taken made the kidnappers’ task easier. Since the child-snatchers may have very well made their escape by sea, there would be no borders to cross until they reached their destination — potentially a Middle Eastern one. The Islamic world, after all, is very close to Portugal.
The British government has recently assigned 30 detectives in a major effort to locate the missing girl. Of course, myriad evils could be behind this tragic crime. And they must all be looked into. But in light of what is known about the Arab child slave trade, will investigators spend even at least a modicum of time considering the distinct possibility of Middle Eastern sex-slave traffickers’ involvement? The empirical reality would justify it — as it would justify the international community starting to be even slightly interested in, and outraged about, this dark and evil phenomenon in general.

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Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com

URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/06/10/the-dark-world-of-the-arab-child-slave-trade/

Qadri case: Battle for the soul of Pakistan

 By Aftab Zaidi:
The reverberations of Justice Munir verdict in Maulvi Tameez uddin case are being felt even today. Every military coup was sanctioned and given a legal cover based on this faulty decision. The long lasting ill effects of this judgment were not realized at the time of its announcement. Similarly the outcome of the Mumtaz Qadri case will have profound impact on the future of this nation. The fact that an ex – Chief Justice of Lahore High Court has come forward to argue in favor of a self confessed killer is likely to put further strain on the judges. It appears that anything wrapped in a cloak of religiosity will even blind our arbitrators of justice. After the proclamation of the sentence; the anti terrorist court judge was hurriedly transferred to Lahore after his office was ransacked by a section of lawyers. There have already been violent protests all around the country condemning the verdict and calling for its commutation by the President. Clearly the protestors through their threats and aggressive gestures are trying to mould outcome of the case in their favor. Lately the courts have also been accused of releasing terrorist suspects. However the judges have defended the acquittals on the basis of lack of evidence provided by the prosecution. The Supreme Court in July ordered the release of Malik Ishaq; a dreaded sectarian killer. . He is the founder of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ), which is aligned with al Qaeda along with Jandullah and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was implicated in 44 cases of culpable homicide and was acquitted in 34 of those cases. He was also allegedly accused of plotting terrorist plots from the confines of his jail room and indicted in planning and executing the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team. It has already been reported that Malik Ishaq had in October 1997 admitted to an Urdu daily to being involved in the killing of over a 100 people. The sectarian temperature has also shot up in the aftermath of his release. There have already been two attacks on Shia Hazaras. On September 19, near the town of Mastung gunmen forced 40 Hazaras to disembark from a bus through which they were traveling to visit Holy sites in Iran; shot them at close range and fled the scene of the crime. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi later claimed responsibility for this attack. Ironically, Malik Ishaq has very close links with this sectarian organization. The releases of terrorist suspects by courts have been a recurring theme. This has happened despite the fact that mostly ordinary Pakistani citizens have bore the brunt of terror related causalities. A US State Department report in 2010 criticized Pakistan for failing to outlaw militant Islamic groups. It further complained that Pakistan’s acquittal rate of prosecuting suspected terrorists was approximately 75% culminating in release of three out of four defendants. The courts have also been instrumental in the release of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed; the controversial Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s Ameer who was also banned by a UN Security Council resolution. It is pertinent to mention that Mr. Saeed also led the funeral prayers for Osama Bin Laden after his death through a US Navy Seals operation. The Qadri case presents a very clear evidence of inherent flaws in religiously inspired laws. It also provides the courts with an opportunity to absolve them of the perception that the judges hold a soft corner for the Islamic militants. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear and cogent. However the stay of the sentencing by the Islamabad High Court has again sent the wrong signals. The fight is for the soul of Pakistan. Release of Qadri will have very serious ramifications for the coming generations. This will provide an explicit justification to commit such acts of brute violence in the name of religion. There is still time. The virus of religiously sanctioned killing is still in its embryonic stage. It should be nipped in the bud before it turns into an inferno and engulfing the entire society.

Aalu Andey vs Gandey Andey: A Tale of Two Videos

Raza Habib Raja
In the past few days, I have had the privilege of seeing two extraordinary videos, one of which spanned barely 3 minutes, and the other was a real brain tester, which lasted for over 30 minutes. The formats were very different, as one was a song, and the other was a television talk show. The schism and the contrast ran much much deeper than the formats, and yet in a strange paradoxical way, there were similarities and an ironical linkage between the two videos.
The thing which connected the two videos was that  in the first video, in just breath-taking three minutes, three aspiring musicians gave very credible reasons for what exactly was wrong with the second video. Both the videos were linked in another way: First featured a totally raw rock and roll band, and the second one had Pakistan’s premier vocalist, who once belonged to the most famous rock and roll band Pakistan has ever produced. Two set of musicians, belonging to the same genre, vastly different in experience, but furthest apart in their take on the socio-political scenario of Pakistan.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have posted the links so that you can independently judge yourselves also. The second video has not been posted in its entirety as I have only posted the most “important” portion
Aalu Anday
Ali Azmat with Luqmaan on Khari Baat
Regarding the first video, well I have never in my life seen a video in Pakistan, which within a span of merely three minutes, bares all the hypocritical instinctive foundations of our parallel universe. In those pulse fastening, bewildering, amazing three minutes three youngsters (one of them I happen to know personally also) beat the crap out of the whole right wing narrative. In lyrics, which were simple yet incisive, in a tone which was humorous yet dead serious, and in a video that had innuendos and yet was also so head on, the new group named as “Baighairat Brigade” (Dishonourable Brigade) showed everyone a mirror and showed what in essence honour meant. It showed us that honour is not delusional and misplaced self importance, which in essence is an outcome of our humongous failures in life to achieve anything in economic, cultural and development spheres, but it lies in acknowledging our shortcomings. The group did not try to indulge in some kind of pseudointellectual analysis through some heavy nonsensical words but in a simple intelligible language just sang through the plain facts. Yes, in order to bring out the absurdities they made sure to contrast between what was actually happening and what should actually happen. The following lyrics take the cake:
“Aithe Qadri Baran Nawab hai ithe Hero Ajmal Qasab hai, Mullah nasseya wich Hijab hai, ithe Abdul Salam nu Puchda Koi Nayee “
( Here the Mumtaz Qadri is treated like a Royal, Ajmal Qasab is a hero, the Mullah- the lal Masjid priest who preached about Jihad and yet was coward enough to run veiled as a woman when his own life was under threat- and yet Dr Abdul Salam, Pakistan’s only nobel laureate is being totally ignored just because of his Ahmedi faith)
All these sentences merely state the obvious and yet often denied facts, with the onus being as to how much misplaced heroes we have. In this regard, the contrast between terrorists, murderers and the completely disowned Doctor Abdul Salam was amazing. In merely ten seconds, the group said something which is so obvious and yet never acknowledged. Then the singer went on to poke fun at the rampant conspiracy theory culture particularly the Black Water obsession.
The video was made even more potent by some placards, one of which read: This video is funded by Zionists.
The second video is of a talk show where ace Pakistani singer- solo now- but once the part of the legendary Rock n Roll band Janoon, gave his unique “insight” as to what was wrong with Pakistan. I have over the time become quite accustomed to nonsense, which these talk shows utter but even by their standards, this was “exceptional”. God, Ali Azmat made even Zahid Hamid look like a credible commentator.
Mr. Ali Azmat’s thesis was that West had conspired against us to impose their cultural imperialism and in order to do that had rearranged their music frequency in such a way that it would create mass hypnotism. Mr. Azmat, claimed that everything, including Wall Sreet protest movements, were some sort of a grand conspiracy to take over the world with the ultimate objective to bolster consumerism to help struggling capitalism. And then, under active encouragement from Mubashir Luqman, the fiery host of the program, Ali Azmat went on to declare that everything happening in Pakistan was being directed by the imperial powers with the eventual aim of helping consumerism.
What was mocked at the first video was on full display in the second video. Yet both the videos were humorous though the latter only in its irony. First was a satire, and the second could only be termed as some sort of a black comedy, whch depicted as to how delusional we have become.
But despite everything, the first video has given a faint hope that may be some of us are realizing and therefore articulating of whatever is wrong with the content and intellectual thrust of the second video. And some how or the other, I want to hope because I have still not given up. As the torch of Political Rock N Roll passes to younger blood, some of whom have the nerves to finally say that should have been said long ago, there is every reason to believe that though in fringes, sanity still exists. Well Done Baighairat Brigade..You have  given us hope..And yes Daniyal, you have made me proud!!!!

A Double Whammy for the Cyber Army General

Slowly but surely the cyber army general, more popularly known as Zaid Hamid or “Sir” Zaid by his army of silk mustached self styled patriots or the bevy of monikers that circle around his red beret is clawing his way back to the limelight after his Yusuf Kazab association related lull. Yes, we’ll never let anyone forget of that shady association. Of late he’s been making all sorts of nasty waves by appearing on two high profile talkshows where he, in his inimitable audacious style, declares SAFMA as being funded by RAW and understandably enough invites a lawsuit for slander coming his way.
The blithe declaration came forth on that loud mouthed, attention hoor (feel free to use a w before hoor), khala kutni of an anchor Meher Bukhari’s hot show on Duniya TV. That particular show was dedicated to Nawaz Sharif expressing his amicable intentions towards the Indians and recognizing the possibility of a peaceful and prosperous future for Pakistan in the remote possibility of mending fences with India. Understandably, this scandalized the maulvi, fauji and red bereted guests on Meher Bukhari’s show to no end. Of course, Ms Bukhari has to maintain her loudmouthed image on TeeVee that warrants in them big fat pay cheques. All she has to do is pander to the lowest common denominator in the exceedingly conservative right winged populace by invoking the two nation theory mantra, the rattafied ideology of Pakistan in an inordinately high volume and practiced glares. The shrieks led on to Zaid Hamid do his slanderous act and playing the ham fisted defender of Iqbal’s Pakistan.
Here’s the unnecessary value added clip from youtube:
watch?v=LkWvsq53PQ0
The SAFMA slander got Zaid Hamid another gig at Shahid Masood’s latest reincarnation on ExpressNews, ever so modestly titled Shahidnama. As an aside, have you noticed how steadily self referential the title of each new version of his shows are becoming; Views on News (decent enough), Merey Mutabiq (inflated ego alert) and now Shahidnama (what’s next Shahid ki Shahid Dunya?)
Moving on, Dr Shahid invited Zaid Hamid to defend his position as Mr Slander Extraordinaire as well as Marvi Sirmed to provide the other perspective (read common sense) to the firebrand foil. Now it made for 45 odd minutes of rousing entertainment on TV but not without some reservation. For the moment let’s not talk of Zaid Hamid….he’s a stark raving loon. Dr Shahid on the other hand, as opposed to Meher Bukhari’s hysterical antics comes across as a mild mannered, genial enough individual. We are only speaking of appearances here.  At the start of the said show, he bemoans the lack of tolerance amongst the highly educated in our culture and the need for basing and argument over facts and reasoning. Very noble of him to acknowledge so but later on he keeps on egging the guests, steering and reducing the argument to a Raw agent vs ISI agent debacle. This isn’t anything new considering Dr Shahid’s track record for understated manipulative dishonesty.
Kudos to Marvi Sermad for whipping Zaid Hamid’s ass. Needless to say this was a gratifying TV moment. Yet I am not so sure if her choice of attire was any tactful in front of a bigot who’s looking for whatever minuscule excuse to label the opponent as the RAW/CIA/Zionist/Capitalist/Hindu/Buddhist/Communist etc etc agents he so clearly endears himself to. More importantly Marvi Sermad’s choice, while living up to her Baghi credentials, wouldn’t bode well with a significant section of the masses who lap up every word of history according to Nawa-i-waqt and Pak Studies curriculum.
You can see the whole splendorous episode starting from this clip thanks to our “choron sey hoshyar” friends on youtube.
watch?v=ENlWhhySHuU&feature=related

Are we innocent?

I.A Rehman 

The world’s conscience. It has also posed some extremely tough questions for European societies, the world’s Muslims in general, and the people of Pakistan in particular.

Europe will do itself and the world at large great injustice and harm if it dismisses the matter as the isolated work of a deranged mind. It must look deep into the factors that led to Anders Behring Breivik’s reliance on perverted intelligence.
The unpardonable doings of Al Qaeda, the other so-called jihadists and Muslim megalomaniacs have certainly contributed to the spread of Islamophobia in Europe and other parts of the western world, but it would be wrong to limit the list of culprits to them. It may be necessary to probe the extent to which the tone and tenor of the war on terror may have contributed to the growth of both militancy in parts of the Muslim world and reckless Muslim-bashing in the West. The idea is not to shift blame from one party to another, it is only a plea for keeping the indigenous sources of terrorism in Europe also in mind.
The world cannot possibly forget the rise of European fascism that built its power by fanning racism and persecuting certain religious and ethnic communities (Jews and Blacks). Nazism is a disease many parts of Europe are still afflicted with. The Norwegian people themselves have had anxieties about neo-Nazi and other extreme-right gangs for more than a decade.
These facts make it necessary for European societies to take note of elements who may be exploiting the public sentiment against terrorists and immigrants to impose on them new and more horrible forms of right-wing tyranny.
The leaders of Islamic thought and Muslim public opinion on their part cannot shun reality by simply telling the Europeans to put their house in order. Nor can they get away by declaring that terrorists constitute a small minority among Islamic scholars and lay Muslims both, however true this statement may be.
They must not ignore the high percentage of Muslims among the terrorists, nor the flurry of edicts issued by recognised Muslim authorities that not only condone and justify acts of terrorism, including the killing of innocent people in suicide bombings, but also exhort the believers to take part in such acts and win a place in paradise.
Regardless of the degree of the Muslim people’s involvement in terrorism that their ulema and political leaders may be prepared to concede, they have a duty to contribute to a solution to the problems created by groups and individuals claiming to be soldiers of Islam. The most important fact to be realised by the Muslim peoples is that they and their next generations will be the biggest losers if the mischief spread by their fanatic fringe is not quickly suppressed.
The people of Pakistan have to do more soul-searching than others because Breivik has blamed this country as the cause of his heinous crime. They should be shocked because besides being a responsible promoter of peace in the world, Norway has consistently been good to Pakistan. For many years, Norway has been helping Pakistan significantly in all areas of economic development, electoral reform, education, culture, heritage, women’s empowerment and human rights. It has been fair and generous to Pakistani immigrants who have been able to achieve distinction in Norwegian society and have been remitting sizeable funds to Pakistan year after year.
All this makes it necessary for Pakistan to make sure that the people of Norway are not influenced by the vitriolic outpourings of Breivik and the like. The critical question is: are we innocent? Can we say that we the Pakistanis have done nothing to offer neo-Nazis or other right-wing extremists an excuse to go out and massacre people?
One of the greatest ironies in the Pakistani people’s collective behaviour is that while the state is engaged in a grim battle with militants in religious garb and we keep telling the world of the number of lives we have lost, Pakistan has never challenged the so-called jihadis at the intellectual or even theological level. On the contrary, state institutions, political parties and the media have been promoting, some of them partly and casually and others wholly and by design, accommodation with terrorists, if not outright collusion with them. Is this not grist to the mills of hate the neo-Nazis are running across the globe?
Breivik has made a distinction between Pakistani immigrants who have integrated themselves with their host communities and those who haven’t. There is a need to look at the conduct of the latter. There have been occasions when Pakistanis have shocked the Norwegian authorities and citizens by killing a woman for ‘honour’, by abducting and forcibly marrying their daughters against their will, and by cheating Norwegian and Pakistani girls. The Norwegians, or any other host society for that matter, will have cause to consider such crimes as an abuse of hospitality and brand the whole Pakistani community as a pack of criminals and swindlers.
There is also need to take a look at the doings of Pakistani visitors to Norway who claim to be on religious missions. We have seen the havoc done in England by the so-called religious preachers. They have divided Muslim immigrant communities, fought battles to capture mosques, exploited the credulous ones and set up extortion rackets. Are Pakistani missions in Europe charged with the task of monitoring such unsavoury activities or with taking steps to ensure that Pakistanis in European countries respect the hosts’ laws and culture instead of propagating their dreams of world conquest?
Recently, the Norwegian public was considerably incensed when one of their nationals, Ehsan Arjumandi, was picked up, allegedly by security agencies in Balochistan, and all efforts by the Norwegian government to have him recovered failed to elicit from Pakistani authorities a response the matter warranted. The publicity this case received in Norway could not have presented Pakistan and its people as friendly, or even responsible, actors. These matters not only bring a bad name to Pakistan, they frighten away investors and traders and materially affect its economic interests.
Of course, the agent of death on the small Norwegian island was not a Pakistani; nor were his weapons of Pakistani origin. But it is very difficult to say that Pakistanis have made no contribution towards making the world increasingly unsafe for the human family. Will history pronounce us innocent? Let all Pakistanis ponder and find a way to avoid being treated as international pariahs. There are quite a few lessons we may learn from the spirit of discipline and forbearance the Norwegian people have demonstrated in their hour of unmitigated tragedy.

Pakistan’s identity crisis

by Shafqat Aziz

Flawed and imaginary Arabized identity has become the biggest curse for Pakistani nation. The sickening ideologies emanated from this flawed identity are now posing grave threats to world peace and the very existence of the country itself 
“These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so depended on them. That's institutionalized.” --Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank Redemption
Pakistan is the primary and worst victim of institutionalized falsehood. How ironic is the fact that the ‘fabrication gurus’ had to concoct so-called ‘Ideology of Pakistan” long after the inception of Pakistan. The chauvinistic and undemocratic mindset, right from the beginning, had a realization the powers will have to be conceded to people if a genuine democracy takes root in newly emerged state.
To keep a tight grip on power and to keep the masses enslaved, a mind control strategy was sought through systematic and institutionalized indoctrination by the crooks at helm of the affairs, especially feudal cum politicians and civil bureaucracy. At that particular time, the military and mullah were ‘dragged into game’ as junior partners, where the later was to act us ‘paid propagandist’ to divert people from real to ‘non-issues’.
The unscrupulous feudal cum politicians had to rely on the ‘muscle power’ of military while confronting the challenge of growing dissenting voices. Thus, it provided an opportunity to military establishment to take the plunge and modify its role from a ‘junior partner’ to a ‘big boss’.
The civil and military establishments both resorted in appeasing the mullah to consolidate their illegitimate regimes. Consequently, the mullah exploited the situation to advance his own agenda. This agenda was (is) based on pan-Islamism and it was the very reason that the mullah had opposed the separation of the Sub-continent earlier. Furthermore, he deemed it a perfect opportunity to avenge his earlier defeats.
However, it was not only typical mullah who played religious cards to advance his agenda. It was a great irony of the history that Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of the nation and a man with all the secular credentials and liberal in life style resorted in religious rhetoric to popularize his movement for a separate Muslim state. The history repeated itself when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, another man in modern outlook betrayed his progressive supporter and thus, opened ‘hell gates’ of extreme religiosity, inflicted on the people by then military dictator Gen. Zia.
While refusing to learn a lesson from the separation of Bangladesh which was also a big blow to the notion that religion can be a binding force of diverse ethnic and cultural groups, the Pakistani establishment thus intensified its institutionalized efforts of carving out a flawed and concocted identity of the country as well as its people.
The establishment was desperate to paint a false identity fearing that the flourishing democracy on the other side of the border may ultimately devour their hegemonic rule. The power hungry establishment was also aware of the fact that the religious euphoria could not really cater to the needs of the all ethnic and cultural groups living in its territory.
Therefore, it was decided to instill this false identity by means of all sorts of coercion and manipulation, including enactment of discriminatory and draconian laws against the minorities and women, changing curricula with infusion of hate speeches, violence and extremely bigoted and intolerant worldview and patronizing violent extremist religious groups.
Besides, the state initiated ruthless Arabization (as newly found identity) of society on the cost of the Baloch, Sindhi, Pashtoon, Punjabi, Saraiki and other indigenous identities. The new imposed Arabized identity had some distinct features i.e. 1-detachment from South Asia and attachment with Middle East, 2-self-hatred (showing distain towards South Asian ancestry and obsessed efforts of tracing genealogy in Arabia, Central Asia or Iran) and love for foreign invaders of the past and sympathies with global jihadists of the present.
Today, this flawed and imaginary Arabized identity has become the biggest curse for Pakistani nation. The sickening ideologies emanated from this flawed identity are now posing grave threats to world peace and the very existence of the country itself. But the people of Pakistan are still not ready to determine who their real enemy is. They are totally oblivious of the history of Sub-continent prior to Arabian invasion on this soil led by Mohammad bin Qasim.
This flawed identity is one of the biggest contributors in widespread confusion in the society about the real enemy. The people of Pakistan, in general, have developed sympathies for Jihadist terrorists as they have a feeling of shared identity with them. Thus, the nation is fighting this battle half heartedly. This identity crisis has produced a population which is falling fast into hypocrisy and double standards.
The people of Pakistan want to emulate Arabs in every sphere of life but at other hand, their social ethos, family system and values all are deeply rooted in their South Asian identity and they have a strange love-hate relationship with this identity. The collective guilt of living “immoral” or un-Islamic (on South Asian ethos) lives is pushing them towards more religiosity and thus more isolation and self-hatred.
As a result of this identity crisis, deliberate disconnect with the past, twisted and biased history and being part of illusionary ‘Umma’, majority of the Pakistanis are living in a state of deep confusion and denial. Thus, they resort in supremacist religious ideologies and glorification of the invaders, just to soothe their bruised but inflated egos. This persistent state of denial, bigotry and confusion is resulting as irrational, extreme and violent behaviors.

The inability to comprehend the concepts of a nation state, modernity, equality and pluralism has made the perplexed Pakistani nation incompatible with modern world. Hence, the only areas where they are far ahead of other nations are massive corruption, extremism, violence and terrorism. The feature scenario also seems bleak as any critical thinking is immediately threatened with life. There is a serious and dire need to revive local (South Asian) identities and to return to a pluralist society which has a history of thousands of years in the Sub-continent.

Shafqat Aziz a socio-political analyst based in Islamabad. He is founding member of the online community “Liberal Pakistan”.

Is this Islam?

Tonight as we all know is the Lailatul Asra – night of the holy ascent and many mosques are decorated and the loud speakers are on the full volume. No doubt its good to listen to naat but not when one is forced to listen to them. I wonder whats wrong with these naat khwans and mullas that they do not fear ALLAH while they are reciting the Quran and praising the Prophet (Peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him), they never think that they might not be pleasing their Lord by disturbing the peace of those who are old and sick and want to have a good night sleep or small children who can not sleep soundly as their ears are echoing with the sounds coming from these loud speakers – many times small innocent children get terrified when they get waken up by these mullas the moment they go to sleep.

Be it 12 rabi-ul-awal, shab emehraj and shab e barat these mulvis do not care about the rights of their neighbors, they do not care about the sick and those who want to have some rest. I wonder what type of Islam are they preaching. Who will be impressed by this? They are making people change their houses just because of these mosques. Is this the Islam that our holy Prophet Peace be upon him taught us about? Did not he asked us to care for the neighbours and respect their rights? Did he taught us about the sick and elders? Is this the kindness to the children?

It is none but these mullas and so called religious people who have tarnished the image of Islam and mosques in the entire world. Its the high time that we muslims should join to make the authorities to act strictly against such mosques where the loud speakers are used especially in the residential areas. I request the authorities to restrict the use of loud speakers unless it very necessary.

Our collective psychosis

 

 

By Raza Rumi

Pakistan’s right wing has flourished on the crutches of a national security doctrine: A world view, which prioritises paranoia and ‘security’ of ideological and geographical frontiers. Never mind if the majority of Pakistanis have no access to water and sanitation or the public education and health systems have virtually collapsed. The events of May 2011 cast a long shadow over the merits of investing in security institutions and fuelling patriotism with conspiracies.
First, the poster-Shaikh of anti-Americanism has been ‘eliminated’ when the mighty guardians were asleep. The new round of WikiLeaks cables reveals anecdotal evidence of civil-military acquiescence to the grand designs of ‘evil’ America, including the nasty drones that kill civilians. And now, the latest attack on a well-guarded naval base and destruction of high-value military equipment has jolted us all.
During May, the militant networks ostensibly inspired by the nihilistic al Qaeda ideology have stepped up acts of terrorism across the country. Yet, the response of the Pakistani right remains locked in the folds of ‘foreign conspiracy’ and fails to review what really ails the polity. The enemy within is still far from being recognised. Even the politicians who are calling for military accountability have little to say about the jihadis waging war against Pakistanis.
It does not matter much when we find out through WikiLeaks that the brotherly countries — Saudia Arabia and United Arab Emirates — and their rich citizens finance terrorist networks. Worse, when the UAE proceeds to hire Blackwater for security, few ‘patriots’ complain. Until yesterday, Blackwater was responsible for all the terror attacks in Pakistan according to the media mujahideen. Even the former chief justice of the Lahore High Court directed the Punjab Police to investigate the role of Blackwater in perpetrating suicide attacks on the widely revered Data Darbar.
I guess Blackwater is kosher now, since a brotherly Arab country has hired its service. Our collective habit of finding bogeys and imagining enemies has turned into a deep psychosis. Many Pakistanis believe that Osama was not there in the Abbottabad compound. Urdu press and TV channels augment this world view and politicians play up the insecurity mantra. The parliamentary resolution of May 12 is another exercise in this collective search for sovereignty, glory and honour. Alas, these days glory is achieved through human development, through trade and investment and not empty rhetoric citing the glorious past of the Muslims.
It is therefore understandable that the oracles on TV sets are blaming the US-India-Israel axis for the attacks on the Mehran Naval Base by chanting the ‘who benefits’ mantra. Now, the Pakistani mind is convinced that the May events are a prelude to a forthcoming attack on our nuclear assets. We are gifted with too many assets: Dozens of militant groups, two Taliban streams and, of course, the nuclear weapons, which will have to be guarded. Never mind the people of this country. They are dispensable as long as honour is preserved. It is time to address the mythologies we have constructed and deal with ourselves before we ‘defeat’ the enemies.

The writer is consulting editor, The Friday Times. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2011.

Things More Important than Sovereignty and Honor

Zia Ahmad
7 days ago, a motley crew of a handful militants raided and occupied a highly sensitive and supposedly heavily fortified Naval air base in Karachi. The ensuing battle lasted for sixteen plus hours at the cost of ten military personnel, fourteen injuries and two surveillance planes. Bear in mind, these are the official numbers. We can’t really blame the people if they find the official toll of damages suspect and assume a higher count of casualties.
It is also said that a contingent of a hundred commandos was deployed to reclaim the naval base. Let’s run the numbers again:
15 – 20 militants
100 “elite” commandos
16 hours of combat
Don’t fault yourself if the numbers don’t add up. Unlike the Abbottabad fiasco, one can bet on incompetence on part of the khakis rather than complicity. The kind of incompetence, as it happens more often than one cares to keep up with, on so many levels that most of us (being the tax payers) have a right to demand if the bloated defense budget is being put to any use.
Now that the Pak Army and ISI have acknowledged a major intelligence failure on the Osama episode, one would have expected them khaki jawans to be on their toes. Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaida didn’t waste any time in promising a fierce backlash in the wake of Osama’s death. That ought to have set all sorts of rainbow colored alarms going around in GHQs of all sizes and shapes. Security and intelligence would have been expected to be an utmost priority. Soon after, a suicide explosion claimed 80 lives at a military training academy near Charsadda. Do we expect the ISPR to issue out another brazen proclamation that nobody was prepared for this.
Last night’s attack and the consequent marathon attempt to reclaim the naval base have done much to dent our confidence in those who are sworn to protect us. What we all ask is if the armed forces can’t protect their assets and indeed themselves, what about us bloody civilians?
It may be too much to ask for the unhealthy fixation with men in khaki amongst the children and adolescents of all ages to wear thin. Our collective amnesia or perhaps the innate tendency to avoid our own grave follies and look the other way (think of episodes as far back as ’71 or as recent as a similar TTP attack on GHQ in ’09) may risk this instance to be sidestepped by some political circus attraction. Even worse, some of the less than bright and more than emotional right wingers would start whining about the drone attacks (wikileaks be damned) and gripe on about the imagined sovereignty and fanciful honor.
Speaking of which, didn’t our dear general make a very “ba-ghairat” claim of not letting anything frivolous such as prosperity compromise our honor. Dear sir, please remember you lead the army of a third world country struggling with drinking water and energy, not the Klingon empire. He also made this claim about breaking the TTP’s back. That was a bit premature sir.
The reverence extended towards the Pak fauj doesn’t show any sign of letting up. TV channels and    certain talking heads go on about reminding how the Pak army is the one of the biggest in the world (its all about the size) and offer one kind of justification or the other. Please sirs and bajees, don’t you think with all the tall and mighty claims, the Pak army should also be expected to fight threats other than Indian in origin. And most of you already think India’s behind TTP so that argument doesn’t bode well.

As for our civil benefectors; Mr Rehman Malik and PM Gilani offer their predictable patterns of condemnation and resolves of fighting on the good fight…or something. Hats off to them for keep issuing those tired old monotonous comments one bad event after the other. And you’ll agree there have been fairly a lot of them over the last couple of years. One thing I always wanted to ask the PM was, if God forbid someone was to bomb his front yard of his residence away, what would be his response….another tired old condemnation. Then again he is authority on what is absurd and what is not.
We ask our esteemed Chief of Staff to reclaim our confidence in our own army. With a grim realization we should brace ourselves for more ugly attacks on something more important than our sovereignty and that is hope.

Meet the new apologists on Pakistan TV channels

By Zia Ahmad
We are already familiar with the rants and tirades of Taliban apologists on TV screens and Op-ed pieces. Enter the Pak Army apologizers. Since the May 2 Abbottabad incident, this lot has come to fore defending, justifying and making excuses for the khakis.
Hasb-e-Haal has been a well received TV show which has enjoyed more than two years of popularity with the masses, owing more to Sohail Ahmed’s alter ego Azizi than the trite and self righteous antics of the respective host. Sure the show’s funny and offers a searing indictment of the social ills and the frustrating corruption and ineptitude of our public institutions and politicians, though it retains a mindset that is borderline reductive and xenophobic.
Of late, since the May 2 Abbottabad incident to be specific, the host Junaid Saleem has been unusually touchy with the fingers pointing at the efficiency of our armed forces. Consider the opening clip from last night’s show where he broached the accusations hurled at khakis after the PNS Mehran attack:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REulLJ90m8I

Observe how the host coyly starts offering his opinion on the Mehran attack. A certain convention of the show is to have Azizi refer Junaid Saleem as a Danishwer (scholar) whereas Mr Saleem is expected to play the straight foil to Azizi’s jester. Being the writer of the show himself, the self serving antic may seem rather bloated but since “public” enjoys it so why should I be a spoil sport.
So Azizi cajoles the host to offer his take on the debacle. Mr Saleem prances around for a good two minutes (doing his weakest best to appear neutral) before really saying what he wants to say or what his phantom handlers want him to say demonstrating all the requisite shrieks and bouts of hysteria.

Pakistan’s State of Nature

By AA Khalid
The Hobbesian Narrative
Hobbes is perhaps the most important political philosopher Pakistanis concerned about their country should be reading. Of course it will require a ‘’Desification’’ (or ‘’Pakistanization) of the man’s central work, ‘’The Leviathan’’. The Islamic tradition too has works of political philosophy, we think of Al Farabi, who applied the utopian understanding of Plato’s Republic (the rule of the Philosopher King) to the prophetic experience of the Prophet of Islam as a pre-eminent example.
Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Bajja were more realistic if not pessimistic about politics than Farabi’s enthusiastic application of political Platonism. In fact Tufayl and Bajja seek to return to another strand of the Platonic tradition which is more pessimistic and realistic. For Plato knowledge was power and that is why the Philosopher the individual who possessed that greatest of intellect should rule and be king. However, in another tradition of Platonic theorizing, it is realised the great Philosopher is corrupted by the machinations of politics and inevitably his ideals are sacrificed at the altar of political power. Ibn Bajja’s The Governance of the Solitary is such a work, which is concerned about securing the happiness and integrity of the philosopher in the midst of corruption and strife. Or what about that great philosophical novel, ‘’Hayy ibn Yaqazan’’, where the hero of the philosopher Hayy realises that the greatest and most profound truths of philosophy and faith can never find practical application in the real world because as is the case in modern politics the politican will always manipulate simplistic and populist emotion against the beautifully constructed systems of the philosopher. Both Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Bajja conclude that the philosopher must isolate himself from the world and inevitably the great truths of the sages, philosophers, mystics and rationalists will never find true expression in the real world. To pursue the ‘’Platonic Ideal’’ is a vain pursuit.
There are other great philosophers to consider such as Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina. Likewise, we should consider the Islamic tradition as part of the Greek tradition of political philosophy.
But Hobbes’s work speaks with a profound resonance that one can find etched into Pakistan’s political history. Hobbes ‘’philosophical anthropology’’ shaped his pessimistic consideration of human nature and gave the moral substance of his liberalism. Whereas liberalism is always associated with an optimistic faith in human progress and reason, Hobbes’s liberalism is born out of the trials and tribulations of human suffering and existential pessimism.
This passage that Hobbes wrote in the Leviathan postulating about the existence of mankind in a ‘’State of Nature’’ has profound meaning for Pakistanis struggling to make sense of the anaemic civic and democratic organs of the Pakistani State:
‘’Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’’
And:
‘’ Hereby it is manifest that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man.’’
But we can take issue with Hobbes’s assertion that life is ‘’solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’’. Life in Pakistan is anything but solitary, in a country where clan, tribe and ethnicity as well as feudal and class status (not to mention the existence of the Pakistani caste system) life is a constant trial of membership and trust that one must invest with their respective social group to make any sort of living. Life therefore is poor, nasty, brutish and short but it is not solitary. In Pakistan life is communal and it is from this communality that we derive the brutality, the destruction and the conflict. It is a constant conflict between different groups of the social structure rather than individuals.
As such with the absence of the modern nation state and the rule of law these groups operate virtually in a state of war as seen in the ethnic sectarianism tearing apart Karachi. Pakistan internally is in a neo-Hobbesian state of war. Neo-Hobbesian because the communal dimension of Pakistani public life is something not touched upon by Hobbes, but it is a perfectly logical extension to make.
Absence of Ideology
The failure in Pakistan is a failure of ideology – because there never has been a free exchange of ideas in Pakistan, there never has been any ideological contestation. The major sources of party conflicts in politics are found in family feuds, feudal rivalries and ethnic division. The major conflict in Pakistani politics is between the Zardari/Bhutto clan and the Sharif brothers. There is no universal ideological narrative – everything is constructed on the basis of family name, feudal affiliation and ethnic status. In Pakistan civil war is played out in the democratic process – it is perhaps the formality of the electoral process which prevents outright intra-warfare between different social groups. The party system in Pakistan reflects the essentially tribal nature of Pakistani political culture.
As such labels such as ‘’secular’’, ‘’liberal’’, ‘’progressive’’, ‘’democratic’’ and other categories of modern political philosophy make no sense when applied to Pakistani politics. It is fruitless to talk about ‘’liberals’’ v ‘’conservatives’’ because that was never the conflict in Pakistan.
As such the reductive and simplistic schemes put forward by some commentators on the role of religion in Pakistani public life is unfounded. The great strife and crisis of the Pakistani State has never been to do with religion directly but rather the failure to establish a civic identity and a workable nation-state. It is the machinations of clan, tribe, ethnicity, feudalism and class that determine the major urban conflicts in Pakistan. Religion has been fused with the Machiavellianism of the Pakistani Army to stay in control – religion has always been used cynically in Pakistani society. But if we even imagined a Pakistan without Islam the same problems would still exist today. That is because religious extremism in Pakistan is something not organic to traditional Pakistani society – it has taken a generation of social engineering by the Pakistani Army to produce the sort of religious extremism we see today and still the religious parties in this country do not have any success in the political process. Observers such as Tariq Ali have noted that it is amazing that a theocratic Islamist revolution has not taken over Pakistan given the socio-economic crippling of the Pakistani state, the theological depravity and social engineering of the Army.
Religious radicalism in Pakistan is anarchic it simple exists not only to overthrow the State but undermine the whole structural logic of the Pakistani Hobbesian scheme. The religious radicals can never be successful in taking over Pakistan because of the culture of feudal, ethnic politics and patronage that not only acts as a buffer against religious extremism but also against liberal reforms.
From Geneva to Islamabad
Pakistan is neither a theocracy, a democracy nor any other discernable modern political organism. It is a neo-Hobbesian creature that trundles along with the social glue provided by ethnicity, provincialism, feudal patronage, Army intervention, tribal affiliation and all the associated pre-modern forms of deliberation, negotiation and conflict that defines everyday Pakistani life.
The real crux of the matter in Pakistan is not the unsustainable and in many ways imported religious radicalism from the hard shores of the House of Saud – because this form of extremism is anarchic and in many ways resembles the untenable experiments of European puritans such as Calvin.
Today we see the city of Geneva as the quintessential embodiment of European secularism and social democracy. But Geneva was once the theocratic stronghold of the Protestant Reformation under Calvin. Calvin’s new and charismatic brand of Protestant faith challenged the clerical authority of the Catholic Church but only so that he could implement his vision of clerical rule.
In Calvin’s theocracy we find the same sort of puritanical measures carried out by the modern day Taliban and Wahabbis in Saudi Arabia. A ban on the arts, culture, freedom of expression and an emphasis on strict religious observance which was forced and an insistence on keeping to laws of blasphemy. Calvinism too was based on an absolute and literal understanding of the sovereignty of God and in many ways this deviated from classical Christian understanding as does the understand of the Wahabbi theologians today which echoes the anarchistic theology of the early Kharijites.
The Kharijite understanding was shunned by the classical tradition of Islamic philosophy and law but it nevertheless has had influence on the modern theocratic Islamists such as Sayyid Qutb and Maududi. Where else did the popular slogan of, ‘’ ‘La hukm illa lillah’’come from, which was the essential creed of the Kharijites. This completely went against the teaching on human agency, human fallibility and the imperfection of human nature taught not only by the Sufi mystics, later Islamic philosophers but also by legal theorists like Abu Hanifa who always accepted that his judgements were only fallible opinions and that people could always challenge his legal rulings.
This brief comparative illustration indicates that modern Islam is undergoing a crisis of authority and many of the actions and beliefs seen today in the Muslim World go against the conclusions and scholastic method of the classical Islamic tradition.
From Utopian Ashes To Religious Secularism
Today we are seeing a total breakdown of classical Islam and we should accept that the classical Islamic tradition is all but dead. What has replaced it is a scary and shallow populist charisma espoused by the likes of Maududi and Qutb who never received rigorous classical Islamic training. In many ways the memberships of the theocratic Islamist followers surprisingly come from secular backgrounds. The vast majority of Islamist movements today are not made up of clerics but rather from Muslims with a secular background who are doctors, lawyers and middle class professionals.
But out of the failures of Protestant utopianism and I believe out of the ashes of Pakistan’s unusually violent brand of anarchic theocratic Islamism will arise a religious secularity. American theologians like Roger Williams and European religious intellectuals like John Locke realised out of experience and applying Hobbes philosophical anthropology that Church and State had to be separated to save religion from power hungry tyrants. In the end what can and what is emerging throughout the Muslim World is a distinctly religious understanding of secularism.
A religious logic of secularism arises out of the ashes of religious utopianism. The European experience and more so the American experiences document how religious traditions articulated the powerful moral intuitions associated with liberty, democracy and secularism. It was the success of the theologians and religious intellectuals of America particularly that popularised an accessible understanding of democracy, secularism and liberty.
It is a fact of life as Bertrand Russell said, ‘’ The theoretical understanding of the world, which is the aim of philosophy, is not a matter of great practical importance to animals, or to savages, or even to most civilized men.’’
The social contract theory of the Enlightenment theorists and philosophers is not the reason why most Americans have a deep moral attachment to democracy and liberty. It is because the religious traditions of American have powerfully articulated the moral values required for democratic practice, citizenship skills and given ideas of liberty and secularism a deep moral significance for many Americans. For many like de Tocqueville in his work ‘’Democracy in America’’, it is the biblical theory of Covenant rather than social contract theory which affirms democracy in the hearts and minds of many Americans.
Fundamentalism – A Product of Modernity
As Ashish Nandy has remarked modern day religious fundamentalist movements mark a total break from the scholastic and theological traditionalism of classical religious learning. Hindutva, Zionism , theocratic Islamism are all expression of identity politics couched in religious imagery by individuals who essentially come from secular backgrounds.
Theodor Herzl (the father of Zionism) and Maududi (father of Pakistani theocratic Islamism) were both journalists who came from secular backgrounds but gravitated towards being amateur theologians who mixed powerful religious imagery with clearly secular political goals. Fundamentalism as Khaled Abou El Fadl remarks is a an ‘’orphan of modernity’’.
We are passing through a period of breakdown in the history of Islam in the Pakistani region of the sub-continent. In India and other parts of the Muslim World the story is completely different. In other parts of the world such as Tunisia we have liberal theology flourishing with the likes of Rachid Al Ghannouchi who promote a form of Islamic liberalism. Egypt is more complex – because there are competing theologies such as the Salafis, Islamic liberals, Islamic constitutionalists, legalists, conservatives, pragmatists, reformers and followers of televangelists such as Amr Khaled. The conclusion is that every Muslim society is experiencing some sort of transformation but there are no grand sweeping narratives that can be imposed on each one. Pakistan is in many ways an anomaly in the Muslim World – there is only a crude form of religious anarchism, because the religious liberals and moderates have been persecuted through the instruments and proxies of the Army.
The Army’s State of Nature
The real problem in Pakistan is the role of the Army in public life. This is the elephant in the room that not many Pakistanis talk about. In the English press there are plenty of articles found on criticising the religious establishment but you will not find many criticising the Army directly.
The clerics and madrassas have marginal influence on the daily political discourse in Pakistan. The areas of concentrated political power do not reside with the clerics but within the fierce competition between different social groups. The decline and decay of Karachi is testament to this fact where ethnic sectarianism has destroyed the civic fabric of that city.
We have been looking at the wrong things. The powers of the clerics today, the rise of religious radicalism are all symptoms not causes. The causes lie in the peculiar logic of Pakistani political culture that frustrates and blocks any liberal reform, the causes lie in the failure of the political parties in Pakistan which are nepotistic and despotic, the cause lies in the failure of Pakistani democracy and with the fantastical success of the Pakistani Army that has managed to stay in power through any means necessary. The brutish and neo-Hobbesian nature of the Pakistani political and social fabric is the cause. The reason for today’s ills is because Pakistan has been in a ‘’State of Nature’’, where the sovereignty of the State has been replaced by the Machiavellian logic of Pakistani Army. The Army has played its role in staying in power magnificently by clearly understanding the social logic of the Pakistan and by manipulating the Islamist movements. But of late that tightrope of deceit that the Army tread along has unravelled but for all intents and purposes it seems the Army will consolidate its position again.
The sort of religious thinking present in Pakistan is a symptom of what has gone wrong rather than a cause. It is symptom of the post-colonial failures in Pakistan. When we speak to the older generation they remark with great astonishment the social transformations that have taken place when it comes to faith in Pakistan. The Army’s social engineering has fundamentally altered and distorted religious discourse in this country. Add to this new information from the Wikileaks cables which suggest that clerics in the Punjab have received millions of dollars of funding from the Saudis and UAE and you realise that much of the social transformations that have taken place with regards to faith have been all imported rather than the result of indigenous organic evolution.
The new Wikileaks Pakistan Papers documents the neo-Hobbesian nature of this nation in its full and unrelenting glory. Kayani calls for more drone attacks, Zardari treats the PPP as a play-thing and whoever pleases can come and buy up the allegiance of the Army for the right price of course. How else can we explain the millions of dollars pouring in from the Saudis and UAE into clerical institutions – this can only happen under the auspices of the Army.
Questioning needs to be directed at the centres of concentrated power in Pakistan – it is only recently that the clerics have become such a centre after decades of being sponsored by the Army. Pakistan is a hard country where the real dynamic forces are those of manipulation, ruthless power grabbing and cold calculated political consolidation. The Army and its Generals are ruthlessly utilitarian when it comes to how many Pakistani lives are lost – for them Pakistani lives are mere pennies in the grand calculus of profit.
Beyond the chaos there is a frightening control exerted by the Army, with General Kayani sitting as the unquestionable Pharaoh of Pakistan, who merely chuckles at the bickering of the civilian politicians and humours the democratic system. For all those calling for the Army to enter into a political settlement with civilian there is absolutely no incentive for the Army to do such a thing.

The wheat mountains of the Indian Punjab

M. S. Swaminathan

The Hindu In this file photo workers cover bags of wheat at a godown in Fatehgarh Saheb district of Punjab. Farmers in Punjab contribute nearly 40 per cent of the wheat and 26 per cent of the rice needed to sustain the public distribution system.

The arrival of large quantities of wheat in the grain markets of the Punjab-Haryana region is a heart-warming sight, while poor storage is a matter of national shame.

It was in April-May 1968, that the country witnessed the wonderful spectacle of large arrivals of wheat grain in the mandis of Punjab like Moga and Khanna. Wheat production in the country rose to nearly 17 million tonnes that year, from the previous best harvest of 12 million tonnes. Indira Gandhi released a special stamp titled “Wheat Revolution” in July 1968, to mark this new phase in our agricultural evolution. The nation rejoiced at our coming out of a “ship to mouth” existence. Later in 1968, Dr. William Gaud of the U.S. referred to the quantum jumps in production brought about by semi-dwarf varieties of wheat and rice as a “green revolution.” This term has since come to symbolise a steep rise in productivity and, thereby, of production of major crops.

Wheat production this year may reach a level of 85 million tonnes, in contrast to the seven million tonnes our farmers harvested at the time of independence in 1947. I visited several grain mandis in Moga, Khanna, Khananon and other places in the Punjab during April 23-27, 2011 and experienced, concurrently, a feeling of ecstasy and agony. It was heart-warming to see the great work done by our farm men and women under difficult circumstances when, often, they had to irrigate the fields at night due to a lack of availability of power during the day. The cause of agony was the way the grains produced by farmers with loving care were being handled. The various State marketing agencies and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) are trying their best to procure and store the mountains of grains arriving every day. The gunny bags containing the wheat procured during April-May 2010, are still occupying a considerable part of the storage space available at several mandis. The condition of the grains of earlier years presents a sad sight. The impact of moisture on the quality of paddy is even worse. Malathion sprays and fumigation with Aluminium Sulphide tablets are used to prevent grain spoilage. Safe storage involves attention to both quantity and quality. Grain safety is as important as grain saving. Due to rain and relatively milder temperature, grain arrivals were initially slow, but have now picked up. For all concerned with the procurement, dispatch and storage of wheat grains in the Punjab-Haryana-Western U.P. region, which is the heartland of the green revolution, the task on hand is stupendous.

Farmers in Punjab contribute nearly 40 per cent of the wheat and 26 per cent of the rice needed to sustain the public distribution system. The legal entitlement to food envisaged under the proposed National Food Security Act cannot be implemented without the help of the farm families of Punjab, Haryana and other grain surplus areas. Farmers are currently facing serious problems during production and post-harvest phases of farming due to inadequate investment in farm machinery and storage infrastructure. The investment made and steps taken to ensure environmentally sustainable production and safe storage and efficient distribution of grains will determine the future of both agriculture in Punjab and national food security.

On the production side, the ecological foundations essential for sustainable food production are in distress. There is an over-exploitation of the aquifer and nearly 70 per cent of irrigated area shows a negative water balance. The quality of the water is also deteriorating due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides and mineral fertilizer. Over 50,000 ha of crop land in the south-west region of Punjab are affected by water logging and salinisation. Deficiencies of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Zinc are affecting 66, 48 and 22 per cent of soils in Punjab respectively. No wonder factor productivity, i.e., return from a unit of input, is going down. Unless urgent steps are taken to convert the green revolution into an ever-green revolution leading to the enhancement of productivity in perpetuity without associated ecological harm, both agriculture in Punjab and our public distribution system will be in danger. Worried about the future fate of farming as a profession, the younger generation is unwilling to follow in the footsteps of their parents and remain on the farm. This is the greatest worry. If steps are not taken to attract and retain youth in farming, the older generation will have no option but to sell land to real estate agents, who are all the time tempting them with attractive offers. Global prices of wheat, rice and maize are almost 50 per cent higher than the minimum support price paid to our farmers. Our population is now over 1.2 billion and we can implement a sustainable and affordable food security system only with home-grown food.

A disturbing finding of Census-2011 is the deteriorating sex ratio in the Punjab-Haryana region. The female-male ratio among children has come to its lowest point since independence. Already, women are shouldering a significant portion of farm work. If the current trends of youth migrating from villages coupled with a drop in the sex ratio continue, agricultural progress will be further endangered. The prevailing preference for a male child is in part due to the fear of farm land going out of a family's control, when the girl child gets married. I hope the loss of interest in taking to farming as a profession among male youth will remove the bias in favour of male children. I foresee an increasing feminisation of agriculture in the green revolution areas. While the drop in the sex ratio should be halted, steps are also needed to intensify the design, manufacture and distribution of women friendly farm machinery.

Tasks ahead: The first task is to defend the gains already made in improving the productivity and production of wheat, rice, maize and other crops. For the purpose of providing the needed technologies, it will be advisable to set up soon a Multi-disciplinary Research and Training Centre for Sustainable Agriculture at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. This centre can be organised under the National Action Plan for the Management of Climate Change developed under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister, which includes a Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. Such a centre should initiate a Land and Water Care Movement in the Punjab in association with the farming community. The other urgent task is the promotion of appropriate changes in land use. Over 2.7 million ha are now under rice leading to the unsustainable exploitation of the ground water. Our immediate aim should be to find alternative land use for about a million ha under rice. This will be possible only if farmers can get income similar to that they are now earning from rice. Possible alternative crops will be maize and arhar (Pigeon pea). Quality Protein Maize will fetch a premium price from the poultry industry which is fast growing in the Punjab. Arhar being a legume will also enrich soil fertility as well as soil physical properties. Other high value but low water requiring crops like pulses and oilseeds can also be promoted. At the same time, there could be diversified basmati rice production in over a million ha. In addition to Pusa Basmati 1121 which occupies the largest area now, Pusa Basmati-I (1460) and Pusa Basmati 6 (1401) can be promoted. These have resistance to bacterial leaf blight. Varietal diversity will reduce genetic vulnerability to pests and diseases.

For handling the over 26 million tonnes of wheat which will be purchased during this season, a four-pronged strategy may be useful. First, distribution through railway wagons could be expanded and expedited. One wagon can handle 2,500 tonnes. Currently 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of wheat are being dispatched each day through wagons. With advanced planning, this quantity can be raised to over 1 lakh tonnes per day. They can be dispatched to different States for meeting the needs of PDS, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), School Noon Meal Programme, Annapoorna, etc. Second, the present Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and godown storage systems can be improved with a little more investment and planning. In Punjab there are 146 mandis and 1,746 Purchase Points. They could be grouped and their infrastructure improved. Third, storage in modern silos, like the one put up at Moga by Adani Agri-logistics, and another one coming up in Amritsar, should be promoted. This will help to adopt an end- to-end system from the point of view of procurement, cleaning, quality assurance, safe storage and distribution. The cost of building silos to store a million tonnes of food grains may be about Rs.600 crore, if the required land is made available by state governments. An investment of about Rs.10,000 crore would help to establish a grid of modern grain storages with a capacity for storing, in good condition, over 15 million tonnes in the Punjab-Haryana-Western U.P. region. Lastly, export options can be explored after taking steps to make food available to the hungry, as suggested by the Supreme Court. Also, we should ensure that adequate food grains will be available for implementing the proposed Food Security Act. Export should be done only if the global food prices are attractive and if the profit made is distributed as bonus to our farmers, as suggested by the National Commission on Farmers.

It is time that we organise a National grid of grain storages, starting with storage at the farm level in well designed bins and extending to rural godowns and regional ultra-modern silos. Post harvest losses can then be minimised or even eliminated and food safety ensured. Unless the prevailing mismatch between production and post-harvest technologies is ended, neither the producer nor the consumer will derive full benefit from bumper harvests.

(M.S. Swaminathan is Chairman, MSSRF, and Member of Parliament of the Rajya Sabha.)

Myth-busting the Bangladesh war of 1971

An author discusses her new book about the historical narratives of the 1971 civil war that broke up East Pakistan. Sarmila Bose

Guerilla fighters of the Mukti Bahini prepare to bayonet men who allegedly collaborated with the Pakistani army during East Pakistan's fight to become the independent state of Bangladesh [GALLO/GETTY] Last month, Al Jazeera published an article entitled Book, film greeted with fury among Bengalis. Here, Sarmila Bose, author of Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War, responds to the criticism levelled at her work. In all the excitement about the "Arab spring" it is instructive to remember the 1971 war in South Asia. Then too there was a military regime in Pakistan, easily identified as the "baddies" -  and a popular uprising in its rebellious Eastern province, where Bengali nationalists were reported to be peacefully seeking freedom, democracy and human rights. When the regime used military force to crush the rebellion in East Pakistan, India intervened like a knight to the rescue, resulting in the defeat of the bad guys, victory for the good guys and the independence of Bangladesh... Or so the story went for forty years. I grew up with it in Calcutta. It was widely repeated in the international press. Several years ago I decided to chronicle a number of incidents of the 1971 war in-depth. I observed that many Bangladeshis were aggrieved that the world seemed to have forgotten the terrible trauma of the birth of their nation. Given the scale of the suffering, that lack of memory certainly appeared to be unfair, but there did not seem to be many detailed studies of the war - without which the world could not be expected to remember, or understand, what had happened in 1971. My aim was to record as much as possible of what seemed to be a much-commented-on but poorly documented conflict - and to humanise it, so that the war could be depicted in terms of the people who were caught up in it, and not just faceless statistics. I hoped that the detailed documentation of what happened at the human level on the ground would help to shed some light on the conflict as a whole. The principal tool of my study was memories. I read all available memoirs and reminiscences, in both English and Bengali. But I also embarked on extensive fieldwork, finding and talking to people who were present at many particular incidents, whether as participants, victims or eye-witnesses. Crucially, I wanted to hear the stories from multiple sources, including people on different sides of the war, so as to get as balanced and well-rounded a reconstruction as possible. As soon as I started to do systematic research on the 1971 war, I found that there was a problem with the story which I had grown up believing: from the evidence that emanated from the memories of all sides at the ground level, significant parts of the "dominant narrative" seem not to have been true. Many "facts" had been exaggerated, fabricated, distorted or concealed. Many people in responsible positions had repeated unsupported assertions without a thought; some people seemed to know that the nationalist mythologies were false and yet had done nothing to inform the public. I had thought I would be chronicling the details of the story of 1971 with which I had been brought up, but I found instead that there was a different story to be told. Product of research My book Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War, the product of several years of fieldwork based research, has just been published (Hurst and Co. and Columbia University Press). It focuses on the bitter fratricidal war within the province of East Pakistan over a period of a little more than a year, rather than the open "hot" war between India and Pakistan towards the end. It brings together, for the first time, the memories of dozens of people from each side of the conflict who were present in East Pakistan during the war. It lets the available evidence tell the stories. It has been described as a work that "will set anew the terms of debate" about this war. Even before anyone has had the chance to read it, Dead Reckoning has been attracting comment, some of it of a nature that according to an observer would make the very reception of my book a subject of "taboo studies". "Myth-busting" works that undermine nationalist mythology, especially those that have gone unchallenged for several decades, are clearly not to be undertaken by the faint-hearted. The book has received gratifying praise from scholars and journalists who read the advance copies, but the word "courageous" cropped up with ominous frequency in many of the reviews. Some scholars praised my work in private; others told me to prepare for the flak that was bound to follow. One "myth-busting" scholar was glad my book was out at last, as I would now sweep up at the unpopularity stakes and she would get some respite after enduring several years of abuse. Scholars and investigative journalists have an important role in "busting" politically partisan narratives. And yet, far too often we all fall for the seductive appeal of a simplistic "good versus evil" story, or fail to challenge victors' histories. So far the story of valiant rebels fighting oppressive dictators in the so-called "Arab spring" has had one significant blemish - the vicious sexual attack and attempted murder of CBS foreign correspondent Lara Logan by dozens of men celebrating the downfall of Hosni Mubarak in Tahrir Square in Cairo. It initially vanished from the headlines and has still not led to the kind of questioning of the representation of such conflicts that it should have generated. "Tahrir Square" became shorthand for freedom and democracy-loving people rising up against oppressive dictators. People in other countries started to say they wanted their own "Tahrir Square". Logan has given a brave and graphic account of what happened to her at the hands of those supposedly celebrating the fall of a dictator and the coming of freedom, democracy and human rights. Her life was saved by burqa-clad Egyptian women and she was rescued by soldiers. Her account endows "Tahrir Square" with an entirely different meaning. It should caution us against assuming that all those opposing an oppressive regime are champions of non-violence, democracy or human rights. It should alert us to the complexities of political power struggles and civil war, and stop getting carried away by what we imagine is happening, or would like to happen, rather than what the evidence supports. Such was the impact of the 1971 war on South Asians that the year has transformed into a shorthand for its particular symbolism: 1971, or ekattor, the number 71 in Bengali, has come to stand for a simple equation of a popular nationalist uprising presumed to embody liberal democratic values battling brutal repression by a military dictatorship. But was it really as simple as that? Over time, the victorious Bangladeshi nationalist side's narrative of Pakistani villainy and Bengali victimhood became entrenched through unquestioned repetition. The losing side of Pakistani nationalists had its own myth-making, comprising vast Indian plots. Pakistan had been carved out of the British Empire in India as a homeland for South Asia's Muslims. It was a problematic idea from the start - a large proportion of Muslims chose to remain in secular and pluralistic India, for instance, and its two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, were separated by a thousand miles of a hostile India. In 1971 the idea of Islam as the basis of nationhood came apart in South Asia along with the country of Pakistan, after a mere 23 years of existence. What went wrong? And what do the memories of those who were there reveal about the reality of that war? The publication of Dead Reckoning has spoiled the day for those who had been peddling their respective nationalist mythologies undisturbed for so long. Careers have been built - in politics, media, academia and development - on a particular telling of the 1971 war. All the warring parties of 1971 remain relentlessly partisan in recounting the conflict. As the dominant narrative, which has gained currency around the world, is that of the victorious Bangladeshi nationalists and their Indian allies, they stand to lose the most in any unbiased appraisal. Unsurprisingly therefore, the protests from this section are the shrillest. Mixed reaction The reaction to the publication of Dead Reckoning by those who feel threatened by it has followed a predictable path. First, there has been an attempt to damn the book before it was even available. Apart from random rants on the internet - which provides opportunity for anyone to rail against anything - reports have been written by people who haven't read the book, citing other people who also haven't read the book. The reason for this may be summed up as the well-founded fear of "knowledge is power". When people read the book they will be far better informed as to what really happened in 1971. Hence the desperate attempt by those who have been spinning their particular yarns for so long to try to smear the book before anyone gets the chance to read it. A few people also seem to be trying to laud the book before reading it, an equally meaningless exercise. These commentaries are easy to dismiss: clearly, those who haven't read the book have nothing of value to say about it. Second, detractors of the book claim that it exonerates the military from atrocities committed in East Pakistan in 1971. In reality the book details over several chapters many cases of atrocities committed by the regime's forces, so anyone who says it excuses the military's brutalities is clearly lying. The question is - why are they lying about something that will easily be found out as soon as people start reading the book? The answer to this question is more complex than it might seem. Of course the detractors hope that by making such claims they will stop people from reading the book. Part of the answer lies also in that the book corrects some of the absurd exaggerations about the army's actions with which Bangladeshi nationalists had happily embellished their stories of "villainous" Pakistanis for all these years. But an important reason for falsely claiming that the book exonerates the military is to distract attention from the fact that it also chronicles the brutalities by their own side, committed in the name of Bengali nationalism. The nature and scale of atrocities committed by the "nationalist" side had been edited out of the dominant narrative. Its discovery spoils the "villains versus innocents" spin of Bangladeshi nationalist mythology. A key question about the "controversy" over Dead Reckoning is why this book is stirring such passions when other works do not. One reason for this is that there are precious few studies of the 1971 war based on dispassionate research. This is the first book-length study that reconstructs the violence of the war at the ground-level, utilising multiple memories from all sides of the conflict. Two eminent US historians, Richard Sisson and Leo Rose, published the only research-based study of the war at the diplomatic and policy level twenty years ago. Their excellent book, War and Secession: Pakistan, India and the Creation of Bangladesh (University of California Press, 1990), challenged the dominant narrative, but their work does not seem to be known among the general public as much as within academia. However, a crucial reason for the special impact of Dead Reckoning has to do with who the author is. I am a Bengali, from a nationalist family in India. As Indians and Bengalis our sympathies had been firmly with the liberation struggle in Bangladesh in 1971. The dominant narrative of the 1971 war is the story as told by "my side", as it were. My reporting of what I actually found through my research, rather than unquestioningly repeating the partisan narrative or continuing the conspiracy of silence over uncomfortable truths, is thus taken as a "betrayal" by those who have profited for so long from mythologising the history of 1971. It is important to note that not all South Asians subscribe to the myth-making. One eminent Indian journalist thought that my "courage, disregard for orthodoxy and meticulous research" in writing Dead Reckoning made me "the enfant terrible of Indian historians". A senior Bangladeshi scholar has found it "fitting that someone with Sarmila's links with Bengali nationalism should demonstrate that political values cannot be furthered by distorting history." South Asians are prone to conjuring up all manner of conspiracy theories when faced with unpleasant realities, but those looking for one for Dead Reckoning are at a loss, as the only explanation for what it contains is that it reconstructs what really happened on the basis of available evidence. The process of dismantling entrenched nationalist mythologies can be painful for those who have much vested in them, but the passions stirred by the publication of Dead Reckoning has sparked the debate that the 1971 war badly needed - and set on the right course the discussion of this bitter and brutal fratricidal war that split the only homeland created for Muslims in the modern world. Sarmila Bose is Senior Research Fellow in the Politics of South Asia at the University of Oxford. She was a journalist in India for many years. She earned her degrees at Bryn Mawr College (History) and Harvard University (MPA and PhD in Political Economy and Government.) Dead Reckoning: Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War is published by C. Hurst and Co. and Columbia University Press. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.