Ideological Warfare

By House On 27th October 2011

ABOUT THIS POST

Part I of an overview of the efforts made by right-wing in Pakistan to curb voices of dissent and impose their own ethos.

You talk about God a lot and you make me feel guilty by using that word. You better watch out! That word will poison you if you use it to have power over me.

Rumi, A Man and a Woman Arguing (The essential Rumi, translated from Persian by Coleman Barks, Penguin Book; 1995; page 49)

A few days ago, Dr Shahid Masood (a former member of left-leaning NSF and a born-again Islamist) did a program on events that unfolded in a ceremony organized by SAFMA on August 13, 2011. In that ceremony, former prime minister Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif had opined that the two-nation theory is not relevant under prevailing circumstances and that relations between Pakistan and India should be improved. He was also of the view that the two countries should develop trade links for mutual benefit. The panelists invited for discussion were Marvi Sirmed, a renowned human rights activist and Zaid Hamid. Marvi Sirmed explained at the outset that she was not a member of SAFMA per se but she held similar views on the matter under discussion. Zaid Hamid (affectionately known as Zion Hamid) began by decrying the attacks on him by media persons. He made it clear that calling him a “Red-caped kitten” or “Red-caped Joker” is in fact an insult for kittens and jokers and that it should be stopped (He also wanted to say that such tactics had been approved by Elders of Zion in 1899). Zaid Hamid had recently accused SAFMA of being on the payroll of the  Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing RAW. He presented some documents to prove his allegations. (It is my sincere advice to Zaid Hamid to take some time out of watching creeping YouTube videos and conspiracy theories and instead study some basic psychology especially about paranoid schizophrenia). During the course of that Program, both participants made it clear as to what type of government system they approve of. Marvi Sirmed was in favor of a secular state while Zaid Hamid declared his support for a theocratic government citing Iran as an example. Marvi Sirmed also said that two nation theory is irrelevant in contemporary period which enraged Zaid Hamid and he leveled more accusations against Marvi Sirmed. It is the same Zaid Hamid who is not much aware of the sectarian divide in the country and believes that teaching apocryphal history to Mummy-Daddy children is a prelude to an Islamic Revolution. Two Nation theory, in my humble opinion, was drowned at the Bay of Bengal on December 16, 1971. What we need today is a One-Nation theory. The day after the program was aired, Zaid Hamid’s pets started abusing and harassing Marvi Sirmed on Social Media. The price for speaking truth in the land of pure is to get ridiculed and harassed. Faiz Ahmed Faiz spelled it out many decades ago when he said,

My salutations to thy sacred streets, O beloved nation!
Where a tradition has been invented- that none shall walk with his head held high
If at all one takes a walk, a pilgrimage
One must walk, eyes lowered, the body crouched in fear

The heart in a tumultuous wrench at the sight 
Of stones and bricks locked away and mongrels breathing free

In this tyranny that has many an excuse to perpetuate itself
Those crazy few that have nothing but thy name on their lips
Facing those power crazed that both prosecute and judge, wonder
To whom does one turn for defence, from whom does one expect justice?                                    

This ideological warfare has been going on since the time of Independence and a lot of false information has been spread via textbooks and popular culture in favour of Right-Wing politics. We shall take a look at a few chapters of history where the right-wingers have tried to alter the course of history.

1. Let me start by giving an account of Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest religious political party in Pakistan and its founder, Abu-al-Ala Maududi. According to Owen Bennet Jones, “Jamaat is a Leninist style, highly disciplined party. All Party decisions are subject to internal consultation. It is the only Pakistani party to have computerized membership lists, a daily newspaper and its own academic journal.” (Jones, Pakistan: Eye of Storm, Yale University Press; 2002; Chapter 1; Page 7). According to the book, “The Convert”, “It (Jamaat) was actually formed in August 1941 as a reaction to the Jinnah-led Muslim League’s call for a division of the subcontinent along religious lines. Once the Jamaat lost the fight against Partition and became focused on the struggle over Pakistan’s Constitution, Maududi’s party began to act more like a shadow government”. (Baker, The Convert, Graywolf Press; 2011; Page 28). Regarding Maududi’s views about Partition, he wrote an article in Nawai-Waqt newspaper, on 1^st May 1946, “A solution for the current Crisis gripping India” in which he advocated formation of a federation of nations living in India(International Federation were his exact words). Interestingly attached was a note from the editorial board stating that they strongly disagree with Mr Maududi’s “solution”. (Pakistan Kesay Bana, Zahid Choudary and Hasan Jaafer Zaidi; Nigarishat Publishers; Volume 2; Pages 624-638) . Another achievement of Mr Maududi was translating Secular as Atheistic (La-deen). He did so in his book Musalman aur Jadeed Siasi Kashmakash, Hissa Awwal (Muslims and the modern political struggle, part 1), published in 1937, in which he wrote a chapter named “Qaumi Jamhoori La-deeni state” (National Democratic Secular State). In part 3 of that book, he wrote, “It is worth mentioning that not a single political leader from Muslim League or any resolution from the party have ever clarified that their ultimate goal is to create Islamic type of Government in Pakistan. Rather what they have said and repeated is that they want to establish a democracy with equal rights for the minorities” (Maududi, Musalman aur Jadeed Siasi Kashmakash; Published in 1941; Volume 3; page 130)

2. There is no mention of establishment of either an Islamic System of Governance or an Islamic Government in the Lahore Resolution.

3. Hasan Jaafar Zaidi and Zahid Chohdary in Volume 2 of their book, Pakistan Kesay Bana, suggest that the claim “Pakistan will be a laboratory for Islamic system” is not true. They argue that had it been the case, the first Law Minister of Pakistan appointed by Mr Mohammad Ali Jinnah would not have been a Hindu (Jogindhar Nath Manal). They also argue that of all the legislative assembly sessions that Mr Jinnah presided over, none except one was started with Tilawat from Quran. Mr Jinnah also changed the oath for Governor General and the words that he omitted included “God may help me”.  

4. The same Jogindhar Nath Mandal tendered his resignation to Liaqat Ali Khan on 8th October 1950. In that resignation letter, he wrote, “The future of Hindus in East Bengal as a result of the Delhi Agreement, I should say under the present conditions is not only unsatisfactory but absolutely hopeless and that the future is completely dark and dismal. Confidence of Hindus in East Bengal has not been restored in the least. The Agreement is treated as a mere scrap of paper alike by the East Bengal Government and the Muslim League. That a pretty large number of Hindu migrants, mostly Scheduled Caste cultivators are returning to East Bengal is no indication that confidence has been restored.” He also wrote, “ the Ansars against whom I received complaints all over are a standing menace to the safety and security of Hindus. Inference in matters of education and methods adopted by the Education Authority for Islamisation frightened the teaching staff of Secondary Schools and Colleges out of their old familiar moorings. They have left East Bengal. As a result, most of the educational institutions have been closed. I have received information that some time ago the Educational Authority issued a circular in Secondary Schools enjoining compulsory participation of teachers and students of all communities in recitation from the Holy Koran before the school work commenced. Another circular requires Headmasters of schools to name the different blocks of the premises after 12 distinguished Muslims, such as, Jinnah, Iqbal, Liaquat Ali, Nazimuddin, etc.” and “let me now refer to West Pakistan, especially Sind. The West Punjab had after partition, about a lakh of Scheduled Castes people. It may be noted that a large number of them were converted to Islam. Only 4 out of a dozen Scheduled Caste girls abducted by Muslims have yet been recovered in spite of repeated petitions to the authority. Names of those girls with names of their abductors were supplied to the government. The last reply recently given by the Officer-in-Charge of recovery of abducted girls said that "his function was to recover Hindu girls, and 'Achhuts' (Scheduled Castes) were not Hindus". The condition of the small number of Hindus that are still living in Sind and Karachi, the capital of Pakistan, is simply deplorable. I have got a list of 363 Hindu temples and gurdwaras of Karachi and Sind (which is by no means an exhaustive list) that are still in possession of Muslims. Some of the temples have been converted into cobbler's shops, slaughter houses and hotels. None were restored to the Hindus. Possession of their landed properties were taken away from them without any notice and distributed amongst refugees and local Muslims. I personally know that 200 to 300 Hindus were declared non-evacuees by the Custodian a pretty long time ago. But up till now properties have not been restored to any one of them.”

(To be Continued)

Ideological Warfare (II)

By House On 19th November 2011

ABOUT THIS POST

Part II of an overview of the efforts made by right-wing in Pakistan to curb voices of dissent and impose their own ethos.

This is part II of the efforts to trace back the ideological hijacking done by the right-wing in Pakistan.

(Continued)

4. The 1948 Kashmir war was started in the name of Jihad to lure the tribal militants into it and later on the cruelties of those militias were erased from the books of History.

5. According to Hamid Jalal there was an attempt to censor Jinnah's August 11, speech by Khwaja Shahab Uddin and some other Muslim League workers, however, Altaf Husain (Editor, DAWN) published the full text. (Hamid Jalal, When they tried to censor Quaid, The Viewpoint; Lahore; January 22, 1981). Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto said, “Information Minister Sher Ali ordered that the speech should be burnt or expunged from the records. (In reply to Supreme Court of Pakistan). 

6. In 1949, exactly 6 months after Quaid-e-Azam’s death, Liaquat Ali Khan and Molana Shabbir Usmani formulated the Objectives Resolution while based in Murree. It was presented in the Constitutional Assembly session that was originally convened to discuss the budget. Molana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani belonged to Deccan (like Maududi) and was famous for giving decrees about matters of Inheritance to the Feudal of Hyderabad. He was against the presence of Non-Muslims in the Constitutional Assembly. On September 1, 1947, he gave a statement in the National Press in which he replied point-by-point to the August 11 speech by Jinnah. He said, “I want to state that whatever adversity may fall upon us, Muslims will remain Muslim and Hindus will remain Hindus.” He formed an organization ‘Sarfaroshan-e-Islam’ along with Molana Zafar Ali Khan right after Independence, the objective of which was to conquer Delhi and hoist their Flag at the Red Fort (Co-Incidentally, Zaid Hamid has uttered the same desire, 63 years after that). Due to this adventure, the government of Punjab put a stop to publishing Molana Zafar’s newspaper “Zamin-dar” for 2 weeks. Moreover, Moulana Shabir Usmani in his book "Mukalamatus-Sadrain” revealed that the Tableeghi Jamaat was launched with the financial assistance of the British. (This trend of Conspiracy Theories can also be found in the narratives of Zaid Hamid).

7. Sris Chandra Chattopadhya in opposition to Objectives Resolution, in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949 said, "Whereas sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone, and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust.” This part of the Resolution, I think, ought to be deleted. All powers, in my opinion, rest with the people and they exercise their power through the agency of the State. State is merely their spokesman. The State will exercise authority within the limits prescribed by Him (God). What are those limits, who will interpret them? Dr Qureshi or my respected Maulana Shabbir Usmani? In case of difference, who will interpret? Surely they are not the people. One day a Louis XIV may come and say “I am the State, anointed by the Almighty" thus paving the way for advent Divine Right of Kings afresh. Instead of State being the voice of the people, it has been made an adjunct of religion. To me voice of people is the voice of God, "Jatra jiba tatra shiva." The people are the manifestation of God.

8. In 1953, Maududi wrote a booklet named the Qadiani Problem which sparked countrywide protests. Marshal Law was declared in Lahore. The protests were spearheaded by Jamaat-e-Islami workers and Majlis-e-Ahrar workers. To investigate the matters, a judicial inquiry report was compiled which became known as Munir Report. This report was both analytical and prophetic. It said, “The result of this part of inquiry, however has been anything but satisfactory, and if considerable confusion exists in the minds of our Ulema on such a simple matter, one can easily imagine what the differences on more complicated matters will be…. Keeping in view the several different definitions given by the Ulema, need we make any comment except that no two learned divines are agreed on this fundamental. If we attempt our own definition as each learned divine has done and that definition differs from that given by all others, we unanimously go out of the fold of Islam. And if we adopt the definition given by any one of the Ulema, we remain Muslims according to the view of that alim, but kafirs according to the definitions of everyone else.” (Page 215, 218) “If the constituents of each of the definitions given by the Ulema are given effect to and subjected to the rule of combination and permutation and the form of charge in the inquisition’s sentence on Galileo is adopted mutatis mutandis as a model, the grounds on which a person maybe indicted for apostasy will be too numerous to count.” (Page 219)  Khalifa Abdul Hakim in his book, ‘Iqbal and Mullah’ mentioned with reference to a religious leader, “We have taken care of one sect right now; we will take care of the others afterwards.”

9. In his monograph From Jinnah to Zia, Justice Munir writes:

“The Quaid-i-Azam never used the words ‘Ideology of Pakistan’ … For fifteen years after the establishment of Pakistan, the Ideology of Pakistan was not known to anybody until in 1962 a solitary member of the Jamaat-I-Islami used the words for the first time when the Political Parties Bill was being discussed. On this, Chaudhry Fazal Elahi, [who later became Pakistan’s president during ZA Bhutto’s regime], rose from his seat and objected that the ‘Ideology of Pakistan’ shall have to be defined. The member who had proposed the original amendment replied that the ‘Ideology of Pakistan was Islam’.”

10. In 1963, Maududi wrote a book named “Parda” in which he squared the blame for the decline of Islamic Civilization on Liberation of Women and opined that women should be disenfranchised.

11. In 1964 Presidential Elections, pro-Ayub clerics declared that Fatima Jinnah is not eligible to run for the office of President. Some interesting names in the campaign for Ayub Khan included a certain Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a Zahoor Elahi Chaudhry. 

12. The February 1974 issue of The Economist stated that “The Saudi ruler Shah Faisal has advised Government of Pakistan to declare the Ahmedis as non-muslims”.

13. In 1974, State of Pakistan took it upon itself the responsibility to define the religion of its inhabitants and outlawed a sect from calling themselves Muslims’. Ironically, Ahmedis are “Muslims” (legally) in more than 190 countries in the world but not Pakistan. This foray into religious domain by politicians set a dangerous precedent.

 PAKISTANI ATHEISTS AND AGNOSTICS.
 www.e-paa.org