- 22 Mar 2012
Nearly 1,000 Pakistan women 'killed for honour' - 18 Mar 2012
Nuclear Assets: ‘The world recognises our control’ - 25 Mar 2012
‘Insider threat’: India worried over Pakistan nuclear arms security - 01 Apr 2012
'Father' of Pakistan's atom bomb turns 76 - 18 Apr 2012
Imran to AQ – more fuel for PTI’s ideological fire?
- RSS
- Today's Paper
- Subscribe
- beta 2.1
Alerts
Let us become — proudly — bayghairat
A curse upon honour! It brings to a nation nought but militarisation, conquest, conflict, and the pain of war.
The writer teaches physics and political science at LUMS. He holds a doctorate in physics from MIT
Pakistan’s current and aspiring political leaders can rarely give a public speech these days without invoking ghairat (honour) in some shape or form. Rather than present plans for reducing unemployment or providing electricity, they talk about shame and honour. The ultimate insult ‘bayghairat’ (without honour) is sometimes hurled onto an opponent. Adrenalin levels shoot even higher when they speak of America and “breaking the chains of slavery”. The more morally and intellectually bankrupt a leader, the louder he thunders about qaumi ghairat (national honour).
This time-tested formula has worked wherever a people have been dispirited and dejected. For example, Hitler’s meteoric rise to power, culminating in the most destructive war of history, came from appealing to the collective ghairat of the German nation and to the alleged cowardice and corruption of its rulers.
Hitler’s famous Munich beer hall speeches were followed up in Mein Kampf: “A nation without honour will sooner or later lose its freedom and independence… a generation of poltroons is not entitled to freedom. He who would be a slave cannot have honour.” Translated into Urdu, these lines are exactly what one hears on TV these days from men like Imran Khan and Hamid Gul.
The real implication of ghairat hit me for the first time some twenty years ago. A group of seven senior military officers, then studying operational matters at the National Defence College, had come to meet me at the physics department of Quaid-i-Azam University. Nuclear weapons were new at that time and, quite sensibly, they were keen to learn technical details from every available source. Although Pakistan did not officially acknowledge possessing such weapons then, the process of inducting them into the forces had already begun.
We had a good discussion on everything from blast radii and firestorms to electronic locks and PALS (Permissive Action Links). The officers took copious notes and appeared satisfied. As they prepared to leave I asked what circumstances, in their opinion,would warrant the use of nuclear weapons by Pakistan.
After some reflection one officer spoke up: “Professor,” he assured me, “they shall be used only defensively if at all, and only if the Pakistan Army faces defeat. We cannot allow ourselves to be dishonoured.” Around the table, heads nodded in agreement. Significantly, the calculus of destruction — that cities would be obliterated on both sides — was not what mattered. Ghairat did.
The same question put to Indian military officers would probably elicit the same answer. Historically, honour has driven armies to fight battles. Even as the officer spoke, my thoughts wandered to The Charge of the Light Brigade. During the Crimean War of 1854, wave after wave of honour-charged British soldiers rode their horses into the mouths of Russian guns which, of course, promptly mowed them down. Tennyson later immortalised the slain men in his famous poem: “All the world wonder’d. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade.”
The honour-driven Japanese samurai were even more extreme. As agents for various lords, shoguns, and the Emperor, their duties involved keeping peasants in line as well as fighting wars. Honest and dedicated, they were a model for ordinary Japanese. When a samurai lost honour, he could save his dignity only through hara-kiri (cutting open his belly).The last days of World War II turned samurais into suicide bombers who (unsuccessfully) flew planes into US aircraft carriers. Their actions ultimately brought the atom bomb to Japan.
A curse upon honour! It brings to a nation nought but militarisation, conquest, conflict, and the pain of war. On the other hand, where reason has defeated honour, the results have been spectacular. For example, in the ashes of WW II lay two thoroughly defeated and dishonoured nations: Germany and Japan. Had they remained stubbornly defiant, they would still be squatting there today. But, overcoming pride and honour, the vanquished accepted defeat and made peace with the victors. Today they are among the most advanced of nations, and major aid donors to Pakistan.
Vietnam is another amazing example. After 20 bitter years of war it won but was devastated. American B-52s had flattened its cities, while napalm and Agent Orange had devastated its villages and jungles. Yet, tossing aside honour and vengeance, Vietnam today reaches out to its former tormentors and invites their companies and investment. It is a country with a future.
Compare the bayghairat Vietnamese to Afghanistan’s ghairat-obsessed people. Proud and unconquerable, they had earlier fought off the British and the Soviets; soon the Americans will too be gone. But, post-2014, what awaits them? Only more blood and sorrow, and yet another civil war.
Anthropologists tell us that honour is a concept that originated in herding societies because a tribal man’s animals and women were protected from other tribesmen by a code of honour. But then, as tribes amalgamated and merged into the larger stream of civilisation, differing notions of honour led to strife. Traditional societies of the present era, in which honour plays a larger role, are relatively more violent than modern ones. The ease with which men kill their wives and daughters for sexual misconduct is but one example; there are scores of others.
Still, there are some in the West (see Sacred tribal values by J Gold & C Kammen, 1998), as well as here in Pakistan, who call for a return to tribal values. Perhaps one must hear them sympathetically because not all of what they say is bad. They hark back to the days when life was simple, good could easily be separated from bad, there was a spirit of community, and science had not made us into “One Dimensional Man” (in the words of the German philosopher Herbert Marcuse). They are nostalgic about what the world looked like centuries ago, all without having seen it or being aware of the downsides. Alas, they imagine false utopias.
A culture of honour is fine for the herders of goats and camels, or those who live in unpoliceable mountainous areas. But a culture of honour is disastrous for us, a nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people who want jobs, electricity, and the fruits of modernity.So, to hell with the fakery of meaningless honour! Instead, let us create a culture of law and reason, of compassion and tolerance. Let us become — proudly — bayghairat.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2012.
Reader Comments (238)
Opinion Latest Stories
It’s not over, PTI supporters
It is time to not be a sheep and become aware of the fact that we are not as powerless as we think we are.
A peaceful revolution in South Waziristan
In post-conflict situations globally, it is role of militaries to stabilise an area, start rebuilding, rehabilitation.
Beware of negotiating with the TTP
No matter how one looks at it, one can’t find the bargaining space so essential for negotiations to succeed.
Drone strike survey
Proportion of respondents who believe drone strikes are never justified rose to 63 percent in 2011.
Eradicating IEDs
Nations need to work together to resolve issues linked to militancy, including the production of IEDs
Changing tack
The parameters of initiating talks with the Taliban must be made clear to the citizens.
Tigers don’t grow in begging bowls
Destroying agriculture, preventing tax culture, high tariff walls, smuggling, we are the world’s most famous beggars.
Chairmanship of the Kashmir Committee
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose worldview is lopsided, should not create problems for our principled stand on Kashmir.
Economic priorities
Given the bitterness of the prescriptions expected from the IMF, devising our own plan would be a natural choice.
Recent Slideshows
More in Opinion
Someone tougher for the job
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or derived from.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is copyrighted © 2013 The Express Tribune News Network.
Technical feedback? [email protected]
Reading through this article was a waste of time. ….
Recommend
@ayesha_khan:
Brilliant r ur really very articulate and well informed,you must be well educated.Nice to see a proud Indian articulate her POV.
Recommend
Glad you brought up Nam.
The US fought wars in Germany, Japan, Phillipines, Vietnam, etc. In each case wherever the US went to war, they have risen from the ashes with fervent nationalistic pride and rapid growth in prosperity.
Who knows? In 20 years time, Afghanistan may emerge as a prosperous nation. And looking at its current trajectory, Pakistan may wish that the Us had invaded them instead.
Recommend
@ Sajid
@Adnan Khan
Yeah the title and the term is a big sarcastic hit on our people who have gone bayghairat in the name of ghairat.
Recommend
@Nazir Ahmed: “To most of us ‘Ghairat’ means protecting our interests without compromising on our values and principles. What is wrong with that?”
Whether something IS or IS not wrong with that depends on the values and principles.
If the values and principles are tolerance for others, kindness towards weaker sections, hard work, seeking peace unless attacked and in that case defending with full might then no-one would have a problem with ghairat.
If the values and principles are oppressing minorities, sending jihadis to neighbours to kill innocent citizens there, killing wife and daughter for marrying someone of their choice, starting wars and lying to the country about who started them – then yes protecting these values and principles is a problem and it is better to give up such ghairat.
Recommend
@Ashvinn: Thank you.
Recommend
Wow, my comments will never appear. Thanks freedom of expression!
Recommend
Wow! This is really non sense….. The writer is trying to instill fear and to accept imperialism????? Al people hv right to live how they want……how many lives does one live any way? Besides just so called material advancement nd prosperity isnt a thing really….. Sure japan etc r advanced now bt they don’t hv a single thing of the actual japenese value traditions etc to distinguish Japan from the US for instance……. They lost their native everything……..
Recommend
This kind of thinking is so sad in some strands of “enlightened liberalism”, because its nature is actually the exact opposite, “blind slavery”. The professor is basically saying that the answer to falling into a gutter because of blindness, is to open our eyes and jump into the gutter in a clever way!
When he talks about allowing “investment” by “tormentors” (US), he means the free flow of global capital on its own terms because it is powerful, which is another way of saying that you should not resist a rapist, but tell him you will allow regular rape if there are water breaks! Haven’t most leaders enjoyed this bayghairaty in Pakistan?
It is true that many of those who uphold ghairat are harmful fools, but again the professor is trying to mix fundamentalist fools with a leader like Imran Khan. The truth is that PTI offers the possibility of moving away from both conservative and liberal extremism. It seeks to move from foolish ghairat and clever bayghairaty towards clever ghairat, and even though it is not perfect, it is so much better than suicide or slavery, which are actually the same.
The problem is not honour, but blindness, and this is what the professor also suffers from. He mistakes cleverness for wisdom. I can only imagine how Socrates would laugh at such naivety. Much of the ‘dialogue’ between these liberals and conservatives is simply a bitter exchange between two forms of sentimentalism.
Let’s open our eyes, and like the dark night with stars shining light from many years ago, let’s look deeply into that wisdom of the past which is timeless, and use it through this night.
Recommend
@ayesha_khan….why is this a problem if imran khan says he will not bow down to USA???..why is this a problem if he says we pakistanis will make our own decsions??..when did he say kill innocent women??..when did he say kill minorities..??it just suprises me that u guys just come and give a definition of ghairat and imply that to every one…i am ghairat mand …i am not baighairat….but i don’t kill women..i don’t kill minorities…i want to have good peaceful country. i want to have job..whats that got to do with my ghairat..?? my ghairat is i will die defending my country..my ghairat is i will die defending my family..my ghairat is i will fight for the innocent ..my ghairat is i will stand for my beliefs…why should i be baigharat to do alll these things…whats wrong with this if i say i will fight with india if the attack us…whats wrong if i say will stand by my country if america invade us..whats wrong with this if i ask america to apoligize for crossing borders and killing pakistanis…where did any ghairatmand man said i don’t need job and peaceful society i just wanna kill people…why does america have nuclear weapons…why does britain have nuclear weapons…will they not use it when the time comes…do u guys think they are spending billions on these nukes just for show off..don’t tell me that they have better economy so they can do it..no…they have better economy now….did they have better economy in 1944…in 1914…i don’t think so…ofcousre we need jobs..we need peaceful country where everyone gets thier rights but that does not mean that i will not talk about religion, my country and my culture..
Recommend
“But a culture of honour is disastrous for us, a nuclear-armed nation of 180 million people who want jobs, electricity, and the fruits of modernity”
Yes, the nation may want these things. But the political reality is that Pakistan is an army possessing a country, not a country possessing an army. To change that you have to make the army accountable to the nation: to elected civilian officials and courts of law. Then you’ll have an army that works for Pakistan rather than a Pakistan that works for an army.
Recommend
1% people in India and Pakistan do not want 99% to have a normal life, these corrupt leeches live on war and bloodshed and use vague terms like Ghairat to prosper. They will never let people live in peace.
Recommend
@Musalman:
We would not be in this mess if our tribal belt was a safe haven for all the rotten eggs of the world. Have you ever thought of going to N waziristan for a summer holiday with your family? Never I suppose because you know how much of a chance you have of returning. Get rid of all trouble making jihadis from your backyard with whom you sympathise but cannot socialise!!!
Recommend
From what I understand, the doctor is saying that the things Pakistanis consider honorable, other civilized nations regard them as act of cowardice and below human dignity. So, what doctor is questioning here is not IF Pakistanis should have honor, dignity, and self-respect but WHAT actions should constitutes these values. According to him we have an opposite idea of honor from those nations whose technological advancement we want to emulate. Pakistan can not be an advanced country unless Pakistanis have similar values when it comes to legal rights of every human being.
Recommend
@ayesha_khan: “Islamabad should realise the change in the geo-strategic situation in the region and the world. It must roll back its anti-India policy especially with regard to Kashmir. Any other course will be futile and costly for Pakistan.” Deputy PM LK Advani “Advani Tells Pakistan to Roll Back Its Anti-India Policy,”Sabina Inderjit Times of India, May 19, 1998 (quoting Advani).
Satisfied…Thankyou for your History Lesson, but Pakistanis are better at self criticism then Indian . The amount of self delusion in even educated Indians is astonishing.
Calling a Nuke Smilin Buddha does not make it any less threatening. There is no such thing as a “Peaceful” Nuclear Bomb. Its an Oxymoron. I am surprised you take your gov Double speak seriously.
Recommend
@Ihtisham khan: “hy is this a problem if imran khan says he will not bow down to USA???”
I have not said anything about Imran. Please re-read what I have said. Most of what you ascribed to me is in your own mind not what I have penned.
Recommend
Nation withou ghairat is just a gathering of people. I think killing of women in the name of ghairat is in fact a beghairti…as we hear orto pe hath uthana mardangi ni.
Recommend
@Tch tch: “Islamabad should realise the change in the geo-strategic situation in the region and the world. It must roll back its anti-India policy especially with regard to Kashmir. Any other course will be futile and costly for Pakistan.” Deputy PM LK Advani “Advani Tells Pakistan to Roll Back Its Anti-India Policy,”Sabina Inderjit Times of India, May 19, 1998 (quoting Advani).”
Your source is a statement by Michael Krepon in 2008. Can you please provide a url from Times of India where apparently such a quote appeared in 1998 or for that matter from any Indian source?
Recommend
@Tch tch:
We like to believe our weapons are for self defence only, and not for conquering some promised land,as such we believe our weapons add to peace and stability of the region,so we name our weapons, smiling Buddha.Anyway it is better then killing innocent civilians of foreign countries in the name religion,strategic balance of power.
Recommend
Your articles always give a smile to my face.
Recommend
I had earlier commented that ‘ghairat’ to most of us means protecting our interests without compromising on our values and principales. So there is nothing wrong with that. That comment has not been printed. Recommend
@Observer,
U think italian and japenes honour is not ruined then u are in insane sir.
Recommend
After having been in Pakistan for almost 4 years all I can say and as the comments say Pakistan since 64 years and also now is a deeply divided society and country, which needs to take a grip and come to terms with reality. Else alas the current situation will prevail as the Professor points out for another 64 if not 100 years.
Recommend
@ayesha_khan:
You are right is pointing out that some criminal acts are performed in the name of ‘ghairat’ but that we all understand is wrong.
Recommend
Gherat is a feeling basically. And in my humble opinion every human being possesses it. Yes some people associate it with things which relate only to their ego and not to any right moral principle, such egoistic gherat must be given up. Basically gherat was the driving force that pushed you Mr. Hood to right the words mentioned above. When someone says or does something against your thoughts (and everybody sincerely bases his thoughts on the knowledge he possesses) you see that action as inappropriate and your GHERAT pushes you to act to reveal the aspect from which you see the reality of affairs. So, you are also a gheratmand. You see the term is relative and depends upon the circumstances. GHERAT is the ultimate necessity sometimes e.g when people in the past were oppressed their GHERAT demanded action in the direction to acquire freedom. Many heros of history were freedom fighters “GHERATMAND” not begherat and many lost their lives or they could have adapted to the might of their era. Their gherat tells us that might is not right only right is right. And there can be many examples like when 4 men come and try to rape someones wife logic will fail and most of the times GHERAT will come into action.In coclusion, we do not need to be begherat as nobody can be, we only need to see whether our knowledge is correct or incorrect. And to correct our knowledge we need tolerance and humbleness. If we are replacing one extremism with another we are doing no service to humanity.
Recommend
@Syed Ali:
excellent points. Indeed bayghairat is the one who wants to flourish on money got through unfair means. Only ghairtatmand can have courage to face challenges and take out our nation from the mess we are in. Prof Hoodbhoy has defined it differently.
Recommend
Brilliant and very timely piece! Thanks Professor Hoodbhoy.
Recommend
@ayesha_khan:
LOL you know well that Times of India Archives are available from 2010 onwards.Thankyou for demonstrating your Google skills.
But Unfortunately for you LK Advani was also quoted by The Oberver, Observer Political Bearue, (Advani asks Pakistan to roll back anti-India policy – The Observer)
Not Satisfied How about:Washington Post Key Indian Official Warns Pakistan
By Kenneth J. Cooper, May 19, 1998.
Anything Else?
Recommend
Or we could always redefine gairatmandi to be in the prosperity of our people…
Recommend
@Badoo:
You are confused yourself brother. You are mixing issue of ” PSeudo ego” or ” false ego” with honour. What we suffer in Pakistan or rest of the under developed world is pseudo ego not honor. pseudo ego derives its roots from feudal culture and compells us to stay stead fast even if we know, we are wrong. where as Honor teaches us to choose the right pathway no matter it brings shame, life, death , prision whatever. As a matter of fcat, for the last 300 years, muslims have been ruled by people who in any respect can not be labelled to be part of gairat brigade, as we call them today. Majority fo them have been aristocratic, liberal, educated and ruthless who have ruled us with imputiny. Look around and see what have they done with the Ummah as a whole.Recommend
@Nazir Ahmed: “You are right is pointing out that some criminal acts are performed in the name of ‘ghairat’ but that we all understand is wrong.”
If our definition of what is criminal is common and it looks like it is based on your statement, then definitely we agree in what we are saying
Recommend
@Sajid:
Please don’t confuse poverty and lack of education with absence of national honor and pride. Not long ago, when the west hadn’t yet raped the riches and knowledge of the East, and reaped the land and resources of the Americas, they lived like savages in caves and holes in the ground. No money for social security, child services, hospice care, HMOs or CMHCs. In that society, decomposing corpses littered the streets and plagues abounded.
.
This article’s focus is about humbling ourselves to the world. To allow them to dictate to Pakistanis, on which terms we will live and die. That might be the utopian dream of Pervez, but a citizen’s nightmare, anywhere around the world.
If you take away a man’s pride, self-esteem, you take away his raison d’etre. You might as well do him a favor and kill the body, for without a soul, what’s the use ?. That’s what Pervez is trying to do here and the Pakistani individual (forget the characterless, sellout ‘leadership’ we are blessed with), will not give it up.
.
Because that’s all they have left.
Recommend
Excellent. Voice of the people with balanced approach and sense of responsibility.
Recommend
@Ali Tanoli
U think italian and japenes honour is not ruined then u are in insane sir.
Yes I think italian and japenes honour is not ruined.
Since what is not, can not be proved, you go ahead and prove that it has been ruined.
Let me gine you some pointers,
A. Japan did not beg for international assistance.
B. Japan and Italy both take pride in being Japanese and Italian. They are not looking for mythical Arab or any other origins.
C. Both are staunch supporters of their language and culture. They are not making their language an extension of some other language.
The list goes on. Over to you.
Recommend
@author
superb a good article to start a day with. Thanks
Recommend
there is nothing like National Honor (Ghairat), it is always created by the militaries to subjugate its own people. withouth indoctrination of this ghairat, there is no justifications for armies to live a luxurious life. the ghairat of people provides basis to armymen to live a dignified life, they have no concerns how people miserably live…
Recommend
I have a very strong feeling that the author is taking “Honor” for “Ego”.
Recommend
Ghariat is relative term and possess different meanings for Leaders and Public
Recommend
@Arif:
“there is nothing like National Honor (Ghairat), it is always created by the militaries to subjugate its own people. withouth indoctrination of this ghairat, there is no justifications for armies to live a luxurious life. the ghairat of people provides basis to armymen to live a dignified life, they have no concerns how people miserably live…”
In 1972 after the country was chopped up in two, ZAB (a politician) appealed to ghairat.
We will fight for 1000 years!
and later
We will eat grass!
Please wake up. It is other than military too, who have done their best to bring the nation to the abyss. Their progeny continue to this day.
Recommend
@ayesha_khan
Take a bow.
Never enjoyed so much reading the comment section of an article.
Never before felt so much proud for being an Indian.
Recommend
Brilliant piece professor. Its time to reason and I wonder how some people still build a firewall in front of reason. No logic in the world can convince them. This really needs a psychological treatment. Alas! Our education system has not made them students, but robots.
Recommend
Powerful argument by the esteemed Professor and plenty of food for thought. Though I do believe there’s a need and room for honour in human psychology, it’s only when we are all ready to self destruct in the name of ghairat or some other man made constructs. Honour is fine in moderation: when it stops you from selling yourself, your family and your nation because of material gains or fear etc. But nations always seem to get into trouble whenever they overdo nationalism, religion, honour; or fight wars over land and certain vague isms! So let’s do things in moderation, just like a good doctor always suggests. The brilliant example given by the Professor about the Afghans is pertinent: look where fighting for honour over so many centuries has got them. They still live in the stone age; every morning thousand upon upon thousand of their men go out to protect their family or national honour, while millions of their women must stay inside four walls so that they don’t dishonour the family name. That’s taking things way too far, and only brings grief and tragedy in the long term. There are hundreds of other human values to defend and to treasure. We are usually ready to die just for a few of them. The rest never get the respect they deserve. Two sayings come to mind. “Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will lose all that heavenly glory….” and also, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” You don’t put your friends and family six feet under because of a slight dishonour – far better to save their soul and let them lead productive lives, thus enhancing the future of the society, rather than belittling it.
Recommend
@Texas Snuff,:
“For jains, Khoja, and patel Ghairath is no mean when making money. i have seen that here in texas.”
And you thrive being parochial. Shame on you.
Recommend
…as compared to what? aren’t we already there.
Recommend
Great thought-provoking article.
Recommend
Well…! Honour is everything in lives of naions.Americans had been doing this bayghairti
since last 12 years by killing muslims in Iraq.Afghanistan and in Pakistan using dron
es.Honour is the source of dignity for great nations.and we the muslims always live with honour,dignity and pride.
Recommend
a poor person has nothing with him except faith in Allah and ghairat.so plz respect it.Recommend
I dont agree. There has always been need of honor to prevent man from falling to the level of animals. What separates us from a monkey, if we only live for the propagation of our species, and have no code of conduct to live by. Honor is something that is unique to humans, some may call it a frame of mind, I call it a God given gift.
In the case of the army personnel mentioned, I would just like to say that if you are to go out, take as many of your enemies with you as you can.
Recommend
Hats off to PH! Loved his article. One of the very few in Pakistan, who talks sense otherwise just emotional decisions which has destroyed Pakistan.
Recommend
@observer
Ok sir u are right i lost.
Recommend
@Anon
Honor is something that is unique to humans, some may call it a frame of mind, I call it a God given gift.
Can you cite some reference from any Book of God? Aren’t humans supposed to be the only recipients of the gift of ‘Reason’. And weren’t we told to acquire ‘ilm’ even by going to China?
I would just like to say that if you are to go out, take as many of your enemies with you as you can.
Isn’t that what the suicide bombers in Pakistan doing? Are you going to follow your advice anytime soon?
Recommend
I think blind enlightened moderation has led to destruction of moral, social, religious and ethical values in socities infected by so called modern, western, open mindedness, moderates, etc. Honour must be protected within parameters as is defined in our culture, society and religion above all. Blind following of west or for comment’s sake moderates of today will lead to total destruction of our system.
Recommend
@fahad….what spirituality are you talking about? Does a person get spiritual satisfaction by burying alive five women (whatever their fault) in the name of ghairat. I don’t think there can be a bigger criminal in the eyes of God.
Recommend
this the most stupid article by any sensible and educated person,i mean we can debate so many bad things in our society but the way he has tried is wat i think rubbish to mixup differnt sort of things and he should just concentrate on his field work that is physics
Recommend
Morals or Ghairat keep us in check. A world full of secular people, with no bounds of honor or morals would misuse their authority to achieve their objectives.
Some form of Honor is necessary for the greater good.
Recommend
…………..true to his reputation, and degree dr hoodbhye has again come up with a brilliant article! instead of the methods we use against west in the name of protecting our honour, let us use the modern currency of exchange (and fight) while fighting against the west – only if we believe that we are not capable of coexistence with them, and war is inevitable! for this instead of suicide bombing, let us write book against (their) book, logic against their logic and reason against their reason! even otherwise, if we believe that our conflict with them could only be resolved through war, then let us first master modern technonlogy and knowledge, before picking war with them in order to avoid a humiliating defeat!
Recommend
@osman narejo:
“…………..before picking war with them in order to avoid a humiliating defeat!”
Come on. What’s wrong with humiliation? We have plenty of experience in that.
Recommend
Pakistan itself was made in the name of the honor and survival of Muslims of this land. Hindu extremists were oppressing Muslims all over India, by kidnapping them, burning them, stoning them, butchering them. The point of mentioning this is that without ghairat and honor, you are nothing but a worthless slave who is selling himself to multi-national companies. Who doesn’t care about bribery or corruption as long as his masters are happy and are paying him some paper.
Yes, prosperity, economy and industry is obviously vital for the state, but don’t expect these politicians to talk about that. They are here to only corrupt the nation. Do you actually think, that these people who sell themselves to the US for some cash, can teach the lesson of dignity and ghairat to us?
A true Muslim would rather herd sheep with dignity, than work for a trillionare bank without selfrespect and without morals. So if you want to teach Pakistan something, teach it to live with morals and prosperity together insha’Allah. Rather than teaching the nation to just give up on honor and dignity. We don’t want to be slaves.Recommend
After reading your article, and the comments from readers, I would say your article was nothing but a piece of crap. I found a better word for it in Urdu which is Bakwas! We are Muslims and we have had better intelligentsia than pseudo-scholars . That we are not following their wisdom is another thing. “It is far better to live like a lion for a day then to live like a jackal for hundred years.” Ever heard this? Recommend
Generalizing Honor is not possible! We have misused word Ghairat but the logic given by the writer is not correct. Facts and history have been distorted to prove that Baigairitee is successful and is required
Recommend
@Ajmal:
. “It is far better to live like a lion for a day then to live like a jackal for hundred years.” Ever heard this?
I agree with you. Millions of these lions have been living, for several decades, in cages everywhere in Brother Arab countries.
Recommend
Well saud Vanjara
Recommend
It will be interesting to note that most comments which hail the idea that there is no concept of Beghairat are from our neighbouring country…the MFN!
Please note Mr. Hoodbhoy needs to re-evaluate the meaning of Honor in its real sense and not get confused with this concept! things have to be expalined not only in anthropological sense but at a more deeper level………….Please note Mr. Hoodbhoy there is a difference between “honor” and “Ego”…..probably you are mixing up the two ……….there is the ‘Inflated False ego” and then there is the “Ego” and then there is the “Honor” ……………people kill their relatives or dont take up initiatives for their countries not because of “Honor” issues but because their “False Inflated Egos’ are not served well!
Honor is a matter of pride for the achievements or as a result of the richness of character and culture of a country………………
Recommend
Whereas ther is no denying the fact that what we actually need is education, tolerance and plural forward looking modern society, but how on earth Ghairat or Beghairaty has any thing to do about it? If respectable and very honourable professor can kindly explain this. It would be much better if he can list down policies and things that we must give up and suggest those that we should adopt. For example ( just trying to read into his mind ) let us give up Kashmir, nuclear weapons, armed forces, Islamic orientation etc etc and embrace Indian regional dominance, American guidance and Western values. He may please list other things also that bug his high intellect that I always respect a lot. But he must give us a guarantee that with the same stock in country and around the world we shall be allowed to rise economically peacefully and the lot of our people will improve. I pray and wish that can happen. I wish Prof Hoodbhoy a long healthy life to enable him to study and research more and more in history and sociology ( besides physics and science) and keep guiding us the lesser intelligent and comparatively illiterate beings on how progressive societies emerge and what is the actual character of relationships among nations and countries. Naeem Lodhi
Recommend
Vietnamese were bayghairat?? How can such an esteemed intellectual offer such an incorrect and twisted interpretation of historic events? The Vietnamese fought to the bitter end but did not accept foreign hegemony. Farmers were farming in the day and fighting in the night… even women and children fought for their land. Calling them bayghiarat is the most ridiculous thing i have heard this year.
Yes, once they kicked out the foreign occupiers they were rational enough to adopt nation-building policies and engage with the west as well for their economic development. This to me is supreme exhibition of ghairat… when they had to fight for their people they fought; when they had to make peace for their people they made peace. So what you really want to argue in favor of is the attitude of “rational sincerity” in national affairs. There are no permanent friends or enemies in the modern world… only thing permanent is your nation’s interest… if the interest is served by making peace, by all means do so… but that won’t always be the case as Vietnamese have shown us.
Recommend
I think some of the comments are ridiculous particularly in relation to scourge of nuclear war/s. Nuclear war has to be avoided at all costs even at the cost of the so called honour in the face of a defeat at traditional war. Whose honor will you protect if everyone is obliterated. As between nations, talking of honor is ridiculous. Nations have to protect the material interests of their people rather than the false honor of its leaders. I believe the author is trying to pass on the concept that you do not start wars in the name of honor, particularly when you are comparatively weak in traditional warfare. You do not destroy the nation itself trying to protect a misguided honor.
Recommend
according to me, “Ghairat” is related to “self-defence” and this is built-in feeling of every human being . Every human being can tolerate some action with in a limit after that limit he/she shows its reaction without caring that he/she is alive or dead…….if you are weaker in self defence than every one will attack on you knowing that you have no self-defence..If you are weaker in self – defence then you can not protect your home, your child,…..
i think, we can’t relate Advancement of this age with “Ghairat”, these are two different streams… its not justice to relate these two things…….
In west, they have rules. In west, its not possible for some one to cross the limits of someone prrivacy..western governaments assure the self-respect of their people that’s why they are strong.
That’s all.
Recommend
Ghairat is not the problem – misplaced notions of ghairat are the real problem in our society. And that should be pointed out rather than what the writer is peddling.
Recommend
Salute to you Mr. Hoodbhoy.
Recommend
With all due respect to the author I totally disagree to this column. Beghairti is not an option,, We are not nuked up nation as he quotes japan defeat,, there is no reason for us to live in a disgrace. We have got every thing needed to protect our honor. We can learn that from our ancestors how they fought for their ghairat, tipu sultan, salahuddin. It’s better for us to learn from our own forefathers not Germany and japan. He mentioned afghanistan here, in my opinion they are the most honorable people as they are fighting to protect their freedom and sovereignty… Its all about the choice that nations make at the time… If u stay defiant for the right there is not a single reason to embrace beghairti.. At least we all should learn from Quaid and Iqbal as why they struggled for a seperate nation when we had a choice of not to go for a seperate nation,,, As a Muslim I wud prefer Death before disgrace….Recommend
How can you be baighairat and at the same time be proud? Quite an absurd thinking! Ghiarat is something more than the English word ‘honour’ can define. The Germans and Japanese rose to their heights not because they were beyghairat but because they were a ghairatmand nation. Recommend
Loved it!! Amazing article… So deep!! Never thought of this concept in this light… Thanks fr the read sir… Kudoos to you!!
Recommend
What our major problem is that majority of our “BAZURGS” are either on the extreme right side or on the extreme left side. No one is even trying to find a suitable solution.Your MULLAS will tell you to be on the extreme side , and on the other hand people like this professor sahab are making us to believe on the other extreme side(Like follow the west and their rules etc etc). Hence no one is even trying to show their next generation a middle path where one could find a way both for honor and the way we as Pakistanis want to live in a good and honorable way.
Recommend
Would like to see IK and Gul Hameed take out a protest rally against the people who blow up schools, explode bombs in busy markets killing their own and then proudly claim responsibility. I think Pakistan is not cooperating with the US since Salala incident, why are we still having bombs exploding in our cities? IK and the likes only like to throw abuses at rulers who in return provide him security. Lets see him holding a jalsa against the warlords in waziristan and hurl one abuse at them. This is called misuse of freedom and not just misuse, they make that freedom a laughing stock. IK’s very own JI didnt let him hold a rally in Punjab University. No love lost there. So, we abuse the ones who dont bite or hit back but are cosy with the ones who not only torment and kill us but also proudly announce their evil achievements.. funny nation
Recommend
it is a well written article. however, the historical references are sometimes weak. For instance, samurais turning into suicide bombers in WWII is a wrong interpretation. The samurais had started to lose power in the aftermath of the Meji restoration in 1868. Samurais and the modernised Japan of Meiji era were at two opposite ends. In fact at the dawn of the Pacific war, smaurais only existed in books.
Recommend
Dont agree simply!
Recommend
I agree that the national or societal honor phenomenon can be counterproductive. This sort of ideology is used to fuel nation states. However, in International Relations, sovereignty of nations matter. If sovereignty, that comes with economic independence, and let’s admit, military might (sadly), is synonymous with ghairat, though not sure what the politicians exactly mean, then it might even be necessary. Sadly again.
Recommend
we are having problems we will survive insha allah and get out of them by ghairat and about ghairat i believe a begharat can not be proud these people are trying to make us but we wont despite we have a few discrepencies we are a great nation we are talented we are young so we have chance
Recommend
true stated … a beyghairat feels strange between ghairatmands he feels why he is geting fired up seemingly for no reason but ghairat is a part of nature of braves…..))))
Recommend
simply superb………………
Recommend
@Wasim Irfan:
Ghairat can be defined as values of the society, the nations are and were built on their values, values govern the great nations.Those herders ignorent,illiterate and premitive humans had some values (ghairat) by which they governed therir societies. A value deprived (baighairat) is worse than those so called primitive humans.
Recommend
Mr.Hoodbhoy you are one proud ‘beghairat’.
Recommend
Mr. Hoodbhoy is quite disappointing in this article. His equating the Politicians call to “Gharait” with that of the misguided misogyny practicing idiots is totally misplaced.
Recommend
Absolutely right sir. BRAVO…..:)
Recommend
“Superb”, “Bravo”, “Brilliant”, “Great”….In our society children are working on the streets instead of education, where is “ghiarat” brigade involved in it but definitely you the “beghairat” brigade. You the “Beghairats”, seculars and liberals are the root cause of majority of the problems. If politicians would have done something for the benefit of common people then we would not need to indulge in this useless discussion of “Ghairat” and “Begiarat” Brigade.
Recommend
The notion of honour cannot exist without prejudices. Abolishing prejudice would automatically take care of the honour syndrome.
Recommend
‘beghairat / ghairat’ is a relative term and the rulers have mastered in using it to gain sympathy.
Maufi nama is spontanous reaction when other party feels that something has gone wrong,- why one has to ask for it.
Recommend
Super pathetic work, such a lame research. By Ghairat we mean values, without the values its hard to distinguish between a human and wild bore.
Your piece of work reflects slave mindedness at its peak. I have heard about you from friends and colleagues, this is the first piece of your writting that I have gone through and it was epic disappointment.
Recommend