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The ordinariness of Hafiz Saeed
The truth is that Hafiz Saeed is a very ordinary man, who has come to believe that he has the right to play god.
The writer is a consultant and a freelance writer based in New Delhi, where she writes for Business Standard and blogs for The Times of India
It’s been a busy fortnight for me on the Pakistan airwaves, with the Pakistani television and radio asking for comments on everything ranging from Hafiz Saeed to India’s electricity blackout this week, which is said to have been the largest in the world. I guess there is no other country, except China, where so many people were plunged into the heart of darkness at once.
It was almost strange to have been sitting in the same e-space as Hafiz Saeed, the Lashkar-e-Taiba founder, who India believes is the root of most India-focussed terrorism and certainly the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, as well as the man on whom the US has put a $10 million bounty.
I couldn’t see him — I was on a phone line — when Dunya TV called in to ask if I wanted to ask him some questions? He was in the studio already.
It was almost a disappointment to hear him. No, he knew nothing of Abu Jundal, had never met the man, in fact. He was equally shocked when the Mumbai attacks had taken place and pointed out that it was a crime in Islam to kill innocent men and women. In any case, why did the Indian authorities deny the visiting Pakistani judicial team the chance to question Ajmal Kasab? Everything was Indian propaganda. As for the question, on why 10 Pakistani citizens left Karachi to attack Mumbai in November 2008, well, there was really no answer at all.
The truth is that Hafiz Saeed is a very ordinary man, who has come to believe that he has the right to play god. There are several versions as to how he became this way, depending on which country’s point of view you want to consider. The point here is that he disregards the Pakistani judiciary, the polity and the state, although on the last, I believe the state is biding its time.
He’s probably an avid watcher of Hindi films, because at a press conference in Islamabad on April 4, reacting to the $10 million bounty, he said, “Dil chahta hai ki main Amereekanon se keh doon …” (I wish I could tell the Americans…)
I’m sure Hafiz Saeed would have applauded the electricity blackout in India this week, just as Kamran Khan, the well-known TV anchor, almost did. I tried to tell Khan that he was factually incorrect in describing the blackout as a nearly 48-hour ordeal, that, in fact, it had lasted about 12 hours one day and eight hours the next, but he wasn’t listening. This was a great news story, which it was. Every self-respecting newspaper in India and the world was covering it with the despair that it deserved. India’s Economic Times headlined it the next morning as, “India, the superpower. RIP”.
On the phone line with Khan, I could sense the restrained glee, as I frankly described the big blow to India’s economy, to its prestige, to its self-worth. Surely, this was a lesson to India’s political masters to revamp the rules, punish greedy states from overdrawing on the grids and generally introduce much-needed power reforms. But I was taking too long and had already been cut off …
Only 24 hours later came a call from Radio Pakistan and its gentle interviewer asking the same questions: what, why and who was responsible for the blackout? Except he began the interview by commiserating on India’s suffering. And then the sweetest question of all: in Pakistan, people want to know, do the lights regularly go out in smaller cities beyond New Delhi and Mumbai, in places like Jaipur and Patna and Allahabad and Lucknow?
You could hear the pain in his voice. This man, too, had the right to just one vote, just like Hafiz Saeed and Kamran Khan, and the courage to believe in himself.
It is time to applaud the diversity and democracy in India’s western neighbourhood. Thank god, that recognition is the real reason behind New Delhi opening the doors to Pakistani investment.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2012.
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Reader Comments (34)
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Confusing article by the author. For Pakistani people, we can live with 8 hours of outage one day, to see you guys 18 hours without power for one year.
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what a pathetic article express tribune has allowed on its web portal. The write-up is dipped in subtle ‘pakistan loathing’ and indian ‘national interest’ discourse. Silly questions author says she was asked. Ofcourse power cuts is a routine. one fourth of india doesnt have power connections.
52 per cent of indias poor live under dollar 2 a day and over 600 million defecate openly.
I dont understand if Hafiz Sayed was so dangerous for them..why did india agree to demands of 1999 plane hijackers. Just coz relatives of RAW CHIEF AND Prime ministers office were aboard.Recommend
Confused article. I don’t know what the end point was.
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No means for any disrespect but reading your article araised alot of questions in my mind, I was hoping that they would be clearified if I keep on reading but i ended up empty handed.
Please be clear about what you want to say
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@zahid khan:
Then u provided shelter to Maulana massod azhar and the other two who were released………
yes india is poor……..but we are trying to develop………don’t hide behind figures……..its $2 per person in a family of 4-5 is about $(8-10)….Rs 400-500 per family which is liviable……l m glad u people are so rich earning thousands of $ daily very good………god bless u and u r rich countyman….
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There will always be that rare breed of Indians and Pakistanis who rise above the petty demands of their nationhood and nationality and author such a piece. Those who can’t recognize the humanitarian voice in this article need to read and reread till they get it. Thankyou Jyoti for expressing your confidence in our polity, despite our lacklustre Hafiz Saeeds. Thankyou for being the lone Indian humanist who will encourage us, even as challenges mount on your side, and ours take us down.
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Madam,
if Hafiz Saeed is ordinary, then we’ll need to search a new word for rest of us! He is an internationally known terrorist mastermind, founder of UN banned LeT.
Besides, there is nothing new about India allowing investment from Pakistan. Indian Mujahideen has been getting FDI from Pakistan for 20 years!!
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I think article is deleted to some part.
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The author is very straight forward in her article. 1. That TV anchors knowledge is shallow. 2. Informed Pakistanis do not know India.
I agree. ET has done a good job in publishing at various places the views and comments of Pakistanis who have visited India. Please compare their views and those of who have not visited India.
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@Author : if your idea was to be sarcastic, then you done almost a good job. But nevertheless pretty confusing article.
About India’s power cut, I wonder what about it makes Pakistan happy ? It will be utter childish, which even my 2 year old doesn’t divulge into.
Train accidents in India : Pakistan is happy
Power cuts in India : Pakistan is happy
Flood in India : Pakistan is happy
Sikhs killed in USA : Pakistan is happy
Mumbai attack : Pakistan is happy
Do you see the pattern ? Is this behavior of any civilized people. Oops, sorry to hurt your sentiments. Being human towards non muslims is blasphemy in Pakistan.
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@Vikas:
No confusion….below is the data about Indian Power Scenario:
25% people have no access to electricity
Out of remaining 75%, 90% has access for less than 12 hours and that to in instalments
Remaining 10% of the 75% has regular supply…but Pakistan is also having such pockets.
Please dont ignore the truth under false nationalism.
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Good job Jyoti, keep writing. By the way, can someone please Kamran Khan that this is the 21st century, there is no need to shout on the top of his voice as if though he was still living in the sixties and dialing a ‘trunk call’.
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Jyoti Malhotra , kindly continue to write and contribute to ET and other pakistani media. We know very well Kamran Khan and the rest. Guess people missed the point of Hafiz Saeed being ordinary, it was in terms of thought process and education , we know he is just a run of the mill mohni road/gowal mandi type picked up by the you know who and trained to lead an outfit
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This is a very balanced and empathetic piece of writing. Our friends in Pakistan should learn to see beyond the Given Wisdom. People like Hafiz Saeed are a disgrace for humanity. Kindly try to identify why the author is appreciative of The Radio Pakistan. Pakistan and India are neighbors, two sovereign states and the advantage of one redoubts to the other. There is no point is trying pot-shots at each other. Wajahat Masood
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Hafiz Saeed may be an ordinary man for India but not for Pakistan. Keep your Indian views upto New Delhi Only.
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Great piece, madam !
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Well written. Jyoti Malhotra, you are very right to show us that our
mindset is deceptive and self destructive.
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Really good article. i guess most of my fellow pakistanis cannot see subtle ironies….
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Hafiz Saeed is ordinary as is any coward. The entire “Strategic Asset” idea is simply a pyramid scheme of cowardice that turns an endless supply of armed, uneducated, brainwashed village bumpkins into cannon fodder. The myth of a single righteous Mussalmaan taking on a dozen starving pagans having been shattered a long time ago. So now they serve complete imbeciles to the altar of their ambition and rejoice at even minor mishaps afflicting the enemy. Very ordinary indeed.
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Yeah Ms Malhotra mass murderers don’t have horns and hooves. Or did you expect to see a halo around his head?
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@Wajashat Masood:
Pakistanis will realize only when he will do an action thriller in Pakistan. Pakistanis did not know what real talibans were as long as they were killing Afghanis in Afghanistan. After talibans did their job in Pakistan every one knows what talibans do. Now Pakistan has good and bad talibans.
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@antanu g:
This data is true for a rural area in bihar where atleast for 10 hours electricity is available per day.But i agree with you,you r on verge of becoming next super power while our whole population is poverty striken……. we always depend on pakistan for running our power grid,railways,to assist flood victims,outsourcing for it industries,film industries,building dam and many more infrastructure projects.My Boss ,without your aid “hamara chulha tak nahi jal sakta”.
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Sorry, typo.It’s ‘hollow’ not ‘hallow’
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I don’t know if this article is subtle or sarcastic, silly or sagacious; all I see is an Indian being jealous of a Pakistani achiever who is almost without equal in charity, wisdom, ethics, courage, entrepreneurship, and above all, in the depth of his humanity. A natural hero to many young and old, rich and poor alike. For Indians never failing to undermine Pakistani achievements, to recognize the existence of such greatness in Pakistan would, of course, be akin to an ostrich recognizing the greatness of the sun.
Indians, none of your untruths can shake our belief in Sir Professor Dr Hafiz Saeed.
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Good article. The fact is that Pakistan has a lot to learn from India, starting with keeping the boots in the barracks and giving equal rights to all its citizens, although the society sometimes show different signs. I have forgotten something? Of course democracy. For Pakistan there is no alternative to friendship with India. Pakistan needs stability and India as an enemy is nothing but a nightmare. By that I am not implying that only Pakistan is at fault for lack of trust.
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Very confused and misinformed article. People in Pakistan say ‘Dil chahta hai kei keh doon’ in their normal speech. It has nothing to do with watching Hindi movies.
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I would for once want someone of Hafiz Saeed’s mindset to come to power as the PM and Defense ministers of India and see Pakistanis have some chills of a Hindu ‘Jihadi’ at the helm of affairs in India with all the stately powers. How about that? Now, i am possibly one of the biggest haters of Moditva but when you see guys like Hafiz Saeed moving freely in Pakistan, a devil in your mind starts whispering in your ears – “Let Dogs fight Dogs”…….. Befitting is not it: Modi Vs Hafiz Saeed…. Total destruction guaranteed……..
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@Hammad: That is why article is deleted .She is a senior journalist and keeps her nerve tact while posting anything.
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Hafiz sahib has impressed this female journalist.
Hafiz sahib is doing many good jobs in Pakistan and India may like to learn from him.
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So saying “dil chahta hai’ is a Bollywood reference?
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@Arsalan:
Hafiz sahib is doing many good jobs in Pakistan and India may like to learn from him.
The only mistake the author did was she missed using the symbol ‘!’….
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Well,
I wonder why pakistanis like to be inspired by hafiz sayed’s good jobs rather than Dr Abdus Salam,or Eidhi.
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After reading this article I came to know that Hafiz Saeed may be an ordinary Pakistani but he certainly rule the heart and minds of Indians :)
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That he is an ordinary and scared man is proved by the fact that his warriors are kids who have been brainwashed to go and blow themselves.Can anyone get more ordinary than that.He is smart,safe,secure and additionally ordinary!!!
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