Opinion

Whose freedom are we celebrating?

What is likely to be forgotten is the promise embedded in the new land.

Rubina Saigol August 11, 2010

As August 14 rolls around, Pakistanis will witness yet another independence day steeped in the usual rituals of the nation state: the hoisting of the flag, national day parades, 21-gun salutes, loads of platitudes and clichés in print and the electronic media about the promised day, the struggles of Partition, the sacrifices given and the freedom gained.

As our nation prepares to once again remember itself and reiterate the story of its birth, what is likely to be forgotten is the promise embedded in the new land. That promise was freedom: freedom for each and every one of its citizens — whether men or women, Muslim or non-Muslim, peasant or worker — to live a decent life underscored by all the freedoms and rights that are guaranteed in modern states.

Today, August 11 marks the 63rd anniversary of the vision of the new state presented by MA Jinnah to the Constituent Assembly when he promised a land where people of all religions would be free to go to their respective places of worship, for religion has nothing to do with the business of the state. Yet, today Ahmadis are killed for professing their faith and Christians are murdered after false accusations of blasphemy based on draconian laws.

Pakistan today, radically different from the imagined one, has neither freedom of religion, nor freedom from religion. The citizens have been subjected to a narrow, literalist, fundamentalist and virulent version of imported religion and the views of one small sect are imposed violently on all citizens. We imagined a modern parliamentary democracy and ended up creating a sectarian state, unsafe for anyone but those belonging to the favoured sect.

As a result, our right to life, the most basic of all rights, has virtually ceased to exist. Today, scores of people die every day in bomb blasts, suicide bombings, target killings and drone attacks. This in turn has robbed us of freedom of speech, expression and conscience. Anyone who protests against the policies that deprive people of basic rights is silenced, either by militants spread across our land or by the government clamping down on the media. The right to information is thus also compromised.

Instead of the usual rejoicing, celebration and self-aggrandisement that accompanies national days, it is time to reflect and engage in serious soul-searching about the kind of state we have created. The gulf between the dream and the reality is too wide to be ignored. Today, our life, liberty, property, children and our future are all at stake.

It is time for us to ask the question: whose freedom did we gain? Who attained independence? Did our women and minorities gain equal independence? Did our workers and peasants gain equal independence? Why are there laws today that discriminate between male and female citizens? Why are there laws that divide Muslim and non-Muslim citizens? Where is the security and the prosperity that was to underlie independence? An unequal independence is no independence. Until our women and minorities become equal citizens in every sense of the word, we remain bonded and our freedom is a mere illusion, a slogan to cover up the chains on our minds and bodies.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (20)

hakeem | 14 years ago | Reply @Aalok.. i dont knbow about how majority hindus behave with indian muslims in india but i can tell you how they behaved with me when we were working togather abroad just for example one of our collegues invited us on dinner for her promotion i was surprised to know that my other indian muslim collegue did not come why i found soon when i was eating meat and the host collegue objected that i should change my seat because another hindu collegue does not like seeing me eating meat i was stunned...yet another example the compound where my company gave me lodging i was first muslim rest there were indian and sirilankan hindus now i wasnt a very religious muslim but i used to offer Friday prayer and on one of these occassions i over heard on my back "who is this MUSLA" no doubt i had one hindu friend Vinod Singh who had no religious bias but many couldnt conceal their hatered. Back to my Indian Muslim Collegue he belonged to south india and he used to say that in his part of india seldom riots occur but still he kept distance from his indian hindus i observed that whole his social circle comprised of indian muslims and he some times subtly mentioned his hatered towards hindus. My point is that friction is there. @All Pakistanis its pointless to debate that whether pakistan should have been created or not.. even worst of the oponents of Pakistan like Maulana Azad said that pakistan after its creation is a reality and now afforts shall be made for its prosperity. Lets build a pakistan where we can show indian majority how to treat minorities a pakistan where religion is not base of discrimination. Pakistan Zindabad

Aalok | 14 years ago | Reply I do not know why many of pakistani citizen have the impressions that in India Muslims are constantly treated like animals. Let me give my own example. I grew up in a Himalayan state of India namely Uttarakhand. My father was a teacher in a remote area. A road to my village is still under progress. Many of my class mates in school were Muslims, I still have sweet memories of those (Akhtar/Shamim/Shamshad etc). After completing my schooling my hometown in year 1997 I left my place & came to Chandigarh near Punjab in 2000 to study for graduation. I still had many Muslim students along with me. Then I got selected in a entrance test pursued my Masters in computers at Nainital till 2004 & finally got my first job in Delhi. Now I am 29, having worked for 6 years since then. Many of my college were/are Muslims. I am in USA for some time. My company that sent me here has a Muslim CEO. The team lead under which I joined the company was a Muslim. More than 25% of the employee in my company in India are Muslim. I am here in USA but my manager is an Indian Muslim. I never had any issues with any of them. They were my class-mates/team-mates/seniors at different interval of time, we never had any issue. Though I am a vegetarian but many other Hindus of my team loved to eat biryani that our team lead web-designer(a muslim) used to bring on muslim festival. We enjoyed Holi festival together. Today when I have got some experience in my field(IT) I also try to reach out the fresher Muslim technocrats that join our company or social circles. I elated to see many Muslims in India taking good positions in IT & other fields. And yes pictures has not been this rosy all other places. We have had communal riots in Gujarat elsewhere. I was also shocked/anguished on Gujarat govt. I did my bit, since then I have not voted to BJP. But these acts of communal forces(Bal thackery/Vishwa Hindu parishad and many more) are known to the world out but the huge silent community which is the unsung soul of the nation is not discussed. I have given my own example here from a common Indian's perspective.

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

Najeeb Pandrani | 14 years ago | Reply Addressed to Mr. Rasheed My blaming the British should not lead one to the conclusion that I am praising the current system. Sorry for being misunderstood. Kindly follow this link. I have posted my comments in reply to Mr. rasul bakhsh rais' artcle "A Fragmented Polity". http://tribune.com.pk/story/37311/a-fragmented-polity/ For your convenience I am copying it as it appears there. "With due respect to Mr. Rais, I want to say that he failed to explain the root cause of this chaos. It is really very strange that while analyzing the current degenerated state of affairs, hardly any scholar tries to explore the historical connection. In my opinion the era of colonialism and the post colonial policy of the West better explains the current state of affairs. Here is how. In order to prolong their rule in the subcontinent, the British created a class of people who performed those functions which facilitated their rule. However, when they became sure that they are soon going to leave the subcontinent, they ensured that this class of people rules the newly independent country, Pakistan. This independence is not independence, in my view. for Pakistanis it is only change of masters. The foreign whites were replaced by the native browns, who were “Indian in color” but “English in taste”. This class helped the west make Pakistan an imperialist tool, a policeman in the region. This class is in minority and exists in the form of ‘Chaudries’ and ‘Ranas’in the Punjab, ‘waders’ in Sindh, ‘Khans’ in KP, and ‘Sardars’ and ‘Nawabs’ in Balochistan. These have acted like mini-monarchs and kept the over-whelming majority of the people underprivileged. Given the fact that Pakistan inherited over-developed state strucure, together with the exective and military, they created a political system which was in fact continuation of the British sytem. Same Lord Macaulay’s slave producing education sytem, same elite-oriented economic policy which by no means is Islamic ,same colonial type treatement to religion in which Islam has been restricted to mere rituals and its true revolutionray philosophy undermined. Therefore, if we want a viable change, it is only by replacing the the central system. How can we do that, is, of course, not an easy task. For that matter we can draw lessons from the successful struggles of social change by Prophet Mohammad(pbuh), Iranian revolution, Chinese revolution and so forth. All these struggles have one common element, that change was neither brought by an individual, nor by mob. Rather it was brought in each case by a very capable party, the members of which had uniform ideology. so we in Pakistan should not wait for a leader to rescue us, rather work as we ought to work. we need to learn much from successful social changes. If this is not done, status-quo would continue. We need to realize that we have not yet achieved true independence."

Blogging at work | 14 years ago | Reply wow...seems like you people hate this country.

Malik Rashid | 14 years ago | Reply Dear Najeeb Pandrani I am not really aware of the pre-British education system in India. The first Muslim madressah, perhaps the only one, was reportedly established in Delhi in the 18th century. The Hindu monks would not enter a large variety of people and education was a pursuit for the few. How many railway stations are there west of Peshawar? Were any railroads built after the British? Quite like the tribal areas of Pakistan, India's north east has not seen any sign of modernity except the security forces that entered to exploit some natural resource. British exploited the same but they built infra-structure, schools and hospitals. If you think that the educational institutions British built in India did not impart any education, please think again. I am not saying there is no merit in self-rule but politician's promise of freedom must be deciphered for its substance. Freedom is a tangible quality for somebody incarcerated or for a slave. The 20th century slogan of freedom in the backdrop of colonial rule turned out like ZA Bhutto's slogan of 'Roti, Kapra aur Makan'. Peace.

Najeeb Pandrani | 14 years ago | Reply Addressed to Malik Rashid. Mr. rashid it is our colonial myopia that we continue to praise the British despite the suferrings that they inflicted on the Indian subcontinent. there is no denying the fact that they built railroads and educational institutions. But for what purpose? to facilatate the Indians? No. All that they wanted was to secure their interests. All rail roads were on either the commercially significant regions or the areas of strategic importance. The educational institutions, on the other hand, were not their to educate us to question, rather to train us to obey. These institutions fostered slave mentality, which to present day remains to be the hallmark of our society. I would like every one to read the address of Lord Macaulay, the architect of education system in India, in British Parliament on 2 February, 1835. It will then be clear whether Britsh rule was a blessing or a curse. Kindly visit the site given below just for the quote. http://my.opera.com/Tamil/blog/how-british-destroyed-india NAJEEB PANDRANI GCU LAHORE

cmsarwar | 14 years ago | Reply Ms Rubina.You have outlined ,in great detail, the wrongs that developed after creation of Pakistan.Please write a few articles and discuss why and how all these distortions started and gained strength.Please also suggest remedial steps and some time table for rectifications of these wrongs.Otherwise ,your article is brilliant and you have my total endorsement.

sohail | 14 years ago | Reply Pakistan is a gift of ALLAH. 1.My father told me that as a muslim he was not allowed to drink water in the same glass as that used for Hindus.A bamboo shoot was utilised to offer drinking water to muslims from water drinking point. 2.u cant walk on the road side foot paths of DELHI,MUMBAI,CALCUTTA at night as people are asleep there. 3. talk to any muslim living in India and they will tell the problems of living that they face. 4.Thank Allah for this piece of Paradise. sohail

Mohammad Tauseef | 14 years ago | Reply This is a follow-up comment to a comment made by Sarah. We have gained freedom from the British. I do not know how was the freedom gained? The reasons that are given to me officially do not make sense to me as if Quaid-e-Azam was the greatest leader born in the last millennium and muslims of the sub-continent were united in his dynamic leadership. This seems rubbish to me unless the British were really conspiring to leave a divided country behind. Again, these are my impressions and I do not expect everybody to agree with them. Barring all this, it’s an honor to be living in an independent country and I wouldn't have mind if I was living in United India with my and others' rights guaranteed and respected. India hasn't done all too well in this time period but they are at least a democratic country, a pluralistic country and I would be a little forgiving to them as they had to deal with a rogue army on their eastern borders who to this day dominate the entire structure of the country. The point is not that we secure our own personal interests by living in a so-called independent country. The idea is that we are in a position to appreciate that people who are living with us in other parts of the country have the same rights and legal safeties that we have and that I believe was the thrust of the article. Yes we are free but we do not have any right to make the life of minorities and other less privileged groups miserable by making unfair laws.

Malik Rashid | 14 years ago | Reply If the Brits were defeated in 1857 and independence had come a few decades earlier, would we still have all that railroad and infrastructure that carried us until now? How much of that strong, long-lasting structure got built since the gora left? Politicians who demanded self-rule for India, did they prove capable at governance? Freedom turned out to be another false promise. Besides all the examples of inequality you mentioned, did Bengalis find freedom or the Baluch? Change of masters increased misery. Local rulers turned out way too brutal, above law, omnipotent. Universal education that British brought was twisted for longevity of the local master's rule. I was born few years after 1947 so I am not an eye-witness but I heard generations older than mine praise British rule many a times.

Sarah | 14 years ago | Reply What a typical article once again.Every year some of our best writers think it's their duty to write such pieces undermining and even insulting our Independence day.Instead of bashing and criticising please open your eyes thank God for being an independent country and not slaves of an oppressive Empire. Yes we have all those problems but could you point out one country on the map of the world without ANY problem? Even the super powers of the first world have their corrupt politicians, oil and weapon industries and crimes against racial and religious minorities.I've never seen them insulting their countries and undermining their achievements like gaining Independence from their masters.What is wrong with you people?

John Donne | 14 years ago | Reply Pl Ms Saigol I would request you to propose an alternative to celebrating independence. What do you want us to do, instead of celebrating the day of deliverance from the disgraceful servitude of those who ruled us, and fled away leaving behind a legacy of hate in our Subcontinent. Now that they are down and out, they are barking on one of us, and courting our estranged cousins for furthering their ends. I know very well that all communities were living together for hundreds of years with little enmity, except few exceptions. But exceptions don't invalidate rules. Whatever our failings pl do not exaggerate and help create hatred among our communities. Our enemies too many and friends too few. Enemies will continue to add fuel to the fire, they already lit since the first day of independence in both countries. Borders can't separate us. We shall remain friends, no matter what. Our problems are transitory for sure.

Najeeb Pandrani | 14 years ago | Reply We have not yet achieved true independence. Whom did the creation of Pakistan benefit? Answer is the imperialist powers and a class of people. Our 60+ history is witness to the fact that Pakistan played a role for the west against the soviets and elsewhere. What we Pakistanis need to realize that Pakistan's enemy lies within- the class that despite being in microscopic minority has subjugated the overwhelming majority and facilitated the imperialist powers in their policies. Waderas in sindh, ranas and chaudries in punjab, sardars in Balochistan and khans KP forms this group. All are equally worse. This class has colonized us. We are still slaves. NAJEEB PANDRANI GCU LAHORE

Sharif Lone | 14 years ago | Reply Ms Sehgal, a great article. I agree things have been going in the wrong direction since 1947. Democracy was not given a chance and those came lacked class. But we must carry on pursuing the path of secular democracy. We need to give equal rights to minorities and women. Laws should be made that women get a certain % of the jobs from top to bottom of the ladder and in all areas, be it shops, restaurants and offices. We should discourage those who insist on having religion in all spheres of life and keep it inside the four walls of privacy. Unfortunately, those who believe in liberal thinking are shrinking in numbers. that is worrying. 60 years is not a long time in history, but unless we divert our priorities and direction, things will not improve.

Zulfiqar Haider | 14 years ago | Reply Independence Day must be celebrated as a day to renounce violence and promote inter and intra faith harmony.

M Mustafa | 14 years ago | Reply ".... views of one small sect are imposed violently on all citizens." How true. The sect was against creation of Pakistan. They sided with the Indian Congress pre-1947 and were against the Muslim league. After partition they have successfully imposed their narrow un-Islamic ideology on the unsuspecting people of Pakistan. This was done to gain a foot-hold in politics of Pakistan. They engineered the 1953 agitation and from then onwards religion and state have been agonizingly difficult to separate.

Rashid Saleem | 14 years ago | Reply I would suggest to all the audience through this piece that we should celebrate this Independence Day as an independence from religious extremism and violence. We must celebrate our liberal and rational approach.

temporal | 14 years ago | Reply rubina: every year since '47 we have been asking these questions: It is time for us to ask the question: whose freedom did we gain? Who attained independence? Did our women and minorities gain equal independence? Did our workers and peasants gain equal independence? Why are there laws today that discriminate between male and female citizens? Why are there laws that divide Muslim and non-Muslim citizens? to what avail?

ARIM | 14 years ago | Reply 14 august is just around the corner. Whole nation will celebrate in reminiscence of 14 August 1947. It was the day when Quid e Azam freed this land from British Empire. This land was meant to give freedom of livelihood, religion, language and expression. But sadly Quid e Azam was not too fortunate to nurture and cruise the country which he made. The entire politician group after him lacked sense of direction and the altruistic approach. They were succeeded by even more corrupt generation. In the meanwhile People of Pakistan lost the freedom to live their life. Religious leaders exploited common Muslims. At this Independence Day nation must look for what was the purpose behind creation of this land and are we really heading toward that purpose or moving away.

Ammar | 14 years ago | Reply The speech you have mentioned is erased from the history books on purpose, as Pakistan was to be taken hostage by the righteous Muslims in this land of the pure. This is the reason why the objective resolution was introduced and afterwards made the preamble of the 1973 Constitution. We are totally misplaced people. We cannot use the word ‘Nation’ for people who live in this country, which has been divided once and that is on the verge of further disintegration. Only hope is the sanity for the insane people.

Replying to X