The writer is a lawyer and partner at Ijaz and Ijaz
Co in Lahore
The truly disturbing bit about TTP’s Adnan Rashid’s letter to Malala Yousufzai is that it does not shock too much. Had the name been erased, personal details omitted and contents modified a little, it would not have been easy to guess that it came from a TTP commander. It could have been any of our luminaries of the Urdu press (perhaps even of English press) or any one of our “fearless” prime time television anchors. It could have been someone from the expatriate professional classes. A leftist ‘intellectual’ unwilling to unlearn could have penned it or an aspiring anti-imperialist yet to learn. Of course, it could have been Syed Munawar Hasan, but more unnervingly it could also have been Mr Imran Khan citing the Macaulay quote of dubious authenticity or Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s speech-writer providing the reference to Russell. It could have been anyone. Fanaticism is commonplace, bigotry has gone mainstream. The moral question remains an easy one; we have just got the answer exactly wrong. Adnan Rashid, the ex-PAF, the patriot gets nods of understanding, while Malala is the “native informant”. Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil” seems to be the intuitive reference. Mind you there is nothing banal about a child being shot in the head and “respected” people making apologies for it.
How dare Malala only talk about education and omit drones, imperialism, Muslims in Burma? Global warming, children in Africa, the CNG crisis and the patwari system? How weak of her not to be a condemnation machine, an all encompassing and engulfing voice for everyone in the world for all issues. Impeccable logic, one should speak up for everything or speak up for nothing. In Ghalib’s words, “Mushkilen itni parin mujh pay kay asan ho ganyi”. Did she really think that the way to stardom is as simple as getting shot in the skull? No Sirs, not on our watch. How dare she go to the United Kingdom and get operated upon by those infidels, agents of imperialism doctors? Oh, perhaps because none of our brotherly Islamic countries offered treatment. Sure, she could have done the honourable thing and died on our soil.
We know of all this already. So what’s the point? Firstly, ignorance and bigotry should be called out as a general principle. Secondly, and more significantly, while there is some pretense of opposition to religious extremism and violence in the abstract, as soon as the conflict is concentrated in a particular example, the extent of the rot is exposed. The previous seminal example is Governor Salmaan Taseer’s murder and shameful display of cowardice and bigotry that followed. Mumtaz Qadri was not only cheered on by madrassa students, but garlanded by lawyers. A former chief justice of the Lahore High Court volunteered to represent him pro bono. References to Ghazi Illam Din were de rigueur. Facebook warriors expressed solidarity with the murderer. The most generous ones offered to change the subject only. With Malala, it is the same cruel circus all over again.
The steady daily dose of confused notions of hyper-nationalism, fabricated history and paranoia are well on their way to triumph. The only meaningful resistance to the complete descent into madness comes from Malala and her sisters. Malala’s plea for education and the need for it are painfully and ironically vindicated by the reaction to her speech. A whole generation of middle-class and upper middle-class youth is being raised on xenophobia, led to believe that all was well before the war on terror, suicide bombings are blowback to drones, the punishment for any corruption should be death and abuse a valid substitute for thought, etc. The cliche of youth representing hope and all that is hollow and we know it. These young ultranationalists are revolted by the idea of becoming “brown sahibs” (as they should be), yet the idea of becoming “brown Bedouins (or is it Sheikhs)” is not equally unappealing. The disdain for local culture is a common thread, merely substituting one form of imperialism with another, camels for camaros, water kits for Nukes. The diehard nationalist is also a pan-Islamist, go figure. Judging by the product, the education system is, indeed, broken.
The national conversation has to, at some point, move from ideological polemic to policymaking and institutional reform. That point is now. Curriculum reform (particularly post Eighteenth Amendment) has to take centre stage. The outdated and unaccountable Babu Raj of the CSP bureaucracy and the need for civil service reform is not talked about enough (perhaps, not at all). The debate on local government legislation and why the state proposes to go back to Zia’s model of non-party based elections needs to be conducted. Yet, policy debate presumes a minimum consensus on basic human values. Political disagreements and policy differences are not the same as those on whether a child shot by religious fanatics is justified or not. It is difficult to discuss education policy when schools are being blown up. Still, it needs to be done. We cannot wait for the conflict between us and the medievalists to end before we begin, since the conflict is here to stay for a while.
Women in the Karak district of K-P have been reportedly banned from leaving the house without a mehram by a committee of clerics recently. Those outraged at Malala’s address in the UN will probably find this to be an acceptable local custom, culture relativism, etc. Taking ignorant and condescending liberties with the Pashtun culture is now a sport of the overzealous youth and the “all-knowing Punjabi intelligentsia”. That is why Malala had to speak, and she did it beautifully. Malala is Pashtun culture; bravery and eloquence.
In the Holy month after breaking fast, accessing YouTube through a proxy server, Rooh Afza in hand, listening to Pink Floyd’s tribute to the genius Syd Barrett “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” makes the evening easier. Syd Barrett was as different from Malala as is possible, yet these lines make one uncomfortably think about her.
You were caught on the crossfire
Of childhood and stardom,
Blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
May you always shine like the sun, your spirits never be dampened, and the naysayers consigned to the wastebasket of history, as they shall be.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS (40)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
The best column I've read so far. All I want to add is, how twisted can people be to take the ttp ' letter even with a modicum of sense and argue about its "justifications". How dare some one try to kill a child and then write a letter explaining their motivation? How dare they? On what moral and ethical grounds can such a letter be even discussed for its "merits" by the civil society? I have yet to come across something as twisted as this.
@Romm:
I being lectured by a guy who believes TTP are actually RAW in disguise. And, I am expected to take his advice and opinions seriously.
Dude.. Please go ahead and quote whatever pleases you.. I have no problems with it. Remember I can quote Mr.Nayyar too..
@BruteForce: Instead of googling, read credible sources. If u quote Internet sources in Howard and Oxford, they wud bin ur thesis. Indians need to Come out of googling and live in real world. Bhaghat singh witten and compiled by Kuldeep Nayyar is a credible source. If u still need more references, I will quote more but for heaven sake be realistic than being impressed with Internet onslaught meant to distort historical facts.
@Romm:
"But Gandhi did not condemn the execution of Great Bhaghat singh"
A bit of Googling before accusing such great men would have greatly helped.
Gandhi appeals directly to the Viceroy to let Bhagat Singh go and when that didn't happen issued a statement condemning his death..
http://www.mkgandhi.org/faq/q26.htm
Of course your too set in your mind that Gandhi, the baniya, was being unscrupulous and that will be your argument.
The heart believes what is wants to. Gandhi is like all over the world and even your Malala quotes him at the UN, not Jinnah. But, you are too arrogant to get that, aren't you!
bravo!!!
" same people" in my earlier comment was meant to say "sane people" . a typo
deep , I totally agree with you . I even posted a comment on awaz.tv under the clip of this show , that anchors should not be inviting these men to represent different point of views and contaminate the public thinking with psychosis . they should be referring them to psychiatrists and not bringing them on TV , but the problem is in a country like Pakistan same people are considered naive and psychotics tell others what to do and what not to do . when a party like pti with people like Imran khan can win the 3rd largest number of votes in the country then that is enough for me not ever wanting to even visit Pakistan .
What are we waiting for? #ShootOnSightTaliban
@Vectra: But Gandhi did not condemn the execution of Great Bhaghat singh, the ultimate violence by british Raj. Malala must not have read the war of indepence otherwise she wud not have quoted Gandhi indirectly.
Mr Ijaz, whose articles I avidly read, is brilliant, as usual.
I am really encouraged by the fact that the writer was able to write and criticise bigots. We can't be that bad as society if you are able to voice your concern, and Malala has been raised in Pakistan. We have lot to offer to the world if only we can get through these dark times. While I fear for our country and the direction it is heading, at the same time I am very pleased to see voice of reason rising and hypocritical right being appropriately critcised. Re our media, potentially we need more intellect and integrity on the TV.
Saroop, I follow your writings and am always moved by your humanity and thoughtfulness. The irony is that those are the very values this land is most bereft of. As a Floyd fan myself I find resonance (especially on challenging days, which seem to be mounting at an accelerating rate) in the lines : "But it was only a fantasy- The wall was too high, as you can see. No matter how he tried he could not break free". Sometimes those lines are unerringly real to me. Thank you for the courageous writing and for saying what few would put their name to.
‘‘Thus, within less than a year of the night that Mountbatten handed over the reins of power to India and Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi had been assassinated by a Hindu who feared he was pro-Muslim and Badshah Khan had been jailed by an Islamic government that claimed he was pro-Hindu. The irony could not have been more complete. Two of India’s foremost men of God had been sacrificed in the name of religion.’’
Eknath Easwaran (1984), Non-violent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, a man to match his mountains)
A truly brilliant piece but is anybody listening? Articles such as these in the English press, though undoubtedly superbly written, are largely preaching to the converted. When it comes to the stage that the "case" for shooting a child in the head can be a subject of serious discussion, I don't now what is left to lose. Perhaps the only thing left is that there should be complete unanimity that the Taliban were right to shoot Malala! The unregulated proliferation of the electronic media in Pakistan has also done infinite harm to the country. There is no such thing as editorial control and the understanding of media norms is only half baked. As someone in the BBC once told me, yes, it is important to portray the other side of an argument but the other side has to be in keeping with the norms of civilisation and decency. For example, there will be people who think it is right to beat one's wife but you will never find a discussion on the subject on the BBC. Discussing lunacy on air in a serious manner only gives legitimacy to lunacy. But I wouldn't expect anyone in the Pakistani media to understand that because the definition of lunacy, like everything else, can be very subjective.
The power flows thru the power of the gun. Simple.
Malala doesn't like guns. So, she does not have power.
People like Gandhi, Mandela have won, but because they stayed in their homeland and fought for it. Mandela stayed in prison for a long time, Gandhi for 11 years of his precious life.
The day Malala comes back to Pakistan, she'll have to start moving with a VIP security cover(even with one Salman Taseer and Bhutto were killed).
I rarely see columnists who can call Ahmadis as Ahmadi Muslims, forget spending 11 years of their life in jail or braving bullets to lead a rally.
I think all this Malala talk is moot. Pakistan will stay Pakistan.
Believing in an anti malala story doesn't make one apologetic to terrorists. Malala is a modified character that has been well played some where else to accomplish some other motives.
Wikipedia article on some one similar to Malala http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_(testimony)
Youtube link, not sure if it works in Pakistan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmfVs3WaE9Y
So much has been concluded about the letter written by adnan rashid without even questioning the originality of the letter? No one tried to trace back the origination of the letter? How on earth would adnan rashid knows that there is a channel named Channel 4 given the fact i heard about this channel during this letter fuss.
I am shocked by what I just realized after reading this brilliant piece. Imagine the amount of concerted effort by a well-educated thinker like Saroop, necessary to drill into our comatose minds an iota of common sense.
Is it still too early to come out of the seventh century?
When you say bigotry has gone mainstream, I was reminded of the talk show with Zaid Hamid, Marvi Srimed and one Mr. Qazi Hussain on the Malala issue.
While Marvi characteristically said that she was proud of Malala and there is no western agenda here, she was shouted down by Zaid Hamid. It was Mr. Qazi Hussain that interested me because he had the most obnoxious views all couched in "we must respect each other's view, after all we are a democracy."
The ill-educated anchors bring together people holding such rabid views in a bid to represent society - it is like Indian talk shows hosting Togadia and Babu Bajrangi because we need all views to be represented. There are views that are right and left of the issue and there are views that are downright regressive or incendiary in nature. I think the anchors should start learning to make that distinction so that viewers are educated about issues not treated to fantastic conspiracy theories.
Brilliant -Saroop Ijaz
Malala is a Phenix.
Powerful article. I have always said this that if the youth is so gullible that they take PTI gang seriously then Pakistan really has no hope...
Beautifully written Saroop, thanks for sharing. The mere fact Malalal supporters have to justify her position speaks volumes for the state of this nation! God have mercy on these people since they do not value lives of innocent children.
" it could have also been Imran khan citing the Macaulay quote of dubious authenticity"
Imran, the hero, also quotes last so many years from a book by nobel laureate Gunnar Myrdal. Problem is that it is evident from his quotes and description of the book that he has never seen the book let alone read it. It is funny when he calls Myrdal's book "Asian Drama", the Asian Miracle and then goes on to make up quotes which are not in the book anywhere.
Last three years on a number of occasions in his public speeches, which are a matter of record, he has done so. A man aspiring to lead a nation can be so shallow! The mystery is that none of the intellectuals surrounding him, have ever pointed out to him that he qoutes the tile wrong, not once, twice, but always..
Your comment on Imran could not have been more appropriate.
Pak-Nationalist hate Malala because she doesn't sound like a product of their education. Pak-Nationalists have no problem with girl education as long it is pro Pakistan and Islam, everything else is suspect. So obviously Malala has to be vilified because She reads foreign books, speaks in English, writes for BBC and uses a Macbook. All treasonous material.
Truly a great effort , a one man cerebral crusade to save the soul of Pakistan , but presently it is a voice in the wild because it has been resolved by and large from all forums and pulpits that no heed will be paid to voice of reason and evidence . Hope the author will persevere . Wish all the best .
This is undoubtedly one of your best pieces Saroop !
If there was one country globally out of the comity of 200+ nations where naked violence, xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination is fully accepted as norm and justified by all and sundry, it is Pakistan !
I have searched far and wide and fail to find any other country where vast majority of the population, its security apparatus, media, clergy and even sections of academia and professional class would so actively and vividly (shamelessly) support thugs, murderers and mercenaries, venom spitting leaders, discrimination, hate mongering and xenophobia.
Really, there isnt any.. We are one of a king globally !
"Malala is Pashtun culture; bravery and eloquence." Extremely well put! It was very moving to hear Malala speak. What a fighter ! To crawl back from the jaws of death and to remain brave and resolute. She is a beacon of hope in these dark times. May she live long and achieve her full potential. May she be an example to other Pakistani girls to fight for their rights and for equality with men and boys.
Agree with (almost) everything the author said, and he said it well.
One problem - and this has nothing to do with Malala Yousafzai - but a particular thing in the article. The “all-knowing Punjabi intelligentsia” that is referred to, are they the ones who forced mullahs in Karak to ban women from leaving their homes by themselves? Or were the mullahs Pakhtuns acting out of their own will?
The way everything gets blamed on big bad Punjab is just pathetic, Punjabis themselves have been brainwashed into believing the Unity of the Ummah nonsense, and then they passed on the "gospel". When people from Balochistan talk about the crimes committed by Punjab, one should quietly listen; when others talk the same, be a little skeptical.
Badshah Khan is indeed someone who exemplified tremendous moral courage and can be an equal to India's Gandhi. How many people know about Badshah Khan, called the frontier Gandhi ? Here is how the Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre by the British in Peshawar in 1930 is described.
"..After other Khudai Khidmatgar leaders were arrested, a large crowd of the group gathered at the Qissa Khwani bazaar. As British troops moved into the bazaar, the crowd was loud, though completely non-violent. British armored cars drove into the square at high speed, killing several people. The crowd continued their commitment to non-violence, offering to disperse if they could gather their dead and injured, and if British troops left the square. The British troops refused to leave, so the protesters remained with the dead and injured.[3] At that point, the British ordered troops to open fire with machine guns on the unarmed crowd.[4] The Khudai Khidmatgar members willingly faced bullets, responding without violence... When those in front fell down wounded by the shots, those behind came forward with their chests bared and exposed themselves to the fire, so much so that some people got as many as twenty-one bullet wounds in their bodies, and all the people stood their ground without getting into a panic. . . . The Anglo-Indian paper of Lahore, which represents the official view, itself wrote to the effect that the people came forward one after another to face the firing and when they fell wounded they were dragged back and others came forward to be shot at. This state of things continued from 11 till 5 o'clock in the evening. When the number of corpses became too many, the ambulance cars of the government took them away. In Peshawar and the surrounding area, the Khudai Khidmatgar suffered some of the most extreme suffering of the Indian independence movement. Ghaffar Khan later wrote that this was because the British thought a non-violent Pashtun was more dangerous than a violent one. Because of this, the British did everything they could to provoke them into violence, with little effect.[3] "
If Pakistan had followed the politics of Badshah Khan, it may have been a most peaceful, beautiful place today.
A voice of reason in the jungle of hate and fanaticism. We go crazy on some cartoons in a far away land in strange language by just hearing about it. However, there is not much reaction when the terrorists blowup schools, mosques and shrines, says it all. Most of our thinking is hatred toward modernity and love for the past.
@Chaudhury Liberal:
I wrote a long time ago. Do NOT come back! Pakistan is no place for you.
haven't read such an eloquent op-ed in ages. shine on, saroop!
So well said!
.......and the bad guys are from amongst us, for sure. Fantastic read, strong and true and those fanning these flames must realise that they to will be consumed by them as well.
Brilliant!
Malala also mentioned of Mother Teresa & Mahatma Gandhi at UN says she is inspired by Mahatama Gandhi's path of non-violence.Here is a part of it:
"I want education for the sons and daughters of all the Taliban and all the terrorists and extremists. I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hands and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him."
"This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhiji, Badshah Khan and Mother Teresa," the 16-year-old said.
For more check Indian Media--NDTV http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/malala-yousafzai-invokes-mahatma-gandhi-in-her-un-speech-391639
BRAVO!! A beautiful and eloquent exposition of what the progressive Pakistani mind thinks but is struggling to achieve.
A great tribute to Malala. The fact that she is abroad and will remain so for a long time symbolizes the extent of the problem: Much of what is good in Pakistan has either left its shores or in the process of doing so.....
A beautiful rendering,and the ending clinches it. Past weighs so heavily on Pakistan psyche, that even the present is ,at best, paranoia. Future,off course,is non-existent.
Brilliant like always..