The Zenith.

Ok, why have I not been blogging? I don't know and neither do I care. Sometimes, it's more like talking to myself, hence it's better (sometimes, or many times) to do it physically (murmuring bleekh in the void) than to write a blog entry to prove to the people how socially, mentally and emotionally active one is.

Daur e Jahalat ka dorta howa karkhana hai Ghulam Nazar,

Zillat e Mardaan hai, Hai Ghurbat e fardaan Ghulam Nazar,

Rooh ke paasbaan roshni ki tarah nikalte hain aazaad Zehniat se

Hai dushman e zehniat, laanat e jaan, hai Ghulam Nazar

Zindagi zindagaani ki qaasir na kabhi thi na hogi - Ham ne kaha

Phalsafae Khud paraste hai, nahi Paristishe Khudai Ghulam Nazar

Zamana e Haal apni barbaadi ki Sham e Gharibaan dekh chuka

Nahi Zaman e Khilafat, hai Zamana e Jamhooriat Ghulam Nazar. (1)

(Written on: Saturday, February 03, 2007)Note 1: Perceive  "Zamaana e Jamhooriat" as the current system of leadership.

PS. I can't trace down the memory lane as to after which incident I wrote this but its meaning still remains constant for me. No matter when was it written it is according to me something that can stay relevant to the Pakistani crowd of the past, present and unfortunately even the future. I am concerned of my poetic flaws and the lesser potential to write amazingly, but I can't battle against not writing when I feel I have to. Since I am someone who fits nicely into the "procrastination internet groups" I'd be grateful if someone could translate it for me in English, which I am sure nobody would!

Blessings.

Al note: This is the work of fiction. There is no attempt made nor desire extant to libel or otherwise cause malicious damage, loss, public contempt, defamation, blasphemy, treason, sedition, or ridicule to persons, cabals, governments, institutions, corporations, or assemblies of inanimate objects, alien lifeforms, microorganisms, clergy, vegetables, animals, or observed spatio-temporal reality.

If it is found that any extant entity or collection of entities maintains an uncomfortable congruence to the caricatures and ridiculous comedic exaggerations contained herein, the author offers his apologies and condolences...

...and if you are still pissed off, you are invited to go dig your opinions in your ancestor's saucer!
Conciliation has its limits.

Written on: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 11:08:40 PM

An Indian astrologist-cum-astronomer-cum-Jyotish-cum-scientist discovered a scientific way of exploding Arcturus, a star that is mightier on Sun in size. According to the Jyotish if we draw a rough diagram of comparison between these two then the radius of the Sun drawn would be less than 1 cm and that of Arcturus would be a few units more than 12 cm. 35 years of his experience had made it very easy to believe for him that it indeed was possible, because Arcturus lies straight in the north-western side of the Earth. This veracity struck the ears of Bush while he was busy playing golf in Pataya, Thailand.

When he was informed by the security sentinel about the Indian progress he replied, “Go and talk to NASA”. On hearing this, the security sentinel went to Mr. Edgar D. Martin, the C.E.O. of the NASA and informed him about the evolution. On hearing this Mr. Martin replied, “It is too scientific to be true! The people cannot grasp this news as the news of no moon landing by NASA is in the atmosphere. Indians cannot overtake us!”

The Indian with such a great accomplishment and leg was named as Pravan Kumar Jyotish. Keeping the current achievement aside, Jyotish was the first person to decipher the result of the abstraction of the Bermuda Triangle. According to him the atmospheric pressure of the Triangle has more Sulphur and Nicotine as compared to that of Uranus. For the intestinal reincarnation of a human body the compound of Nicotine is broken down to its constituent elements and then amalgamated with the Sulphur for an unknown compound called ‘Diectrione’. This compound clones a human being comparing the total mathematical figure with the 27^th units of ‘Dolly’, in an opposite gradient.

Also the Jyotish predicted that in the upcoming 78 years a great crisis of global warming would break out in the western part of Asia, the whole Europe and a part of America. In order to combat with this future crisis the steps should be taken from his very stage. From other reports it is apparently been shown that he has also anticipated that the global warming affects would occur due to excess fuel erosion in the 7^th layer of Earth, which will lower the Earth atmospheric and environmental temperature. Also, the people situated in the Arctic and the Antarctic regions will be unable to survive in the next 53 years because the pure water on which the icebergs of those lands are suspended on will go through the process of latent heat of solidification. In order to rescue these regions from getting back to the ice age, the pure water under the icebergs needs to be inter rehabilitated in the saline water.

The Jyotish explained three major advantages of accomplishing this task:

1: The Eskimos of the Arctic and Antarctic region would be saved.
2: The regions will rescue from getting back to the Ice age, and
3: If the task is intelligently accomplished then there are certain possibilities of ice reduction in these regions.

On hearing of these predictions an Applied Physics student from the University of New South Wales, Australia grew fascinated and at the same a bit suspicious about the predictions being made. He went onto the voyage to meet the Jyotish to question and tell him about his suspicion concerning the 3^rd prediction the Jyotish has made.

The student’s name was Josh Mac’lay and he originally was from Venice, Italy. He questioned the Jyotish, “How can saline water under the icebergs lead to Ice reduction in the respected regions”. The Jyotish was in consideration for a moment until he said, “Sodium Chloride in the water will decrease the heating point of the Ice and hence it will melt”. The student argued, “Jyotish, don’t you think that this is against the law of Physics?” The Jyotish smilingly said, “Do you believe that Earth revolves round the sun?” The student annoyingly answered, “Though this question is absolutely ridiculous and irrelevant but I still will answer you. Yes I do”. The Jyotish again smilingly said, “That too was a scientific paradox before”. The student paused for contemplation and refused to question the Jyotish further. Nevertheless, he was assured that the Jyotish has some very deep calculations about his predictions.

After 6 months an article was published in the ‘New York Times’ by the title “Four big claims of a Jyotish’, which contained many contradictions and conciliations with the Jyotish’s claims and predictions. Due to the rush that article created, which was written by a freelancer named as William Corrins, the Jyotish was invited for a debate in New York with the best physicist of that time, Sir Richard Marveley who had also been a lecturer in the Oxford University, England. Marveley didn’t touch all of the latter three claims of the Jyotish because according to him they may contain some scientific realities in the near future. However the claim to explode Arcturus seemed ridiculous to him .He questioned the Jyotish about that and as an answer the Jyotish replied, “This is a blessing from Shiv, our lord”. The whole auditorium echoed with the public laughter.

Marveley continued to harass him, “Why not Antares, the 15^th brightest star of world?” Jyotish replied, “Because in front of the rough diagram of Arcturus Jupiter would be of one pixel, whereas in front of the rough diagram of the Antares that would be Sun, which would be of one pixel” Laughter prevailed.

“If your claim is as high as to explode Arcturus then why not the Antares? Is it too big for you to explode?” Marveley questioned laughingly. Jyotish said, “No! It has rather no parallel line with the Earth”. “Earth? How can we even think of exploding Arcturus from the Earth when in the same rough diagram of the comparison between the Arcturus and Sun, Jupiter would be of one pixel? And I think dear respected Mr.…. Yes! Mr. Jyotish I don’t need to remind you that if we draw the rough diagrams of comparison between the Earth and Jupiter then in front of Jupiter, Earth would be hardly of 3 pixels and Jupiter of 2 cm. Keeping these points in mind what scientific evidence do you have which says that Arcturus can be exploded”.

Jyotish explained, “As I have said before that Arcturus and Earth share a common north-western path way, it is easy for me to say –after researching on the geographical and scientific properties of Arcturus- that exploding Arcturus is possible. I have just talked about the possibility not its application as it can cause even the Sun to split into minute atoms. The outer most layer of Arcturus is made up of the compound of Cu2+ and Eniorizeya. Eniorizeya is the element only found on this galaxy, Arcturus. Nitrates are aqueous with no exception and Cu2+ can be turned aqueous on reacting with a nitrate. Nitrates create extra kinetic energy in Eniorizeya, which causes it to burst. Therefore, we can release nitrate ionic space vapors towards the Arcturus. Cu2+ would turn into aqueous solution and that would create extra kinetic energy in Eniorizeya present, which will explode the Arcturus.”

Silence prevailed. Now Dr. Marveley seemed a little insecure and asked the Jyotish, “How can we release an ample quantity of nitrate vapors for the destruction? Jyotish said, “I talk of the possibility of destruction not its method”

PS. This is only a fiction!
PS. This has been written as a tribute to the hardwork of Uncle Al.

There are undoubtedly many examples of human ignorance, but there still are many places where the ignorance is just too extreme. Here is something that left me flabbergasted for two reasons: One because of what happened in 2004 in what is known to be one of the great universities of Pakistan and the second because I just came across it a couple of hours ago. I have written everything down that I know and was told. It happened on Tuesday, November 9, 2004 when the Vice Chancellor of the Punjab University marked the “death anniversary” of Dr. Allama Iqbal, which came as an astonishment to those who actually were celebrating his 127^th birth anniversary, said Punjab University Press Release.

 The press release from the PU Public Relations Department on Tuesday said: “A delegation of teachers and students led by PU Vice Chancellor Lt Gen Arshad Mahmood laid a floral wreath at Mizar-I-Iqbal and offered Fateha to pay homage to the great poet on his death anniversary,” The press release then went on talking about the tributes and respects paid to the splendid and perpetual works of Dr. Allama Iqbal, on his “death anniversary” by the vice chancellor.

 The Vice Chancellor controls what is considered to be Pakistan’s greatly accomplished university, which has produced many successful professionals and scholars. The university that he heads also provides a masters degree for Iqbaliat, the study of Iqbal’s works and life.

 “This shows the specific staff’s interest in the institution,” said one teacher. “It is just the latest example of the sort of routine praise showered on the administration for ulterior motives. Public relations here has come to mean praising the vice chancellor, not about anything else happening at the university.” 

A Mass Communication Department teacher pointing at the factual mistake laughingly said that this was the result of the unprofessional attitude of the teachers and the students of the Punjab University and the great irresponsibility of the rest of the staff. He also taunted saying that the mistake would have been pardonable if the information came from elsewhere “but considering the person and institution, it is not”. By this he meant to say that perhaps the vice chancellor or someone in his relations would have gone through some bitter dealings with Iqbal, directly or indirectly.

 Mr. Arshad Mahmood, the vice chancellor of the Punjab University, and the Punjab University public relations officer, Rashid Khan Barkzai, refused to comment.

I can derive only these results: Mr. Mahmood was too dumb to be the vice chancellor of the Punjab University or too unintelligent to take out his “personal conflicts” with Iqbal this way. If this was the way of retaliation then a very poor way was it. In addition I really feel saddened to say that even till this century there are some people whose thoughts are so biased and conservative. Great nations have always cared for their assets and particularly in the case where Iqbal is in the central concern who was one of the important people served to create an Islamic State, now known as Pakistan. The individual perspective of the independence of Pakistan is a different concern, but that doesn’t decrease the level of the significance that comes from the works of Iqbal, which were meant to be for the welfare of the Muslims of the subcontinent in particular and the Muslims of the world as a whole.

Iqbal once rightly said:

Aflaak se aata hai naalon ka jawaab aakhir,                       
Karte hain khitaab aakhir, uthte hain hijaab aakir.

On January 21, 2007 I had the chance of driving towards Frere and Burns’ Road with my father. These two roads consist of the oldest buildings of Pakistan (at least this is what I was told) and are located in the center part of Karachi. Initially after the independence of Pakistan, these two roads were the most commercial. However now a days they are taken more to be uncivilized areas of Karachi, due to the poor population settled out there. The most interesting part of these places is the food market, a huge one. After all, its all about food!

According to the Islamic calendar this is the month of Muharram, which is given attention by the Muslims of all the sects as a whole, and Shia Muslims in particular due to the historical account it holds. After crossing the main alleyway, which was an opening to the Burns’ Road and which also, welcomed a huge traffic, I saw the devotion and respect of Shia Muslims to this month by catching the sight of the hoardings speaking of this month from a Shia perspective and I would have certainly taken it to be very positive because of my clear and optimistic methodology, until I and my father were stucked in the traffic, which (according to everyone out there) was caused by a few Shias for performing their Majalis (religious gatherings) and rallies.

This wasn’t the first time that I had witnessed this sight, however this time I gave it some importance. I asked my father, "Why do these people have got to take their rallies out on the heavily on-going road?" And my father, with wrinkles on his forehead, instead of answering my question told about his one encounter with a similar Shia. He said that he asked the Shia about the use of behaving this way in Muharram on the roads, and the Shia responded to him, "We are trained this way. This is our mode of advertising to let others know about the significance of this month". When my father was just about to start with telling about the encounter the built and rareness of the ol' buildings there hypnotized me. We are now on the Burns’ Road. I heard what my father said, but didn't like to prolong the dialogue, because there was alot more to see and think about other than getting educated about the behaviour of a few humans, who cannot distinguish between significance and ignorance. Nevertheless, according to me such behaviour of a few people doesn’t represent all the Shias and the message Shiaism brings with it, rather it represents the thinking level of the less educated Shias who think that disturbance holds the Divine significance of diverting others to one perception. Such less educated extremists are present in every sect and religion. Enough said…

Following the thought I again got spell bounded in the exceptionality of those ancient, rotten buildings. I ignored the idea of questioning my father about the legacy of those exquisite looking structures, because he was already very tensed handling the poor traffic. For others those buildings might be of no substance but I got engrossed towards the ancient art of their grills. It reminded me of the old history books holding the pictures of the palaces of the Mughal emperors. That grill art mesmerized me to the highest level of my expectation that I marveled that I never really have seen Burns’ road the way I was seeing it this time. Those buildings seem to be speaking their own tales of the solitude they have accumulated inside them. For some reason those buildings appeared to be solitary to me, which was perhaps the reason why I was so fascinated by them. Though they were putrid and aged they still appeared contemplating and reflecting on some thoughts.

Finally our car stooped at a place and I had the occasion of telling my father about my feelings concerning this place and to my shock I was horrified when my father said on my lines, "They are of the times when Pakistan didn't reach it's independence and many alike buildings were destroyed because of the intensity of the riots carried on this road before 14th August 1947". It was just at this time that I discovered the reason behind them appearing to be solitary to me. They didn’t only hold the age and history but also the blood. They must have a lot gone over through them, which is put as a burden inside their chests.

Getting off from those deliberations I had Bread rolls and Kebabs from a stall with a drink and I was further told that the real owner of this stall sold it for Rs. 350,000 because of its goodwill. And yes, each Bread Roll and Kebab was worth only Rs 9.

Right ahead that stall started the Frere Road, in which the first thing that caught my interest was yet again an ancient low tower like structure. At the first glimpse I thought that it would be a Protestant Church but I was told that it was a Commerce University before, which has reached it's downfall many years ago. My reaction to this building was quite the same as was before on the buildings of Burns’ Road.

Quite thoughtfully I bid my farewell to the place with a hope that one day I’ll discover the mysteries those buildings hold inside them.

Iqbal: Ethnic and Racial Differences in Pakistan and the struggle for Islamic Revolution.

Question:

Pakistan is multi-lingual and heterogeneous national community. One analysis is that the thinking of Allama Iqbal and the appeal of the Islamic Movement under Maulana Mawdudi got relatively better response in the Punjab and among those belonging to (and migrated from) U.P. It was less popular in Sarhad (NWFP) and still much less in Sindh among the Sindhi speaking people. Thus popularity at the national level could not surface for the Islamic movement. Is it not so that the Islamic movement in Pakistan is much constrained by these ethnic and racial influences?

Answer:

No doubt, the hidden effects of the factors are at work, but I shall not count them as dominant reasons. It is not so that the Urdu-speaking and Punjabi-speaking communities wish to see Islam implemented, whereas Bengali, Sindhi, Baluchi, Barohi and Pushto-speaking people are opposed to it. To a certain level and with a bit of plus and minus, all these ethnic groups have similar attachment to Islam, and it is not less than any Arab and non-Arab nations. The assumption that revolution can be succeeded in places where there is ethnic unity, may be partially correct.

In fact when ideology is built into an organizational structure and the popular force is mobilized, then even the opposing and conflicting factors come together in a disciplined movement. The Pakistan independence movement is a very clear example of this phenomenon, wherein all ethnic and racial groups participated and together they realized the common goal.

Our real dilemma is that after the creation of Pakistan, the Pakistan movement and its objectives were forgotten. Unfortunately the country got deprived of the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah soon after independence. In a short while after Pakistan came to being, there was a deliberate attempt against accepting Islam as a philosophy underlying the administrative, political and media structures. This attitude got more and more aggressive giving rise to new tribulations in the country. Inspite of passing the objective resolution, no practical steps were taken.

If you see closely, you find Islam and the Pakistani nationalism as the first objectives of the freedom movement. But, through their concerted efforts, the very official circles and institutions pushed forward the ethnic, racial and provincial prejudices, and different elements -- mostly representing socialist and secular lobbies -- provided regular support to the ruling junta, in this respect. Personality of Quaid-e-Azam provided the only protecting shield against it, but on his demise immediately after independence, his very lieutenants and colleagues became silent spectators or even walked against the Quaid’s wishes. I think this was a deliberate attempt and revolt against Islam and Pakistan. No alternative force was allowed to flourish and counter these vested interests and prejudices. As far the "Objective Resolution", it was the documentary embodiment of the Pakistan Movement and the fruits of the creation of Pakistan. I state with full knowledge, that before partition, Iqbal’s influence in Sindh, Bihar, Bengal or Deccan was not less than what was in Punjab. Iqbal’s message has been instrumental as a moving force for the Muslims in the past and will remain so in future.

Was it really so? Particularly with reference to the Muslim majority areas like Sarhad, Sindh and Bengal?Yes. In relation to Allama Mohammad Iqbal, I am not saying so under the influence of any propaganda or blind faith, but say so rather with full confidence. For instance, look at the address of G.M. Sayyed about Sindh, which he delivered in the 1943 annual conference of Muslim League. In that speech, this present-day secular and Sindhi nationalist leader, referred to everything included in Iqbal’s message and thoughts. Adorned with beautiful verses is that speech, like "Unique is the composition of the nation of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.)"

And that (in Sindh), "the only way to save us, and help us stand on our feet, is, that Muslims from all over the sub-continent come here to lend helping hand in our economic development and liberate us from the dominance of Hindus".Were these the original thoughts of G.M. Sayyed or some feed-back from All India Muslim League?

No feed-back at all. These were not only the considered views of G.M. Sayyed, but also those of the Sindhi muslims, and this pertains to 1943. Contrary to this, the whole retrogression and reverse mutation occurred after the creation of Pakistan and manifests the total failure of the ruling political leadership and a bureaucracy also belonging to the same groups. Therefore, I believe that, given the fact that Islam is presented as a practical way of life and not merely as slogan -- a programme which ensures justice, freedom and economic rights, in which these nationalities can grow smoothly and play their brotherly role with honour -- then the Muslims in Pakistan have the capability to follow this just path, of course guided by a sincere leadership which stands above all prejudices and enjoys the confidence of the people.

To the extent that I have studied the question of nationalities in Islam, I find they are not denied, but are rather mobilized by linking and integrating them with the higher level of allegiance. A classical example is provided by the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) himself. While training his army, he assigned a specific position to every tribe and giving a banner to a headman, he would say; "Because you better know your position, but NOT to magnify your tribe". This is what the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) did, but here (in Pakistan) we could not do that. Rather, those who spoke for the due rights, were considered enemies of Islam and Pakistan. We have a long history of regional development and growth, which Pakistan failed to follow. Unless and until we bring all our nationalities within the bigger gamut of submission and reference to Allah and His Prophet (p.b.u.h.), crises will continue to come.