Pakistan: The Masters, The Madaaris & The Monkeys!

Masters, Madaaris & the Monkeys:

Pakistani praetorian masters conduct Psychological operations (PSYOP) to control peoples' minds to perpetuate their hold on power & resources of the country; they befittingly use their hand-maiden 'madaaris' to play the drama; a new or even an oft-repeated act; & the media men & women & the public so eagerly & so readily turn into monkeys; they become excited, start jumping up & down & from one branch of the tree to the other!

Welcome to the never-ending 'tamasha' in Pakistan! 

Army operation against Taliban: Who are they kidding?

Army operation against Taliban: Who are they kidding? Who is going to fall for this?

This is nothing but hogwash. Doesn't mean a thing.

It is an exercise in futility until coupled with a robust & meaningful operation against Taliban producing madarsas, the hate & fire spewing mullahs & the mindset behind it.

Talibaniat runs deep in Pakistan. Going after just one of the multitudes of symptoms is not going to make any change. Not even slightly. Things will only get worse.
Talibaniat has its roots in the constitution of Pakistan & the so-called ideology of Pakistan. The growing mazhabi asbiat or religiosity & sectarianism.

It only shows that either the govt & army don't understand the issue or they don't want to go after the real causes.

The malaise is too deep to be cured by cosmetic actions.
 

Pakistan Elections on 11th May! Don't Forget 12th May (2007)!

Elections have been announced for 11th May, 2013!

Hope people will remember the 12th May (2007) when they go to vote!

Now the masterminds & the executioners of the May 12 (2007) Karachi massacre, ex-military dictator Musharraf & MQM, have joined the hands again. Musharraf is arriving in Karachi today to lead their joint election campaign. People must reject their racist & terrorist policies once for all on 11th May.

There should NEVER be another 12th May! There should be no place anymore for violence & use of force to achieve political or other objectives.

http://indusherald.blogspot.com/2012/05/victims-of-karachi-massacre-of-12th-may.html

MQM behind May 12 carnage: Aitzaz, PTI: http://www.saach.tv/2012/05/12/mqm-behind-may-12-carnage-aitzaz-pti/

12 May 2007 - A Day To Remember Massacre In Karachi Done By MQM Terrorists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn7_p29tBZk  

12th may 2007 massacre: Culprit terror gang MQM Altaf still roaming scot free: http://pkpolitics.com/discuss/topic/12th-may-2007-massacre-cluprit-terror-gang-mqm-altaf-still-roaming-scot-free

Musharraf held responsible for May 12 massacre: http://tinyurl.com/c9ngdwu

Terrorism of MQM exposed: Videos related to 12 May 2007 massacre in Karachi: http://mqmexposed.blogspot.com/2010/08/videos-related-to-12-may-2007-massacre.html

MQM's Massacre on 12th May with full evidence: http://www.defence.pk/forums/national-political-issues/131007-mqms-massacre-12th-may-full-evidence.html

The Magicians And The Muffled: Will "Bhej Pagara" Ever Replace "Jeay Bhutto" In Sindh?

By: Mohammad Ali Mahar

(This article was written in December)

After King Khan’s record breaking, mind blowing Jalsa in Lahore, which opened the sluicegates for the ablution utensils from all over the country to roll over to his scrubbing place for purification from the smut accumulated in their previous incarnations, Shaikhul Islam’s politics of ‘Save the state, not politics’ has boggled the serious discerner of the Pakistani politics. Sitting 11,000 miles apart in Canada for eons, what charm was the Allama able to cast over the nation to throng the meeting place he chose for his rally in Lahore? Arranging a gathering of hundreds of thousands remotely is indeed a feat unachievable without some otherworldly assistance. Is he a magician or is he a maulana? Tum qatl karo ho keh karaamaat karo ho (are you a murderer or are you a miracle worker)?

But, be this a checkerboard set by the gurus of the great game or the patzers of the Pakistani agencies, let the players play their pawns the way they please. Let us focus on how Sindh looks at the situation.

What does the allama’s rally mean for the muzzled and muffled of Sindh is the question a Sindhi keeps asking himself. MQM’s cards are already on the board. Their ultimate goal – division of Sindh – is clear, Altaf Hussain’s ifs and buts notwithstanding.  For as long as the governments, provincial as well as federal, will keep feeding on his demands, he will not leave the government. The moment a government showed a desire to deviate, he will resort to the blackmailing. So, there is nothing in MQM for Sindhis for the one’s goals are mutually exclusive to the other.

Sindhis’ past perception about the PPP being the leadership valued their sacrifices and would return their love with love. If Sindhis suffered for the party during the ‘Dollar Movement’ of 1977, when the goons from the immigrant, abaadgaar (settler) communities instigated by the power of dollar and the invisible power instrument ransacked the cities of Karachi and Hyderabad, if they fought the generalissimo’s gestapo in 1983 and lost lives in thousands, it was because they had trust in the leadership they sacrificed for. The Bhuttos on their part for as long as they lived proved themselves worthy of every drop of Sindhi blood.

Sindhi psyche being cast such a way that it favors the underdog. Nowhere in the Sindhi folk poetry will you find a hero who is aggressor. Sindhis resist bullies and love martyrs. For example, when the rest of the Indian subcontinent was embracing Mughals as their rulers, the Mughal saw their worst resistance in Sindh everywhere but mainly by Dharejos in Bakhar and Ranas in Thar. The British had to impose the first martial law in the subcontinent in Sindh when the grandfather, and a namesake, of the current Pir Pagaro organized an armed rebellion and gave British a run for their money. Mughals could not conquer the Bakhar fort until they killed all the resisting Sindhi sardars after inviting them for talks on Quran and mixing poison in the food served to them. The English had to martyr the Pir as well as thousands of his followers to rule the province.

Sindhis have lost wars but they worship their fallen heroes. It is therefore no wonder that, right or wrong, for every life the Bhuttos lost, Sindhis felt more and more indebted to them. It is mainly for this reason that Sindhis have kept voting for the Bhuttos and their party. Another reason for Sindhis favoring Bhuttos was that they felt that for as long as the Bhuttos and their party were there, their interests were protected. Sindhis knew that the transgressions committed against them will be fixed whenever the Bhuttos returned to the power. They reposed their complete trust in the Bhuttos. The Bhuttos, in most of the cases, lived up to Sindhis’ trust.

During the nine long years of Musharraf’s rule of the country, Sindh saw its worst days when the whole province became captive to a minority holding sway over the two of its major cities of Sindh through gun power and gerrymandering. It was during this rule that Sindh got virtually divided in two parts and it became impossible for an indigenous Sindhi to enter a government job or an educational institution in Karachi.

Sindhis knew, however, that as long as Benazir Bhutto was around, the wrong would be righted whenever she returned to the power. In other words, Sindhis trusted a Bhutto more than the State of Pakistan.

The Sindhi people who believed that all the crimes committed against the interest of Sindh and Sindhis would be corrected when the PPP came to power were surprised when they saw them legalized by the regime they themselves brought to power by granting carte blanche in the polls. The current term of the PPP, is a tale of transgression, deceit, plunder and criminality against Sindh. And Sindhis, no fools contrary to the selfish leadership’s belief, saw this all happening with patience and waited for the right time to strike back.

And, then came this huge rally led by Pir Sahab Pagaro! Those present at the rally say that the 72 acres of the land holding the rally was completely jam-packed with the people, some say as many as half million in number. The PML (F) claiming the number to be 1.2 million.

After his nationalistic proclamations and refusal to team up with the reviled ruling regime, most of the Sindhis see a messiah in Pir Pagaro. However, his less than impressive past history makes him tread the tight rope more carefully than any other politician. His deceased father’s record, who sided with the enemies of Sindh whenever Sindh needed his support, makes going even more difficult for him. His meetings with Yousuf Raza Gilani and the nominated governor of the Punjab, Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mahmood have raised many eyebrows already, the Makhdoom’s subsequent resignation from the party notwithstanding. My own excitement is giving way to suspicion.

It is too early to chant ‘Bhej Pagara’. The Sindhi people having been bitten repeatedly by the leaders they followed will take a little time before they start trusting the Pir Sahab and his party. There being still some time before the next elections, the Pir has to prove himself worthy of Sindhi people’s trust. Only then will the chant of ‘Jeay Bhutto’ will turn into ‘Bhej Pagara’.

But, what puzzles me more is the very large presence of the folks at all three rallies. Is it really that the people of the country have finally become disenchanted with the two big mafias that pass for the political parties in Pakistan? Or, is it the otherworldly powers playing their hand?

But the bigger question is: whom does the Maulana represent, really?

The writer is an independent political commentator. 

'Bantustanaisation' of Sindh — Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur

The 18th Amendment had ostentatiously devolved powers to the provinces but the First Schedule of the new ordinance reintroduces a hybrid concurrent list in Sindh

I never thought that Sindh, the land of the legendary Makhdoom Bilawal who preferred pulverisation by the Arghun ruler’s oil seed grinder to submission in 1523 AD (929 AH); where on February 17, 1843 in Miani, 6,000 plus martys, including Mir Jan Mohammad Talpur who was buried there as his wounds made shifting impossible, would see this day when it would capitulate to selfishness and abandon the rights of Sindhis just to retain their privileges. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has done just that by passing the Sindh People’s Local Government Ordinance 2012 in an indecent haste.

The perfidious ordinance sounds the death knell for Sindhis’ rights by giving the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) the unchallenged right to rule urban Sindh and confines Sindhis to rural areas. The ordinance is unadulterated mischief because only the First Schedule has been published yet, and it is mischief personified, while all other schedules still under wraps must certainly carry more trouble and harm. The people of Sindh are resisting this perfidy but it seems the PPP government and party is bent upon inflicting this deadly wound on Sindh, bartering away its destiny.

This skewed ordinance weakens the already emasculated provincial government by creating the Metropolitan Corporation with Mayoral office, which in many respects is more powerful than the chief minister and his ministries. That would thus create a diarchy but not a simple diarchy for as per the ordinance, the urban local government has untrammelled powers in cities where the gerrymandered constituencies and bogus elections ensure that the MQM has the sole right to rule while the rural areas where decrepit governance prevails, languish.

Under this ordinance, the mayor with unbridled powers heads the Metropolitan Corporation with its separate bureaucracy under a Chief Officer, chosen or requisitioned by him. His autonomy from the provincial government in matters of administration, planning, allocation, taxation, supervision, audit, budgeting, works, communication, environment, transport, works, execution, inspection, enforcement, etc, will create a parallel power centre. He enjoys some magisterial powers plus Section 144 CRPC. His removal requires a two-thirds majority; the mover/seconder loses his seat if the motion fails. Even if he is prima facie guilty of transgressing laws, the chief minister cannot remove him but refers to the Provincial Local Government Commission with a 90-day inquiry deadline. A mayoral autocracy will thrive in the name of democracy.

The NFC Award, supposedly the guarantor of fiscal independence, has been nullified by this ordinance. Its section 124 establishes a Provincial Finance Commission, headed by the provincial finance minister and ‘shall comprise of such other members as may be prescribed, and would recommend the distribution of funds between the provincial and local governments on the basis of such vague, subjective and potentially contentious principles as “fiscal need, fiscal capacity, fiscal effort and performance.” The finance portfolio will not be difficult for the MQM to pry away from the spineless PPP government. It ensures perpetual deprivation for Sindhis and hostility along the ethnic fault lines.

The 18th Amendment had ostentatiously devolved powers to the provinces but the First Schedule of the new ordinance reintroduces a hybrid concurrent list in Sindh. That will allow the metropolitan areas, particularly Karachi and Hyderabad, to exercise almost the same range of powers and functions as are enjoyed by the provincial government, thus accentuating the urban-rural divide for all intents and purposes. This means that the urban centres will be ruled at the whim of the MQM muscled in by bogus elections. Under an unfettered MQM rule, they will become increasingly active and dangerous.

The warped ordinance will allow the MQM to forge laws and create conditions that will exclude people of other ethnicities from all political and economic benefits and force them into ghettoes in the cities it will control. The rural areas as it is receive only crumbs from the urban rulers. This inequitable ordinance creates conditions for political and economic apartheid for all ethnic groups with the exception of urban muhajirs and this is the first systematic step for creating ‘Bantustans’ for Sindhis in Sindh so that the indigenous Sindhis do not even get half a chance to progress.

Bantustans, the black homelands, were created by the South African apartheid regime to ensure that the blacks and coloureds were excluded from all benefits that the whites enjoyed. These Bantustans were a major administrative device for the exclusion of blacks from the South African political and economic system under the policy of apartheid. The new ordinance in Sindh follows Hendrik Verwoerd’s apartheid policy principle known as “separate development”. It will ensure that the development in rural, read Sindhi, areas will be condemned to absolute neglect.

The Bantustans of rural areas here under the ordinance are a double whammy for Sindhis as it benefits the MQM by making cities Pretoria and Johannesburg for them; and secondly, making the rural areas Vendaland, Transkei, Kwa-Zulu, etc, for Sindhis, thus depriving them of their rights and opportunities and keeping them mired in the Middle Ages. This ordinance creates the optimum conditions for dividing Sindh between the Urdu-speaking and Sindhi-speaking people, initiating a perpetual conflict between them. The PPP in its anxiety to retain power has recklessly forsaken Sindhis and agreed to the Bantustanaisation of Sindh.

This ordinance will exacerbate the already acute ethnic conflicts. Inevitably, along the existing ethnic fault-lines, tectonic scale fissures will appear and result in an irreversible ethnic and social meltdown because when a single ethnic group pockets all the rewards and the rest are denied even the basic essentials, there is bound to be unprecedented turmoil. It carries the germ of division and can only result in violence. During the civil war in Cyprus, the Greek and Turkish populations generally inhabited separate areas while here they intermingle, which means more bloodshed.

There however is a glitch in this plan. The people of Sindh have realised that their rights have been bartered away for personal benefits by the PPP and MQM and its beneficiaries stand to prosper further, therefore they are bravely resisting the attempt to permanently consign them to ghettoes. They have to understand, if they have not yet, that once they are corralled in their Bantustans there is no escape because they have neither a Nelson Mandela nor an ANC to lead them. They will have to man the barricades for the salvation of Sindh and Sindhis themselves.

The writer has an association with the Baloch rights movement going back to the early 1970s. He tweets at mmatalpur and can be contacted at mmatalpur@gmail.com

(Courtesy daily Times, 21 October, 2012)

Sindh Bachayo Committee's Stand On New Local Govt System In Sindh

ONE SINDH, ONE SYSTEM – NO TO DUAL SYSTEM

Sindh has been subject to continuous onslaught against its sovereignty and unity particularly
during last sixty five years of Pakistani Federation.   The recent attack on its sovereignty has
been hurled by no other than Pakistan People’s Party who claims to have the mandate of the
people of Sindh.  This attack on the unity and sovereignty of Sindh in the shape of so called
Sindh Peoples Local Government Act, 2012 reminds us the era of July, 1948 when Karachi was
snatched from Sindh and placed under the suzerainty of centre.  Sindh Assembly had to take
refuge in Hyderabad. At present, Sindh Assembly’s  very existence at Karachi will also be
devoid of any utility as it has transferred the executive authority of Provincial Government to
Metropolitan Corporation, Karachi making itself and the Sindh Government a puppet in the
hands of Karachi Mayor.

Unfortunately, Sindh Government is  undeterred by its capitulation and surrender.   Its
Ministers, advisors and PPP office bearers have been making  baseless allegations against the
leaders of National and progressive Parties of Sindh who have been  spearheading a heroic
struggle against this black law. Ignorant of the very letter and spirit of SPLG Act, 2012, the
Government is defending the defenseless.  We would like to present the case of Sindh against
this law by pointing out various provisions of this black law.  For the sake of convenience and
understanding, we have divided the Act of 2012 into three parts: First relates to the constitution
of Councils, Second enumerates the powers of the Metropolitan Corporations and third is about
the financial powers conferred on the councils and resources made available to them.


(1) Constitution of Councils:

Section 8 of the SPLG Act, 2012 declares Karachi as a single district abolishing five districts for
the sake of municipal purposes.  It creates a single Metropolitan Corporation out of five districts
in Karachi and five other single district Metropolitan Corporations in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas,
Sukkur, Khairpur and Larkana. Constituting single district metropolitan corporations in no case
affects  the demographic balance of population.  However, it badly affects the demographic balance and representation  of various communities particularly sindhi and Baloch in Karachi when their majority districts of Malir, South and West as well as large parts of district East are placed under the central control of Mayor who is elected indirectly on the basis of fraudulent electoral system and belongs  to a particular ethnic community not forming majority of the population in Karachi. Under section 8, the Zonal Municipal Committees of the districts and District Council, Karachi representing rural areas of all the five districts have been done away with thus completely eliminating the representation of Sindhi, Baloch and other people living in Karachi. Under Section 9, eighteen towns have been created without respecting the boundaries
of the revenue districts thus political Gerry  maundering has been ordered in the shape of
section 9.  The town boundaries, at present,  run across district boundaries only in Karachi
whereas in other districts of Sindh, town or Talukas are the part and parcel of the same district.

In Karachi, the towns have been created in such a way as to make minority population a
majority one.  No direct elections of the Mayor unlike London will be held.  Thus a dual system
has been enforced which gives complete control to one ethnic community in Karachi at the cost
of others.  Such basis of any law is in clear contradiction of various provisions of constitution of
Pakistan when the Supreme Court of Pakistan has already held that constituencies in Karachi
may be demarcated afresh giving representation to all communities living there.  Thus in the
name of  decentralization, Karachi has been completely centralized  eliminating the
representation of indigenous and other communities by handing over them to the wolves of the
city.  District Council, Karachi which comprised of 70% of the rural areas of Karachi has been
done away with, thus dealing a severe blow to Sindhi and Balochi population of Karachi.  The
fate of Sindhi and Baloch people has been consigned to an extremist group who has a history of
terrorism,  vandalism, torture, mass killings, murder and mayhem.  This system of ethnic
supremacy reminds Sindhi people one of the sad parts of their history when Prime Minister,
Liaquat Ali Khan within one year of Indian  partition in 1947 separated Karachi from rest of
Sindh in July, 1948.  Again in 1954, the central government imposed infamous  one unit
abolishing the provincial status of Sindh and making it a part of Punjab.  Throughout the
history of Pakistan, Sindhis have waged struggle against various onslaughts on the sovereignty and unity of Sindh.  PPP Government has again violated the sovereignty of Sindh by enacting
SPLG Act, 2012 which is no less harmful than Establishment of West Pakistan Act, 1955.

(2) POWERS OF METROPOLITAN CORPORATION KARACHI

Without any iota of doubt, so called Karachi  Metropolitan Corporation of Karachi has been
created like a state within state.  Under sections 14, 38, 39 and schedule 1 of the Sindh Peoples
Local Government Act, 2012, it has been given vast authority and list of subjects much wider in
scale than the powers and subjects given to Federal Government under schedule 4 of the
Constitution.

Under Section 14(5) it has been empowered to establish any office or activity
which power even the Federal Government does not possess as it can establish only those
departments, divisions or Ministries which are enumerated in schedule 4 of the Constitution.
Under Article 137 of the Constitution, Sindh Assembly has no power to transfer the executive
authority of the Provincial Government to any other authority.  Since there is trichotomy of the
powers under the constitution, one organ of the state, particularly a legislative organ  cannot
snatch executive authority from the provincial government. Sindh  Assembly acted in gross
violation of law by passing a piece of legislation which it had no authority to enact.  Despite
opposition and uproar and a missing chapter 18 and 7 schedules from the statue called SPLGA,
Act, 2012, the speaker of the Assembly went ahead with the passing of bill thus repeating
history of his traitor uncle Ayub Khuhro who in the same manner had cajoled and coerced the
members of Sindh Assembly in 1954 to pass an infamous one unit Bill in 1954.  Speaker, Nisar
Khuhro, being a custodian of the house, not only violated rules of the Assembly but committed
an act of treachery.


Under the aforesaid sections and Schedule 1, the Metropolitan Corporations will have 43
departments with their own administration headed by a grade 20 Chief Officer who will be the
head of District administration. Strangely enough, Sindh government has also 43 departments.
Following departments will work under Mayor of Metropolitan Corporation.

1. Primary, vocational and continuing education. (2)  Literacy (3) Health including
basic  and rural health  centers, child health, women health and  hospitals (4) Civil
Defense (5) Community development and organization (6) Fisheries (7) Social
Welfare (8) Sports and Sport Boards (9) Culture (10) Co-operation department (11)
Finance, Budget and  Accounts (12) KDA, KMC lands and Estate department (13)
Property Tax (14) Housing (15) Physical planning (16) Public health engineering (17)
Transport (18) Master plans, zoning and clarification of lands (19) Water Board and
other water authorities (20) law and order (21) Law and legal drafting (22)
Encroachments (23) Market Committees  (24) Natural Disasters (25) Co-ordination
(26) Environment (27) Human Resources (28) Information technology (29) Works
and Services (30) Land control and land use (31) Land Revenue Co-ordination (32)
Enterprises (33) Investment (34) Industry and Industrial Estates (35) Dams and water
reservoirs (36) Energy (37) Police and crimes control (38) Planning and Development
(39) Data Base (40) Historical and cultural sites (41) Regional markets and
commercial centers (42) Coastal Development (43) Prosecution of offences under
chapter XVII of the Act.


It is astonishing that Sindh government has 43 departments and the  Metropolitan
Corporations will also have same number of departments.  Apart from above departments,
the MCs have been given judicial powers under sections 109, 133, 143, 144 and 145 of the Cr.
P. C.  They shall also exercise powers under sections 30A to 34-B of the Police Act, 1861.
Section 109 pertains to preventive detention, 133 and 143 to public nuisances, section 144 to
ban any sort of activity including freedom of movement. Under section 145, Mayor has been
empowered to attach a property of any citizen in case of dispute over title of the property.  
Interestingly, these powers, at present, are being exercised by Judiciary  and police and
previously, they were conferred on  District magistrates and sub divisional  Magistrates.
Under section 201, the Mayor could be chairman of development authorities of Malir, Layari
and Hyderabad. Under Section 64 and 149  he will exercise complete control over town
Chairmen unlike Mushraff system.  Under Section 23, Mayor could only be removed by two third majority when the Chief Minister can be removed by simple majority of the house.
Under section 28(e) Mayor will implement Provincial and Federal Laws, under Section 29,
he can take disciplinary action against officers of Administration headed by Chief Officer
and he has been empowered to initiate ACRs of the officers.

PARALLEL ADMINISTRATIONS

Under this arrangement, two parallel administrations will be working in the province:
one under the Chief Officer controlled by Mayor and another under  Deputy
Commissioner who shall be responsible to Chief Minister.  The administration headed
by Mayor will be all resourceful and powerful whereas the administration working under Deputy Commissioner  and instructed by Chief Minister will be nominal, weak
and toothless having no authority whatsoever.  This system is more lethal than
Musharaff’s SLGO of 2001 as under that system power and authority over 12
departments was shared by the Provincial as well as Local Governments.  Under this
system, Metropolitan Corporation will have 43 departments instead of 12 under
Mushraff system which stand completely transferred to them. Under this black Act, the
departmental authority will not be shared by provincial government and councils
rather it has been transferred to MCs to the total exclusion of Sindh government.  This
system will  sow the seeds of conflict and  enmity between Sindhi and Urdu speaking
Sindhis and will divide mother Sindh on ethnic basis.

(3) FINANCIAL BASIS

Municipal institutions throughout their history in Sindh right from 1910 to 2001 catered
to their needs from their own taxes including octri tax, local cess, rents and other fees.
However, with the sharing of authority over 12 departments under Sindh Local
Government Ordinance, 2001, Provincial  Finance commission was created on the pattern of National Finance Commission under Article 160 of the constitution to divide tax revenue between Federal and Provincial  governments.  Similar arrangement has been made under section 124 and 126 of the SLGA 2012. Under section 116, the accounts of the councils shall be kept in a manner approved by the President of Pakistan. Besides, property tax has also been transferred to Metropolitan Corporations. Thus Metropolitan corporations will have their own taxes,  plus property tax as well as right over the
finances of the Provincial Government. The Metropolitan Corporations will be fed from
the finances of provincial government and provincial governments will only be serving
as post offices.  History is witness to the fact that encroachment over the powers and
authority of the Province of Sindh has been anathema to Sindhis.  On the one hand,
centre has usurped the sovereignty and resources of the province and on the other Local
Government system has been tailored to snatch the sovereignty and authority of the
province.  It is beyond any shadow of doubt that all powers and authority of the
Province including coastal islands and finance has been transferred to the Karachi
Metropolitan Corporation which will be established on the basis of undemocratic
Principles eliminating the representation of Sindhi and Baloch people and will be a state
unto itself.

PPP Government, through its inept and treacherous policy, has repeated history when
Chanesar, a  local  traitor entered into an agreement with Alauddin Khilji of Dehli to
attack Sindh.  Great Dodo Soomro fought a valiant struggle against Dehli Rule.  This
black law on the basis of  PPP-Mutahida agreement could be compared only with
Chanesar-Khilji agreement to snatch sovereignty of Sindh.  Therefore, we call upon all
the loyal sons and daughters of Sindh to resist this fascist and anti-Sindh black law by
following in the  footsteps of Great  Dodo and defeat the PPP government who has imposed a war-like terms on Sindh.

SINDH BACHAYO COMMITTEE
Hyder Manzil, Karachi

THE SINDH PEOPLES LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORDINANCE, 2012

Full Text of "The Sindh Peoples's Local Government Ordinance, 2012".

Please beware that  it is not official text because the govt has not published it yet & they might make any changes in it secretly before publishing it. They are so secretive & conspiratorial.

https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=EB22B51BA938735!408

Who Wants To Live In A Taliban Pakistan?

Photo taken from internet

1. Who Wants To Live In A Taliban Pakistan?

2. Who wants to live under a system in accordance with the lives & the philosophies of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast, Bulhe Shah, Waris Shah, Shah Hussain, Khowaja Ghulam Farid, Baba Farid Shakarganj & other such poet-philosophers?

Friends, these two are very important questions. May be THE questions of our LIFETIME!

One must understand that the Taliban didn't take birth from nowhere. That they did not come to this world by any accident or a chance or just by the planning of one or the other individual or a power. The Taliban sentiment has been here for long. Even before the creation of Pakistan. In different shapes & forms.

Hindu-Muslim riots during, before & after the partition, JI's later day slogans of 'Pakistan kaa matlab kiya? La Ilah Illallah' (Why Pakistan? La Ilah Illallah), JUP's campaigns of Nizam-e-Mustafa during, before & after the infamous PNA movement & the creation of many of 'jihadis', 'jaish' & 'lashkars' (religious warrior groups) have been some of the manifestations or the symptoms of the malaise before the inception of present-day Taliban.

People having an eye on the history would agree that the religious extremism is ON THE RISE. Despite many well-meaning efforts by the left & the moderate people, it has not gone away. Nor it is going to go away. Right now it affects some parts of Pakistan but it certainly is making inroads in the parts where historically extremism has never been a norm of the day. Ultimately, it is going to take over whole Pakistan.

I think it is essential to save the parts of present day Pakistan that don't want to live under a rigid extremist Taliban Pakistan but instead want to live under the philosophies of their highly respected poet-philosophers as mentioned above.

The best possible & the most peaceful way is to hold a referendum in Pakistan on above two questions. Whoever wants to live in Taliban Pakistan may do so happily but whoever doesn't want to live under extremists must be allowed to chart their own way.

This may save the lives of millions of people & avoid an unprecedented bloodshed. The intellectuals, activists & statesmen in Pakistan & world leaders must pay attention to this important issue, which has international implications too.

Victims Of Karachi Massacre Of 12th May, 2007 Still Await Justice

Mobile upload by Asif Ali

It is 12th May again. 5 years ago today, a reign of terror was unleashed on the city of Karachi by London, UK based Altaf Hussain & his MQM & the Musharraf regime. Scores of people were killed & many more injured. Deposed Supreme Court judge, Iftikhar Choudhry was not allowed to come out of the airport & the city roads were forcibly blocked to stop the processions going to the airport to receive him. The whole city was held hostage by the MQM goons. The people were fired upon, terrorized & harassed.

Now that deposed judge is back in his seat. A democratically elected government is in power. But it is unfortunate that none of them has gone after the terrorists. The government has shook hands with them & is sitting together with the killers of the political workers, lawyers & others. It can't & doesn't want to hold the terrorists accountable.

The judge is taking suo motu actions against anyone & everyone under the sun but not the MQM terrorists or ex-military dictator, Musharraf.

If there is no justice for the victims of the Karachi massacre of 12th May, 2007, how could there be justice for anybody else?

How Punjabi Babus Rule Pakistan? Deprivation In Sindh, Balochistan On The Rise In The Present Government

According to a daily Jang report, the present government, instead of redressing the injustices against the long suffering provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, has been committing even more discrimination against the two. It is creating more resentment in the two oppressed and subjugated provinces as people in Balochistan have waged struggle for independence while many in Sindh want to take the same route.

According to the report:

- The government has appointed 43 out of a total of 49 federal secretaries from Punjab

- All the four chief secretaries in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa and Balochistan are from Punjab

- Chief Secretary of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chief Commissioner of Islamabad are also from Punjab

- The government has appointed heads of various government organizations from Punjab and officers from Punjab are appointed on major positions in those organizations/departments.

- Officers from Punjab have been appointed in Islamabad Capital Territory Authority and the Capital Development Authority.

- Similarly officers from Punjab have been appointed in Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, National Police Foundation, National Highways Authority, Motorways, NADRA and several other organizations.

- Seven members in the Federal Public Service Commission are also from Punjab.

- JSQM leader Bashir Qureshi had said at a public rally in Karachi on 23^rd March that Sindh produces 69% of country’s gas & 75% of oil but it doesn’t have a single director among the 13 directors with the Oil & Gas Development Corporation Limited (OGDCL).

- According to him, there is not a single Sindhi General Manager either from among the 12 GMs with OGDCL.

This is the Pakistan for Sindh and Balochistan. Then they say why there are the feelings of deprivation in Sindh and Balochistan and why the people there are against Pakistan?

MQM Strike Against Itself In The Name Of Protest Over Bhattakhori (Extortion). What Did They Want To Achieve?

Almost every one in Pakistan, including the membership and the leadership of MQM and the business community in Karachi and other urban areas in Sindh know very well who are the biggest bhattakhors (extortionists) in Sindh. Why did the MQM then bring this issue to the fore with an ugly incident in the Sindh Assembly and a shutter down strike in Karachi and some other cities in Sindh knowing fully well that the fingers would certainly be pointed at them?

The recent history is the witness to the fact that whenever the MQM has agitated or initiated a wave of violence and terrorism in Karachi, Sindh, the real issues and the demands had not been the ones that were stated publicly. So what do they want to achieve this time? Is it related to the issue of the hundreds of thousands of voters that they have manipulated to get excluded from the voters' lists in Karachi, Hyderabad and some other areas in Sindh? Is it the inclusion in the voters' lists the names of about 3 million illegal aliens living in Karachi, Sindh? Or is it a matter related to some other vital financial, political or other interests? One thing is certain the MQM eyes are now fixed on the next elections as their hold on certain urban areas faces serious threat from some other stake holders.

The question is will Zardari government succumb to pressure again to accept some insidious and stealth MQM demands? Have they already done it?

Whatever the situation may be, the people should stand up to the MQM blackmail and demand that the party should not use any of the issues to divide the people in Sindh, pitch one community against the other and spread hatred among the people based on the ethnicity, language or any other grounds. 

MQM Protest Over Bhatta Collection (Extortion)! Wow! All Of Them Must Carry Mirrors In Their Hands!

The joke of the day in Karachi: MQM is to observe protest over bhatta collection (extortion)! This should give new meanings to the words hypocrisy, deception and blackmail. The party is generally believed to be the champions in the bhatta collection in the Sindh capital and Pakistan's largest metropolis, Karachi. Their protest is like Taliban protesting the suicide bombing, Jamaat Islami calling for death sentence to Aafia Siddiqui or Advani of BJP and Bal Thakrey of Shiv Sena calling for restoration of Babri Mosque at the controversial 'birthplace' of Rama in Ayodhiya, India! What else could be more unthinkable or absurd?

But it provides a good opportunity to the government, law enforcing departments and the Supreme Court to hold a robust inquiry into the bhatta collection (extortion) in Karachi, Sindh. Although nobody would expect it from Zardari led most opportunist government or highly biased justice system in the country.

So continue to suffer at the hands of the murderers, blackmailers and bhattakhors (extortionists) and look for some more spectacles from the terrorist outfit of MQM and the inept PPP, the two coalition partners in the provincial government of Sindh and the federal government of Pakistan.

MQM Terrorizes Sindh Assembly

Photo courtesy, daily Jang

Sindh Assembly saw worst terrorism in its history yesterday when MQM members terrorized the house, manhandled the members from other parties, didn't allow anyone else to speak, broke mikes, waived posters, shouted slogans, threats, abusive remarks & made it impossible for the house to hold its session. This exposes  one more time the party known as the biggest terrorist political outfit in the country.

Where is the law?

Who Should Be The Prime Minister of Pakistan

Prime Minister of Pakistan Should Always Be From Punjab. Why? Pak Army Will Never Kill Him/Her!

Sindh Being Taken Away From Sindhis

By Aziz Narejo

Sindh is home to the Indus Valley Civilization with thousands of years of glorious history behind it. It has its own distinct culture, language, literature, heroes and villains. It has remained an independent country for hundreds of years during the known history. It has also been invaded and occupied at times. At all the times, Sindhis have owned, protected and promoted their distinctive social and cultural values, language, music and common heritage. They have resisted invaders and jealously guarded their identity throughout the history. Their heroic struggles in 1930s for the separation from Bombay and the anti-One Unit movement during 1950s and 1960s for the revival of the provincial status are but just a few examples.

When a resolution was presented by G.M. Syed in the Sindh Assembly in 1940s to become part of Pakistan, a number of Assembly members had resisted it fearing that Sindhis will lose their basic rights, language and culture as they will be a voiceless minority in the new country. They had instead favored a Dominion status for Sindh with an eventual independence.

G. M. Syed

They were assured by Syed and other pro-Pakistan leaders of that time that Sindh will have complete sovereignty over its territory according to the 1940 Lahore Resolution (also known as Pakistan Resolution) and all of its rights will be fully protected. It is most unfortunate that the fears expressed in Sindh Assembly in 1940s have come true and Sindhis have suffered immensely since the creation of Pakistan, as their life, culture, language and common heritage has been under an unprecedented and continuous attack and their lands, properties and resources have been encroached. 

The aspirations of Sindhis who participated overwhelmingly in the struggle to end the British rule in the earlier half of the 20^th century were dashed soon after the “independence” in 1947. They had hoped to regain their lost glory at the end of the British rule but instead were enslaved by the immigrants and the rulers of the newly established country. They have since then faced state terror, aggression, suppression, murder and incarceration of their leaders, loss of political power and continuous denial of their basic rights. It is most tragic that they have endured the worst kind of violence and brutality in Pakistan.

It is a historic fact that the movement of population on a mass scale was not foreseen at the time of the partition nor was it part of the plan announced on June 3, 1947 for the division of India. Nonetheless, a huge population movement took place and Sindh was inundated with a sea of refugees. Taking into account the impacts of the migration on such a large scale and the bloodshed accompanying it, the leaders of the two countries signed an agreement in 1950 aimed at stopping the movement of population. It is regrettable that the immigration has continued unabatedly since then raising the fears in Sindh that Sindhis may lose majority in their own province in near future.

M. Ayub Khuhro (first from left) seen with M. A. Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan & other Muslim League leaders during the  ML Working Committee meeting in Bombay in 1942

It may be noted that the government of Sindh’s Premier Ayub Khuhro was dismissed in 1948 mainly because he refused to take more than 150,000 refugees and also because he had refused to handover Karachi to the Center and had intervened personally in the provincial capital of Karachi to end the violence against the Hindus, a religious minority in Sindh. It was said at the time that the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, an immigrant from India, and his supporters had instigated the riots to force the religious minority of Sindh to migrate to India.

Liaquat Ali Khan

It is also said that the leadership of Pakistan at that time had planned to settle a large number of refugees in Sindh to establish dominance over the province. In this context a conversation between Altaf Gauhar, information secretary in Ayub regime and Chaudhry Mohammad Ali, ex-prime minister of Pakistan on 15^th March 1969 on the grievances of the people of Sindh is most revealing. Chaudhry Mohammad Ali in the conversation, as quoted by Altaf Gauhar said, “The Sindhis were extremely unhappy about the growing presence of “outsiders” in the towns of Sindh. The Muhajirs had taken over the whole of Karachi, the Punjabi officials had acquired the large tracts of barrage lands and the Pathans had acquired a monopoly of all transport and construction business”. Muhammad Ali thought these worries were all unnecessary because his “government in the 1950s had foreseen the problem and had planned the induction of Muhajirs into Karachi and other major towns of Sindh to forestall Sindhi nationalism”. (Please see pages 466, 467 of “Ayub Khan” by Altaf Gauhar).

Chaudhry Mohammad Ali

It is indeed part of the history that new laws were formed and immigrants were settled in the urban and rural areas of Sindh on a large scale. No verifications of claims were made for the allotments of evacuee properties and agricultural lands. Similarly no verifications were made for degrees or certificates of education for the employment of refugees. Simply a claim or a letter by the applicant cosigned by an officer, both immigrants, was deemed enough for allotments of lands, properties and employment.

Altaf Gauhar with president Ayub Khan & a civil servant M. H. Shah on the morning after 1965 presidential elections

On the other hands Sindhis were virtually banned from buying urban properties and agricultural lands in their own province. Later on when barrages were constructed to irrigate more lands in the province, the advertisements for the allotments of lands were published in the Punjab and the people from that province and every where else where encouraged settling in Sindh.

The practices have continued depriving the indigenous people of the opportunities in their own province and elsewhere in the country. They have been denied political power since the early days of Pakistan. They have been denied the basic democratic right to self rule and the access to their share in the economic development in the country.

Independent studies and surveys show that poverty in rural Sindh has increased manifold since 1947. It is said that the gross income in the rural areas has decreased since the independence. Experts and historians believe that if the income of a person was Rs. 50 at the time of partition, it has been reduced to Rs. 25 today if one takes into account the respective monetary value.

The indigenous people of Sindh have been made alien to the decision-making bodies in Pakistan. They don’t have their share in the civilian and military bureaucracies. No Sindhi has crossed the threshold of a Brigadier in the military since 1947.

The language, culture and the common heritage of Sindh have suffered the most. A vastly developed Sindhi language has been denied its rightful place in Sindh and Pakistan. The demand to make it a national language of the country has been continuously denied giving that status to a language spoken by a small but very powerful minority in the country. Peaceful Sindhi culture and way of life have been sidelined and an alien and mostly jingoistic culture has been imposed in the province.

Sindhi language has been virtually banned from the urban areas despite laws to the contrary and the doors to education opportunities have been closed on the indigenous population. Sindhis have been denied admission to colleges and universities in Karachi. Similarly laws have been made to refuse employment in Karachi to Sindhis from outside the city. A planned campaign is underway to settle outsiders in Karachi and other urban areas while demolishing old villages of Sindhis in Karachi and Hyderabad. Illegal aliens are being issued national identity cards and migration from India, Bangladesh and other countries is being encouraged to establish an artificial majority in the urban areas of Sindh in order to eventually force partition of Sindh.

Such policies of the Pakistani establishment aimed at denying the genuine rights of the indigenous people of Sindh and efforts to bring demographic changes in the province will cause unprecedented catastrophe and will result in more bloodshed and civil strife. One hopes sense will prevail and the leadership will stop its short-sighted policies.


The article was published in the June 2007 edition of quarterly "Sangat" edited by the author. 

Pakistan's Embassy in USA & Sindhi Americans

Sherry Rehman continued the tradition of Pakistani ambassadors in USA since last 6 decades to ignore Sindhi Americans as she addressed a so-called Pakistani Americans' gathering in Washington, DC seeking their support on Pak-US ties. No Pakistani ambassador in USA including Hussain Haqqani has ever invited representatives of Sindhi Americans to any embassy programs nor have they ever consulted Sindhi Americans on any issues facing them. It means Pakistani ambassadors in USA have never considered Sindhis as having to do anything with Pakistan. One must make it clear that Sindhi Americans on their part are not that eager to be part of any embassy programs either but this is something that needs to be taken into consideration by the state of Pakistan & its advocates.

Order Of The Day: Join Imran Khan!

اڄ جو حڪم: هڪدم تحريڪِ انصاف ۾ شامل ٿيو

فرمانِ امروز: تحریکِ انصاف میں شامل ہو جائو

Order Of The Day: Join Imran Khan!

See how things change in Pakistan! It is really amazing! As if someone is pulling strings from somewhere! A few days back, Javed Hashmi spoke in Larkana from the platform of PML-N in the presence of his erstwhile leader, Mian Nawaz Sharif & outlined PML-N program vociferously. And today he has joined PTI & has left Multan for Karachi to join his new Leader, Imran Khan. Just like that!

The way politicians are joining PTI, the time is not too far away when Babar Awan, Rehman malik, Gilani, Ch Nisar Ali, Ch Shahbaz, Ch Shujaat, Altaf & of course Asif zardari & Nawaz Sharif will join the Khan too!

So who will be left behind from among the great Pakistani POLITICIANS? Hameed Gul, Musharraf, Kayani, Pasha & some other serving & retired generals? Well, you may never know. They may already be in it.

Politics In Pakistan: Black & White & Gray & SHAME & HYPOCRISY

Politics in Pakistan can not be described in black & white. More of it is in gray. And also in red - with the blood of so many. But it is mostly dominated by the colors of infamy, shame, hypocrisy, corruption, mismanagement, greed, barbarism, lies, deceit, terrorism, long boots, lotacracy (turncoats), injustice, massacre, rape, racism, discrimination & other crimes.

Mian Nawaz Sharif & His Party's Exaggerated Fear of Imran Khan & PTI

Could someone explain it to Mian Nawaz Sharif that the contest between PML-N, PTI and other parties in Punjab is political. Hence it should be handled politically. He didn't have to go to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to maintain his hold in Punjab and beat Imran Khan in next elections.

Memogate: Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhry Should Not Judge, He Should Stand In Witness Box

Barrister Aitzaz & Chief Justice Iftikhar during the lawyers' movement in 2007

Memogate is certain to open can of worms in Pakistan. The legal battle is going to be stinky & very dirty. It has been pointed out that in case such memo was actually written to US officials, it had been done so in the response to a real threat of a coup by the military establishment. The whistle-blower, Mansoor Ijaz has pointed out in his black berry messages that a certain Mr. P (generally recognized as general Pasha, chief of Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI) had toured certain Arab countries, Saudi Arabia included, to pave the way for the overthrow of Zardari government.

It has also been said that the United States was approached even on the behalf of ex-prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, who is the petitioner in the case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Several other political leaders and even generals are said to have approached the US officials for help in the past. The present Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry is not an exception. It is said that leader of the lawyers' movement, Choudhry Aitzaz Ahsan had visited United States in 2007 to garner support for the deposed Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry. Hence it is demanded that the Chief Justice should recuse himself in the case & answer questions in this regards. So should do barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.

PTI, Imran Khan & The Change!

The C H A N G E ? Old is really "new"? Or is it? 

As pro Musharraf & pro establishment, old faces join the so-called new face of "change" in Pakistan, today's PTI is fast becoming yesterday's PML-Q. Aslam Beg & Hamid Gul had IJI, Musharraf had his PML-Q & now Kayani & Pasha will have their own hand-maiden, PTI! What a vehicle of c h a n g e for the unfortunate people of Pakistan. But some gullible still fall for such decoy! So get ready for the 'change' that comes via GHQ. 

Good luck, Pakistan!

 

 

What Is Going On In Dubai? Presence Of Several Pakistani Leaders, Their Associates, US Officials, Raises Questions

What is really going on in Dubai? Is any work underway on a new "Dubai Plan"? Many Pakistani politicians are either in Dubai these days or have visited the city recently. It has taken over from London, UK the position of being a place where most of the Pakistan related activities take place & deals are made. PPP-Musharraf deal was finalized in Dubai in 2007. Many other important meetings & negotiations have taken place in the city since then & before that.

Some reports say "anti-America", "Mr. Clean", Imran Khan along with turncoat Shah Mehmood Qureshi met with US general David Petraeus in Dubai on 29^th November. The meeting is said to have lasted about 5 hours.

Zardari & some of his close associates are in Dubai. Musharraf along with his close aids is still in Dubai or was there until very recently. Musharraf’s party man, Dr Arjumand Hashmi, who is Mayor of Paris, a small Texas town has traveled to Dubai too. It was reported that he would join Zardari’s doctors’ team! Maverick doctor-politician is also a friend of PTI chief Imran Khan. IK has visited him in Paris, TX as has Musharraf. 

Dr Arjumand Hashmi, Mayor of a small Texas town, Paris & friend of Musharraf & Imran Khan

 So what is really happening there? Is any new alignment being discussed for a coalition after next elections? Imran Khan & Musharraf to be included in the new coalition? 

Gandhi & Sindh: Compiled by Khalil Chandio

Gandhi

“EVERYTHING IN INDIA attracts me. But when I first visited Sindh in 1916, it attracted me in a special way and a bond was established between the Sindhis and me that has proved capable of bearing severe strains. I have been able to deliver to the Sindhis bitter truths without being misunderstood” -- wrote Gandhiji way back in 1929.

Actually Gandhiji delivered to Sindh more sweet truths than bitter truths. And, in any case, all these truths indeed established a very warm relationship between Gandhiji and the Sindhis. He visited Sindh seven times --- in 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1929, 1931, and 1934. It was “a Sindhi friend'' who had helped Gandhi shift from an expensive hotel to economical lodgings when he arrived in London for his law studies. In 1893, C.L. Lachiram, a Sindhi merchant, helped him organize the Natal Indian Congress. In 1899, Barrister Gandhi successfully fought for seven Sindhi traders who were being denied entry into South Africa. He supported the case of K. Hundamal, a silk merchant of Durban, in his articles in the Indian Opinion.

When Vishnu Sharma wrote a book on Gandhiji's satyagraha in South Africa and sent him a copy of the same, the latter acknowledged it with thanks. During his visit to Sindh in 1916, Gandhiji was presented with a welcome address artistically framed in Sindhi style. Gandhiji liked it so well that he kept it for years and showed it to visitors as an excellent example of Indian art. And it was Jairamdas who, in 1930, persuaded him to put everything else on one side and finish the autobiography, My Experiments With Truth.

However, the most important Sindhi leader in Gandhiji's life and work was Acharya Jivatram Bhagavandas Kripalani. Their first encounter in Santiniketan in 1915 was none too successful. Wrote Kripalani decades later: “Everything about him appeared queer and even quixotic.... I had never seen a middle-class educated man making a heavy meal of nuts, specially of such oily nuts as badams and pistas.'' Added the Acharya: “He was trying to know me and measure me. I too on my side was doing the same.''

A few months later Gandhiji set up an ashram in Ahmedabad and sent Kripalani a copy of its rules. Kripalani found the rules “very strange'' --- including the rule that husband and wife should live as brother and sister. He threw them away as ``impractical''.

And then one late evening in 1917, Kripalani got a telegram in Muzaffarpur from Gandhiji saying that he was arriving that night. He was on his way to Champaran to lead the indigo- growers' movement against their exploitation. Kripalani did not know what to do. As a bachelor-professor, superintending the G.B.B. College hostel, he did not have a house of his own. He, therefore, decided to put him up with his friend and fellow- professor, N. R. Malkani. But how was Gandhi, the ``great man'' of the South African struggle, to be received? The hostel students decided on a welcome with arati. But where to get a coconut for a proper arati, at night? While the students hesitated, Kripalani climbed a coconut tree in the hostel compound and plucked more than one coconuts. Gandhiji was properly received -and brought to the college campus in a horse-carriage lent on the spot by a local zamindar-friend of Kripalani --- and pulled by the students, against Gandhiji's wishes.

Gandhi with Acharya Kirpalani

Noted Gandhiji in his autobiography: “Acharya Kripalani, when I first met him in 1915, was already a seasoned warrior. He was then earning Rs. 400 per month but was a Brahmachari, taking only Rs. 40 for himself and sending the balance to Dr. Choithram who was conducting a Brahmacharya Ashram at Hyderabad (Sindh).'' Years later, Gandhiji wrote of that Muzaffarpur meet that ``since Kripalani had no rooms of his own, Prof. Malkani virtually became my host. It was an extraordinary thing in those days for Government Professors to harbour a man like me.'' He added that Kripalani, ``though a Sindhi, was more Bihari than a born-Bihari. He was my gate-keeper- in-chief. For the time being he made it the end and aim of his life to save me from darshan-seekers. He warded off people, calling to his aid now his unfailing humour, now his non-violent threats. At nightfall, he would take up his occupation of a teacher and regale his companions with his historical studies and observations and quicken any timid visitors into bravery.''

Jairamdas Doulatram

Dr Choithram

Professor N. R. Malkani

Even after this friendly encounter, the Gandhi-Kripalani relationship took some time to settle down to a happy, steady course. For example, Kripalani did not see how Independence could be won non-violently For Gandhiji, the course of Indian history had been non-violent; Kripalani thought otherwise. After some time Kripalani stopped putting questions to Gandhiji; he began to answer them himself. He now saw that India, in fact, was less violent than other countries; here, traditionally, only the professional warriors took part in fighting; in this country, children did not climb trees to destroy birds' nests; more people were vegetarian by conviction in India than anywhere else in the world. Kripalani the revolutionary had been converted to the cult of Ahimsa!

Even when the Himsa-Ahimsa issue was sorted out, Kripalani did not accept Gandhiji as “Mahatma''. He said: ``There were better and greater Brahmacharis than Gandhi. 1 never had any spiritual discussions with him. I also did not consider him a Mahatma. He used to call me Professor and I u-ed to call him Mr. Gandhi. After year. I called him either Bapu or Gandhiji. I rarely used the word Mahatma. As a matter of fact he resented people calling him Mahatma. Also Kripalani did not fancy Gandhiji's multi-religious public prayers; he thought prayer was a private affair between man and his Maker.

Kripalani supported Gandhiji's ` Khilafat'' movement to the extent that the British had promised to retain the Khalifa. But he did not agree with Gandhiji that if the Muslim anger was not channelized into the non-cooperation movement, it would have led to much violence. Kripalani viewed it only as an “expediency'' to get Muslim support for the freedom movement. Kripalani was sorry that Gandhiji's meeting with Jinnah in 1944 sent up the Muslim League stock. He felt that Muslims in India were more orthodox than Muslims anywhere else in the world because the Hindus were also very orthodox. And he once told me that Muslim cruelty and fanaticism could be traced to their neglect of the fine arts of music, dancing, painting and sculpture as “un-Islamic''.

After a few years, as Acharya of Gujerat Vidyapeeth, Kripalani went full-time into politics and became General Secretary of the Congress for more than a decade. He was of the definite opinion that there would have been no partition if we had followed Gandhiji. Gandhiji wanted to lead another struggle to wrest freedom for united India. But many leaders were too old and tired to wait that long for office. Gandhiji then “suggested that the British Government would be more anxious to back the Congress than the Muslim League. Therefore we had better try in that direction to checkmate Jinnah.'' But here again other leaders did not agree to join hands with the British and put Jinnah in his place.

Pandit Nehru even thought that the partition process would take ``at least ten years'' --- since the separation of Burma from India had taken that much time! Kripalani's plea for a “voluntary exchange of population'' was also brushed aside.

When violence erupted in the Punjab in March 1947, the Congress asked for “administrative division'' of the province. Kripalani saw in this clear seeds of partition --- and he rang up Gandhiji in Bihar to oppose the move. But, regrets Kripalani: “He was unfortunately surrounded by non-violent sadhus who did not understand politics at all. The phone was picked up by one such sadhu who insisted on my speaking to him only. What could I talk to that dunce?''

The fate of Indian unity was sealed.

Gandhiji's relations with Kripalani were not confined to public affairs. Right from the start, Gandhiji extended his interest to the whole Kripalani family. He wrote to Kripalani's father, Kaka Bhagavandas, assuring him that his grandson Girdhari was doing well in the ashram. He was always worried about the health of Kiki Behn, Acharya's only sister.

Kripalani was approaching fifty when he decided to marry Sucheta. “We had no intention but to live as companions. That is all we have been doing.'' But living together without formal wedlock would have only caused loose tongues to wag. However, Gandhiji would not bless the marriage. He was afraid he would lose a tried and trusted colleague like Kripalani. It was only when Sucheta assured him that, in their marriage, he would be gaining a new hand (Sucheta's) that he gave his blessings.

Nor did he hesitate to make fun of his dear friend, the Acharya. “Kripalani was morose formerly because I thought he was not married. But even when he is married and has a very good partner in life, his mood haunts him,'' he wrote early in 1942.

When Gandhiji suggested Kripalani for Congress President in 1946, Syed Mahmud and Yunus --- who were staying with Nehru --- opposed. Nehru himself opposed on the ground that Kripalani had a temper. Gandhiji countered: “But how about your temper?''

That clinched the issue. Kripalani presided over the Meerut session of the Congress. It was the period of transfer of power and Gandhiji said that Kripalani was “going not only to ear a crown of thorns but also lie on a bed of thorns. It is a much more difficult place than even the Cabinet members are filling.''

But within months Kripalani resigned because the Congress ministers, Nehru and Patel, would not consult the Congress President even on major issues.

Gandhiji told Sucheta on that occasion that Kripalani was going to play a bigger role in national affairs. He was right. From 1947 to 1977, Kripalani became the conscience of the country.

Gandhiji's relations with Acharya Gidvani were equally dear, except that the latter died too soon, in 1935. Gidvani resigned as principal of Ramjas College in Delhi, to head the Gujerat Vidyapeeth. Gandhiji said of him that he was “not only a scholar but, on the touch-stone of character, gold.''

The Sikhs were agitating in 1923 against the deposition of the patriotic prince of Nabha. Nehru, Acharya Gidvani and K. Santhanam went to observe the scene and were arrested, sentenced, and then sent out. When the atrocities continued, Motilal wired Gidvani to go and see on the Nabha border what was happening. On one occasion not only was a satyagrahi shot dead, his child, who was being breast-fed, was also shot dead. Gidvani thereupon rushed to the scene of firing just inside the Nabha state border. He was immediately pounced upon and kept in jail for almost a year. Writes Nehru in his Autobiography: “I felt inclined to go to Nabha myself and allow the (British) Administrator to treat me as he had treated Gidvani. Loyalty to a colleague seemed to demand it. But many friends thought otherwise and dissuaded me. I took shelter behind the advice of friends and made of it a pretext to cover my own weakness.''

Gandhiji noted: “He did not even wilfully cross the Nabha border. His humanity pushed him in.'' And when Gandhiji heard from Shrimati Gidvani after an interview that Gidvani was locked, his clothes were dirty, he looked much reduced as he had fasted for seven days, he wrote: “The whole of the civil resister rose in me and I felt like giving battle. But I realized my powerlessness and hung my head in shame. With an India cut up into warring parties and torn with Hindu-Muslim squabbles, civil resistance seems to be an impossibility. One's only comfort is that Acharya Gidvani is a brave man and well able to undergo all the suffering he may be subjected to. May God give him the strength to go through the fire!''

When Gidvani died prematurely, Gandhiji wrote: “Such servants of humanity never die. They live through their service.'' He collected a Gidvani Memorial Fund and built Harijan Hostel in his honour at Kheda in Gujerat.

Nor did he forget the Gidvani family. He greeted Ganga Behn as “the brave wife of a brave husband'' and gave her a letter of introduction that helped her set up an insurance business and bring up her young children.

Years earlier, Gidvani had told Gandhiji not to worry about petty personal things. But Gandhiji had told him: “The personal things you call petty are of as much interest to me as Bardoli, for I have to know all about co-workers.'' And he had added- “Tell Ganga Behn not to forget her Gujerati!''

Gandhiji had known Prof. Malkani since his stay with him in Muzaffarpur. Malkani was teaching at Gujerat Vidyapeeth when, in 1927, under pressure from his wife and persuasion from N.V. Thadhani --- then Principal, D.G. National College, Hyderabad Sindh --- he left Ahmedabad without consulting Gandhiji.

Gandhiji was shocked into penning some of the more moving letters of his life. He wrote to Malkani on 26 June: “I do not mind what happens to the Mahavidyalaya, but I do mind hat happens to a man. May God help you and me.''

Gandhiji wrote to Kripalani, then principal of the Vidyapeeth on 10 July: “It (the news) nearly broke me to pieces. For I regarded Malkani to be one of my unbreakables.''

And in a long letter to Principal Thadhani on 19 July he wrote: “Malkani standing at the helm of his sinking ship in Gujerat, himself starving, his wife and mother-in-law looking daggers at him, and his friends howling at him in indignation for his madness, would have been an ideal professor for your boys and a noble lesson for India.''

He went on: ''My life has been a witness of many such institutions (like the Vidyapeeth) arising and falling, with some of which I have myself been intimately concerned. For me, their worth has consisted in their having thrown up heroes and thus finished their task.'' He concluded: ``I may inform you that I have not yet got over the shock. Bardoli never disturbed me; but Malkani does.''

Gandhiji admired Sindh for giving so many excellent professors to the country. Referring to the Sindhi professors at the Gujerat Vidyapeeth as ``the treaty made between Gujerat and Sindh'', he asked the Gujerat students to go as flood relief workers to Sindh and repay ``the debt to Sindh''.

However, perhaps his sweetest relations were with Jairamdas. At the Amritsar session of the Congress, 1919, acute differences had arisen on the reforms resolution between Gandhiji on the one hand and Tilak, C.R. Das and Mohammed Ali on the other. Recalled Gandhiji years later: ``Jairamdas, that cool- headed Sindhi, came to the rescue. He passed me a slip containing a suggestion and pleading for a compromise. I hardly knew him. Something in his eyes and face captivated me. l read the suggestion. It was good. I passed it on to Deshbandhu. 'Yes, if my party Will accept it' was his response. Lokmanya said, `I don't want to see it. If Das has approved, it is good enough for me.' Malaviyaji (who was presiding anxiously) overheard it, snatched the paper from my hands and, amid deafening cheers, announced that a compromise had been arrived at.''

When Gandhiji was launching the ``Salt Satyagraha'' in 1930, he wrote to Jairamdas, who was then member of the Bombay Legislative Council: ``I have taken charge of the Committee for Boycott of Foreign Cloth. I must have a whole-time secretary, if that thing is to work. And I can think of nobody so suitable like you.'' Jairamdas immediately resigned his seat, took up the new charge, and made a tremendous success of the boycott of foreign cloth.

When some Muslims alleged that Jairamdas was communal, Gandhiji told them: “I swear by Jairamdas. Truer men I have not had the honour of meeting. He is not anti-Muslim. I decline to think of him --- or of Dr. Choithram --- as anything but pro- moter of Hindu-Muslim unity.''

In 1941, when Dr. Choithram, President Sindh PCC, consulted Gandhiji on a particular issue, the latter told him: “Do as Jairamdas advises. My faith in his wisdom is a constant factor.''

Nor did Gandhiji confine his interest to leaders. He never forgot that he had disappointed the people of Padidan in 1919 by falling asleep at the time. He made it a point to visit that place when he visited Sindh ten years later! And he wrote any number of letters to and about Anand Hingorani and his wife Vidya, concerning their health, work, welfare. When Vidya died and Anand started worshipping her, Gandhiji wrote to him: “Vidya was good but cannot take the place of God. I am an iconoclast. If you can forget her easily, do so. Then Vidya will rise and also you.''

Gandhiji's humour infected even the Congress dames. He jokingly asked Ganga Behn Gidvani, who was doing insurance business, in 1936, to “insure'' his life. She joked back: “No, I will not insure an old man like you.'' After a meal with Malkani. he asked Shrimati Malkani for dakshina. And the tatter returned: ``I have given Malkani to you. What more dakshina do you want?''

All this interest in individuals was not only intensely human; it was calculated to promote the causes dearest to him. And these apart from Swaraj, were Khadi and Hindi. He was delighted when Acharya Gidvani draped Guru Granth Sahib, not in the customary silk or satin, but in Khadi. This, he said, was a great example to those who draped even the Puri idols in foreign cloth.

However, Gandhiji noted in 1924 that the Sindhis did not take Khadi seriously. He found Sindh yarn “a sorry affair'', with “little trace of practised spinning''. Even years later he noted that ``with a few honourable exceptions, they are not interested in Khadi. Want of faith is the father of an innumerable brood of doubts.'' He found that Kotri had only 20 Congress members, whose number would be reduced to two, if Khadi-wearing was insisted on. What surprised him most about Sindh's neglect of Khadi was that it had an abundance of cotton --- and lot of poverty. As proof of Sindh's poverty, he quoted the large number of pies he got in his collection. “Apart from Orissa, I have never found so many pies in my collection as in Sindh. In one place I found even cowries among the collection. (The old rupee had 64 paise; one paise was equal to three pies; and five cowries made one pie). This could not be attributed to miserliness. Stinginess I have never experienced in Sindh. A people who gave over Rs. 70,000 in 12 days (for the Rs. 5-lakh Lala Lajpatrai Memorial Fund) could not be considered unwilling.''

Gandhiji was particularly upset when Jamshed Mehta, the mayor of Karachi and a great Congress sympathiser, moved a resolution in 1928, to rescind the earlier 1924 resolution of Karachi Corporation, prescribing Khadi uniforms for Corporation peons and scavengers. Jamshed's argument was that during the preceding three years, the Corporation had spent one lakh rupees on Khadi, 85 per cent of which was a waste. Khadi, he said, soiled sooner and wore out faster --- and the poor chaps were entitled to only two dresses a year. Said Jamshed: “I tell you it is really a cruelty. The stuff we are now giving our peons is enough to bring tears in one's eyes.''

Gandhiji wrote: “Jamshed Mehta is rightly accepted as the - truest man of Karachi. Almost every good public movement there claims him as its own.... His honesty and independence areas unquestioned as his patriotism.'' But Jamshed's judgement on Khadi “is very like that of a delicate lady, judging the appetite of her weather-beaten guests by her own.''

Of course poor Jamshed had already withdrawn that resolution on the objection of the Congress corporators. But a few years later, Gandhiji himself adopted the argument of Jamshed --- on the subject of Harijan housing in Karachi. Replying to the Address of Welcome, he told the Karachi Corporation in 1934: ``The city fathers should see to it that not a single Harijan was housed in quarters in which they themselves would not consent to live.'' Later he told a public meeting in Karachi: “It does not redound to Karachi's credit that a single Harijan within its limits should be compelled to live in a house which the tallest .of its citizens would not gladly occupy.''

Jamshed had not been seeking anything different --- for their clothing!

During this same visit in 1934, Gandhiji met the Karachi press. When K. Punniah, the editor of the Sind Observer asked him about -the separation of Sindh from Bombay, Gandhiji excused himself and said: ``Now you are taking me out of my depths.''

When asked about his impressions of Sindh, he said: “My impressions of Sindh have been very happy. I should have been happier if I could get more money.'' Thereupon the pressmen happily collected 30 rupees on the spot. Gandhiji said: “I do not want to rob you of what little you get. At least give me your pencils.'' And so Gandhiji took both 30 rupees and the pencils, amidst general laughter.

Again and again Gandhiji was asking the leaders and their wives and their children --- and whoever else would listen --- to learn and use Hindi. He even wrote to Sucheta in 1945 to ask Kripalani to “write to me in Hindi or Urdu or Sindhi. Why does he write in English? Is it because he is a `professor'?''

And he was quite-horrified by the Sindhi custom of “Deti-Leti'' (Dowry) particularly among the Amils. He told the D.J. Sind College students in 1934: “Here they try to imitate the sahibs and the Parsis. When I saw the girls during my first visit to Sindh, I wondered how there were so many Parsi girls around. Later on I came to know that they belonged to the Amil class. I was familiar with the name “Bhai-band'' (the business community). But I was rather scared by the name “Amil''. I wondered what kind of people they would be. When I saw the Amils I found them exactly like the Sahibs.''

Gandhiji added: “The Amils of Sindh are probably the most advanced community in that province. But in spite of all their advance, there are some serious abuses of which they seem to have monopoly. Of these the custom of Deti-Leti is not the least serious.... The parents should so educate their daughters that they would refuse to marry a young man who wanted a price for marrying and would rather remain spinsters than be party to the degrading custom.''

When Malkani informed him that he had spent only 2000 rupees on the wedding of his daughter Mithi, Gandhiji wrote back on 4 October, 1928:

”If it was not tragic, I should have a hearty laugh over yourconsidering the expenses of Rs. 2,000 a little thing. Ramdas' marriage cost me probably one rupee, that is one or two coconuts and two taklis for the bride and the bridegroom, two cop- ies of the Gita and two copies of the Bhajanavali. Rs. 2,000 in Gujerat will be considered a fairly large sum even outside the Ashram limits. I do not think that even Jamnalalji spent Rs. 20,000 over Kamala's wedding two years ago. But I know that if I measured Sindh by Gujerat footrule, it would be a hopelessly false measurement. I suppose for you it is progress from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 2,000. You will perhaps have to renounce your mother-in-law and to have a divorce from your wife. Considered from that point of view, Rs. 2,000 is perhaps not a bad; bargain.''

It was left to Hassanad Jadugar (magician) to set an example in dowry-less marriage. He gave his daughters only five Ch's: charkha (spinning wheel), chaadi (milk-churner), chakki (grinding-stone), chulha (native stove) and chaunri (metal buc- ket).

When Muslim League minister Khuhro was charged with the murder of Allah Bux, the former nationalist Premier, he tried to engage Jinnah to defend him. But Jinnah refused. (Incidentally, it was a Sindhi, Vasant T. Kripalani, who persuaded Jinnah to take up his last case in life --- and that too only in a city magistrate's court in Agra! --- vide. The Indian Express, 27 March 1983.) Khuhro then approached Bhulabhai Desai, who agreed. Dr. Choithram protested to Gandhiji about it. Gandhiji thereupon wrote to Bhulabhai: ``I do not hesitate to request you that if after examining the papers of Khuhro's case you feel that he is -innocent, you should fight for him, but if you feel that he is guilty, you should advise him to plead guilty or ask him to relieve you.'' Bhulabhai went out of the case but Khuhro was saved from the gallows by a Hindu lawyer, Dialmal. Immediately after, Mr. Wells, Sessions Judge, who had tried the case, retired prematurely in mysterious circumstances, and left for UK.

Way back in the Nineteen-Twenties, Gandhiji reported: “I have just received from Dr. Choithram the alleged facts of an attempted forcible conversion of a Hindu in Sindh. The man is said to have been done to death by his Muslim companions because he will not accept Islam. The facts are ghastly if they are true.'' Gandhiji referred the matter to Sir Abdullah Haroon, a Muslim leader of Sindh, who alleged suicide, promised to inquire, and then sat silent over the matter.

When violence gripped Sindh from 1939 onwards, Gandhiji raised his voice against it. He warned that ``what happens in India, whether good or bad, in one part, must ultimately affect the whole of India.''

His “real remedy'' for the Hur menace was that the Congress MLAs should resign their seats and the Allah Bux ministry should resign and all of them should “form a Peace Brigade and fearlessly settle down among the Hurs''. The Sindhis did not think it quite practicable, one MLA, Seth Sital Das, having already been shot dead. One press correspondent even wrote to Gandhiji: “Instead of asking the Sindh MLAs to resign and go to the Hurs, why should you not send a 'company' of your trained satyagrahis and try the luck of your doctrine?.... Or i8 it your case that your satyagrahis will meet the danger only when it reaches the Ashram?''

When the Hindus complained of continued systematic violence against them in 1939, he told them to “learn the art of defending themselves''. And “if they do not feel safe, and are too weak to defend themselves, they should leave the place which has proved too inhospitable to live in.'' He returned to the subject in January 1940 and wrote: “I have suggested hijrat. I repeat the suggestion. It is not unpractical. People do not know its value. High and mighty have been known to have resorted to it before now. The Second Book of the Old Testament is known as Exodus. It is an account of the planned flight of the Israelites. In exile they prepared for a military career. There is, therefore, nothing wrong, dishonourable or cowardly in self- imposed exile. India is a vast country. Though poor, it is well able to admit of inter-migration, specially of those who are capable, hard-working and honest.''

And when in 1947 the Sindhi Hindus did begin to leave, Gandhiji wrote: “If even a single Sindhi leaves Sindh, it will be a matter of shame to Mr. Jinnah as Governor-General.'' He added: “The Sindh Hindus are first-class businessmen. Why are they running away to Bombay, Madras and other places? It will not be they who will be the losers, but Sindh. For they will make money for themselves, wherever they go. One finds Sindhis in South America. There is hardly any place in the world where Sindhis are not found. In South Africa they were making big money and gave of it liberally to the poor.''

Although the Sindhi leaders had the sweetest of relations with Gandhiji, be it said to their credit that they did not hesitate to speak up when they thought him wrong. Jethmal Parasram described the Khilafat as “aafat'' (catastrophe). And when Gandhiji asked Choithram in 1930 what Jethmal thought of the proposed “Salt Satyagraha'', he told him: “Jethmal says that in 1920 you wanted freedom with balls of yarn; now you want it out of ladoos of salt.'' Choithram reported that Gandhiji visibly slumped at the remark.

Gopinath had shot an Englishman, Mr. De. The AICC draft resolution condemned Gopinath's action. An amendment praised Gopinath's heroism. When Gandhiji opposed the amendment, Motilal Nehru and C.R. Das walked out. Gandhiji won the point, but in view of the walk-out, he said the amendment might be taken as passed. Thereupon, Choithram stood up on a “point of order'' and asked: “How can a rejected amendment be taken as passed?'' Gandhiji was shaken. With tears in his eyes, he said: `Choithram, who is like a child to me, is now raising points of order with me. Today I stand alone.'' The point of order was drowned in the tears of Gandhiji, Choithram and Mohammed Ali, who now placed his cap at Gandhiji's feet.

When there was an attempt on the life of Lord Irwin,. Gandhiji wanted the AICC to condemn it. Swami Govindanand opposed. In the vote that followed, Gandhiji won by only 38 votes in a house of about 700. Gandhiji graciously conceded: “the moral victory was with Swami Govindanand.''

In the AICC meeting in October 1934, Gandhiji moved an amendment to the Congress constitution, renaming the United Provinces as “Hind'', and the Central Provinces as “Mahakoshal''. Dr. Choithram opposed the amendment and said that UP could not be called ``Hind'', which was the name cf the whole country.

Shri C. Rajagopalachari supported Choithram.

Gandhiji said that he had agreed to the change only because people complained that they had no Indian name for UP. Now that there was an objection he was withdrawing his amendment. However, the members pointed out that they had no objection to CP being renamed Mahakoshal. Gandhiji accepted the new amendment and said amidst general laughter: “You seem to grudge poor Jawaharlal, who is inside the Naini Jail. It was he who had suggested that UP should be called Hind.''

During his last days, Gandhiji had P.B. Chandwani, former deputy general manager of North-Western Railway, staying with him in the Birla House. On 20 January 1948, a bomb exploded during prayer-time, and tore away a section of the compound wall of Birla House. At the end of the prayer meeting, Gandhiji said he thought it was only some military firing practice in the distance. Thereupon, Chandwani said: “Bapu, that is neither truth nor non-violence.'' Perhaps only a Sindhi ashram-mate could be that blunt.

When Partition came in spite of Gandhiji, he persuaded the Government of India to do everything for the refugees. He spoke to the Maharao of Kutch and got Kandla land for the Sindhu Resettlement Corporation. He told a Sindhi delegation, led by Dr. Choithram, on 30 January, 1948: “If there can be war for Kashmir, there can also be war for the rights of Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan.''

Professor Malkani met him only an hour before Gandhiji was shot. Malkani had been just appointed Additional Deputy High Commissioner to organise the migration from Sindh. Gandhiji gave him a resounding blessing-pat on the back with the words: “Take out everybody. See that you are the last to come out. And tell Khuhro I want to visit Sindh to re-establish peace. Let him consult Jinnah and inform me telegraphically.'' When Malkani told him how the Hindus in Sindh had to wear “Jinnah Cap'' and carry about an Urdu paper or Dawn to pass off as Muslims, for security reasons, he said he would mention it in his prayer meeting that evening. Alas, he died before he could visit Sindh --- or expose `the excesses there!

Khalil Chandio