“Eviction Day?”
Sir,
As Pakistanis, we celebrate “Independence Day” every year on the 14th of August. Growing up, my teachers, father, neighbours, friends, and even my President, told me it was called “Independence Day”. In short, everyone around me said that the English “gave” us independence by granting us this country we now call Pakistan. While we celebrate this national day every year, we do not realize what “Independence Day” actually means – we are a nation of followers and called it what our masters told us to call it.
A slight digression: a tenant refused to move out of my house. He would not pay rent and was damaging the property. I took him to court and had him evicted during the week of 14 August. It occurred to me that I should probably thank him for giving me independence by vacating my own house.
The English arrived here as traders, as guests. They were welcomed, but only manipulated our people, illegally took possession of lands, damaged property, stole riches, and substituted local languages with English. They murdered thousands, imposed taxes, and carried out unparalleled atrocities. They were vicious. By contrast, the Muslims ruled over the Subcontinent for a thousand years, did many good things and never tried to influence the local culture (although they are sometimes accused of being complacent in converting Hindus to Islam).
The English were eventually forced out. As they left, they told us they would grant us independence and Pakistanis not only took it prima facie, but thanked them too. We evicted them, but we call it “Independence Day” instead of “Eviction Day”. What a disgrace! The word “independence” suggests we were slaves, which we were not. The English did not “give” us anything; we got what was rightfully ours. They did us no favour and we never needed to be grateful to them.
It is common knowledge that the English are the best manipulators on earth. England has been held responsible for creating turmoil in places like Kashmir, South Africa, the Falklands, and Palestine. Thomas Jefferson, a founding father of the US, called them “the disturbers of our harmony” in the original draft of the US Declaration of Independence.
The English said they were giving Pakistan independence and we accepted that. These were the benevolent English, the “givers” of independence, to us, the freed slaves. Ironically, we removed the English from our land, but not from our minds and lives. By calling it “Independence Day”, we compromise our honour, traditions, language, rituals, and way of life.
Independence Day is an appropriate term for nations that did not exist before their independence, such as the US, where European colonists settled in North America. America never belonged to them. However, there never was a united country in that part of the world, and so they did, in fact, get independence. If Native Americans were to take the US back, it would not be appropriate to call it independence. The Spanish never labelled it independence after they removed the Muslims in Europe and the French never labelled it independence when they were liberated from Hitler.
So why are we so ignorant and self-degrading? Is it because we are followers and have lost our self-esteem? Do we possess a subservient mindset? A follower’s servile mind can never think freely and one will not see pride anywhere near him. A person can be freed from physical incarceration in a moment, but mental captivity takes substantially longer.
I strongly believe that this day should be renamed so that we can retrieve our pride. In my opinion, ROZ-E-INKHILA or ROZ-E-NIJAAT might be appropriate terms. The translation is perfect – ‘Eviction Day’. This name suggests that we evicted the English and got our country back. Our Eviction Day celebrations should demonstrate our national identity, the valour of our heroes, our struggle in evicting the English, and the history of English atrocities.
Rashed Siddiqui,
Florida, USA.
Anti-salon rant
Sir,
The beauty salons for women in Lahore claim to be sanctuaries of beauty and personal care, but they have failed to provide quality services at affordable prices. They are merely profit-maximizing entities with a minimal focus on customer satisfaction. They overcharge customers for their services and often even use substandard skin and hair products. This is consumer exploitation and goes against basic consumer ethics.
Courtesy and consideration for customers are missing. Salon staff, especially the signature owners who provide hairstyling and makeup services, are devoid of empathy. They are often rude if a client asks for something personalized. They feel they are being dictated to by consumers who pay good money for such services. Customer requirements appear to be unimportant.
I would like to quote a recent example from a salon in Faisal Town, Lahore. A customer was treated rudely by the owner of the salon. The customer wanted a personalized haircut, but received harsh words and a flat-out refusal instead. This is very disillusioning. Clearly, an understanding of the principles of consumer satisfaction are nowhere to be found at this salon.
The role of consumer authorities should be extended to beauty salons as well. They should regularly inspect such establishments with specific standards in mind when checking the quality of salon services, prices, and staff credibility. Beauty services at various salons should also be standardized. Small, substandard ones appear to pop up in various residential areas. These should be shut down immediately.
Aiyza Javaid,
Lahore.
Bills, bills, bills
Sir,
A friend using PTCL Char Ji Internet services used to pay about PKR 2,000 every month. This figure has climbed to PKR 3,041 after federal government taxes (14%), Sindh government taxes (18%) and last month’s federal government tax adjustment (14%). I suggested he quietly pay his bill and begin using some other service as the government is not likely to do anything about this issue and any protest is unlikely to help anyway.
Mubashir Mahmood,
Lahore.
Left homeless
Sir,
A slum in Islamabad was demolished by the CDA last week. They claimed the slum dwellers were occupying CDA land illegally. The dwellers were almost all Pashtun. The women and children were dragged onto the roads and many were injured. This was a sheer violation of the principles of Islam and of humanity.
It does not matter who they are. They are human beings and citizens and Muslims. They certainly did not deserve such cruel treatment at the hands of the authorities. Despite this, there was little or no media coverage, no candlelit vigils and no champions of Islam out on the squares of Islamabad to express sympathy or outrage. The only reason behind this government-sponsored cruelty and the silence of people is that the victims were all poor and belonged to the Pashtun community.
Sanaullah Kakar,
Zhob.
Flood warnings
Sir,
The recent spate of floods in July 2015 has been forecast as a serious blow to Pakistan. Flash floods starting from Chitral are causing havoc. The people of Chitral remain cut off from the surrounding areas while hundreds of villages and towns have been flooded in Punjab. However, despite the establishment of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the response was too slow to meet the magnitude of the challenge.
The purpose behind the establishment of this organization was to address and improve national responses to emergency situations – to move from a reactionary model to an active mitigation, preparedness, and response and recovery model. The NDMA is the executive arm of the National Disaster Management Commission headed by the Prime Minister. The NDMA also supervises various Provincial Disaster Management Authorities and District Disaster Management Authorities.
Disaster management, particularly preparedness in Pakistan, has remained unsatisfactory. The factors responsible for its inefficiency, besides insufficient resources, are the lack of a proactive approach and transparency. Moreover, this agency has yet to prove its credibility, strategy, and efficiency. Another factor that hampers the smooth functioning of the disaster management process is the duplication of effort, which typically arises from a lack of integration between various agencies and organisations involved in the process.
Pakistan is in dire need of an organised disaster management programme to face emergency situations and their implications. So far, disorganised and ad hoc methods have been in practice. It is because of this that the country continues to suffer. It is essential for the Government of Pakistan to strengthen its disaster management policies.
Disaster management should be amongst the top priorities of government. The NDMA can be strengthened by proper allocation of funds, research, equipment, training, and maintenance of transparency. In this regard, effective communication between concerned agencies and with people is essential. Elements to consider include river embankments, disaster-proof housing and infrastructure, early warning systems, rapid evacuations, the nomination of danger zones prior to disasters, the establishment of rescue centres, creating public awareness about disasters, and the inclusion of safety techniques in educational curricula.
Muhammad Yasir Kayani,
Kasur.
Nepotism!
Sir,
The accuracy of the adage “might is right” is clearly in evidence in the removal of Dr Agha Ghazanfar as principal of Aitchison College. His crime? He refused admission to the grandsons of the political elite when they failed a standard admission test. This act is a grave manifestation of the tattered moral fabric of our so-called leaders, who feel no shame or inhibition in practicing corruption and nepotism to get their way. It reveals the mighty mindset of our leaders, who, by wrongly exercising their powers, want to deny the common man his rights.
Many parents dream of sending their children to such a reputable college that has a legacy of producing notable alumni who have served the nation in various fields. Sadly, the past several years have seen nepotism shatter the dreams of such parents. Aitchison, a college once revered for producing outstanding students, is now a hotbed for corruption where money rather than merit counts towards admission. When will our corrupt leaders realize that wealth might grant their child admission, but it will not give them a sense of morality or ethical responsibility? The very act committed to secure admission at the college is unethical and illegal.
Perhaps they are not concerned at all. All they want is education for the attainment of degrees that might enable their children to live and work abroad. It appears that morality and ethics count for nothing. The moral conundrum of our leaders is alarming. They are not only damaging their credibility, but are also tarnishing the innocent minds of their own children. As parents, it is their foremost responsibility to inculcate in their children some moral and ethical values by way of example. If such antics continue, we will soon have a generation of youths who believe honesty and integrity to be the traits of sinners.
Marria Qibtia Sikandar Nagra,
Lahore.
TV anchor arrested
Sir,
Following the arrest of controversial, self-acclaimed, overrated defence analyst, Zaid Hamid, in Saudi Arabia, another talk-show host and analyst, Dr Moeed Pirzada has been arrested in Abu Dhabi on allegations of forgery – a crime punishable under the laws of that country. What people forget is that no country in the world allows anybody, including foreign visitors (irrespective of their status) to break the laws of the land, as is done so often in Pakistan. We must understand that any citizen of Pakistan visiting a foreign country must respect the laws of that nation, whether he likes them or not. If he does not agree with their laws and is not willing to abide by them, he should not visit.
The unfettered freedom of expression exercised by many in the electronic media has meant that some anchors portray criminals and known land-grabbers as philanthropists, exploit victims of rape by revealing their identities and overexpose violent crime for ratings. This is not allowed in many countries, including in the Gulf and Middle East and in the West. Laws are made to be followed and respected, not broken on the whims of individuals.
Malik Tariq,
Lahore.
Kasur atrocities
Sir,
The lack of a proactive executive and judiciary has meant that our civil judicial system has failed to meet the challenges put before it; we have been forced to form military courts. The system has failed to change criminal evidence procedure and protect witnesses from threats and murder. It has failed in that state prosecutors and civil law enforcement are unable to investigate crime honestly and punish criminals. Successive civil and military governments have failed to deliver, and today, even our children are not safe from abuse. Crime and terrorism will flourish as long as criminals are allowed to seek privileges on the excuse of either holding paid or elected public office or membership of political or religious parties.
Perhaps even more shameful than the paedophiles of Kasur themselves, was the DPO’s stunning revelation that these inhumane excesses were being committed since 2007 and that the police had taken no action because complaints had never been lodged. What is the purpose of training and raising law enforcement officers at taxpayer expense if this is the sort of response they give? In my opinion, every police officer who has served in Kasur from top to bottom needs to be tried for criminal negligence and dismissed from service after an expedited enquiry. This will serve as a deterrent. Otherwise, such heinous crimes will continue.
A state that fails to protect the lives, property and honour of its citizens, especially its children, is destined for anarchy. The unfortunate reality is that almost every institution has deteriorated and no attempt has ever been made to reform and restructure them. This is quite simply because such failure serves powerful vested lobbies involved in institutionalized corruption, land grabbing, and a billion dollar criminal economy that is patronized by almost everybody who has held power.
We are now reaping the harvest of the criminal negligence of those who hold public office. Rampant corruption within the police, civil, and uniformed intelligence and investigation agencies has served to create an abhorrent criminal culture. This has meant the loss of thousands of innocent lives (including children) to target killers, sex offenders, land and drug mafia gangs, and sectarian and ethnic private militias. Worst of all, hardly anybody is ever prosecuted.
Ali Malik Tariq,
Lahore.