| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"nkdatta8839" |
| Date: |
16 Feb 2004 08:24:00 PM |
| Object: |
To Spring, Or Not To Spring, That Is The Question In Pakistan !!! |
Basant is the spring festival.
Rose has thorn and even Basant
has its foes, at least in Pakistan !!!
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-2-2004_pg3_1
Daily Times, Pakistan
Monday, February 16, 2004
EDITORIAL
Can't we have a nice time?
Every year Basant gives rise to much denunciation on the part of the
clergy in general and the religious parties in particular who even
threaten ‘action'. Heretofore unknown clerics throw themselves into
the fray outdoing each other in interpreting Basant in horrible
details, going to the extent of branding it a commemorative festival
of an insult to our Prophet (PBUH). Of course officially what we are
supposed to celebrate is the Spring Festival but, unofficially, it is
kite-flying and that other excuse for having a nice time, Valentine's
Day. The clergy is particularly virulent about Valentine's Day, saying
it gives permission to ‘namehram' (unmarried) youth to exchange
messages of prurience. The private TV channels, by popularising the
‘alim' (sic!) in their programmes unleash a barrage of
fire-and-brimstone warnings to the youth of Pakistan.
This Basant daily ‘Jang' prominently displayed the dudgeon of the
clergy in Lahore over the celebration of Basant which they thought was
linked to the memory of the Hindu god Hanuman; and Valentine's Day
which they thought was obscene because it encouraged young boys and
girls to express love for one another. The newspapers also reported
‘in advance' that much wine would flow during the night of Basant and
that many roofs had been rented in the old city by the rich to stage
their orgies. ‘Nawa-e-Waqt' said on its front page that Basant
celebrated the deed of insult to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by a Hindu
called Haqiqat Rai. The Sikhs were also involved because Ranjit Singh
took part in the celebrations. The paper editorialised that during one
month's kite-flying WAPDA had lost Rs 2.5 crore in tripping caused by
metal line. ‘Khabrain' reported that the clergy in Pakistan condemned
Valentine's Day as a sign of the End of the World. In India, Hindu
extremist Bal Thakeray warned that he would beat up Valentine's Day
celebrants.
It seems that, if we have to please the priest, we must get rid of all
entertainment. In some cities it has already started happening. In
Peshawar one is not surprised to see the common man cowering in front
of the ruling clergy promising him hellfire if he even played music in
his car or was found watching video cassettes. Soon priests will go
around in the shape of a walking court handing out sentences to those
guilty of ‘fahashi' (obscenity). But Peshawar has inspired other
cities in Punjab too where a non-clerical chief minister rules
popularly. Bearded youth has gone around tarring advertisement
hoardings featuring women and the government has taken it lying down.
In Gujranwala the good times are gone forever because the
administration there has joined hands with the clergy to hound the
theatre-goers wishing to be entertained. Singers have been beaten up
and bunged in jails on the allegation that they had bared their
bodies. The citizenry is frequently made to run for its life by the
lathi-bearing police.
What is really required of the people of Pakistan already under
pressure from such social ills as corruption, robbery under arms and
centres of illegal power in its big cities? Ideology has been
interpreted in Pakistan as a humourless routine in which the citizen
is not permitted to relax while concentrating on an impossible utopia.
And nothing has gone right with the state in the past fifty years! Not
long ago the country was top of the list in corruption; it is still a
society where nothing moves till you bribe officers while they may
harangue you on religion. The clergy puts on anger as a technique.
Good people like Qazi Hussain Ahmad have made it a habit to look as if
they are in a state of uncontrollable rage. This spreads gloom despite
the efforts at comic relief by his namesake from Balochistan, JUI's
Hafiz Hussain Ahmad. It is not possible that Islam is completely
without relief for its devotees. It is not realistic that an ideology
should try to survive by giving its followers nothing but rigour
without producing the promised idyll in the past half century.
What the clergy does unforgivably is produce an environment of
disaffection by declaring this and that against Islam. When this is
drummed into people constantly they develop a kind of defeatist
cynicism about what they have. This also produces extremism on the
margins of the society, which is then followed by terrorism. If you
constantly tell people that Pakistan is living against the edicts of
Islam in the realm of commerce (riba in banking and insurance),
punishments (by not cutting hands and stoning to death), and honour of
women (hijab), the result is inevitably depression (in the case of the
passive) and extremism (in the case of the aggressive). As we announce
to the world that Pakistan is not an extremist country, the clergy is
mining and booby-trapping the ground under our feet. In India, the man
who brings out his goons to thrash Valentine Day celebrants is more
extreme than the RSS. Here everyone is Bal Thakeray!
Entertainment is essential for the citizen. Under pressure from
ideology, he wants neutral ground to relax. No matter how much we try
to kill his sense of humour and divert him from relaxation to ritual
pieties, he will always find ways and means to relieve the burden of
state coercion. The clergy can go on fulminating on private TV
channels but no one will be able to impose ‘hijab' in Pakistan,
especially when no two clerics are agreed on what exactly it should
be. No one will be able to remove ‘riba' from Pakistan and there will
always be insurance. The killjoys of Pakistan should be warned that if
legitimate entertainment is had by the people only as crime it will
not be good for the survival of the state.
================================================================================
http://jang.com.pk/thenews/feb2004-daily/17-02-2004/national/n6.htm
The News, Karachi, pakistan
Tuesday February 17, 2004-- Zil Haj 25, 1424 A.H.
Celebrating Basant amid clerical opposition
By Imtiaz Alam
What a beautiful timing of this Basant, a festival of spring, that is
timed with the Valentine Day - mixing the two occasions to multiply
happiness in a state of prohibition and where Hasba legislation in
NWFP awaits to take out the human urge for happiness and love out of
our lives.
Like every spring, the lively Lahorites have again frustrated the
designs of the opponents of pleasure and celebration of colours by
zealously celebrating Basant on every rooftop of the city. The
self-appointed guardians of our piety disappeared in social wilderness
after threatening the people not to sing or dance. Why do the people
celebrate spring and why do the clergy oppose it?
After languishing in a state of deprivation and prohibition for too
long a decade under General Zia and a reactionary social tide
perpetuated by our not-so-pious a clergy, the people have in fact
brought a cultural revolution in our otherwise very colourless and
joyless lives.
Rooted in our own cultural history and traditions, the clergy denounce
as sacrilegious, the Basant washes away the melancholy of autumn and
rejuvenate every pore of the living - above all of the humans in the
surrounding of blossoming of flowers. How nature blossoms along with
the human passion is the unique occasion that Basant has come to
symbolise.
Welcoming Basant, unlike our Mullahs, Baba Bulleh Shah sang: Aai phuli
rut bahar noon; Dil lochey mahi yar noon. (The spring is blossoming
with flowers and my heart is craving to meet my beloved.) Only a sufi
could dare say that, unlike our barren Mullahs who reject all that is
culture and humane.
Now, the Basant has become a national festival, unrivalled by any
other congregation or occasion for celebration, and it has come to
stay no clergy can rollback. It is almost a riot of kites and
demonstration of colors that fascinates people to take a break from
their dull life to embrace happiness for a day or two.
There is no other so beautiful, so colourful and so self-aggrandising
a festival as Basant that brings people form all walks of life
together on their rooftops and the streets dominated by very innocent
looters - if not of a Plebeian variety - of kites amid hurrahs of
‘bo-kata'. It's flood of jubilation that inundates all sorrows and
alienation.
The secondary drives, as a great psychologist Riech hints at, come
into play allowing repressed instincts to act for self-gratification.
But it is not as sexual or, as the clergy misconceives as, ‘evil'.
This is more of an aesthetical expression that the clergy has no sense
of.
Humans' natural urge for all that is beautiful, romantic, melodious
and tasteful finds a unique expression in different festivals
celebrated in varied forms in various cultures and through art, poetry
and music. Celebrating Eids is a part of our religious rituals that
too have assumed some cultural form and provide an occasion for merry
making.
But the Basant is purely a cultural expression of our people that is
rooted in our organic cultural being the clergy is altogether
alienated from. In fact the Wahabi Islam, that excludes culture being
sinful and worldly, is in conflict with the Islam of Sufi who seeks
expression through values planted in our own culture which is
different from Bedouin or Arab culture.
Islam was brought to the subcontinent by the sufis, giving it a unique
character, not by Wahabis or their likes who have made it appear
devoid of any human content. Indeed the Wahabi Islam in our part of
the world has mixed with more barbaric tribal traditions that are in
fact in conflict with the tenets of Islam.
The clergy opposes Basant because it is alien to our culture and has
no sense of it. It is opposed to happiness and pleasure that it tries
to vulgarise through primitive and patriarchal notions. In fact the
clergy of all hues and religions in its efforts to ‘purify souls'
deprive the soul itself of the necessary nourishment of aesthetical
gratification that is based in our God-given instincts the clerics
have been bent upon repressing.
This has resulted in perversion and sickness most clerics suffer from
and want to universalise to brutalise society. By repressing natural
instincts and baring happiness the clergy wants to create a mass
psychology of authoritarianism.
This time as well hoards of right-wing activists came on the streets
demanding a ban on all Basant celebrations. In fact the Basant
festival narrowly survived a ban by a divided city/district
government. Jaish-i-Milli, the Jama'at youth wing, held a fake
referendum in Lahore to outlaw Basant. (Interestingly, its Indian
counterpart, Bajrang Dal, blackened the face of youth who were
celebrating the Valentine Day in India).
Stories after stories were planted in the Urdu press and biased talk
shows were run by television networks to bring a bad name to Basant
either on the false notion of its being a ‘Hindu festival' or the
deaths taking place due to the metal-thread used in kite-flying.
This is unfortunate that few deaths do take place due to the use of
metallic thread that must be banned. But blowing it out of proportion
is mischievous. You cannot ban a festival because of a smaller
deviation or hazard that can be avoided. Can we avoid performing Haj
due to stampede that kills hundreds of pilgrims every year?
The Basant has created a very good economy that now runs into billions
and a greater opportunity for tourism. This is the only festival that
we can sell in the world as our humane face and attract tourists from
all over the world, especially from South Asia.
It can help set to rest all bogus theories of Western and Indian
cultural invasion. However, its packaging needs to be improved since
it is not possible for Horticulture Authority, not meant for the job,
to design it. It is better that officialdom keeps out of it.
Let the people continue to improve it and make it more enjoyable and
aesthetically more satisfying, rather than allowing multinationals to
vulgarise it or the clergy to declare it against religion. Let the
people enjoy and feel free from their repressive environment. For
God's sake, at least for a day or two- and may be everyday of our
life, if you even mind.
================================================================================
www.jang.com.pk/thenews
The News, Krachi, Pkaistan
Tuesday March 04, 2003-- Zil Haj 30, 1423 A.H.
Let there be joy!
by I Hassan
Every year at the time of spring the celebration thereof, known as
Basant, is castigated by people as being a Hindu festival. They
further condemn it as being extremely wasteful as allegedly vast sums
are spent. Further they object to the playing of music.
Now, as the objectors must know, spring comes to every land every
year. After months of dark and dingy days, cold and cheerless nights,
there is a distinct manifestation of revival and renewal. Leafless
trees break into fresh foliage and there is in this country the
blossoming of mustard with its profusion of yellow flowers that fill
vast fields. In fact yellow seems to be the colour of spring for in
Europe it is heralded by the shrub forsythia. Now those that object to
anything foreign must know that forsythia was discovered in China by
Forsyth, hence its name. According to them it must be extirpated. For
that matter, the yellow and jasmine, which is a recent import into
this country is a native of China yet again was taken into Europe in
the middle of the 19th century. Its abundance of yellow flowers is a
joy to behold. For those who object to things foreign this lovely
shrub must also be extirpated.
Nowhere in the world the celebration of a joyous season is associated
with any particular religion. Even in Europe, Christmas, which prior
to the introduction of Christianity there was originally the occasion
for mid-winter solstice when everything is dried up, trees are
leafless and greenery is not to be seen. It was to bring green into
the lives of the people that the mid-winter solstice was celebrated.
It was indeed a heathen or if you prefer it a non-Christian
celebration. To bring green plants into the house was an affirmation
of the existence of life for holly, ivy and pine trees were brought
into the house. A Christmas tree is a remnant of that period. After
the arrival of Christianity, the celebration of the birth of Christ
was linked with Christmas day even though the date of birth of Christ
is known to be otherwise.
This confirms the fact that the culture of an area remains dominant
even though the people may change their religion altogether. In Europe
there is a European culture whether one belongs to Belgium or
Bulgaria. All of Europe has European culture and even though European
nations have fought cruel and merciless wars, they have never denied
their European culture or jettisoned it.
In Asia there is definitely a Chinese culture and an Indian culture.
Indian culture extends to Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Sri Lanka. For anyone who has travelled in South East Asia and the
east, this statement becomes very apparent. Take the script of Thai
and Cambodian. Both of them are derived from India. Take Angkor Vat in
Cambodia, that wonder of the world, entirely of Indian inspiration.
Equally the vast temple of Borobudur in Java. A stupendous monument to
the sway of Indian culture in those areas till the arrival of Arab
sailors in the 12th century when the islanders were converted to
Islam. Notwithstanding their conversion, many of their customs, names
and roots of words in their language bear testimony to the influence
of Indian culture. Bali island to this day is more Hindu than Muslim.
The name of president of Indonesia, Soekarnoputri (Soekarno putri --
the daughter of Soekarno) is purely from Sanskrit. In Malaysia the
name of one of the states, Negri Sembilan is derived from
Sanskrit.....
...... We in Pakistan, till recently were a part of India and were
culturally steeped in Indian culture as countries in Europe are
steeped in European culture. We, in order to acquire a new and
separate identity, have vehemently denied anything to do with Indian
culture with the result that we have created a void, culturally. Take
Indian music. It was mostly developed by Muslims but that is beside
the point. We have thrown it out like the baby's bath water and in
doing so we have thrown the baby out with it with the result that a
vacuum has been created. That has been filled by prancing and yelling
youths with guitars.
We are still wearing the same shalwar kameez which is a Punjabi dress
and which is worn by east Punjabis. In fact this dress has no
religion. It came with the Central Asians in the 2nd century AD.
Most of us are descended from Hindus converted to Islam. We tend to
deny that and pretend that we came from Bokhara or some such place.
The result is that culturally we tend to be nobodies. We tend to adapt
Arab culture mistakenly believing it to be the same as Muslim. The two
however do not equate for Arab imperialism is still virulent and rife.
As far as basant is concerned, for heaven's sake let people have a
little fun. There is little joy in their lives as it is.
================================================================================
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/12/op.htm#4
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
12 February 2003 Wednesday 10 Zilhaj 1423
Can culture be universal?
By Hafizur Rahman
...... two large chunks of limestone had fallen off the right shoulder
of the Sphinx, the 66-foot high and 230 feet long man-*****-lion
recumbent statue built in approximately 2600 BC.....
...... I read a report from Cairo some days ago that the damage of ten
years ago had been repaired to everyone's satisfaction. However, as if
to revive an old controversy, one foreign expert did express the view
that Egypt's antiquities belong to the whole world, "because they are
so ancient and so beautiful", and that damage to any of them was a
universal loss and not that of Egypt alone. I wish somebody would say
the same about our neglected historical monuments!
It sometimes happens that a monument or a cultural relic has no
emotional appeal for the people of the country where it is located. We
have an example in Pakistan. Moenjodaro and Gandhara are disowned by
some of us simply because they have nothing to do with Muslims.
Although it is worthwhile remembering that most of us (those few whose
ancestors did not come from Central Asia of the Middle East) are the
descendants of those non-Muslims.
For such people these ruins and priceless antiquities may be just a
meaningless collection of brick and mortar furnishing them no pride
and no inspiration. On the other hand there is no doubt that to the
rest of the civilized world their value is beyond computation.
According to these outsiders, their mere location in Pakistan should
be a matter of gratification and self-esteem for us.
Egyptians suffer from no such inhibition. Muslims form 90 per cent of
the population of Egypt. For them, too, the pyramids, the Sphinx, the
temples of Luxor and Abu Simbal and other magnificent edifices should
have no emotional appeal. But it is not so. Without detracting from
their devotion to Islam, the Muslims of that country take pride in
their pre-Islamic past and do not regard the people of the time of the
pharaohs as different from themselves. In their view, Islam is a part
of their total cultural wealth and they see no reason to distance
themselves from their ancient heritage.
But when Moenjodaro and Gandhara are talked about, foreign lovers of
antiquities would be justified in saying that Pakistanis are not
bothered about what happens to them. Therefore it is good that UNESCO
has taken upon itself the task of ensuring their protection because
they are of such great archaeological and anthropological value to
world cultural experts.....
================================================================================
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/24/letted.htm
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
24 February 2003 Monday 22 Zilhaj 1423
Celebrating Basant
by FARAKH MALIK, Karachi
I read a letter in your issue of Feb 11, calling for imposing a ban on
Basant.
Basant is an ancient and a very important event of our culture, which
depicts the advent of spring. It is the season of happiness with the
birds chirping, flowers blooming and the people, young and old,
enjoying this transitional period.
In Punjab and the north and the north-western region of India, people
express their happiness and enjoy themselves by having fun, eating,
drinking, dancing, singing and flying kites. Yellow is the colour of
this wonderful fun-time of Basant. Our Muslim neighbours, Afghanistan
and Iran, celebrate Nauroze which, too, is Basant with a different
name.
I fail to understand as to why people like the letter writer are so
much against having fun and enjoying life. She is also confusing
Islamic heritage with what she refers to as "Muslim" culture".
================================================================================
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/21/letted.htm#4
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
21 February 2003 Friday 19 Zilhaj 1423
Celebrating Basant
by SOFIA BAIG, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
It is disappointing to read that a number of individuals continue to
raise objections to celebrating Basant, a spring festival. From time
immemorial, humankind has celebrated the changes of seasons, including
the advent of spring.
Admittedly, people throughout the world celebrated the arrival of
spring before the advent of Islam. However, we have been celebrating
spring prior to the arrival of Zorastrian, Hindu, Christian, Jewish,
Buddhist and Animist civilizations. Perhaps, we should remind
ourselves that as humans we all have something in common.
Lahore plays host to the vibrant and exciting festival of Basant which
provides us with a platform to express our hospitality and joie de
vivre. Moreover, the festival has done a great deal more in promoting
the goal of tourism in Pakistan than we appreciate. Only recently, an
American colleague asked me about the "marvellous kite festival" of
Pakistan she had heard about.
We need to further highlight such festivals as Basant, which serve to
bring much-needed tourism revenue and raise the stature of Pakistani
tourism.
There are a number of so-called anecdotes explaining how the festival
of Basant has evolved. However, there is little elementary research
supporting any definite conclusion. In this context, why not ask any
little child what Basant means. I am sure he or she will tell you that
it's a festival to celebrate the spring, enjoy music, food and the
spectacle of colourful kites. Until recently, kite flying was banned
in Afghanistan because of a narrow-minded administration.
When it comes to Basant, I am very partisan in my opinion. If you
don't care for Basant, that is your prerogative. I would prefer to
say, go, fly a kite.
================================================================================
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/03/letted.htm#7
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
03 February 2003 Monday 01 Zilhaj 1423
Why not celebrate Basant?
by ASIF SHEIKH JAVAID, Karachi
We should pride ourselves on having a glorious culture which comprises
wonderful traditional values and events, but I cannot figure out as to
why some elements term the festival of Basant a wastage of time and
money.
Every year on the eve of Basant in February there are statements in
newspapers, criticizing the festival during which people, specially
youth, have fun by flying kites, listening to music, etc. The question
is, why don't people take this event as a kind of sport like any other
sport?
One should appreciate that Basant is one of the most popular festivals
of our country, specially in Punjab, and has been a great source of
recreation for people most of whom are fun-starved for want of public
resorts and festivities.
Thus, this event must be supported and introduced in other parts of
the country. It has been observed that Basant attracts thousands of
people from all over the country and hundreds of tourists from many
parts of the world, thus promoting tourism in Pakistan.
It is true that millions of rupees are spent on Basant, but this is
not a valid reason for abandoning traditions. No occasion can be
celebrated without spending money. Can we organize a cricket match or,
for that matter, a hockey tournament without spending any money?
Moreover, if this is the criterion, then perhaps we have to stop
celebrating all of our cultural events.
A thousand other things can be done to save money if we are really
interested in doing so. To begin with, let's stop launching
ill-planned or fake projects. We must support our sick industries and,
above all, we have to check corruption if we cannot eliminate it
completely. By discontinuing a popular sport such as Basant we cannot
solve our economic problems.
I would like to suggest that all provinces organize similar programmes
to promote a healthy atmosphere amongst the people. A couple of years
back the government of Punjab officially invited international
dignitaries and celebrated Basant.
However, during these celebrations law and order should be maintained
strictly and the authorities concerned must not let anybody involve in
any wrongdoing so that no sad incident takes place at a time when
everybody is happy.
Our youth should ensure that no such material is used in kite strings
which, on touching electric wires, may cause disruption in the supply
of the utility. We should prove to that we are a sporty as well as a
disciplined nation.
================================================================================
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/19/letted.htm#5
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
19 February 2003 Wednesday 17 Zilhaj 1423
Celebrating Basant
by AHMAD KAMAL KHATTAK, Peshawar
This is with reference to a letter by Asif Skeikh Javaid on Basant
published in your issue of Feb 3.
He has tried to justify the celebration of Basant, for, according to
him, it is a great source of recreation for the people most of whom
are fun-starved. But he forgets that a society is known by celebrating
festivals of its own culture and tradition.
Basant might not be a religious festival of the Hindus, but it is
certainly a part of their culture and traditions like the celebration
of Valentine's Day in Europe and America. For the Muslims, there are
certain religious, cultural and traditional festivals, but are these
festivals celebrated by the Hindus or any non-Muslims in Europe and
America?
================================================================================
http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/15/letted.htm#2
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
15 February 2003 Saturday 13 Zilhaj 1423
Call to ban Basant
by SAMIR AMIN SHIWANI, Karachi
I see no reason for celebrating Basant. Is Basant one of our religious
festivals or is it part of our culture?
Basant is a festival of a non-Muslim community and celebrating it in
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will be nothing but an indication
that our Islamic values are weakening.
The question is, are we as a nation in a position to waste a huge
amount of money such an occasion?
================================================================================
www.jang.com.pk/thenews
The News, Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday February 15, 2003-- Zil Haj 13 1423 A.H.
One dish and Basant
by Mir Jamilur Rahman
mirjrahman@hotmail.com
...... Basant festival, which is another job creator and which the
Lahoris have celebrated this year with unprecedented zest despite the
demonstrative disgust of the Punjab chief minister. Thanks go to
President Musharraf who understands the significance of the Basant as
an economic engine, which also provides joy and relaxation to the
citizens. He won the hearts of Lahoris by making a short appearance at
the festivities.
The detractors of Basant depict it as a Hindu festival and therefore
un-Islamic. Do the fans of Basant chant Bhagavad-Gita while flying
kites? Nowhere in the Hindu religious books there is mention of
Basant. This is pure and simple a spring festival that used to be
celebrated in rural areas. For some unexplained reasons it has taken
the fancy of Lahoris who have developed it into a grand extravaganza.
Nowhere else in Pakistan or anywhere in India the Basant is celebrated
as passionately as in Lahore. Why there is a constant effort to
deprive the people of Basant fun that they like immensely?
================================================================================
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
20 February, 2002
Letter To The Editor
Basant celebrations
by MOHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA, Lahore
Of late, the festival of Basant has assumed a great importance at
local and national levels in both private and official circles. This
festival marks the start of the spring season and departure of winter.
In the olden days, this festival used to be celebrated during day time
only. But with the advancement of technology and availability of
powerful searchlights, it is now being celebrated in the night
preceding Basant day, with lavish arrangements of food, music and
dance. Now billions of rupees are spent for the preparations,
arrangements and in actual flying of kites.
This year has excelled all the previous years as many roof- tops were
booked well in advance and elaborate arrangements to invite the senior
government officials were made. Some VIPs of the government came to
Lahore specially to participate in the Basant night. For their
entertainment, people from Showbiz were made available beside catering
from 5-star hotels.
Even at government level heavy expenditure was incurred. It is always
good to provide occasions for the people at large to give vent to
their feelings. But this year, celebration of any kind was not
appropriate. Our troops are on the borders, neighbouring country
Afghanistan is in a shambles and millions of Afghans are starving
because of drought, two decades of war and recent USA coalition
indiscriminate carpet bombing there. In this scenario, we have wasted
billions of rupees to celebrate Basant and on the entertainment of our
local and foreign guests.
This money could have gone to rehabilitate the poor Afghan brethren or
even on our own development projects. I don't think India from where
the Basant festival originated, celebrated it in such a big way as we
did. Let us confine ourselves in celebrating our own festivals like
Eid and Independence days only. Even Jashn-e-Baharan could have been
cancelled this year because of the situation on the borders and other
related crises that our country is facing.
================================================================================
The News International, Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday, January 20, 2001 -- Shawal 24,1421
Feeding wrong notions
Mir Jamilur Rahman
...... Basant is drawing nearer. People love this festival because it
provides laughs, and relaxation from daily drudgery. It has become a
part of our culture. The IIC has recommended to the government to ban
this festival on religious grounds because it is the invention of
non-Muslims. Cricket could be next on the agenda of IIC for its
originators were non-Muslims too. The IIC should do well by drawing a
list of Islamic and non-Islamic sports. It will help the parents in
guiding their children to the right sports.
The preparations for Basant are carried out round the year. It has
become an industry employing thousands of families. Outlawing Basant
would render these families jobless. And there is nothing more immoral
and irreligious than depriving people of their livelihood.
================================================================================
DAWN, Karachi, Pakistan
25 February, 2001
Peaceful democracy or violent zealotry?
By Kunwar Idris
...... The age-old traditional and secular festival of Basant has been
dubbed a Hindu rite. A columnist of an Urdu daily has traced its
origin
to a 19th century blasphemer named Hemat Raj Dharmi. To the people it
is just flying kites and making merry to mark the arrival of spring
when nothing else happens to make merry about. Amazingly, firing in
the air on the occasion of Basant once in a year arouses greater ire
of the religious leaders than round-the-year firing to kill people in
places of worship.
The images of pain and grief at home, in Kashmir and in Afghanistan
are taking a heavy toll of the people's emotions and the nation's
image. The vast majority of the victims are Muslims. The Mujahideen
who are risking torture and death to liberate Kashmir must always
keep in view whether the Kashmiris would like to exchange India's
military repression for Pakistan's violent zealotry. In accession
to Pakistan they would hope for peace and economic gain.
================================================================================
The News, Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday, February 24, 2001 -- Ziqa'ad 29,1421
A tribute to Basant
Mir Jamilur Rahman
The great modern philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote in early thirties,
"the idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking
to the rich". Change a few words and the saying still holds true. The
amended version would read, "the idea that the people should have
pleasure has always been shocking to the clergy."
Entertainment and the relaxation it provides are the basic needs of
human beings. Rich or poor, educated or illiterate, young or old,
they all yearn for excitement and amusement. They find it in sports
events, movies, music and television. No wonder that entertainment
has become the biggest industry in the world. This industry is very
indiscriminating. It disregards geographical boundaries, has no
religion, and shuns politics. Its aim is to keep the people happy
and provide them relief from the daily drudgery.
The Basant has been criticised on many accounts. Some argue that
it is a Hindu festival. When it had no effect on the Lahoris, the
argument was forwarded that Basant is wicked because many lose
lives and many others are injured celebrating it. But the Lahoris
were not convinced. The latest criticism centers round profligacy.
The self-righteous keepers of the national ideology tell us that
Basant causes wasteful expenditure and is thus irreligious. However,
the Lahoris rejected all these sanctimonious sermons and celebrated
Basant with a zest that was never witnessed before.
Basant is a cultural event that heralds the end of winter and arrival
of spring. Kite flying is just a sport that has become affiliated with
this festival because the season of spring generally brings a clear
sky and just the right amount of wind. Moreover, culture does not
spring from religion but grows from the land and is a product of local
customs and traditions. People may have the same culture and yet they
would not turn into a single nation. Europe is the prime example of
this phenomenon. The countries of West Europe have no marked cultural
divisions. Its people eat the same food, wear the same clothes, admire
the same music, enjoy the same sports and celebrate the same
festivals. They even share the same faith. And yet they are not one
nation. Every effort in the past to unite Europe into one nation by
force has failed. Now the prospects of a united Europe through
consensus have become real. However, the driving force behind this
latest attempt to unite Europe is neither cultural affinity nor
religion but economics.
The rightists and fundamentalists have spread the scare that India
would overwhelm us culturally. Therefore, they advise us not to
listen to the Indian music or watch the Indian movies. They demand
that our television should not entertain but only sermonise. They
want the womenfolk banished from the television. They would prefer
men attired as women performing the female roles in TV plays, as is
done in Saudi Arabia. It is certain that if ever these people
attained power, the TV, the Basant, the movies would become
the things of the past. Asceticism would be the order of the day.
Whether the rightists like it or not but it is a fact that we have
more cultural similarities with India than with our Muslim brethren
in Iran or Afghanistan. Who in Afghanistan or Iran chews pan? Where
else but only in the subcontinent the red chilies are an essential
ingredient of our food. Do Arabs wear dhoti, shalwar or sherwani?
Our marriage customs and the rituals we follow after a person's death
are common with India except for the religious part. We watch Indian
movies and TV because they produce entertaining and glamorous
programmes. We understand the language and the family problems they
present are similar to ours. In which other country the sas-bahu
(mother- and daughter-in-law) relationship is the subject of so many
plays and movies? In spite of all these cultural similarities with
India we are and will remain a separate nation. East Pakistan broke
away with us not because we were culturally dissimilar, but because
we were politically and economically dissimilar. If we do not watch
out, political and economic dissimilarities existing between our
different units may yet bring another catastrophe. It is a
misconception ardently propagated by our conscience-keepers that
money should not be spent on comforts, merriment, and food and on
things without which one can survive. Instead, they say the money
should either be saved or given in alms to needy ones. The Basant
being a fun-filled festival is on top of the prohibitory list. It
is good that people ignore this advice otherwise we will be in a
real economic mess.
The man who has the money but does not spend it is the real villain.
If every man were to put his savings in the safe the economic activity
would come to a standstill. It is obvious that the money saved in the
vaults does not give employment. And where there is no employment,
there is no prosperity.
The Basant festival made the people spend voluntarily and with joy.
People from faraway places descended on Lahore in flocks. Hotels and
guesthouses were overbooked. Taxis worked overtime. Rent-a-car
business thrived. Havelis in the walled city fetched as much as
Rs200,000 for a night of kite flying. People spent millions of rupees
on kites and its accessories. Where did all the money go? It gave
employment to the kite-makers and created job opportunities in the
travel-related industries. The food shops operated by middle and
lower-middle operators did a roaring business adding to the income
of the poor.
Unemployment hits the poor worst. The economic slowdown in the
recent years has hit them the hardest. Our growth rate has fallen;
foreign investment is down to negligible level worsening the
poverty situation further. It may come as a shock that according
to World Employment Report 2001, the number of Pakistanis living
below the poverty line has increased from 17.8 million to 43.9
million in the past 11 years. The daily wage earners do not find
work for 285 days of the year.
The problem of unemployment would not be solved by preaching savings
or by alms giving. The government alone cannot solve it. It has to
be a collective effort. The governments in the past had tried to
ease the unemployment situation by giving jobs, but that had only
compounded the problem. There is a big difference between 'giving'
and 'creating' a job. To give a job where none exists burdens the
national economy. But to create a job relieves the national economy
from burden.
The person who creates employment ought to be given VIP treatment.
There could be nothing more pious or magnanimous than providing
jobs to the unemployed. The government on its part should never
feel reluctant to encourage people who help in reducing poverty
in the country.
The religious parties should give a thought to their recurring
dismal electoral defeats. They would never get the popular vote
unless they come to terms with the popular feelings. For starters,
they could stop attacking the PTV seven days a week. Watching
PTV is not a legal obligation. If somebody does not like what the
PTV screens, he has the choice to click the button and turn to
another channel, the number of which runs into dozens.
================================================================================
Pakistan Link
16 March, 2001
Do We Have A Cultural Policy?
By Shaikh Aziz
Basant festivities were not allowed in Karachi, while in Lahore it
was celebrated as being officially sponsored. Those who opposed it
were of the view that it?s a Hindu festival while others argued that
it has nothing to do with any religion. The two diagonally opposed
policies raised many questions as to what has happened to our
policy-makers?
Are we following two different sets of principles or we don?t even
have a cultural policy at all? Perhaps we suffer from both. Or in
other words our policy-makers do not even know the exact definition
of what culture is! I recall the days of Ayub Khan, when he found
some time from his multitude of self-imposed assignments. He was
advised by one of his courtiers to get the music ?Islamized?.
Perhaps he was told that the bols (poetical narrations) rendered
in raagas and ragnis, such as Tum radha bano sham, or ragaas
bearing names as Bindrabani Sarang, Kalawati or Durga reflected
Hindu cultural background.
He was, in fact, unaware of raagas like Mian ki Malhar, Bilaskhani
Tori or Ghara that also formed part of our musical heritage. As
always, the bureaucracy went into action very faithfully. A plan
was drawn up to materialize the Field Marshal's perception. By
virtue of being the chief of Radio Pakistan and known for his
knowledge of music, Z.A. Bukhari launched a "crusade" against
what was called as "Hindu influence on music and musical arts".
He executed the plan very meticulously. Not only that he
"Islamized" the bols and the raagas, but also made the vocalists
to sing them with the Muslim names such as Chandarkaus to Chandkaus.
Narrations which could not be altered altogether were banned on air.
He even banned such bols as Raen ka sapna kaase kahoon, Sowat sowat
aankh khuli jab, koee na bhaayo apna, Raen ka sapna kaase kahoon -
a fascinating expression of deep love. This was obviously a futile
effort, for, never in the history of mankind, cultural contents and
values had been "baptized" in that manner. The culture is an ensemble
of collective creativeness, which takes a certain form after being
practiced for generations. It is not only the natural environs, but
also the alien invasions and mass migrations that shapes the culture.
It is a shared experience steeped into remote past, which has
undergone constant change through assimilation, added by newer
experiences.
But the fact remains that every change has never been accepted nor
been readily rejected. It takes much time to go either way, depending
upon its adaptability and the inherent psychology of the recipient
culture. Pakistan's cultural history is no exception. While its
ancient past is still smothered in the scattered archaeological
remains, our present cultural life is a confluence of diversified
influences. The archaeological relics speak of the existence of a
rich musical culture many thousand years back. Its present form
differs in many aspects owing to a constant process of changes that
it had undergone. Music being the most sensitive form of expression,
accepted only those changes that it could assimilate without
affecting the fundamental perception of our heritage.
For instance, the contributions made by Amir Khusro did not entirely
assimilate with the local music. He, either added a few raagas from
Turko-Persian-Arab music or made minor changes in the contents of the
composition, or even renamed them after Arabic or Persian after making
some tonal adjustments. This had a profound effect on the Northern
Indian music in a sense that it added a new flair.
This addition was accepted because it did not replace the physical
philosophy, contents and interpretative objective of the raagas.
But in doing so Khusro was conscious of the fact that music was a
collective heritage and his sole efforts could not change the
centuries-old concept of music. Therefore, in composing bols of
raagas he reflected the people's culture, not of his own. Panghat
naaheen jane det, dekhat sab naari morey and innumerable of such
kinds are still sung with the same popularity as the bols preceding
him.
The main factor behind this was that Khusro did not want to introduce
a diction and tonal value which could not be apprehended beyond the
prevalent cultural values. After Independence, Pakistan and India
inherited the same musical heritage. Music remained a common legacy.
The only difference being the attitude towards this finer art. Many
grandmasters migrated and settled in Pakistan, besides those who were
already living here. At one time such great artistes as Roshan Ara
Begum, Bare Ghulam Ali Khan, Asad Ali Khan, Habib Ali Khan Beenkar,
Nathoo Khan, Machhoo Khan, Sharif Khan Poonchhwale, Umeed Ali Khan,
Manzoor Ali Khan, Bundoo Khan and his son Umrao Bundoo Khan, Zahoori
Khan and many others made Pakistan a great centre of music.
Ironically, the governments in power developed a very casual attitude
towards music and other performing arts. Misconceptions brewed up and
for certain political reasons. They treated music as an art of
troubadours and wandering minstrels. They did not have even the
slightest feeling as to how to preserve this great heritage and
promote it. The artistes - from dance to drama and story-telling to
vocal and instrumental music - all lived on their individual efforts.
Some even died of hunger and abject poverty.
A very effective effort was made by the national carrier but it was
too short-lived. The government had established department of culture,
but it served no purpose except arranging a few concerts for the
visiting dignitaries as if the culture was meant for a selected few.
In contrast, countries like Kenya, Uganda and Sri Lanka, with almost
the same economic conditions, made efforts for the promotion of
culture. Whereas we are yet to decide whether dance is a part of our
culture or not? At times, the dance masters had to flee the country
and perform in alien cultures.
Our musicians have yet to find some dependable source of living. The
unfortunate fact is that almost all grandmasters in vocal and
instrumental music have expired, and there being no institution of
training, we are left with a few artists who are yet to groom.
Amid such conditions, the only question arises as to what we intend to
do with our culture. With the present social conditions, our cultural
heritage cannot survive until there is a concerted effort at the
official level. Without official promotion and patronage, we can only
lose whatever has been achieved through the individual efforts. We
have to evolve a policy that should govern the affairs of culture,
make attempts to promote them and establish institutions where its
preservation and promotion is made.
================================================================================
Music ban forces Pak singers into prostitution
AFP[ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2003 04:00:12 AM ]
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: For many singers and dancers in Pakistan's North
West Frontier Province (NWFP), an Islamist-led crackdown on musical
performance has meant a humiliating return to prostitution.
"The ban has forced me to become a prostitute again after 12 years,"
lamented Mahjabeen, 30, an accomplished singer of Pashtu-language
ghazals in the NWFP capital Peshawar.
"It has frightened my audience away. They are too scared to organise
musical evenings. My sole source of income was singing, so now I have
no option but to revert to prostitution to support my family."
Since the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance of pro-Taliban
Islamic parties swept NWFP in October polls and won control of the
provincial parliament, police have been waging an anti-obscenity drive
in accordance with recommendations of MMA's Sharia (Islamic law)
Council.
But because no formal bans have been issued by the MMA, police have
taken matters into their own hands. Since December they have arrested
video store owners, locked up singers caught performing in public,
arrested musicians for "loitering" and ordered others to conceal their
instruments.
They have torched posters of film stars, torn cassettes out of public
buses and forced drivers to halt their vehicles for the five daily
prayers.
Hotels are forbidden to hold concerts, soirees and fashion shows.
While some singers have uprooted and headed to more liberal cities
like Lahore the market for Mahjabeen's Pashtu ghazals only exists
here. Her crystal voice gave her a way out of prostitution at the age
of 17, the trade her mother had introduced her to four years earlier.
"In a very short time I became a polished vocalist and was able
to make a reasonable living through public performances."
Performing ghazals even tided her over after her husband's death. "I
did not revert to prostitution and kept on making a simple but
honourable living through singing," she said. "But this ban on music
has pushed me into a pit of disgrace and humiliation."
Without the unwritten ban on music Mahjabeen estimates she could
support herself for another 30 years by performing at weddings and
concerts.
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