Zalzalah Kabira
By Sir Cam
Cambridge, England

The news is very, very depressing. It always is, I'm afraid. But the news from Pakistan is unbelievingly distressing. "What's the latest?" asked someone. Some 23,000 confirmed dead from the mighty earthquake that struck Pakistan on Saturday.
And the death toll is rising. 40,000? We are talking about people here, not mere figures.
We are talking about real individuals -- fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles etc -- who have been killed and countless others who have been injured and maimed, and made homeless. Coming as it does so soon after the great natural disasters of the Asian Tsunami, Hurricanes Katrina and Stan, this latest tragedy is heartbreaking.
As Prof Iftikhar Malik has e-mailed, "Stoicism may offer some relief in these sordid moments". Sitting so far away, one ought to overcome the feeling of helplessness by fundraising and donating generously. This is too big a catastrophe to be ignored. You can make a donation at http://www.dec.org.uk, the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee or go to charity organizations such as Islamic Relief, http://www.islamicrelief.com .
THE ZALZALAH (EARTHQUAKE)
Qur'an, Surah 99: "When the Earth is shaken with her (final)earthquake, and Earth yieldeth up her burdens, and man saith: What aileth her? That day she will relate her chronicles, because thy Lord inspireth her. That day mankind will issue forth in scattered groups to be shown their deeds. And whoso doeth good an atom's weight, will see it then. And whoso doeth ill an atom's weight will see it then".
So it's never too late to do a teeny weeny (zarra) of good (khair) before some kind of zalzalah brings us down. Because when you're down, well, it'll be too late, mate.
A GENERAL PROBLEM
Pakistan, 1947-2005. Of which about 35 years have been military dictatorships of one form or another. Field Marshall Ayub Khan (1958-69), General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-88), and now General Pervez Musharraf (Oct 12, 1999-??).
Six years of Musharraf already! If we go by the tenures of Ayub and Zia, then we are stuck with Musharraf until about 2010. Or, until Uncle Sam has a use for him.
JUSTICE NOT VENGEANCE
Interesting website: http://www.j-n-v.org. Justice Not Vengeance (JNV) opposes the US-UK 'war on terrorism', and campaigns for a peaceful resolution of international conflicts, based on justice and equality.
SEMINAR
A seminar commemorating the centenary of the partition of Bengal (1905) will be held at The Lloyd Room, Christ's College, Cambridge on 16 October, 2005 from 2.00pm-5.00pm. All are cordially invited to attend.
The (first) partition of Bengal was a watershed event in the history of Indian politics. This monumental event was a catalyst for the birth of nationalism in the subcontinent, which eventually led to the partition of 1947 and later to the establishment of Bangladesh.
For further details contact Dr MAJ Beg (Cambridge 501062), FM Aziz (fmaziz@onetel.com) or Sir Cam (camdiary@hotmail.com).

 

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