Page 21 - Pakistan Link - March 23, 2018
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COMMENTARY                                                                                                      MARCH  23,  2018  –  PAKISTAN LINK  –  P21

               Getting the                                                                                               states of British India, which were technically
                                                                                                                         free to decide their own future under the law
         Right Perspective                                                                                               that had subjected them to the British Raj. But,
                                                                                                                         as known to all, the rulers of those states whose
                                                                                                                         political leanings were a matter of doubt had
               on Pakistan                                                                                               their arm twisted by Nehru and Mountbatten
                                                                                                                         to bend in favour of Hindu India. Character-as-
                                                                                                                         sassination of those working for these princely
                                                                                                                         states has been fodder to the grisly cannons of
              n By Karamatullah K. Ghori                                                                                 these detractors of Muslim Pakistan.
                   Toronto, Canada                                                                                          It was serendipity that led to me a wonder-
                                                                                                                         ful book, Evocative Epistles, which, in its his-
             he news media has, no doubt, been a                                                                         torical contents, forcefully nails this persistent
             huge catalyst in the triggering of mass                                                                     canard of perceived perfidy committed by the
        Tawareness about the importance of                                                                               princely states. The book is based on letters ex-
        the Pakistan Day. On their part, the people,                                                                     changed between Khan Sahib Mahmood Ah-
        knowing that a news-hungry media will lap                                                                        mad Faruqui and some ex-British civil servants
        up whatever show of festivity is staged by                                                                       in UK who, during their illustrious careers, had
        them, haven’t disappointed. They mustered                                                                        served  in  various  distinguished  capacities  in
        the kind of resources rarely seen before to                                                                      the administration of the Raj.
        usher in a carnival-like spectacle to un-                                                                           MA Faruqui had served on commission in
        derline the significance of the day in their                                                                     the Royal Indian Navy but made his mark as
        hearts. It was, in a convoluted sense, a team                                                                    a civil servant. He was Development Minister
        work of the media and the people of Pakistan                                                                     in the princely State of Tonk on the eve of the
        that catapulted the event to unprecedented                                                                       1947 partition, whence he moved to Pakistan
        heights of celebration.                                                                                          and served in  the Foreign Office with dedica-
            But while none could, now, have any rea-                                                                     tion.
        son to doubt how positively cued the people                                                                         Evocative Epistles is a compendium of
        of Pakistan—including the world-wide Paki-                                                                       letters exchanged between MA Faruqui and
        stani diaspora—are on the importance of the                                                                      mainly three retired British civil servants in
        most notable date on their national calendar, it                                                                 India—Sir Arthur Lothian, who had served
        wouldn’t be irrelevant to pose the question: are                                                                 as Resident of the Raj in Hyderabad State, the
        they getting the right perspective on Pakistan                                                                   largest of India’s Princely States but later ac-
        and its history?                                                                                                 quired great fame as author of The Kingdoms
            Am I being cynical in asking this ques-                                                                      of Yesterday; Sir Duncan Mackenzie, who was
        tion? Has it any reality with the times, or have I                                                               Resident in Jodhpur, among other prominent
        just plucked it out of the blue to come up with a                                                                assignments; and Sir Conrad Corfield.
        rhetorical argument?                                                                                                Corfield had the distinction of being Po-
            Not at all; I stand on solid ground.                                                                         litical Advisor to Mountbatten but fell out with
            What has forced me to ask a ticklish ques-                                                                   him with regard to the uncouth last Viceroy’s
        tion—which may look odd to many, especially   tales with no relevance to history of Islam. The   Back at the core of this ‘intellectual’ of-  openly pro-Congress shenanigans that crudely
        those accustomed to believing whatever is seen   object is to sow doubts in the minds of their   fensive against the citadel of Pakistani belief   twisted the arms of many a prince to fall in line
        by their eyes as the only and whole truth?  targets. It’s clever, it’s disingenuous. Create   in their history is to sow doubts in their mind   behind Nehru. The most blatant abuse of the
            Forcing me to wade into murky waters is   doubts about the foundations of a building, or   about the very genesis of Pakistan.  Viceroy’s exalted position was witnessed, of
        the feedback I’ve been getting from the social   its  architect,  and  it  becomes  easier  to  induce   Imagine, you make a person diffident or   course,  in  Kashmir—the  poisonous  fallout  of
        media on the history and genesis of Pakistan,   the target to agree to raze the whole structure.   doubtful about his date of birth and a train of   which we are still saddled with.
        especially the Freedom Movement of the Mus-  That’s why there has been a well-oiled and well-  questions sets off in his mind about a lot of oth-  MA Faruqui distinguished himself in the
        lims of India that ultimately spawned from its   funded campaign in the West, since 9/11 in   er things related to his life. It opens up myriad   letters he wrote his former English superiors
        womb the sovereign State of Pakistan on Au-  particular, to target the Holy Prophet of Islam   avenues for his critics and detractors to knock   and colleagues—by then comfortably nestled
        gust 14, 1947.                        (PBUH) and caricature him in colours that are,   the bottom out of his faith in life.  in their retirement groves in England—as a
            Those closely—or, in this case, not even   to say the least, disparaging.  The persona and character of Jinnah has   forthright advocate of Pakistan’s position in
        so-closely—following the rise of Pakistan’s   Those whose phobia is to tarnish Pakistan   been in the sights of these rogues for some time.   regard to the tangled issues of the partition, es-
        social media, in tandem with the public news   and its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, seem   Jinnah not walking into Mountbatten’s trap on   pecially the palpably unjust and dishonest deal
        media, would agree that the growth of social   to have styled their own, vicious and snide, an-  the issue of GG hurts these mealy-mouthed   given to Pakistan.
        media is  like  mushrooms proliferating  in the   ti-Pakistan campaign exactly on the paradigm   partisans of the Raj a lot. Instead of compli-  Faruqui had a powerful pen, no doubt. His
        salubrious clime of the desert.       of Islamophobia. Its protagonists are going                                crystal-clear and lucid English prose is delight-
            The cyber age has empowered the indi-  about their work with single-minded devotion                          fully evocative of the mastery civil servants in
        vidual as never before. Gone are the days when   to paint Jinnah as a misguided soul with no                     India had acquired, through their brains and
        even those with a flourishing pen found it hard   sense of history—exactly on the model of Jin-                  dint of labour, in the alien ruler’s language.
        to tap into the medium of news or information   nah, the sub-continental ‘villain’ as portrayed                     But  what  should  impress  any  student  of
        to get their message across.          in the Indian and some of the British narratives                           Pakistan’s history, especially its formative phase
            No more that sense of helplessness—none   on the Partition of 1947.                                          of the Freedom Movement, is the boldness of
        at all. Anyone with a mouse and curser, and   The anti-Pakistan and anti-Jinnah cam-                             Faruqui’s conviction that Pakistan was dealt
        handy with a tablet, lap-top or a smart phone,   paign is also subtle, fine-tuned to make it hard                a very rough deal in the garb of the Bound-
        is now his own master and free to get on to   for the novice to see through the Satanic spirit                   ary Award of Cyril Radcliff. He doesn’t mince
        the scene like a party gate-crasher. No barri-  of the game.                                                     words or pull any punches in hammering the
        ers, no censors, no one, absolutely no one, in   I was horrified, recently, when I came                          disgusting cloak-and-dagger tactics deployed
        a position to prevent an internet-savvy person   across a long-winded petty intellectual, claim-                 by  Mountbatten  and  some  English  civil  ser-
        from putting his message across the whole blue   ing to have boned into the freedom movement                     vants to tailor the award in favour of India.
        world of the cyber age.               that spawned Pakistan, and stridently ridicul-                                What the deadly-duo of Nehru and
            But—and it’s a huge but—this unbridled   ing  the  Pakistanis  for celebrating  their Inde-                  Mountbatten—who were in an unholy axis and,
        freedom to say what one wants to say is also   pendence Day on August 14. To him the real                        more than that, in an immoral partnership—
        a dangerous thing. It’s dangerous because in   date was August 15 of Pakistan’s independence.                    pulled off with success at Pakistan’s expense
        the wrong hands—like any other invention of   The logic for August 15 being the real date                        is history too well known to need any repeti-
        mankind—it can be used to corrupt minds and   of independence is that the so-called Instru-                      tion here. But kudos to Faruqui that he boldly
        vitiate their whole thought process.  ment  of  Transfer  of  Power,  from  the  British                         pointed out to his British friends the abiding
            There’s no argument that cyber age’s con-  Govt. to the new Dominions of India and Paki-                     shame Mountbatten, in his lust, had brought to
        nectivity is being abused with impunity by   stan, became effective from mid-night between                       the traditional claim of British fairness.
        those whose message is hate, not love; brain-  August 14 and 15. A clever logic, its proponents                     Credit is due also to Faruqui’s interlocu-
        washing, not the flowering of healthy debate or   might think and give themselves a pat on their                 tors that they conceded his masterly expose
        cultivation of novel ideas.           back because it can’t be refuted on technicali-                            of Mountbatten & Co.’s unholy shenanigans,
            According to surveys, there are at least 300   ties.                   menting Jinnah for standing up to Mountbat-  though doing so with characteristic English
        websites freely propagating their lethal messag-  But Mohammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in   ten’s shenanigans, they have been slinging mud   trait of understatement.
        es of hate and terrorism in the name of their be-  as Governor-General of Pakistan on August   on him for being ‘obstinate’ and ‘unbending.’   Books like  Evocative Epistles should be
        nighted take on religion. Isn’t that a thing much   14, in the presence of Lord Mountabtten, who   Jinnah  wasn’t  obstinate;  he  was  reso-  read with scholarly interest by those keen to
        worse than trafficking in drugs?      had aspired to head both the new dominions   lute and firm because he had the vision to see   refresh their knowledge, or memories, of the
            Likewise there are cyber junkies and cyber   but was browbeaten in his clever and nefarious   through the British game. What a mockery of   Pakistan Movement and the birth of Pakistan
        criminals pouring out their bile against Islam.   game by Jinnah. So why shouldn’t Pakistanis   sovereignty of the new state it would have made   as a sovereign state. If nothing else, they are
        Suffering from the now-commonly-prevalent   celebrate August 14 as their Day of Indepen-  if the last standard-bearer of the heinous and   useful in seeing through the mischief of those
        Islamophobia of the West, these hate-mongers   dence? Didn’t they say good-bye to the oppres-  exploitative Raj were its first head. Jinnah was   whose mission—inspired by their pay-mas-
        are targeting the younger generation of global   sive British yoke, as personified by that mis-  far too astute and upright to be led down the   ters—is to heap scorn on Jinnah’s sterling char-
        Muslims because it’s easier to brainwash a   chievous Mountbatten, on that day, August 14?   garden path by the likes of an Indian National   acter and make light of the historic struggle of
        young, callow an uninitiated mind than an old   Why should anyone dispute or ridicule their   Congress-aficionado Mountbatten.   Muslims of India for their own independent
        and jaded one.                        right to mark the anniversary of their country   A similarly snide and vicious vilification   state. - K_K_ghori@hotmail.com
            The tool most commonly wielded by Is-  on the day they got their Quaid proclaimed as   campaign has also been on against the rulers   (The writer is a former ambassador and
        lamophobes is to conjure up fantasies and   their leader and ruler?        and denizens of the Muslim-majority Princely   career diplomat)
                                                                       www.PakistanLink.com
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