The Murder of History
By Dr Mukhtar Chaudhry
Chicago, IL
I have been hearing all the dirges to mourn the death of Majid Nizami and have also watched the accolades showered upon him. It is said that one should not talk bad about a man who is dead and gone. But while chronicling history, it becomes imperative to faithfully describe the roles of both heroes and villains, who played their respective parts at different junctures and critical phases of national history.
Majid Nizami suffered from Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder (PAPD), with demonstrable personality traits of those who indirectly express hostility through procrastination, sarcasm, stubbornness, sullenness, and deliberate suppression of information for personal satisfaction. But history binds to relate to facts faithfully and truthfully for the guidance of future generations. Using this yardstick our friend failed to pass the test and is guilty of fraction and callous behavior as a trustee of national relics. I am also disappointed at the willful blindness of the members of the board of trustees of the Nazaria Pakistan Trust. They hardly did what was expected of them in the role of advisors.
When you login to the website of NAZRIA PAKISTAN TRUST and watch the list of MASHAHEERS, tell me where is the mention of a name or photo of the man who played a singular role in the struggle for Pakistan, who single-handedly worked for the realization of the vision of Allama Iqbal in England damay ,dirmay and sukhnay and published a number of books for distribution among members of the British Parliament and the world. A famous pamphlet entitled Now or Never (circa 1933) and a book Pakistan (circa 1935-36) are available on the Internet as well as in the Library of Islamia College, Railway Road, Lahore.
This trend of suppressing and distorting historical facts by our intellectuals was lamented by historian Dr K.K. Aziz in his book Murder Of History. You find names and pictures of well-known Unionists, Congress sympathizers, many unknown ladies and some anti-Pakistan movement individuals listed as Musheers. Lo and behold! Is this an accidental oversight or a criminal suppression of historical facts relating to the history of the Pakistani movement that the name of Chaudhry Rahmat Ali is found missing?
I would like to pose a clincher question to all the Trustees of the Nazria Pakistan Trust. Who gave the name to a hypothetical country "PAKISTAN" seven years before the passage of the Lahore Resolution? It is a documented fact that Chaudhry Rahmat Ali coined the name "PAKISTAN" almost six years before the Lahore Resolution. I am sure the Board Members knew the name but looked the other way for fear of annoying the megalomaniacal veteran journalist. He shamelessly remained glued to his chair to spawn misinformation about our history and invited selective speakers to sing the swan songs of patriotism of the Nizami Brothers. The selection of speakers at the seminars displaysed nothing but an attempt to camouflage his hidden hostility to Chaudhry Rahmat Ali. This, among many other mean antics, clearly demonstrates his mindset and penchant for intellectual dishonesty.
My niece did her master's in Pakistan Studies sponsored by the Trust. I was highly disappointed at the contents of the subject matter of the curriculum. As a retired university professor I analyzed the oral and written content of the courses that were nothing but rudimentary and disappointingly deficient in material information.
For certain unknown reasons, Majid Nizami intensely hated Chaudhry Rahmat Ali and Faiz Ahmad Faiz. One certainly has his inalienable right to choose his friends and foes but has no right whatsoever to distort historical facts.
The willful omission of Chaudhry Rahmat Ali from the history of Nazria Pakistan is blatant denial of credit due to a prime worker of the Pakistani movement. Without Rahamat Ali, the history of Pakistan is incomplete. Period. And those who kept their eyes closed and mouths shut during all these years are guilty of a colossal crime - the murder of history of Pakistan. I am at a loss to understand where the Nazria's history starts and where it ends?
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