Are we running out of options to save something more important than religion, national unity and economy, something absolutely integral and that is our very survival. Survival not of the state or nation but of the individual. Human beings are selfish and it is important to accept it, respect it and have no illusions about this and that is why I say it is not about someone with a burqa in North Waziristan, nor about a bearded guy in Swat, its about Sunny going to Hot spot in Islamabad, or Hadia going to buy shoes at Ehsaans in Liberty Market. Its crystal clear who is under attack, its the common man/woman in Pakistan. We are under attack. Our way of life, our existence!
NWFP is under Taliban rule and lets not mince any words about that. Balochistan was already fighting with the central government for its rights and now the allied forces of NATO have targeted the 'Taliban' there, whats next is no enigma, Taliban will surely move (if they are not already present there) to fight for the survival of Islam! If we feel these two provinces are removed from our lives as we have always felt that NWFP and Balochistan have been on the fringes of our national identity then behold as these groups have in a very clear way announced that Punjab is next with the attack in Manawan and now Chakwal!
Are we now going to wait for the fight to come even closer and enter our homes? What are we waiting for? Or a better question is what can we do? There is only one thing left to do now which is to ask ourselves some important questions. Which side are we on? Is our interpretation of our faith the same as what these spokes people have taken upon themselves to propagate? If not then what is it? We need to have a counter ideology. What is our history? Do we own the history of the land itself? Or do we still persist that our history only crosses the Arabian sea to reach Makkah! Does our history only start with Mohammad Bin Qasim entering Sindh? Are Moen Jo Daro, Harappa: the great Indus valley Civilization, Kathak, Sitar, Karahi Gosht, Bulleh Shah, Baba Ganj Shakar peripheral and unnecessary burdens or even worst: improvisations in our history. The longer we treat this history like an illegitimate child, longer it will take to own this fight for survival and lesser the chance to survive. We pride ourselves on being liberals or moderate Muslims without actually realizing what it entails. We need to accept where Junoon came from, why we like Nighat Chaudhary, why we hurt when Bamian Statues were destroyed, where the recipe for Chicken Tikka and Shami Kebab comes from. When Indians, Saudis, Iraqis, Iranians, Lebanese are in the room we have more in common with Indians then any of the other groups. Its about time we stopped feeling shame in this and accepting our own identity. That is the only thing that will defeat the Taliban. This land is ours, we have not 1400 year claim but a claim going back thousands of years. We can be Muslims and Indians (as the word 'India', according to Wikipedia, is derived from Indus, which is a further derivation from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River).
We do not have to give up one to own another least of all when we talk of history. It is time now to reclaim what is ours but we need to know for ourselves what we are reclaiming!
NWFP is under Taliban rule and lets not mince any words about that. Balochistan was already fighting with the central government for its rights and now the allied forces of NATO have targeted the 'Taliban' there, whats next is no enigma, Taliban will surely move (if they are not already present there) to fight for the survival of Islam! If we feel these two provinces are removed from our lives as we have always felt that NWFP and Balochistan have been on the fringes of our national identity then behold as these groups have in a very clear way announced that Punjab is next with the attack in Manawan and now Chakwal!
Are we now going to wait for the fight to come even closer and enter our homes? What are we waiting for? Or a better question is what can we do? There is only one thing left to do now which is to ask ourselves some important questions. Which side are we on? Is our interpretation of our faith the same as what these spokes people have taken upon themselves to propagate? If not then what is it? We need to have a counter ideology. What is our history? Do we own the history of the land itself? Or do we still persist that our history only crosses the Arabian sea to reach Makkah! Does our history only start with Mohammad Bin Qasim entering Sindh? Are Moen Jo Daro, Harappa: the great Indus valley Civilization, Kathak, Sitar, Karahi Gosht, Bulleh Shah, Baba Ganj Shakar peripheral and unnecessary burdens or even worst: improvisations in our history. The longer we treat this history like an illegitimate child, longer it will take to own this fight for survival and lesser the chance to survive. We pride ourselves on being liberals or moderate Muslims without actually realizing what it entails. We need to accept where Junoon came from, why we like Nighat Chaudhary, why we hurt when Bamian Statues were destroyed, where the recipe for Chicken Tikka and Shami Kebab comes from. When Indians, Saudis, Iraqis, Iranians, Lebanese are in the room we have more in common with Indians then any of the other groups. Its about time we stopped feeling shame in this and accepting our own identity. That is the only thing that will defeat the Taliban. This land is ours, we have not 1400 year claim but a claim going back thousands of years. We can be Muslims and Indians (as the word 'India', according to Wikipedia, is derived from Indus, which is a further derivation from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River).
We do not have to give up one to own another least of all when we talk of history. It is time now to reclaim what is ours but we need to know for ourselves what we are reclaiming!
Comments
i have no words!!!
man u write awesome!!