Ansar Abbasi, Jang Group and Punjab Text Books.

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one. The earliest recorded versions of the phrase do not contain the second part. Indeed they are broadly positive in tone. Such a Jack of all trades may be a master of integration, as such an individual knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a practical manner. This person is a generalist rather than a specialist. REFERENCE: Jack of all trades, master of none http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_none

Dr Salam is not the first talented Ahmadi who gave all for his country. One of the founding fathers of Pakistan and one time president of the Muslim League, Sir Zafrullah Khan, whose ideas formed the basis of the Lahore Resolution, who was tasked by Mohammad Ali Jinnah to plead Pakistan’s case before the boundary commission and who was appointed the first foreign minister of Pakistan was similarly shabbily treated because he happened to be an Ahmadi. Then too an Egyptian president, Gemal Abdel Nasser, had famously said, “Some people say Zafrullah is not a Muslim, well, if he is not a Muslim, I am not one either.” Nasser was very impressed by Sir Zafrullah’s advocacy of the Arab causes in the UN and considered him a great friend and ally. The same Sir Zafrullah was abused by our mullahs on the streets time and again. So while our Egyptian brethren have been fulsome in praise of our two great Pakistani icons, Sir Zafrullah and Dr Salam, we have failed to name even a single road in their honour. Children are not taught of Zafrulla’s contributions to the Pakistan Movement. His picture does not feature in the Aiwan Karkunan-e-Tehreek-e-Pakistan Museum on the Mall, while every ‘jee-huzoori’ (yes man) and nawabzada — including those who openly abused Jinnah — has his picture up as one of the pioneers of Pakistan. Our children are not taught to admire and emulate Dr Salam, who has kept Pakistan’s name alive in the field of Physics even in death. The question of whether one considers Ahmadis Muslims or non-Muslims can be a matter of choice clearly. The problem starts when the state starts deciding who is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Given that none of us are in possession of divine knowledge, would it not be better to follow a simple test instead, a simple test that the founder of this country, Jinnah, prescribed “anyone who professes to be a Muslim is a Muslim.” What happens when the state decides who is Muslim or non-Muslim? It empowers various sections of the clergy. Inevitably, those sections of clergy then turn on each other, turning one kind of Muslim against another kind of Muslim. This is when Ahle-Hadith tell Barelvis that they are kafir (infidel), and Barelvis tell Deobandis they are kafir and so and so forth. A multitude of movements begin to declare each other a constitutional kafir. The result is that you have endless bloodletting because ultimately not every community is non-violent like the Ahmadis. REFERENCE: COMMENT: Pride of the Muslim ummah —Yasser Latif Hamdani Monday, April 01, 2013 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C04%5C01%5Cstory_1-4-2013_pg3_4

Jinnah's 11 August, 1947 Speech: Assurance to Minority Communities (Editorial from The Hindu) http://www.scribd.com/doc/110861031/Jinnah-s-11-August-1947-Speech-Assurance-to-Minority-Communities-Editorial-from-The-Hindu

Jinnah's 11 August, 1947 Speech: Assurance to Minority Communities (Editorial from The Hindu) by Aamir Mughal

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government has excluded several key subjects from the fresh 10th class Urdu text book edition published in February 2013 which is now being marketed for new students of matric. These subjects include ‘Islamic ideology of Pakistan’ and ‘Hazrat Umar (RA)- a Great Administrator’ besides removing persuasive Islam-related poems of even poets like Allama Iqbal. On the poetry side, all the Islamic poems including ‘Rabbe Kainaat’ of Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali, ‘Mohsin-e-Insaniat (PBUH)’ (the Saviour of Humanity) by Mahirul Qadri, ‘Tulu-e-Islam’ (the rise of Islam) of Allama Iqbal, ‘Siddiq (RA)’ on Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (RA) by Allama Iqbal, ‘Shaan-e-Taqwa’ (which is against drinking) by Allama Iqbal etc have also been removed in the new text book. While the title page of the book contains the picture of Allama Iqbal, it does not contain any poem of the great poet of Islam and Pakistan. The new edition of the ‘Urdu compulsory for 10th class’ does not include the very first chapter of the earlier edition’s prose i.e ‘Hazrat Umar Farooq (RA)- a great administrator’ by Allama Shibli Naumani. The new text book’s first chapter is an essay on writer ‘Mirza Muhammad Saeed’ written by Shahid Ahmad Dehlvi. The second chapter in the old edition was on ‘Ideology of Pakistan’ written by Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan. This important chapter highlighted the basis for the creation of Pakistan and endorsed that the country was created in the name of Islam, to make it an Islamic state, has been replaced by a new chapter on ‘Princess of Paristan’ (Paristan ki shahzadi) written by Ashraf Saboohi. REFERENCE: Punjab excludes Islamic subjects from Matric book Ansar Abbasi Sunday, March 24, 2013 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-21785-Punjab-excludes-Islamic-subjects-from-Matric-book

Fatawa Alamgeere Par Aik Nazar by Khawaja Muhammad Qasim http://www.scribd.com/doc/100252203/Fatawa-Alamgeere-Par-Aik-Nazar-by-Khawaja-Muhammad-Qasim

Fatawa Alamgeere Par Aik Nazar by Khawaja Muhammad Qasim by Aamir Mughal

The third chapter of the old edition of the 10th class text book was ‘Musaddas-e-Hali’ written by Moulvi Abdul Haq. This chapter narrates how a Muslim poet in the 19th century influenced the hearts and minds of the Muslims. It has now been replaced by a writing of Dr Waheed Qureshi on ‘Eidul Fitr in Urdu Literature’ (Urdu Adab main Eidul Fitr). Similarly the chapters like ‘Sacrifice’ (Eisaar) by Deputy Nazir Ahmad, which has a great lesson for children, has been removed from the new 10th class text book. This chapter gives the lesson of how the affluent should help the poor. The story is about a child, who distributed his Eidi to a poor family. Another important chapter of the old book ‘Fatima binte (daughter of) Abdullah’ written by Mirza Adeeb has also disappeared from the new Urdu compulsory of class 10 for Punjab students. This story was about a 10-year old daughter of an Arab leader Abdullah. The story is about Jihad and the young Muslim girl’s urge to help the Muslim Mujahideen in Jihad against un-Islamic forces. The girl was martyred and did her parents proud. This incident has such an importance that even Allama Muhammad Iqbal had also written a poem on this young girl with the title ‘Fatima binte Abdullah’. Allama presented her as a role model for Muslim youth. A chapter Nam Dev Mali was, instead, included in the book that was about an expert Hindu gardener who was killed when attacked and stung by honey bees. The writer of this short story Maulvi Abdul Haq described the death of the expert Hindu gardener as ‘having embraced Shahadat (martyrdom)’. One of the chapters in the old edition was about ‘The deprived of inheritance’ (Mahroom-e-Virasat) by Allama Rashidul Khairi has also been excluded. This chapter focused on the un-Islamic tradition of depriving women of inheritance. REFERENCE: Punjab excludes Islamic subjects from Matric book Ansar Abbasi Sunday, March 24, 2013 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-21785-Punjab-excludes-Islamic-subjects-from-Matric-book

The Subtle Subversion the State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan http://www.scribd.com/doc/99821197/The-Subtle-Subversion-the-State-of-Curricula-and-Textbooks-in-Pakistan

The Subtle Subversion the State of Curricula and Textbooks in Pakistan by Aamir Mughal

One chapter called ‘Travelling is the key to success’ (Safar Kamiabi ki Kunji hay) written by Moulana Abdul Haleem Sharar, a great Urdu writer, has also been removed. It covered the adventures, jihad, travelling etc of the great Muslim leaders. A chapter on the ‘words of poets’ (Shaeron ki batain) in the old book has also been removed. The chapter presented different aspects particularly self respect of Muslim poets. On the poetry side all the Islamic poems including ‘Rabe Kainaat’ of Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali, Tulu-e-Islam of Allama Iqbal, ‘Mohsin-e-Insaniat’ of Mahirul Qadri, ‘Siddiq (RA) on Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (RA) by Allama Iqbal, ‘Shaan-e-Taqwa’ (which is against drinking) by Allama Iqbal etc have also been removed in the new text book. Two ghazals of Khawaja Mir Dard on Islamic Sufism and two ghazals of Mirza Ghalib have also been removed from the new text. Poetry of a Indian poet Firaq Gorakhpuri has been included in the text book and the poet is presented as a hero awarded by the Indian and Russian governments. While the title page of the book contains the picture of Allama Iqbal, it does not contain any poem of the great poet of Islam and Pakistan. Excluding extremely impressive Islamic poetry, the new text book, however starts with a Hamd (praise of Almighty Allah) and Naat (praise of Hazrat Muhammad — PBUH). REFERENCE: Punjab excludes Islamic subjects from Matric book Ansar Abbasi Sunday, March 24, 2013 http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-21785-Punjab-excludes-Islamic-subjects-from-Matric-book

In case people forget "Jinnah, Allama Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan etc. were all Zimmis. Barelvi Fatwa Against Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan http://www.scribd.com/doc/100199318/Barelvi-Fatwa-Against-Jinnah-Allama-Iqbal-and-Sir-Syed-Ahmed-Khan

Barelvi Fatwa Against Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan by Aamir Mughal

The myth of history By Prof Shahida Kazi.

Before you read Prof. Shahida Kazi's excellent reasearch [translation in Urdu is in the end courtesy Mr. Awais Masood] I would like to add the following:

Pakistani recruiters claimed difficulty in securing volunteers in East Pakistan. West Pakistanis held that Bengalis were not "martially inclined"--especially in comparison with Punjabis and Pathans, :REF Library of Congress Country Studies http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd%2Fcstdy :@field(DOCID+bd0139) - NOW READ: Pakistani author Hasan-Askari Rizvi notes that the limited recruitment of Bengali personnel in the Pakistan Army was because, the West Pakistanis, "could not overcome the hangover of the martial race theory". Ref: Military, State and Society in Pakistan by Hasan-Askari Rizvi. Late. K K Aziz in his magnum opus "Murder of History " had opined that every Reforme Movement or Resistance Movement against Imperialism, and against Feudal Lords were started in Bengal. [Do watch the Conversation with IDRC President David M. Malone, historian Romila Thapar, widely recognized as India's foremost historian challenged the colonial interpretations of India's past, which have created an oversimplified history that has reinforced divisions of race, religion, and caste. Courtesy: IDRCCRDI http://www.youtube.com/user/IDRCCRDI

The myth of history By Prof Shahida Kazi

History is a discipline that has never been taken seriously by anyone in Pakistan. As a result, the subject has been distorted in such a way that many a fabricated tale has become part of our collective consciousness. Does mythology have anything to do with history? Is mythology synonymous with history? Or is history mythology?

Admittedly, the line between the two is a very fine one. From time immemorial, man has always been in search of his roots. He has also been trying to find a real and tangible basis for the legends of ancient days - legends that have become a part of our collective consciousness. As a result, we witness the quest for proving the existence of King Arthur, the search for whereabouts of the city of Troy, and many expeditions organized to locate the exact site of the landing of Noah’s Ark.

During the ’60s and the ’70s, there was a worldwide movement to prove that the ’gods’ of ancient mythologies did actually exist; they came from distant galaxies; and that mankind owed all its progress to such alien superheroes. Several books were written on the subject.

We, in Pakistan, are a breed apart. Lacking a proper mythology like most other races, we have created our own, populated by a whole pantheon of superheroes who have a wide range of heroic exploits to their credit.

But the difference is that these superheroes, instead of being a part of a remote and prehistoric period, belong very much to our own times. A seemingly veritable mythology has been created around these heroes, their persona and their achievements, which is drummed into the heads of our children from the time they start going to school. So deep is this indoctrination that any attempt to uncover the facts or reveal the truth is considered nothing less than blasphemous.

Here are some of the most common myths:

Myth 1

Our history begins from 712AD, when Mohammad bin Qasim arrived in the subcontinent and conquered the port of Debal.

Take any social studies or Pakistan studies book, it starts with Mohammad bin Qasim. What was there before his arrival? Yes, cruel and despotic Hindu kings like Raja Dahir and the oppressed and uncivilized populace anxiously waiting for a ’liberator’ to free them from the clutches of such cruel kings. And when the liberator came, he was welcomed with open arms and the grateful people converted to Islam en mass.

Did it really happen? This version of our history conveniently forgets that the area where our country is situated has had a long and glorious history of 6,000 years. Forget Moenjo Daro. We do not know enough about it. But recorded history tells us that before Mohammad Bin Qasim, this area, roughly encompassing Sindh, Punjab and some parts of the NWFP, was ruled by no less than 12 different dynasties from different parts of the world, including the Persians (during the Achamaenian period), the Greeks comprising the Bactrians, Scthians and Parthians, the Kushanas from China, and the Huns (of Attila fame) who also came from China, besides a number of Hindu dynasties including great rulers like Chandragupta Maurya and Asoka.

During the Gandhara period, this region had the distinction of being home to one of the biggest and most important universities of the world at our very own Taxila. We used to be highly civilized, well-educated, prosperous, creative and economically productive people, and many countries benefited a lot from us, intellectually as well as economically. This is something we better not forget. But do we tell this to our children? No. And so the myth continues from generation to generation.

Myth 2

Mohammad Bin Qasim came to India to help oppressed widows and orphan girls.

Because of our blissful ignorance of history, we don’t know, or don’t bother to know, that this period was the age of expansion of the Islamic empire. The Arabs had conquered a large portion of the world, comprising the entire Middle East, Persia, North Africa and Spain. Therefore, it defies logic that they would not seek to conquer India, the land of legendary treasures.

In fact, the Arabs had sent their first expedition to India during Hazrat Umar Farooq’s tenure. A subsequent expedition had come to Makran during Hazrat Usman’s rule. But they had been unsuccessful in making any in-roads into the region. Later on, following the refusal of the king to give compensation for the ships captured by pirates (which incidentally included eight ships full of treasures from Sri Lanka, and not just women and girls), two expeditions had already been sent to India, but they proved unsuccessful. It was the third expedition brought by Mohammad Bin Qasim which succeeded in capturing Sindh, from Mansura to Multan. However, because of the Arabs’ internal dissension and political infighting, Sindh remained a neglected outpost of the Arab empire, and soon reverted to local kings.

Myth 3

The myth of the idol-breaker.

Mahmood Ghaznavi, the great son of Islam and idol-breaker par excellence, took upon himself to destroy idols all over India and spread Islam in the subcontinent.

Mahmud, who came from neighbouring Ghazni, Central Asia, invaded India no less than 17 times. But except Punjab, he made no attempt to conquer any other part of the country or to try and consolidate his rule over the rest of India. In fact, the only thing that attracted him was the treasures of India, gold and precious stones, of which he took care and carried back home a considerable amount every time he raided the country. Temples in India were a repository of large amounts of treasure at the time, as were the churches in Europe, hence his special interest in temples and idols.

Contrary to popular belief, it was not the kings, the Central Asian sultans who ruled for over 300 years and the Mughals who ruled for another 300 years, who brought Islam to the subcontinent. That work was accomplished by the Sufi Sheikhs who came to India mainly to escape persecution from the fundamentalists back home, and who, through their high-mindedness, love for humanity, compassion, tolerance and simple living won the hearts of the people of all religions.

Myth 4

The myth of the cap-stitcher.

Of all the kings who have ruled the subcontinent, the one singled out for greatest praise in our text books is Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals. Baber built the empire; Humayun lost it and got it back; Akbar expanded and consolidated it; Jahangir was known for his sense of justice; Shahjehan for his magnificent buildings. But it is Aurangzeb, known as a pious man, who grabs the most attention. The prevalent myth is that he did not spend money from the treasury for his personal needs, but fulfilled them by stitching caps and copying out the Holy Quran. Is there any real need for discussing this assertion? Anyone who’s least bit familiar with the Mughal lifestyle would know how expensive it was to maintain their dozens of palaces. The Mughals used to have many wives, children, courtiers, concubines and slaves who would be present in each palace, whose needs had to be met. Could such expenses be met by stitching caps? And even if the king was stitching caps, would people buy them and use them as ordinary caps? Would they not pay exorbitant prices for them and keep them as heirlooms? Would a king, whose focus had to be on military threats surrounding him from all sides and on the need to save and consolidate a huge empire, have the time and leisure to sit and stitch caps? Let’s not forget that the person we are referring to as a pious Muslim was the same who became king after he imprisoned his won father in a cell in his palace and killed all his brothers to prevent them from taking over the throne.

Myth 5

It was the Muslims who were responsible for the war of 1857; and it was the Muslims who bore the brunt of persecution in the aftermath of the war, while the Hindus were natural collaborators of the British.

It is true that more Muslim regiments than Hindu rose up against the British in 1857. But the Hindus also played a major role in the battle (the courageous Rani of Jhansi is a prime example); and if Muslim soldiers were inflamed by the rumour that the cartridges were laced with pig fat, in the case of Hindus, the rumour was that it was cow fat. And a large number of Muslims remained loyal to the British to the very end. (The most illustrious of them being Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.)

Furthermore, the Muslims did not lose their empire after 1857. The British had already become masters of most of India before that time, having grasped vast territories from both Hindu and Muslim rulers through guile and subterfuge.

The Mughal emperor at the time was a ruler in name only; his jurisdiction did not extend beyond Delhi. After 1857, the Hindus prospered, because they were clever enough to acquire modern education, learn the English language, and take to trade and commerce. The Muslims were only land owners, wedded to the dreams of the past pomp and glory, and when their lands were taken away, they were left with nothing; their madressah education and proficiency in Persian proved to be of no help. As a matter of fact, it was a hindrance in such changing times.

Myth 6

The Muslims were in the forefront of the struggle against the British and were singled out for unfair treatment by the latter.

Not at all. In fact, the first ’gift’ given to the Muslims by the British was in 1905 in the form of partition of Bengal (later revoked in 1911). The Shimla delegation of 1906 has rightly been called a ’command performance’; the Muslims were assured by the viceroy of separate electorates and weightage as soon as their leaders asked for them. After that, he Muslim League came into being, established by pro-British stalwarts like the Aga Khan, Justice Amir Ali, some other nawabs and feudal lords. And the first objective of the Muslim League manifesto read: "To promote feelings of loyalty to the British government."

The Muslim League never carried out any agitation against the British. The only time the Muslims agitated was during the Khilafat Movement in the early ’20s, led by the Ali brothers and other radical leaders. Not a single Muslim League leader, including the Quaid-i-Azam, ever went to jail. It was the Congress which continued the anti-British non-violent and non-cooperation movement in the ’30s and ’40s, including the famous ’Quit India’ movement, while Muslim League leaders continued to denounce such movements and exhorted their followers not to take part in them.

Myth 7

The Muslim League was the only representative body of the Muslims.

It is an incontrovertible fact that it was only after 1940 that the Muslim League established itself as a popular party among the Muslims. Prior to that, as evident in the 1937 elections, the Muslim League did not succeed in forming the government in any of the Muslim majority provinces. In those elections, out of the total of 482 Muslim seats, the Muslim League won only 103 (less than one-fourth of the total). Other seats went either to Congress Muslims or to nationalist parties such as the Punjab Unionist Party, the Sind Unionist Party and the Krishak Proja Party of Bengal.

Myth 8

Allama Iqbal was the first person to come up with the idea of a separate Muslim state.

This is one of the most deeply embedded myths in our country and the one which has been propagated by all governments. In fact, the idea that Muslim majority provinces of the north-west formed a natural group and should be considered a single bloc had been mooted by the British as far back as 1858 and freely discussed in various newspaper articles and on political platforms. Several variations of the idea had come from important public personalities, including British, Muslims and some Hindus. By the time Allama Iqbal gave his famous speech in 1930, the idea had been put forward at least 64 times. So, Iqbal voiced something which was already there, and was not an original ’dream’. After his speech at Allahbad was reported, Allama Iqbal published a ’retraction’ in a British newspaper that he had not been talking of a separate Muslim sate, but only of a Muslim bloc within the Indian federation.

Myth 9

The Pakistan Resolution envisaged a single Muslim state.

The fact is that none of the proposals regarding the Muslim bloc mooted by different individuals or parties had included East Bengal in it. The emphasis had always been on north-western provinces, which shared common frontiers, while other Muslim majority states, such as Bengal and Hyderabad, were envisaged as separate blocs. So, it was in the Pakistan Resolution. The resolution reads: "The areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the north-western and eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states, in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign."

Leaving aside the poor and ambiguous drafting of the entire resolution, the part about states (in plural) is very clear. It was only in 1946, at a convention of the Muslim League legislators in Delhi, that the original resolution was amended, which was adopted at a general Muslim League session and the objective became a single state.

Myth 10

March 23, 1940 is celebrated because the Pakistan Resolution was adopted on that day.The fact of the matter is that the Pakistan Resolution was only introduced on March 23 and was finally adopted on March 24 (the second and final day of the session).

As to why we celebrate March 23 is another story altogether. The day was never celebrated before 1956. It was first celebrated that year as the Republic Day to mark the passage of the first constitution and Pakistan’s emergence as a truly independent republic. It had the same importance for us as January 26 for India. But when Gen Ayub abrogated the constitution and established martial law in 1958, he was faced with a dilemma. He could not let the country celebrate a day commemorating the constitution that he had himself torn apart, nor could he cancel the celebration altogether. A way-out was found by keeping the celebration, but giving it another name: the Pakistan Resolution Day.

Myth 11

It was Ghulam Muhammad who created imbalance of power between the prime minister and head of state, and it was he who sought to establish the supremacy of the governor-general over the prime minister and parliament.

When Pakistan came into being, the British government’s India Act of 1935 was adopted as the working constitution. And it was the Quaid-i-Azam himself who introduced certain amendments to the act to make the governor-general the supreme authority. It was under these powers that the Quaid-i-Azam dismissed the government of Dr Khan Sahib in the NWFP in August 1947 and that of Mr Ayub Khuhro in Sindh in 1948.

Besides being governor-general, the Quaid-i-Azam also continued as president of the Muslim League and president of the Constituent Assembly.

It was these same powers under which Mr Daultana’s government was dismissed in Punjab in 1949 by Khawaja Nazimuddin, who himself was dismissed as prime minister in 1953 by Ghulam Mohammad.

However, in 1954, a move was started by members of the then Constituent Assembly to table an amendment to the act, taking away excessive powers of the governor-general. It was this move which provoked the governor-general, Ghulam Mohammad, to dismiss the Constituent Assembly in 1954, and thereby change the course of Pakistan’s history.

These are some of the myths that have been drummed into our heads from childhood and have become part of our consciousness. There are scores more, pervading our everyday life. And there are many unanswered questions such as:

• What is Pakistan’s ideology and when was the term first coined? (It was never heard of before 1907.)

• Why was Gandhi murdered? (He was supposedly guarding Pakistan’s interest.)

• What is the truth about the so-called traitors, Shaikh Mujeeb, Wali Khan, and G.M. Syed?

• What caused the break-away of East Pakistan?

• Why was Bhutto put to death?

• Are all our politicians corrupt and self-serving?

• Why does our history repeat itself after every 10 years?

The answers to all these questions require a thorough study of history, not mythology. But history unfortunately is a discipline that has never been taken seriously by anyone in our country. It’s time things changed. REFERENCE: The myth of history By Prof Shahida Kazi Posted: Mar 28, 2005 Mon 01:12 am http://www.chowk.com/ilogs/38007/35925 [The Article had appeared in Daily Dawn in 2005] The myth of history By Prof Shahida Kazi March 27, 2005 http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/050327/dmag1.htm
Romila Thapar: India's past and present — how history informs contemporary narrative

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8HhLJzpx3Y

In February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands.” In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the “burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations. Published in the February, 1899 issue of McClure’s Magazine,The White Man’s Burden”: Kipling’s Hymn to U.S. Imperialism http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5478/

Take up the White Man’s burden—

Send forth the best ye breed—

Go send your sons to exile

To serve your captives' need

To wait in heavy harness

On fluttered folk and wild—

Your new-caught, sullen peoples,

Half devil and half child

Take up the White Man’s burden


تاریخ کی دیو مالا ز پروفیسر شاہدہ قاضی

تاریخ ایک ایسا شعبہ تعلیم ہے جسے پاکستانیوں نے کبھی سنجیدگی سے نہیں لیا۔ نتیجہ یہ ہے کہ اس شعبے کو اس بری طرح مسخ کردیا گیا ہے کہ بہت سی گھڑی ہوئی کہانیاں ہمارے اجتماعی شعور کا حصہ بن گئی ہیں۔

کیا سچ میں دیومالا کا تاریخ سے کوئی تعلق ہے؟ کیا دیومالا اور تاریخ ایک ہی چیز کے دو نام ہیں؟ یا تاریخ ہی دیومالا ہے؟

بلاشک ان دونوں میں بہت نازک سا فرق ہے۔ زمانہ قبل از تاریخ سے ہی انسان ہمیشہ اپنی جڑوں کی تلاش میں رہا ہے۔ وہ عہد گزشتہ کے افسانوی کرداروں کے بارے میں حقیقی اور ٹھوس معلومات کی تلاش میں بھی رہا ہے، وہ کردار جو ہمارے اجتماعی شعور کا حصہ بن چکے ہیں۔ نتیجتًا ہم دیکھتے ہیں کہ کنگ آرتھر نامی کسی بادشاہ کی تاریخ میں موجودگی ثابت کرنے کی جستجو کی جاتی ہے، افسانوی شہر ٹرائے کی باقیات تلاش کی جاتی ہیں، اور نوح علیہ السلام کی کشتی کے رکنے کا مقام تلاش کرنے کے لیے کئی مہمات وضع کی جاتی ہیں۔

ساٹھ اور ستر کے عشروں میں عالمی سطح پر ایک تحریک چلائی گئی تاکہ دیومالائی داستانوں میں موجود ’خداؤں‘ کی موجودگی ثابت کی جائے؛ کہ وہ دوسری کہکشاؤں سے آئے تھے؛ اور یہ کہ انسانیت کی ساری ترقی ان اجنبی فوق البشر ہیروز کی مرہون منت ہے۔ اس موضوع پر کئی ایک کتابیں لکھی گئیں۔

ہم، یہاں پاکستان میں، الگ ہی مزاج کے حامل ہیں۔ دوسری قومیتوں کی طرح کوئی باقاعدہ دیو مالا نہیں تو کیا ہوا، ہم نے اپنی دیومالائی داستانیں بنا لیں، جن میں ایسے ایسے ہیروز کی یادیں ہیں جن کے ساتھ بے شمار کارنامے منسوب ہیں۔

لیکن فرق یہ ہے کہ ہمارے افسانوی ہیرو قبل از تاریخ اور بہت پرانے دور کے نہیں بلکہ ہمارے آج کے دور سے ہی تعلق رکھتے ہیں۔ ان ہیروز کے گرد بالکل حقیقی لگنے والی دیومالا کھڑی کی گئی ہے، ان کی شخصیت اور کارنامے، جو کہ ہمارے بچوں کے کانوں میں اس وقت سے انڈیلنا شروع کردئیے جاتے ہیں جیسے ہی وہ سکول جانے کے قابل ہوجائیں۔ یہ تلقین اتنی گہری ہوتی ہے کہ حقائق سے پردہ اٹھانے یا سچائی کا چہرہ دکھانے کی ہر کوشش کو ہرزہ سرائی سے کم پر محمول نہیں کیا جاتا۔

ذیل میں ایسی ہی کچھ بہت عام سی دیومالائیں موجود ہیں:

دیو مالا 1

ہماری تاریخ 712 عیسوی سے شروع ہوتی ہے جب محمد بن قاسم برصغیر میں آیا اور اس نے دیبل کی بندرگاہ کو فتح کیا۔

کسی بھی معاشرتی علوم یا معالعہ پاکستان کی کتاب کو اٹھا لیں،وہ محمد بن قاسم سے ہی شروع ہوتی ہے۔ اس کی آمد سے پہلے کیا تھا؟ جی ہاں، راجہ داہر جیسے ظالم و جابر ہندو حکمران اور پسی ہوئی غیر تہذیب یافتہ آبادی جو کسی ’نجات دہندہ‘ کی آمد کی شدت سے منتظر تھی تاکہ وہ انھیں ظالم حکمرانوں کے پنجوں سے نجات دلائے۔ اور جب نجات دہندہ آیا، تو اس کا کھلی باہنوں سے استقبال کیا گیا، اور شکرگزار لوگ جوق در جوق اسلام میں داخل ہوگئے۔

کیا ایسا ہی ہوا تھا؟ تاریخ کا یہ ورژن بڑی آسانی سے نظر انداز کر دیا جاتا ہے کہ وہ علاقہ جہاں ہمارا ملک واقع ہے کی بڑی شاندار 6000 سالہ تاریخ ہے۔ موہن جودڑو کو بھول جائیں۔ ہم ان کے بارے میں بہت زیادہ نہیں جانتے۔ لیکن معلومہ تاریخ ہمیں بتاتی ہے کہ محمد بن قاسم سے پہلے، اس علاقے میں، جو تقریبًا پنجاب، سندھ، سرحد پر مشتمل ہے پر کم سے کم بارہ مختلف بادشاہوں نے حکومت کی جو دینا کے مختلف حصوں سے تعلق رکھتے تھے، جیسے کہ خسرو سے داریوش تک کے ایرانی حکمران، یونانی جن میں بیکتیریائی، سچیانی، پارتھئین، چین سے کشانا، اور (اٹیلا کے خاندان سے تعلق رکھنے والے) ہُن جو چین سے ہی آئے تھے، یہ ان ہندو خاندانوں کے علاوہ تھے جن میں اشوک، چندر گپت اور موریا جیسے عظیم حکمران شامل ہیں۔

گندھارا کے دور میں اس علاقے کو دنیا کی سب سے بڑی اور اہم یونیورسٹی کا وطن ہونے کا اعزاز حاصل رہا، ہمارا شہر جسے ہم آج ٹیکسلا کہتے ہیں۔ ہم اعلٰی تہذیب یافتہ، پڑھے لکھے، آسودہ حال، تخلیقی اور معاشی طور پر زرخیز لوگ رہے ہیں، اور بہت سے ممالک نے ہم سے علمی اور معاشی دونوں طرح سے فیوض حاصل کیے۔ یہ ایسی چیز ہے جو ہمیں بھولنی نہیں چاہیے۔ لیکن کیا ہم اپنے بچوں کو یہ سب بتاتے ہیں؟ نہیں۔ چناچہ یہ دیو مالا نسل در نسل چلتی ہے۔

دیو مالا 2

محمد بن قاسم ہندوستان آیا تاکہ وہ مظلوم بیواؤں اور یتیم لڑکیوں کی مدد کرے۔

تاریخ سے ہماری خوش فہمانہ چشم پوشی کی وجہ سے ہم جانتے ہی نہیں یا جاننے کی کوشش ہی نہیں کرتے کہ وہ دور اسلامی سلطنت کو وسعت دینے کا دور تھا۔ عربوں نے دنیا کا بڑا حصہ فتح کرلیا تھا، جس میں پورا مشرق وسطی، فارس، شمالی افریقہ اور سپین شامل ہیں۔ چناچہ منطقی لحاظ سے یہ نہیں کہا جاسکتا کہ انھوں نے ہندوستان جیسے روائتی خزانوں کے ملک کو فتح کرنے کا نہ سوچا ہو۔

حقیت یہ ہے کہ عربوں نے ہندوستان کی طرف اپنی پہلی مہم حضرت عمرؓ کے دور میں بھیجی تھی۔ اسی کے تسلسل میں ایک مہم حضرت عثمانؓ کے دور میں مکران بھی آئی۔ لیکن وہ اس علاقے میں کوئی حکومت قائم کرنے میں ناکام رہے تھے۔ بعد میں راجہ کی جانب سے سمندری قذاقوں کے ہاتھوں اغوا شدہ بحری جہازوں (جو اتفاقًا عورتوں اور لڑکیوں کے ساتھ ساتھ سری لنکا کے خزانوں سے بھی بھرے ہوئے تھے) کا معاوضہ دینے سے انکار پر دو مہمات پہلے ہی ہندوستان روانہ کی جاچکی تھیں لیکن وہ بھی ناکام رہی تھیں۔ یہ تیسری مہم تھی جو محمد بن قاسم کی قیادت میں سندھ بھجی گئی اور کامیاب ہوئی جس کا مقصد منصورہ سے ملتان تک کے علاقے کو قبضے میں کرنا تھا۔ تاہم عربوں کی اندرونی رنجش اور سیاسی رسہ کشی کی وجہ سے سندھ عرب سلطنت کا نظراندازشدہ کنارہ بنا رہا، اور جلد ہی اس پر مقامی حکمران قابض ہوگئے۔

دیو مالا 3

بت شکن کی دیو مالا۔

محمود غزنوی، بیک وقت اسلام کا عظیم بیٹا اور عظیم بت شکن، نے پورے ہندوستان سے بت شکنی کا بیڑہ اٹھایا اور برصغیر میں اسلام کو پھیلا دیا۔

محمود، جو کہ قریبی ریاست غزنی وسط ایشیا سے آیا تھا، نے انڈیا پر کم از کم 17 بار حملہ کیا۔ لیکن پنجاب کے علاوہ اس نے ملک کے کسی اور حصے کو فتح کرنے یا ہندوستان کے دوسرے حصوں پر اپنا اقتدار مضبوط کرنے کی کوئی کوشش نہ کی۔ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ اسے صرف ہندوستان کے زر و جواہرات نے للچایا، سونا اور قیمتی پتھر، جن کا اس نے خیال کیا اور ہر بار اپنے حملے کے بعد ان کی اچھی خاصی مقدار اپنے ساتھ واپس لے کر گیا۔ ہندوستان کے مندر اس وقت زر و جواہر اور خزانوں کا مخزن تھے، جیسا کہ یورپ میں کلیسا کا کام تھا، چناچہ مندروں اور بتوں میں اس کی خصوصی توجہ کا مرکز یہی زر و جواہر تھے۔

عام عقیدے کے برعکس، نہ یہاں پرحکومت کرنے والے بادشاہوں، وسط ایشیا کے سلاطین جنہوں نے 300 سال حکومت کی، اور نہ ہی مغل جنہوں نے بعد کے 300 سال حکومت کی، نے یہاں اسلام متعارف کرایا۔ یہ کام ہندوستان آنے والے صوفی بزرگوں نے کیا جو اپنے وطن میں بنیاد پرستوں کی ایذارسانیوں سے تنگ آکر ہندوستان چلے آئے تھے، جن کے اعلٰی اخلاق ، انسانیت کے لیے محبت، دردمندی، رواداری اور سادہ طرز زندگی نے تمام مذاہب کے لوگوں کے دل جیت لیے۔

دیو مالا 4

ٹوپیاں سینے والے کی دیو مالا

برصغیر پر حکومت کرنے والے تمام بادشاہوں میں سے، جس کی تعریف ہماری کتابوں میں سب سے زیادہ کی جاتی ہے وہ اورنگزیب ہے، مغلوں کا آخری عظیم تاجدار۔ بابر نے سلطنت بنائی؛ ہمایوں نے گنوائی اور پھر واپس حاصل کی؛ اکبر نے اسے پھیلایا اور مستحکم کیا؛ جہانگیر اپنے عدل کی وجہ سے جانا جاتا تھا؛ اور شاہجہاں اپنی عظیم تعمیرات کی وجہ سے۔ لیکن اورنگزیب جسے ایک متقی انسان سمجھا جاتا ہے سب سے زیادہ توجہ کا مستحق ٹھہرتا ہے۔ پائی جانے والی دیومالا یہ ہے کہ وہ خزانے میں سے اپنے ذاتی خرچ کے لیے رقم نہیں لیتا تھا، بلکہ وہ اپنی ضروریات ٹوپیاں سی کر اور قرآن کی کتابت کرکے پوری کرتا تھا۔ کیا اس دعوے کو بار بار دوہرانے کی کوئی خاص ضرورت ہے؟ کوئی بھی جو مغلوں کے طرز زندگی سے تھوڑی سی واقفیت رکھتا ہے یہ جانتا ہوگا کہ درجنوں کے حساب سے محلات کو چلانے کا خرچ کتنا تھا۔ مغلوں کی کئی بیویاں، بچے، مصاحب، داشتائیں، اور غلام ہوا کرتے تھے جو کہ ہر محل میں ہوا کرتے ہونگے اور جن کی ضروریات بھی پوری کرنا ہوتی ہونگی۔ کیا ایسے اخراجات ٹوپیاں سینے سے پورے ہوسکتے تھے؟ اور اگر بادشاہ ٹوپیاں سیتا بھی تھا تو کیا لوگ انھیں خریدتے تھے اور عام ٹوپیوں کی طرح پہنتے تھے؟ کیا وہ ان کے لیے بہت زیادہ رقم خرچ نہیں کرتے ہونگے اور بطور مقدس ورثہ نہیں سنبھالتے ہونگے؟ کیا ایک بادشاہ، جس کی نظر اپنے اردگرد موجود جنگی خطروں اور ایک عظیم سلطنت کو محفوظ اور مستحکم رکھنے پر رہتی تھی، کے پاس اتنا وقت ہوگا کہ وہ آرام سے بیٹھ کر ٹوپیاں سی سکے؟ یہ نہ بھولیے کہ وہ شخص جسے ہم متقی مسلمان کہہ رہے ہیں اپنے ہی باپ کو اپنے محل کی ایک کوٹھڑی میں قید کرکے اور اپنے بھائیوں قتل کرکے برسر اقتدار آیا تھا تاکہ وہ اس کے اقتدار کے لیے خطرہ نہ بن سکیں۔

دیو مالا 5

یہ مسلمان تھے جو 1857 کی جنگ کے ذمہ دار ہیں؛ اور یہ مسلمان ہی تھے جنہوں نے جنگ کے بعد ایذارسانیاں اور تکلیفیں برداشت کیں، جبکہ ہندو انگریزوں کے قدرتی اتحادی تھے۔

یہ سچ ہے کہ ہندوؤں کی نسبت زیادہ مسلمان رجمنٹوں نے 1857 میں علم بغاوت بلند کیا۔ لیکن ہندؤں نے بھی لڑائی میں اہم کردار ادا کیا (جھانسی کی رانی اس کی بہترین مثال ہے)؛ نیز اگرمسلمان فوجی اس افواہ پر برافروختہ ہوگئے تھے کہ کارتوسوں کا سرا خنزیر کی چربی سے بنا ہے تو ہندو بھی اس افواہ پر کہ کارتوس کا سرا گائے کی چربی سے بنا ہے پر آپے سے باہر ہوگئے تھے۔ اور مسلمانوں کی بڑی اکثریت انگریزوں کے ساتھ آخر تک وفادار بھی رہی۔ (ان میں سب سے زیادہ مشہور سرسید احمد خان ہیں۔)

مزید یہ کہ مسلمانوں نے 1857 کے بعد اپنی سلطنت نہیں کھوئی تھی۔ انگریز اس سے پہلے ہی ہندوستان کے بہت سے علاقے کے آقا بن بیٹھے تھے، مسلمان اور ہندو حکمرانوں سے حیلے بازی اور فریب کاری سے بہت سا علاقہ ہتھیا چکے تھے۔

اس وقت مغل بادشاہ کی موجودگی برائے نام ہی تھی؛ اس کی عمل داری دہلی سے باہر نہیں تھی۔ 1857 کے بعد ہندوؤں نے تیزی سے ترقی کی، چونکہ وہ جدید تعلیم حاصل کرنے، انگریزی زبان سیکھنے، اور کامرس و تجارت میں آگے بڑھنے میں تیز نکلے۔ مسلمان صرف جاگیر دار تھے، ماضی کی عظمت اور شان و شوکت کے خوابوں سے بندھے ہوئے، اور جب ان کی جاگیریں ضبط کرلی گئیں تو ان کے پاس کچھ بھی نہ رہا؛ ان کی درس نظامی کی تعلیم اور فارسی میں مہارت ان کے کچھ کام نہ آسکی۔ یہ حقیقت ہے کہ یہ سب بدلتے ہوئے زمانے کے ساتھ بدلنے میں رکاوٹ تھا۔

دیو مالا 6

مسلمان انگریزوں کے خلاف جدوجہد میں سب سے آگے تھے اور بعد میں ان سے خصوصًا ناانصافی پر مشتمل سلوک کیا گیا۔

بالکل بھی نہیں۔ بلکہ حقیقت یہ ہے کہ مسلمانوں کو پہلا ’تحفہ‘ انگریزوں نے 1905 میں بنگال کی تقسیم کی شکل میں دیا (جسے 1911 میں واپس لے لیا گیا) 1906 کے شملہ وفد کو صحیح طور پر ’حکمیہ کارکردگی‘ کا حامل کہا جاتا ہے؛ مسلمانوں کو ان کے رہنماؤں کے مطالبے پر وائسرائے نے بلا تاخیر جداگانہ انتخاب اور رائے دہندگی کا یقین دلایا۔ اس کے بعد مسلم لیگ وجود میں آئی، جسے انگریزوں سے قرب رکھنے والے رہنماؤں جیسے آغا خان، جسٹس امیر علی، کچھ دوسرے نوابین اور جاگیر داروں نے قائم کیا۔ اور مسلم لیگ کے منشور کا پہلا مقصد کچھ یوں ہے:”برطانوی حکومت کے بارے میں وفادارانہ خیالات کو فروغ دیا جائے۔”

مسلم لیگ نے برطانیہ عظمی کے خلاف کبھی بھی تحریک نہ چلائی۔ اکلوتا موقع جب مسلمانوں نے تحریک چلائی 20 کے عشرے کی تحریک خلافت تھی جس کی قیادت علی برادران اور دوسرے بچے کھچے رہنماؤں نے کی۔ مسلم لیگ کا ایک بھی رہنما، قائد اعظم سمیت، کبھی بھی جیل نہیں گیا۔ یہ کانگرس تھی جس نے برطانیہ مخالف عدم تشدد اور عدم تعاون پر مشتمل تحریک 30 اور 40 کے عشرے میں جاری رکھی جس میں مشہور زمانہ ’ہندوستان چھوڑ دو‘ تحریک بھی شامل ہے، جبکہ مسلم لیگی رہنماؤں نے ان تحریکوں کی مذمت کرنے اور اپنے پیروؤں کو ان میں حصہ لینے سے روکنا جاری رکھا۔

دیو مالا 7

صرف مسلم لیگ ہی مسلمانوں کی نمائندہ جماعت تھی۔

یہ ناقابل تردید حقیقت ہے کہ1940 کے بعد مسلم لیگ نے مسلمانوں میں مقبول ترین جماعت کے طور پر اپنا تشخص قائم کرلیا۔ لیکن اس سے پہلے، 1937 کے انتخابات سے یہ ثابت ہے کہ مسلم لیگ کسی بھی مسلم اکثریت والے صوبے میں حکومت نہیں بنا سکی تھی۔ ان انتخابات میں، 482 مسلم نشستوں میں سے مسلم لیگ کو صرف 103 ملی تھیں (جو کہ کل میزان کے ایک چوتھائی سے بھی کم ہے۔) دوسری نشستیں یا تو کانگریس کے مسلمانوں کو مل گئیں، یا پھر دوسری قوم پرست جماعتوں جیسے پنجاب یوننیسٹ پارٹی، سندھ یونینسٹ پارٹی اور بنگال کریشک پوجا پارٹی کو چلی گئی تھیں۔

دیو مالا 8

علامہ اقبال پہلے انسان تھے جنہوں نے الگ مسلم ریاست کا خیال پیش کیا۔

یہ ان گہری راسخ شدہ دیومالاؤں میں سے ہے جن کا پروپیگنڈہ ہر حکومت نے کیا۔ حقیقت میں، شمال مغربی علاقے کے مسلم اکثریتی صوبے ایک قدرتی گروپ بناتے ہیں اور انھیں ایک اکائی تصور کیا جانا چاہیے کا خیال 1858 سے برطانویوں کے ہاں زیر بحث تھا اور اسے مختلف سیاسی پلیٹ فارمز اور اخباری مضامین میں بھی اکثر زیر بحث لایا گیا۔ اس تصور کی مختلف صورتیں اہم عوامی شخصیات نے پیش کیں، جن میں برطانوی، ہندو اور مسلمان سب شامل ہیں۔ جب علامہ اقبال نے اپنا 1930 کا مشہور خطبہ پیش کیا، اس وقت تک کم از کم 64 بار یہ تصور پیش کیا جاچکا تھا۔ چناچہ اقبال نے جو کچھ کہا وہ پہلے ہی سے موجود تھا، اور یہ کوئی طبع زاد ’خواب‘ نہ تھا۔ ان کے الہ آباد کے خطبے کی اشاعت کے بعد، علامہ اقبال نے ایک برطانوی اخبار میں ایک ’تردید‘ شائع کروائی کہ ان کا مقصد الگ مسلم ریاست کا مطالبہ نہیں تھا، بلکہ ان کی مراد ہندوستان کے وفاق میں رہتے ہوئے ایک مسلم بلاک سے تھی۔

دیو مالا 9

قراردادِ پاکستان نے ایک متحدہ مسلم ریاست کا تصور پیش کیا۔

حقیقت یہ ہے کہ مسلم بلاک کے بارے میں پیش کردہ مختلف تصورات میں ،جو انفرادی اور اجتماعی طور پر پیش ہوئے، مشرقی بنگال شامل نہیں تھا۔ ہمیشہ شمال مشرقی صوبوں پر زور دیا جاتا رہا، جن کی سرحدیں مشترک تھیں جبکہ دوسری مسلم اکثریتی ریاستوں جیسے بنگال اور حیدرآباد دکن کو الگ بلاک خیال کیا جاتا تھا۔ چناچہ یہ تھی قراردادِ پاکستان۔ جس کے مطابق: “علاقے جہاں مسلمان عددی اکثریت میں ہیں جیسا کہ ہندوستان کے شمال مغربی اور مشرقی علاقے، کو آزاد ریاستوں میں بدل دینا چاہیے، جہاں متعلقہ اکائیاں خودمُختار اور حکومت سازی میں آزاد ہوں۔

پوری قرارداد کے ادنی اور مبہم مسودے کو پرے رکھتے ہوئے، ریاستوں (جو کہ جمع ہے) والا حصہ بالکل واضح ہے۔ یہ صرف 1946 میں، مسلم لیگ کے نمائندوں کے اجلاس منعقدہ دہلی میں ہوا کہ قرارداد میں ترمیم کی گئی اور اسے مسلم لیگ کے ایک عمومی اجلاس میں اپنا لیا گیا اور مقصد ایک متحدہ ریاست کا قیام قرار پایا۔

دیو مالا 10

23 مارچ 1940 اس لیے منایا جاتا ہے کہ قراردادِ پاکستان کو اس دن نصب العین قرار دیا گیا۔ حقیقت حال یہ ہے کہ قراردادِ پاکستان 23 مارچ کو صرف پیش کی گئی تھی جبکہ اس کو منظور اور اپنایا 24 مارچ کو گیا تھا ( جو کہ اس اجلاس کی دوسری اور حتمی نشست تھی)۔

یہ ایک الگ کہانی ہے کہ ہم 23 مارچ کیوں مناتے ہیں۔ یہ دن 1956 سے پہلی کبھی نہیں منایا گیا۔ اس سال یہ پہلی بار یوم جمہوریہ کے طور پر منایا گیا تھا چونکہ ہمارا پہلا آئین منظور ہوا تھا اور پاکستان ایک حقیقی آزاد جمہوریہ بنا تھا۔ ہمارے لیے اس کی اہمیت ایسے ہی ہے جیسے ہندوستان کے لیے 26 جنوری کی۔ لیکن جب جنرل ایوب خان نے 1958 میں آئین منسوخ کرکے مارشل لاء نافذ کیا تو اسے اس دُبدھا کا سامنا کرنا پڑا۔ وہ ملک کو ایک ایسا دن نہیں منانے دے سکتا تھا جو اس آئین کی یادگار تھا جس کی اس نے خود دھجیاں اڑائی تھیں، اور نہ ہی وہ اس جشن کو روک سکتا تھا۔ چناچہ حل یہ نکالا گیا کہ جشن کو جاری رکھا گیا، لیکن اس کا نام بدل دیا گیا: قراردادِ پاکستان کا دن۔

دیو مالا 11

یہ غلام محمد تھا جس نے وزیر اعظم اور ریاست کے سربراہ کے مابین اختیارات کا عدم توازن پیدا کیا، اور وہی گورنر جنرل کی فوقیت کو وزیراعظم اور پارلیمنٹ پر مسلط کرنا چاہتا تھا۔

جب پاکستان وجود میں آیا تو ابتدا میں برطانوی حکومت کا 1935 کا ہندوستانی حکومت کا ایکٹ بطور عبوری آئین اپنایا گیا۔ اور قائداعظم نے بذات خود اس ایکٹ میں ایسی ترامیم متعارف کروائیں جس کی وجہ سے گورنر جنرل بالادست اور مقتدر ہوگیا۔ انھی اختیارات کی رو سے قائد اعظم نے اگست 1947 میں سرحد میں ڈاکٹر خان صاحب کی حکومت اور 1948 میں سندھ میں مسٹر ایوب کھوسو کی حکومت کو برطرف کیا۔

گورنر جنرل رہنے کے ساتھ ساتھ قائد اعظم مسلم لیگ کے صدر اور قانون ساز اسمبلی کے صدر بھی رہے۔

یہی اختیارات تھے جن کے تحت پنجاب میں 1949 میں مسٹر دولتانہ کی حکومت کو خواجہ ناظم الدین نے برطرف کیا، جن کی حکومت کو 1953 میں غلام محمد نے برطرف کیا تھا۔

تاہم 1954 میں اس وقت کی قانون ساز اسمبلی کے اراکین کی طرف سے ایک تحریک چلائی گئی تاکہ ایکٹ میں ترامیم کرکے گورنر جنرل سے اضافی اختیارات واپس لے لیے جائیں۔ اسی تحریک نے گورنر جنرل غلام محمد کو مشتعل کیا اور اس نے قانون ساز اسمبلی 1954 میں توڑ دی، اور پاکستان کی تاریخ کا دھارا بدل ڈالا۔

یہ کچھ دیومالائی داستانیں ہیں جنہیں بچپن سے ہی ہمارے کانوں میں انڈیلا جاتا ہے اور جو ہمارے شعور کا حصہ بن جاتی ہیں۔ ایسے بے شمار اور افسانے ہماری روزمرہ کی زندگی میں سرایت کیے ہوئے ہیں۔ اور یہاں بہت سے سوالات ہیں جن کے جواب موجود نہیں جیسے:

• نظریہ پاکستان کیا ہے اور یہ اصطلاح سب سے پہلے کب ایجاد ہوئی؟ (یہ 1907 سے پہلے کبھی نہیں سنی گئی۔)

گاندھی کا قتل کیوں کیا گیا؟

(چونکہ وہ شاید پاکستان کے مفادات کا تحفظ کررہا تھا۔)

• نام نہاد باغیوں شیخ مجیب، ولی خان، اور جی ایم سید کی حقیقت کیا ہے؟

• سقوط مشرقی پاکستانی کی وجہ کیا تھی؟

• بھٹو کو کیوں موت کے حوالے کیا گیا؟

• کیا تمام سیاستدان کرپٹ اور مفادپرست ہیں؟

•ہماری تاریخ ہر 10 سال بعد اپنے آپ کو کیوں دوہراتی ہے؟

ان تمام سوالات کے جوابات دیو مالا کی بجائے تاریخ کے مکمل مطالعے کے متقاضی ہیں۔ لیکن بدقسمتی سے تاریخ ایک ایسا شعبہ تعلیم ہے جسے ہمارے ملک میں کبھی بھی سنجیدگی سے نہیں لیا گیا۔ یہ وقت ہے کہ چیزوں کو بدلا جائے۔
Courtesy: Mr Awais Masood http://roshnipk.com/blog/?p=130

Website: http://secularpakistan.wordpress.com/ http://awaismasood.wordpress.com/

Tribute to K.K. Aziz: A Great historian of Pakistan.

Khurshid Kamal Aziz 1927-2009

LAHORE: Renowned historian K.K. Aziz passed away in a Lahore hospital on Wednesday at the age of 81. Khurshid Kamal Aziz was an outstanding historian and a prolific writer. He authored a large number of books that opened up angles on history and culture sought to be concealed by official chroniclers. Quite aptly, one of his famous works is titled ‘The Murder of History’. K.K. Aziz’s was an expansive canvas and while he has to his credit books such as ‘History of the Partition of India’, ‘The Meaning of Islamic Art: An annotated bibliography’ and ‘Public Life in Muslim India: 1850-1947’, he also came up with volumes on some important individuals who helped shape history in the subcontinent at critical junctures – among them Sir Agha Khan III and Chaudhry Rehmat Ali. Historian K.K. Aziz dead Thursday, 16 Jul, 2009 06:03 AM PST

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/12-historian+kk+aziz+dead--bi-17

FOR K. K. AZIZ by F S Aijazuddin

I would like to thank you all for being here today to honour one of our most distinguished historians, K.K. Aziz sahib. On 11 December, yesterday, Mr Aziz completed his first eighty years. God grant him a multiple of those eighty years, but may they be peaceful and healthy for him. When I approached Shamim Khan sahib over a month ago to host this function, he generously agreed to do so without a murmur, for he recognized, as many of you today must do, the enormous contribution K.K. has made to our lives, and more significantly to the minds of our children. KK’s books have become text-books in our schools and colleges. As all of you know, they provide an invisible, invaluable and entirely beneficial influence in the impressionable minds of those who need to recognize the gridlines of history. KK’s life has been a labour of love – love of the written word, a love of literature, a love for history, and a premature love for an anonymous readership that is yet to be born. For who else but someone with an eye to the future would have authored more than thirty-five books, and yet have unfinished manuscripts queuing for his attention? For those of you who have not read KK’s autobiography of his first twenty-one years from his birth in 1927 until 1948, I earnestly advise you to do so. It is more than 700 pages of prose. It is an extended sonnet to love. The first is the love that his parents had for this seventh son – the only one to survive beyond the first three years. No wonder they doted on him. The second is the love his father had for history and literature. His father Abdul Aziz himself fell in love with Heer after hearing a rendition of Waris Shah’s lyrical poem. He remained devoted to her for the next thirty years, collecting every known manuscript and version he could find. He spent three days of a week on Heer and the other three days researching on the other love of his life – the Mughals. As a student myself, I searched for his books on the Mughal Court, its Arms and Armour, and Jewellery, without realizing that I would meet him years later through his son. Who does not love their own mother? Few sons can express that filial love as tenderly as KK does in his autobiography: “Her face is so vivid in my memory as if it was painted on the inside of my eyelids.” Another enduring love that has stayed with KK has been his love for the town of Batala. Only he knows why he cares so deeply for it, which is why he went there last year to relive old memories. I could continue and talk about KK’s years at FC College or the thirteen years he spent at Government College between 1944 and 1957. However, what is much more important and symbolic of that relationship is the presence here today of persons from both those institutions. When I was arranging this function, I asked myself: “What could one give as a birthday present to someone who has given so much of himself to others for the past eighty years?” I found a clue in his autobiography. “Next to Sirajuddin,” KK writes, “the most inspiring teacher whose class I attended was Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum.” So here today, KK, is a Persian Lughat that once belonged to Soofi sahib. I found it on the footpath in Anarkali one Sunday morning. I opened it and saw Soofi sahib’s signature, dated April 1930. So, with your permission, may I on behalf of all of us present this book that once belonged to your favorite teacher to your favourite alma mater, to the Library of Government College University in your honour? It is an inadequate expression of the love that all of us have for you, and an insufficient symbol of the contribution you yourself have made to enrich our lives by your presence amongst us. SPEECH FOR K.K. AZIZ, [AITCHISON COLLEGE, LAHORE, 12DECEMBER 2007] http://www.fsaijazuddin.pk/SpeechesDetailsFull.aspx?op=E&NewsID=7

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Sartaj Aziz, former finance minister, said the research done by K.K. Aziz was an asset of Pakistan. He said regretfully that the writer of 44 books had died in state of misery in Pakistan, adding, in future, the same story would not be repeated and the government would help his family financially and make a committee to publish his half-finished works. Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi said he was introduced to K.K Aziz as a book of civics, which he studied in Intermediate, was written by the great historian. He said that K.K. Aziz was an isolationist and used to talk with reference and confidence. He added that he emphasized on the research and that was why most of his life passed in the India Office Library. Khalid Ahmed, consulting editor of a daily English language newspaper, said that Dr K.K. Aziz was a born historian. He said they could never find an error in his writings because he was very keen and touchy about his writings. Tribute to Dr Aziz Wednesday, July 22, 2009 By Our Correspondent http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=189347

Journalist Khaled Ahmed said Aziz was a great historian, but he never found a good publisher. In his book ‘Murder of History’ he explained how history had been inaccurately described. He understood the fact that the nation did not have correct historical awareness and wrote this book also “to reprimand his pervious mistakes he committed while writing history”. Khaled Ahmed recalled him as a very practical person. “Aziz returned the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz as he did not compromise on principles. Benazir Bhutto appointed him in the Pakistani High Commission in Britain where he purposely went to complete his books. Later, he was expelled from the commission. He, however, stayed in England and a Ravians Society in London funded him for three years to complete his various writing projects.” He who strove to set record straight Wednesday, 22 Jul, 2009 07:10 AM PST http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/he-who-strove-to-set-record-straight-279

History taught in Pakistan challenged

Times Of India Wednesday 3 February 1999

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Education Minister Brigadier (retd) Zulfikar Ahmed Dhillon has challenged the history taught in Pakistan's educational institutions by arguing that no Muslim shed even a drop of blood in the struggle against the British for the creation of Pakistan. Brig Dhillon made this statement during his Presidential address in Lahore at a recent meeting of an organisation comprising those who participated in the Pakistan movement.


``We say we fought for the creation of Pakistan, but I say only one person, Quaid-e-Azam (Mohammad Ali Jinnah), worked for it ... No Muslim shed a drop of his blood for this,'' he said. ``We became Muslims just because of our hatred for Hindus,'' he told his enraged listeners. This is the first observation of its kind at a time when frenzied movements are in progress for the promulgation of the Shariat Law in Pakistan. The Urdu daily Jang, which reported the incident, also carried an article the following day on late Pakhtun leader Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's sacrifices for India's independence along with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Scholars in Pakistan have regretted what is being taught in schools and colleges in the name of history. A few years ago a book entitled ``The Murder Of History'' by K K Aziz said, ``in Pakistani schools and colleges what is being taught as history is really national mythology, and the subjects of social studies and Pakistan studies are nothing but vehicles of political indoctrination.''(UNI)

These extracts from the great Prof K.K. Aziz's book, I thought some of you might find them interesting.

Taken from Dr. K.K. Aziz , The Murder of History in Pakistan.

Culture and Inferiority Complex

The double claim that the people of the UP were in the forefront of the struggle for the creation of Pakistan and that their culture is the source or foster-mother of Pakistani culture has produced problems of identity for the indigenous population of Pakistan. Space does not permit a full treament of its impact other various provinces taken sperarately. I will concentrate on the Punjab as a case-study because I am more familiar with it.

The mind of the largest province of the country has been put to total confusion by the following factors born of the claim:

1: An inferiority complex of the severest kind has struck the Punjabi. he is told that his own role in the freedom movement was marginal and inappreciable. For many years he had supported the Unionist Party, which was an enemy of the Muslim League and an obstacle in the path to leading to independence, he voted for the partition only in 1946. Therefore he was a latecommer to the ranks of the patriots. He was a laggard, and should be made aware of it. His own culture is also inferior, and the better parts of it borrowed from Delhi and United Provinces. He sided with the Urdas in rejecting the Bengali as a national language; when the concession was made with great reluctance, he mourned it loudly in company with them. In doing so, he made bitter enemies of the people of East Pakistan, but he did not care.

2: By accepting Urdu in his schools, literature, journalism and everyday life he let down his own toungue be thrown on the dunghill of history. By supporting the cause of Urdu in Sind he alienated the Sindhis who then bracketed him with the Urda usurpers of their province.

3: By failing to challenge the Urda claim of the superiority of the U.P. culture he made a confession that he had no culture of his own, thus disowning his own past and its contribution to this life.

4: In politics he was very happy to make common cause with the Urda-dominated federal government in (a) creatin the ONE Unit of West Pakistan, thus angering Sind, Balushistan and NWFP. (b) allowing the identity of his own province to be lost, and (c) lending support to the rest of of West Pakistan in opposition to East Pakistan (the raison d'etre of the One Unit scheme). By thus playing into Urda hands, he made two grievous mistakes: he made the Bengalis look at him as their chief enemy, and, as the largest component of the West Pakistan province, dominated the smaler partners and alienated their sympathies. In sum he made himself thoroughly un-popular with every other group in the country to please the tiny 3 percent (1950s' figure) Urda population.

5: By continuing to concentrate on producing Urdu literature, he denied the Punjabi language a chance to revive itself, thus sending a message to the urduas that he was at one with them in rejecting Punjabi as a respectable language and considering Punjabi literature as something unworthy and low.

This self-abnegaion is probably unique in the history of the nations anywhere. but was it self-abnegation? I can see no element of denial or self-sacrifice in it. The Punjabi did what he did with pleasure, confidence, pride, almost glee. He went further than any other Pakistani group in adopting Urdu as his everday spoken tongue, even at his home. There was no compulsion for the change. The pathan student studied through Urdu-medium but spoke Pashto at home. The Sindhi went to Urdu-medium schools but stuck to own language in his domestic and social life. The argument that Urdu-medium schooling results in Urdu speaking home life is a false one. The Punjabi had gone to Urdu-medium schools since 1855 but had not made hismelf Urdu-speaking. The trend started in the 1960's under political pressure from Karachi and Islamabad and because the anti-Bengali feeling in which the Punjabi decided to support the Urdas. Yet his decision was made of his own free will and without demur.

He chose Urdu becasue he was convinced that his own culture was either inferior or non-existent. The proaganda which had its beginnings with M. Hussain Azad and Altaf Hali and others brought to the Punjab by the British to found the province's school system now bore fruit. A century of insidious effort had not gone waste. but by thus flattering the Urdas the Punjabi intelligentsia ensured the demise of their native tongue which their fathers and forefathers had spoken for over a thousand years.

The Punjabi was happy at the thought that, owning Urdu as his language, he added one more weapon to his armory of domination over the rest of Pakistan. he already enjoyed an unalterable majority in the population of the country, an overbearing majority in the national army, and an unchallengable majority in the civil service. With the urdu language in his pocket his victory was complete(though he had put himself in the pokcet of th Urdas; but preferred to shut his eyes to this reality). Now he also became the dominant linguistic and cultural group in the land. Did he realize that his victory was engineered by people who looked at him with overt and deep contempt and, in private conversation, called him a Punjabi Dhagha (ox; a symbol of stupidity)? It did not matter. He had at least been accepted as a civilized person speaking the "national" language. It did not occur to him that he had achieved "respectibility" by alienating himself from his own history and culture. I suggest that he reckons the price he has paid, even if the account is made up in Urdu.

Joint Indo-Pak School History Textbook on the Web

Joint Indo-Pak School History Textbook on the Web by Foqia Sadiq Khan and Q Isa Daudpota September 26, 2000

Abstract: A team of historians from South Asia will jointly write a history text suitable for middle and high school students. This will be put on the Internet at different sites. As chapters develop, and the author jointly agree on the contents, theywill be offered for comment by students and
teachers of history in the region and elsewhere. The authors and other commentators will respond. The important Q&A will be incorporated in the evolving text.

Such a book could be downloaded and made available in print to those unable to access the Net. Similar book projects could follow in South Asia and elsewhere. The "Book on the Web" plan can be used for disseminating ideas and facts in countries where direct exchange of printed material is not possible, and is made worse by an overall lack of objective analysis.

1. Concept Note

History is distorted to create an "enemy" image in the school textbooks in India and Pakistan. These textbooks feed the minds and imagination of millions of children in both countries. They play a major role in generating hatred and animosity between the two countries. Indeed, history textbooks have become victims of the official ideologies and foreign policies of both countries.

1.1 Distortions in India's History Textbooks

S.P. Udayakumar traces the origins of systemic difference-generation in modern India back to the colonial days. The differences among Hindus and Muslims were brought out by the Europeans during the colonial period; Hindus were made to understand the tyranny of Muslim rule while Muslims were told about their glorious conquests. The differences were highlighted and the similarities were made invisible. He quotes George Francis Hamilton's (the Secretary of State for India) letter to Curzon (the Governor General):

"I think the real danger to our rule in India, not now, but say 50 years hence, is the gradual adoption and extension of Western ideas of agitation, and, if we could break educated Indians into two sections holding widely different views, we should, by such a division, strengthen our position against the subtle and continuous attack which the spread of education must make upon our system of Government. We should so plan the educational text-books that the differences between community and community are further strengthened." (Udayakumar, 1999)

The legacy of distortions in history textbooks from the British era continued after Partition. A Calcutta University history textbook in 1928 claimed that "'three thousand Brahmins committed suicide as Tipu (Sultan) wanted to convert them forcibly into the fold of Islam". This claim was later withdrawn from the textbook as it was considered proven false, but was reinstated in a 1972 Uttar Pradesh junior high school textbook. (Udayakumar, 1999)

Although the Congress tried to promote secularism after Partition, the textbooks reflected anti-Pakistan prejudices. The Indian Bharatia Janata Party (BJP) in the1990s ushered a new era of the communalism, and the textbooks reflected that trend, "in Madhya Pradesh the BJP government re-wrote the entire textbooks from nursery to the post-graduate level with a Hindu emphasis. History books projected Hindu rulers such as Rana Pratap and Shivaji as heroes and Muslim rulers such as Aurangzeb as villains". (Udayakumar, 1999)

Distortions in the presentation and interpretation of history have contributed to the spread of communalism in India, while the religious extremist's government is reinforcing it through the government's patronage. It has developed a vicious cycle of preaching hatred through distorted history textbooks. Hence, "highly distorted versions of India's 'national history' is preached by the 'Hindu' communalists, who have been wallowing in mindless infatuation with history trying to control the singular Indian past and future. Their sociological scheme is communal, divisive and hateful. Their peculiar philosophy of history gives rise to a unique historiographical genre that is exclusivistic, vituperative and deceitful". (Udayakumar, 1999)

A few secular groups in the Indian civil society are fighting the religious extremists' attempts to paint history in Hinduvta colours. Teesta Setalvad's Communalism Combat (Mumbai) has consistently exposed textbook distortions, especially in Gujrat / Maharashtra. In one of its recent issues, the magazine comments on the widespread distortions in history textbooks, "it is not just the Gujarat texts that are problematic. Many texts of the more prestigious Indian Civil Service Exam Board, some recommended texts for graduation level history in Maharashtra and texts in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are also glaring examples of the same or similar kinds of bias." Due to initiatives like Communalism Combat, the government has been forced to set up a committee to review the distortions in history textbooks. The Combat says that "the Gujrat government admits its textbooks describe 'Muslims, Christians and Parsees as foreigners' and glorify Nazism and Fascism. But the Union HRD (human resources development) minister insists he will not direct any revision in these texts." (Communalism Combat, May 2000)

The secular English language press is cognizant of the indoctrination of children through textbooks. The Hindustan Times has pointed out a move towards the "Talibanisation of textbooks" in one of its editorials:

".thousands of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak schools are teaching a brand of history, especially where it concerns the Babri masjid demolition and the minorities, which does not always apply either an objective methodology or a factual historical paradigm. Instead, it is loaded with crass communal overtones. Clearly, the sole purpose of this reinterpretation of historical facts is to indoctrinate and poison young minds with a prejudiced vision of the past. For instance, the textbook curriculum of the Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan, which is affiliated with the RSS, has claimed that the Babri masjid was not a mosque because Muslims 'have never till today offered namaaz there'. Other fantastic revelations state that from 1528 to 1914, 350,000 'devotees of Lord Ram have laid down their lives to liberate the Ram temple' and that foreigners invaded Sri Ramjanambhoomi not less then 77 times. In terms of the contemporary history of modern India, the textbooks state that November 2, 1990, will be inscribed in black letters 'because on that day the then Chief Minister, by ordering the police to shoot unarmed kar sevaks, massacred hundreds of them.' All this, of course, is complete nonsense - packed with lies and untruths." (The Hindustan Times, June 6, 2000)

1.2 Distortions in Pakistan's History Textbooks

Pakistan too presents a grim scenario. The government controlled provincial textbook boards have a sole monopoly over publication of all textbooks. These boards produce textbooks full of misrepresentations of history designed to inculcate the state ideology. History has been used to churn out a certain myth about the struggle that led to the creation of Pakistan. Though leaders of All-India Muslim League or Mr M.A. Jinnah never used the word "Ideology of Pakistan", a new subject has been introduced in the schools and colleges of Pakistan just to propagate the official distortions of history. Ayesha Jalal analyses history as official imagining tool to conjure Pakistan:

".when petty officials carry the brief of writing history as victory, the imaginings of power can discard the stray 'truths' of pure inspiration and pretend to monopolize the enterprise of creativity. A sort of selective amnesia descends. Twisted this way and that, the educational system became hooked to officially concocted national soporifics very early on in the day.

The rewriting of history from an Islamic point of view, however defined, was given the highest priority by the managers of the state and has since been refined to a bureaucratic art by national research societies and central or provincial textbook boards. A state-controlled curriculum guarantees a captive market for the history textbooks. These are the official gospels teachers advise students to learn by rote if they want to make a decent showing in examinations, especially those leading to the matriculation, intermediate and bachelor's degrees. The gems of wisdom contained in textbooks rarely survive the writing of the exam. But with help from the state-controlled media, the lessons learnt in school and college serve as the alphabet and the grammar that makes psyches literate in the idioms of national ideology. To know the alphabet and grammar of the textbooks is to uncover the idioms employed to nationalize the Pakistani past." (Jalal, 1995)

K.K. Aziz has conducted a thorough and fascinating postmortem of 66 Pakistan Studies textbooks. The Pakistan Studies course is the only place where history is taught in schools, particularly those run by the government. Aziz quotes from one of the Pakistan Studies textbook for higher secondary level to highlight the distortions. The textbook says: "the Lahore Resolution was passed on '23 March 1940'; at the end of the war the Labour Party came into power in Britain under 'Lord Attlee'." While the Lahore Resolution was passed on 24th March 1940 and when Attlee became the Prime Minister of Britain in 1945, he was not a peer. The textbook further says, "after the partition of the subcontinent the Hindus and Sikhs started a properly planned campaign of exploiting the Muslims generally in the whole of Bharat and particularly in East Pakistan, as a result of which the Hindu and Sikh enemies of mankind killed and dishonoured thousands, nay hundreds of thousands, of women, children, the old and the young with extreme cruelty and heartlessness". Aziz's reply is: "the Hindus and Sikhs were not the only
aggressors in the riots of 1947; Muslims also killed and raped and looted wherever they had the opportunity." (Aziz, 1993)

For Tariq Rahman, history is mutilated in textbooks to construct a mind-set that serves the broader politics of state. Young and impressionable minds are imperganated with seeds of hatred to serve the self-styled ideological strait-jacket:

"The state's major objectives - creating nationalism and support for the military - are attained by repeating a few basic messages in all the books. First, the non-Muslim part of Pakistan is ignored. Second, the borrowing from Hindu culture is either ignored or condemned. Third, the Pakistan movement is portrayed mostly in terms of the perfidy of Hindus and the British and the righteousness of the Muslims. After the partition, in which Hindus are reported to have massacred Muslims while Muslims are not shown to have treated the Hindus in the same manner, India is portrayed as the enemy, which is waiting to dismember Pakistan. The separation of Bangladesh in 1971 is portrayed as proof of this Indian policy rather than the result of the domination of the West Pakistan over East Bengal. Above all, the 1948, 1965 and 1971 wars are blamed entirely on India, and Pakistan is shown to have won the 1965 war. The armed forces are not only glorified but treated as if they were sacrosanct and above criticism. All eminent personalities associated with the Pakistan movement, especially M.A. Jinnah and Iqbal, are presented as orthodox Muslims and any aspect of their thoughts and behaviour which does not conform to this image is suppressed. Indeed, the overall effect of the ideological lessons is to make Islam reinforce and legitimise both Pakistani nationalism and militarisation." (Rahman, 1998)

2. Joint Indo-Pak School History Textbook on the Web

To sidestep the distortion of school history textbooks in India and Pakistan, one of us (QID) proposed the idea of producing an independent history textbook at the school level. This book to be located on a web site would be written jointly by a group of South Asian historians. This is an attempt to deconstruct the prejudiced mindset of the youngsters on both sides of the border. The joint authorship by historians from across the borders will give legitimacy and acceptance to the textbook. (Daudpota, June 2000)

Mubarak Ali, the Pakistani historian based in Lahore, is a strong advocate of the joint Indo-Pak textbook explained this project in a recent interview, "The portraits of India and Hindus that are presented in our text-books are very negative. This is what the RSS and the BJP are also trying to do in India - present a negative image of the Other. There is a similarity on both sides about projecting history as a conflict between Hindus and Muslims. But we [Pakistanis] have an additional problem besides being an ideological state. We are not a multi-cultural, multi-religious society and, therefore, the image of the Other - the enemy - is accepted without any verification.

Except in Sindh, there are hardly any Hindus here. There is little chance of meeting them or interacting with them. So whatever image the students get in the text books, they believe it". (Bhushan, July 2000)

It is unlikely that the textbook developed by this project will become a recommended text in India and Pakistan in the near future. It could, however, become popular as background, corrective reading for students, teachers and interested public who are interested in an alternative viewpoint. Dissemination through the media and Internet, and possible printing by independent book publishers will make it readily accessible.

3. Methodology for the Textbook on the Web

3.1 Selection

A team of 2 or 3 distinguished historians and one project coordinator would be chosen from each side of the Indo-Pak border. Historians from other countries in the region will also be considered and are welcome to join. Mubarak Ali has agreed to be one of main Pakistani historian of the joint
textbook, and Ayesha Jalal, of Pakistan but currently at Tufts University, has expressed an interest. Search for other contributors is going on at this stage. Besides the professional historians who author the text, we want a broader group of South Asian experts and international academics as advisors, consultants and commentators.

Other names suggested for the project are: Satish Sabwerwal, Anil Sethi, Harbans Mukhia (JNU), Krishna Kumar (Delhi Univ) and Nanita Chandra Behera from India; Rubina Saigol, Inayatullah and Tariq Rahman from Pakistan. We wish to invite them and others to join. The success of this project will depends on many people. Most important is the choice of the South Asian historians who will be the joint authors of the book. They should be willing to overcome national biases and write an 'objective' history of this region. Tolerance of the views of other collaborators is essential. Where there is strong disagreement among the authors with a majority view, this will be made explicit, and readers will be left to make their own judgment.

Credible historians, enthusiastic about writing at the school level will be chosen. Proficiency in using email is essential. This will be the main medium for intensive collaborative exchanges, both with fellow authors and with readers of their work.

In addition to the historians, who themselves may not have enough time to respond to all questions raised by the audience of students, teachers and other interested readers, it is necessary to have a number of volunteers. They will have expertise in Indo-Pak history and are keen to enter into a dialogue on the Net. Persons interested in the project are invited to contact Q. Isa Daudpota or Foqia S. Khan by email.

3.2 Planning & Implementation

In this nascent phase of the project, we think the book would consist of 10-12 chapters of about 20 pages, divided either on periodic (i.e. Ancient, Medieval and Modern) or thematic basis. We assume that it would be completed in one year. Historians may jointly or individually write each chapter. A tentative book plan being developed by Mubarak Ali will be circulated for comment. As each chapter develops the authors will share it with others on the team to get comments. Once the draft is agreed upon by all the authors it will it be put on the web site for comments by others. (If any of the authors differs with the majority view, the minority will also be recorded.) The coordinator will, after there has been sufficient discussion on the Net, ask the authors to amend their draft. As this occurs, the important Q&A that have been generated will form a useful supplement to the main text. Another supplement, as a lead-in to the main text, should be a book of readings in history at the school level. This would be relatively easy to compile and could help jump-start the project. The main text should always refer to relevant articles in this new collection of readings, which should have commentary added to it by the our team of historians.

Several anthologies already exist in book form and on the net. The relevant material needs to be chosen from them and put on our web site, and other relevant sites should be make accessible from there. See for example the very extensive site hosted by Fordham University. (Indian History Sourcebook at Fordham University -- Web Site)

After securing the funding for the project, the select group of historians would meet in the Planning Workshop to come up with a time-bound plan for the book, divide the responsibilities and formulate the detailed terms of reference for the joint textbook. Having said this, the plan should ideally be independent of funding, in that it should still be possible to develop the book if authors forego payment for their effort. This will also mean that instead of a planning meeting, the authors will need to discuss matter more thoroughly using an electronic list or by email.

Authors could take responsibility of co-written or independent chapters, as long as they agree with all that appears in the final version of the textbook. To ensure this result, there would need to be extensive consultation and planning between all authors. Email would be used for consultation and project coordinators would also facilitate the process.

3.3 Dissemination on paper

After completion of the book on the web, it may be printed in India and Pakistan by interested commercial publishers. Its full contents would remain on the project's website. The website would be popularlised by linking its URL to major newspapers' sites and all other prominent sites in South Asia.

Book reviews would be carried both in print media and on the Internet to attract the public, particularly students and teachers. The textbook would be open to moderated discussion over the Internet. There would be moderators in each country from where the authors belong. For example, if a Pakistani student wants to submit a query of write a comment, it would need to be channeled through the Pakistani moderator who is the joint author, Collaborator or coordinator in Pakistan.

4. Budget Estimation (Tentative)

S.No. Activity Amount

1. Planning Workshop (if held)

8 participants $2000 x 8 =$16,000

2 Honorarium per chapter -- $200.

12 chapters $200 x 12 =$2400

3 Honorarium per coordinator.

$ 500. 2 coordinators $500 x 2=$1000

4 Publication

(cost to be borne by publishers in Pakistan and India) $0

5 Overheads and Contingencies including web hosting $2000

_____________________________________________________ ________

6 Total $21400

Note: Without the Planning Workshop, the total cost would as low as $6000.

References:

Aziz, K.K. The Murder of History in Pakistan, Vanguard, Lahore, 1993.

Bhushan, Bharat "Writing Indo-Pak history on the net", Hindustan Times, 6 July, 2000.

www.hindustantimes.com/ht/nonfram/060700/detfro05.htm

Communalism Combat, Mumbai, May 2000.

http://sabrang.com/cc/may00/index.htm (text unavailable)

Daudpota,Q. Isa "Netting Knowledge: Truth, Friendship and Enlightenment", Spider - Internet Magazine, Jun 2000.

www.spider.tm/jun2000/column.shtml

Indian History Sourcebook at Fordham University - Web Site.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/indiasbook.html

Jalal, Ayesha "Conjuring Pakistan: History as Official Imagining", International Journal of Middle East Studies, 27, (1995), pp. 73-89.

Rahman,Tariq "Language-Teaching and World View in Urdu Medium Schools", Research Paper Series, SDPI, Islamabad, 1998.

"Talibanisation of textbooks: Sangh brand history has crass communal overtones", The Hindustan Times, June 6, 2000.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/060600/detEDI02.htm

Udayakumar, S.P. " 'Om-Made' History - Preparing the Unlettered for the Future Hindu Rashtra", Indian Journal of Secularism, April-June 1999.

Isa Daudpota, Inst of Business Admin and Technology, 24 W. Jinnah Ave, Blue Area, Islamabad, Pakistan.

SOURCE: CHOWK - all are welcome to read, write and think.

URL: http://www.chowk.com/articles/4903