2019 - The Debates

Archive for 2019

Our Lady of Alice Bhatti: A critical review

Ullah, Inam Gul.

Hanif parts with his usual motifs and recurrent scenes of jets, flights, engines and life of cadets and professional soldiers, which are common features of his two other novels: ACase of Exploding Mangoes and The Red Birds, in Our Lady of Alice Bhatti. The novel centers on the Christian community and the challenges it confronts in its social milieu in Pakistan, especially the lower class Christians working as janitors, the malpractices of doctors in medico-legal complications in accomplice with the police, and the corruption of police force in Karachi metropolis.

Alice Bhatti, daughter of a poor janitor, after having spent fourteen months in prison for a sin she had never committed, joins the Sacred Hospital as nurse. She was made a scapegoat for a surgeon’s negligence during a surgical process. The hospital is frequented by police in connection with medico-legal process, and in most cases they manipulate the nature of such cases. Alice succumbs to a lovesick attitude displayed by Teddy, a police tout working privately for police especially in illegal and extra-judicial practices like fake encounters etc. The relationship ends up in tying the knot between Alice and Teddy. Soon Teddy’s mind is welled up with suspicions about Alice’s character coupled with his sudden unemployment, he throws acids on Alice and she departs in a miraculous way.

Alice is blessed with certain miraculous powers she displays during her professional duties at the hospital; a strange miracle takes place at the moment of her demise. She is a tower of strength against all the odds and adverse moves against her religion, profession, caste, social and economic standing. She figures and ideal woman neither confined nor discouraged by the adverse circumstances around her. She moves ahead fights her way and finally stands triumphant. She does not give in to the fanatic students during her college life, although she suffers yet she resists and defends her religion and point of view, during her professional duty at the night shift in the Sacred, she splashes penis of a spoiled brat and resist his sexual advances. She comes from a janitor class Christian family, but it does not hinder her way forward to a decent position of income. Despite the plethora of challenges she ties the knot with a Muslim without any family support, her mother working as a janitor was found dead in the house she was working on, a rape cum murder case, and an aged father lives alone.

The novel depicts corruption and malpractices among Karachi metropolis police, inspector Malangi resembles todays Rao Anwar (ex SSP Karachi, indicted in Naqeebullah Mehsud murder). They are involved in manipulation of cases on medico-legal ground and serving their own vested interest. The idea of throwing acids on Alice also comes from inspector Malangi.

The novel also shows the role of mafia in religions, like Mullah the clergy dominance in Christianity. Alice miraculous powers and especially the miracle of the throne of the holy mother are not accepted by the clergy class and they question Alice’s character instead because she belongs to the lower class of Christian community.

Hanif interestingly adds and epilogue to the novel, a literary device very rare in modern fictions, a plea by Alice’s father to the Vatican, explaining the miracle during Alice’s death and highlights the biased decision of the local committee.

Red Birds: A critical review

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By
Ullah, Inam Gul

Brilliantly written by Hanif, the novel draws a critical sketch of US addiction to the venture of war and destruction, its twofold strategy of destruction through war and reconstruction through its agencies, the plight of the refugees camps, the sorry state of refugees’ children and a detailed mention of pilots ,jets and raids and all pertaining thereto.

Ali’s father is over obsequious to whitemen, he works for them as logistic officer, although the base, Hanger, is deserted by US, yet he hopes for their return to pay off the standing dues against them. He hands his son Ali to them who has an aptitude for technical things. Mother Dear remains down in dumps for her son, but Father Dear has no qualm about his act. Ali’s brother Momo is a born entrepreneur who always weighs the values of things around him. Father Dear has no interest in the salt of the earth, as manifested in his act of selling out his son to the army, whereas Mother Dear always asks for it.

A very interesting character is Mutt, a dog by class, but too philosophic by nature who even outwits the other members of the family in terms of his rational and mental approach, it is Mutt who sees the red birds and accompanies Momo all the time. Mutt equally mourns the loss of Ali with Mother Dear. Mutt’s every word is full of wisdom and based on rational and critical approach.

Ellie is a pilot who has got his jet crashed, and is finally rescued by Momo in the desert. Lady Flowerbody visits the camp to study the mind of young Muslims, Momo develops contact with them with a view to get access to his brother Ali through them. Mutt observes all the people and analyses their feelings and reactions through his own philosophical lens.

The novel gives a detailed account of the modern warfare and the consequent surge of refugees. The double standard of Western world, US adventure of waging wars and displacing communities around the globe and establishing its bases abroad, are few of the major the themes. Hanif, a pilot turned novelist does not forget to make mention of jets, flying, landing etc , they recur in the novel like his first work A Case of the Exploding Mangoes.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes: A Critical Review

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A Case of Exploding Mangoes: A Critical Review

The military junta headed by General Ziaulhaq, ruling Pakistan for eleven long and dark years ends up in a plane crash loaded with mangoes; the ripe mangoes explode and consume the top brass along with foreign VIPs in C 130 back from Bahawalpur. The reasons need not to be dealt with in depth, however, the regime of the harsh and self-administered laws, concentration of power in the hands of few, the continuation of US anti-Soviet Jihadist project in Afghanistan, and “ the blind justice in the land of pure” met its fate the moment the weight of mangoes turned heavier.

Hanif beautifully describes the inner working of the dictatorship and the lust of power among the key figures in the junta. The novel depicts the use of religion by Zia for self-centered objectives of staying longer in the office and meting out harsh treatment to the dissenters. The contradictory approaches of a dictator, i.e an urge for becoming a popular figure among the public on one hand, and staying away from public on security reasons on the other are the recurrent elements in the novel. Gen Zia, who had suppressed the nation of 130 million, was afraid of his wife because he had missed ‘to kill the cat on the first night’. From start to the end his obsession remains, ‘who wants to kill me’?

Ali Shigri undergoes the moments of torture in the dungeon for his alleged collusion with missing cadet Obaid, in the Mughal fort, places known for being the frequent abodes of the dissenters in Zia regime. Hanif depicts the limitations of the ‘powerful dictators’, their power is reduced to bare minimum the moment they take off the uniform. Zia, whenever tries to play the role of a politician reaching out to public , is received by the crowd of soldiers in the civvies playing civilian. A similar attempt to walk without security having put on a shawl, he is stopped by a police constable and asked him “ to be a cock. A rooster,” the entertaining farce by Hanif. The novel vividly depicts how the years of dictatorship were run by the financial support of US dollars and ideological indoctrination from Saudia Arbia. The scene of the Secretary General further reflects both the precarious standing and the paranoid posture of the dictators.

Broken Verses: A critical review

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The story of the novel tells about Asmani’s quest for her mother and her lover’s whereabouts who have been disappeared for years. After every discovery and information about their death, she gives herself a new hope of their being alive and keeps searching. The hunt takes her to the circles of literati, journalists, poets, media persons and writers. Asmaani comes across various mysterious signs and symbols which increase her curiosity and gives a new ray of hope to continue her search.

The novel makes mention of the Pakistan’s experience with democracy and martial law, and the dictator’s use of various tools for suppressing the voice of dissension and civil society in his reign and the draconian laws against women apparently engineered to woo the conservatives’ support for dictators’ regime. The novel shows how the feminist voices arose in Pakistan and were persecuted and suppressed by the regime. The search for Poet leads Asmani to the vast treasure of verses Poet had left behind.

Asmani’s quest paints a sympathetic picture of a bereaved child after its mother’s departure. she finds Shehnaz Saeed to help and soothe her, and comes across Ed who is a safety-valve for Asmani to release her frustration and they end up in close attachment.

The novel, though a good piece of fiction has its plot loosely knit, and opens so many threads, some of which are rarely woven together, and indicate a somewhat lack of unity in the overall structure of the novel.

The Forty Rules of Love: A critical Review

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The Forty Rules of Love: A critical Review

On the face of it, it may seem odd that love has a rule let alone forty, however, delved deep into the novel one may find that the rules are not meant to create distance, make the lovers observe formalities and be polite and sophisticated in their contact with the ‘one’ they love, rather the other way round, “ love blurs boundaries”. The novel narrates a twofold story, a search for love and God, an adventure by Shamsi Tabriz and his working relationship with Rumi at Konya and the consequences of the dearth of love on human beings in the person of Ella. Love indeed makes an unusual combination of people and places very much diverse and strangers in their outer form, like wandering dervish, beggars and scholars, dervish in brothel with harlots, prostitute in the mosque and Rumi with wine in tavern. The novel explores how the extreme form of Sufis’ love of God transcends the boundaries of the conventional religious practices to the extent which may amount to blasphemy in the traditional order of religion. The action of the novel mainly takes place at Baghdad and Konya.

Ella reviews the novel, Sweet Blasphemy, a novel by A.Z. Zahara which deals with Shams of Tabriz’s, the itinerant deverish, adventure of search for God and love at the various places who finally meets Rumi at Konya and transforms Rumi. The experience has given Tabriz ultra- wisdom which he exhibits in the form of his The Forty Rules. On his arrival in Konya the first thing the wandering dervish does is to visit a brothel and encounter a harlot, Desert Rose, who later shuns her profession and becomes an avid mystic in Rumi’s court.

Tabriz encounters Rumi in public who is on horseback crowded by pupils and admirers outside his mosque . Tabriz asks him to get off and answer his question, “which one of the two is great: the prophet Muhammad or the Sufi Bistami?.. Didn’t the prophet say, ‘forgive me, God, I couldn’t know thee as I should have’, while Bistami pronounced, ‘ Glory be to me, I carry God inside my cloak’. The question on its face may amount to blasphemy but in fact its Sufi’s way of love. The question indeed befuddles Rumi and Tabriz answers it based on his wisdom and knowledge. The interaction leads to forty days retirement in Rumi’s library ends up in Rumi’s transformation and keen attachment to Tabriz and sufis’ way of love. The attachment grows to such an extent that it arouses the jealousy of Rumi’s followers, family members and pupils, which ends up in Tabriz’s assassination.

The novel gives an insight into Sufi Islam and the underlying rationale of the Sufis’ modus operandi. The whole universe and its creatures are part of the one great entity, the Almighy, and abound in love. Humans need to understand the scheme of things in the universe which demonstrates love and affection. Humans need to contribute to the repository of love and shun hatred and negative feelings, religion is not a sum of few formulaic worships rather a source which augments and disseminates the love.

Religious freedom and the interconnectivity of religions is the underlying theme of Tabriz’s teachings, as all religions are in fact the different routes leading to one single destination, the love. The novel also shows that how the concept of Sema, the Sufi dance, and Ney, the Sufi musical instrument came into existence in order to strengthen the bond of love.

Tabriz’s recurrent power of prophecies shows a somewhat unrealistic picture of incidents, overall a superb work, beautifully written, the plot is closely knit, and keeps the readers engaged and fascinating from start to the end.

By:

Ullah, Inam Gul. iukhan233@gmail.com

The Discourse of Pashtun Nationalism

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Federation is always deemed as a viable project of statecraft especially in countries with a diverse population divided along ethnic and linguistic lines. The underlying rationale of a federal organization of state is primarily meant to ensure maximum participation of all the ethnic groups in the state business especially in terms of decision making and resource allocation. In Pakistan, however, the case has been the opposite. Since its very inception, no serious heed was paid to the realization of the true spirit of federation till the 18 constitutional amendments. The centrist forces had been in the front line to wield power and make key decisions unilaterally, the situation resulted into grievances on part of the small ethnic groups culminating into dissension in various manifestations. Among the voices of dissensions in the federation, the Pashtun nationalist discourse has been of considerable importance.

The ANP and PKMAP have been the major political forces with the Pashtun nationalist narrative, the former being a relatively larger entity with a rich ideological base in the form of Ghaffar Khan’s Khudai Khidmatgar Movement. The Khudai Khidmatgar was a multilayered movement taking into account the social reformation, religious purity, political awareness and dissemination of untainted education in the Pashtun belt. The ANP, through electoral politics, however, focused on the political problems with a special reference to the resources allocation and provincial autonomy, leaving aside the other major objectives of the Movement, yet considering itself its descendant. The landmark 18^th constitutional amendment, a much desired package by ANP, reflects an unprecedented stride in ensuring provincial autonomy in the federation.

However, resting on its laurels, and staying too focused on the electoral politics with a the lens of political loss and benefit, the party could not tuned up to the changing pattern of exigencies especially with reference to the war on terror in the Pashtun territories. The long drawn out war badly affected the locals, resulting into serious misgivings and grievances against the authorities. No serious political effort was made to redress their grievances and voice their genuine concerns. The conventional narrative of Pashtun nationalism and politics could no more repose the hope and aspirations of the people. The state of frustration finally broke into the birth of PTM with a stronger narrative revolving around the existential question of Pashtuns.

Given the aims and objectives of PTM, a critical analysis reveals it to be a more relevant and apt ideological heir-apparent of the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement. The very demands of PTM coupled with its modus operandi, reaching out to common people, educating them politically, and creating awareness about their rights and stakes in the business of state, are indeed reminiscent of Bacha Khan’s struggle in 1920s and 1930s.

The Pashtun intelligentsia and the students which had been an invaluable asset to the ANP, has turned out to be a strong support base of PTM now. The emergence of new leadership with a strong and appealing narrative has overshadowed the conventional mode of Pashtun politics.

Categories: Bacha Khan Khudai Khidmatgar Movement Pashtun Nationalism. PTM