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Democracy, Quranocracy and Military interventions… what went wrong?

Title: The National Emblem
Title: The National Emblem

A news startled us today. The American government shut down today in political squabbles, disregarding the plight of it’s citizens. Utterly amazing, but understandable. As long as a pliant public is there, governments will continue to do the impossible- disregard the welfare of the people. I do not think the Pakistani government can ever be shut down, as long as the public remains. Once the public is dead, these brilliant politicians will depart for other homes, and find that they do not enjoy their previous clout at all. Then they would realize what nation-less citizens feel in life. Hazrat Umar used to stroll in disguise amongst the public to find the truth. So did Caliph Haroon-ur-Rasheed. Even Mahmud Ghaznavi had a private network to report to him the feelings of the people at large. Qutb-uddin Aibak embarked upon a grand plan of public rehabilitation. The Sultans and the Kings of this region tried their best to help the general public. Roads, Caravan series, free food boarding and lodging for people, expediting business in well. Just pick up contemporary records and you are startled how misleading is modern hype actually. Schools, colleges all were there. Professionals teaching their trades. Love of aesthetics aside, there was emphasis on mathematics, astronomy, geology, mining, manufacture of goods and Goods and services being done. Inter regional trade going on.Scientists calculating the circumference of the earth itself. Astrolabes measuring position of the stars. Ships and carriages being built. Arms and ammunition, yes, The finest swords in the world, with their own patented steel. Every period tried their best to solve things.And silly ads telling us to learn alif and bay only. And yes all that under KINGS.
In 65 years of Pakistan, the experiment between democracy and other systems have been tried all the time. Yes democracy worked under leaders like Quaid e Azam, and we see him stranded in an ambulance on the street of Karachi, awaiting help. And It was Quaid who told Dr Elahi Baksh that Liaquat Ali Khan had come just to see if he was still alive or not. ‘Tell him I am not dead yet’. I think people are knowing that well that democracy has utterly failed in Pakistan. Today the system will not elect Quaid e Azam himself from a local bodies election. And this Quaid who was fit to rule the entire world and to give his best to all, regardless of caste, color and creed.
Everyone in their hearts know that the greatest progress in Pakistan has been under the three military rules in Pakistan. The so called Parliamentary democracy (held in contempt by Quaid e Azam himself, for he believed in French Presidential system). What Field Marshal Ayub Khan did, no one has been able to do this day. And he resigned as a gentleman, and died a mysterious death in his house. The wife found him dead on his sofa in the morning after a tea session with unknown persons. I need not repeat what he did. From Islamabad the capital, to the water dams all over Pakistan, to progress in every field in the country. Pakistan won at games, sports, events. Musical and dance champions. When President Ayub waltzed in a dance with Queen Elizabeth, or was received by the Kennedys at the US Airport. It was respect that he gave to Pakistan all the time. No one can deny what he did for his country. And President Zia ul Haque is considered a demon now, but his achievements were not the less. He was no intellectual nor could understand any intricacy. But he did learn. He learnt what he did not know. And yes he died a martyred death under all counts. The Pervaiz Musharraf rule with all its flaws was still a brilliant one with his rhetoric of ‘Pakistan first’. Actually it is always Islam that is first and the saying was not Islamic in content. But he held the country intact too.

Title: Determination
Title: Determination

Once upon a time Kings used to educate their young Princes in art of national governance. The Prince was taught everything, from waging war to writing poetry. Our leaders cannot even sign their names properly with their rustic educational backgrounds and zero knowledge of world. A Prince was supposed to have acquired knowledge through books. I do not find book reading the fascination of any political leader.
Why did the Military fail three times? Because THOSE WERE NOT MILITARY COUPS AT All. They were military interventions at the BEHEST OF THE PUBLIC AT LARGE who got tired of the way things were going in the country. If you want to analyze a Military Coup, look at what has happened in Egypt. There it is a military coup, ousting a party with 65% backing of people. Or what happened in Iran when the government of Prime Minister Mussadaq was removed for the Shahenshah of Iran? Or elsewhere in many countries. Here the Military suffered for it aligned itself with politicians who helped in the failure of their rules. If they had left the admin to themselves, things would never have gone wrong.
Why is it so? For the Military comes from middle class families, with educational background and profound love for Pakistan. Betrayal to the country is not in their folklore. And they go though a rigid process of merit till the end. And then merit stops. And politicians take over.
The Quran speaks of values which are permanent and those which people can change through mutual agreement and majority rule. Democracy is not alien in concept to Islam, but there are limits to the power of democracy, for power and the principles are the prerogative of the one and only one Almighty Allah, and as taught to us by his last prophet, Hazrat Muhammed May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him.
An American lawyer from USA has aptly said that the Constitution of Pakistan was not made by a Constituent assembly and one can find legal issues to question its imposition. But that is not our task!
Our task is to make Pakistan strong, and we have to see why in this century, even our pedestrian cannot cross a road properly, and yet we can still make a nuclear bomb on our own. The disparity between haves and have nots have to be removed for Islam to emerge in the world in its fullest sense. Pakistan Forever! Pakistan Paindabad.

PROTESTING NATIONS

PROTESTING NATIONS
THE SENSELESS DISREGARD OF EVERY COMMON SENSE

East india
East india

The story of Pakistan is in a strange gear. A gear which shifts upward and backward all the time. Our attempts to move forward bring us to back to square one. Obviously the federal government as well as the provincial governments are harassing the public. So does people of influence. Feudal lords and imbecile urban businessmen. More and more harassment comes in form of spiral of prices in every field. What to do?
The favorite recipe of the opposition is to take our processions ending up in FURTHER HARASSMENT OF THE PUBLIC. Does taking out processions does any good to anybody? The traffic hurdles stop people from doing their even day to day chores. That for peaceful things. What about violent processions? When public and private property is destroyed. Who benefits? No one really. And hardly any change ever comes! And if things turn really violent (rarely in Pakistan), then people do die. In Egypt so many deaths brought no results. In Burma Muslims seek recluse and none is forthcoming to them. In India thousands of people can be massacred and the killers become political heroes.

Towards Pakistan
Towards Pakistan

I think it is time that serious minds think of ways of PROTESTING WITH THIS IN MIND THAT IT SHOULD BRING RESULTS. Even the controversial Tahir-ul Qadri did not know what to do when he reached the climax of his long march.
Ideas can do so much. Their role in social change is a long process. Natural happenings do a little so much no more.
A wise man of ancient Rome once said ‘Unless you stop the men in power from doing their things, you cannot be effective in any way’.
Do not destroy the peace of the public by taking out useless processions. If you want to be effective, stop the government in its stride. Not by violent protests, or hijacking traffic, but to quote here Mahatma Gandhi himself, by activating ‘passive restraint’. Stop the government in its stride not the public.

TWO NATION THEORY

IDEAS, NOT BLOOD MAKE REAL RELATIONS

STORY OF DARA SHIKOH AND AURANGZEB ALAMGEER

AURANGZEB ALAMGEER
AURANGZEB ALAMGEER

Take the two names and you will find immediately that people have taken sides. One group will eulogize Dara Shikoh and curse Aurangzeb Alamgeer as a bigot. The other group will curse Dara Shikoh and praise Aurangzeb Alamgeer. And the interesting part is that conclusions of both are not based in any way on the reality but literal media hype generated by vested interests. The father was Emperor Shah Jahan, the mother Arjumand Bano Mumtaz Mahal, and their literally thirteen children. The fourteenth one took the life of the mother. Yes, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb Alamgeer are real brothers, with many common interests. Both are expert calligraphers, and yes, both feel that there is more to life than merely being Princes of the Mughal household. Spiritual matters affect both of them. Yes, strangely both calligraphed the Quran, and copies of the Qurans written by them are known to exist. Both are less or more obsessive readers of literature and both composed poetry and books. And both are devout husbands. Yes there are more wives, even mashooqs, but each is attached to one wife in particular. Dara Shikoh to wife Nadira Bano and Aurangzeb Alamgeer to wife Rabia Durrani. And wives of both are housed in mausoleums of their own, which exist to this day.

So how do we analyze both? Contrary to proper beliefs, the reality is very different. Take bravery for instance. When a mad elephant charged the royal enclosure, Aurangzeb only 15, stood his ground, while Dara ran away in fright. When Aurangzeb was sent on war missions, he fought tooth and nail, and brought results for his father. When Dara was sent on a mission to Kandahar, he miserably failed at his task. He hired Hindu magicians (who told him that given the blood of a homosexual boy for magic rituals they could win the war) to do magic rites so that he could become the victor.

Take courtesy for another. Aurangzeb was polite and loving to all, even to the extent that it was resented by father as for a Prince who could mix with courtiers and ordinary people. Dara was rude, arrogant and very callous to others. No one loved him for his rude behavior. He could ridicule the grandest of the courtiers. He never tolerated any alternative point of view.

Emperor Aurangzeb
Emperor Aurangzeb

Take religion and deen as a way of life. Aurangzeb could give his life for Islam and Islamic values. Dara amusingly came up with the thesis that the Holy Quran cannot be understood unless the Hindu sacred books are not studied. The Quran was not complete without the Bhagawat Puranas. Dara left prayers, fasts in ramazan and all other rituals of Islam. He started wearing the Prabhu ring on his hand,worshiping stone gods, even acted and dressed like a Hindu. In a population mostly Hanafi Muslims in Indo-Pakistan region, this was highly resented by people. And he started moving with homosexuals like Sarmad, who walked usually naked in public presence, and people made fun of his antics.

As far as his loyalty was concerned. The day Shah Jahan got sick, Dara openly took command as King and tried to eliminate all his brothers before hand. Aurangzeb resisted till the last. And only stepped forward when there was no other choice. And what a father? Blinded by his love for Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan went all the way to humiliate Aurangzeb and his way of life. The tyranny reached the extent when Shah Jahan made plans to have his son Aurangzeb killed, and the Prince only escaped the attempt by timely warning from his sister Roshan Ara Begum. One reason for his imprisonment.

Contrary to myths, Aurangzeb tried his best to keep his relation with Hindu subjects cool. He patronized them at court, gave them grants, and did his best for harmony. The temples he is reputed to have destroyed were the ones made by the STATE itself and was a political move to punish the Rajas who had rebelled against the State. Also to set them right for hampering education of Muslim children and interfering in their education. (Read Dr Ifftikhar, Dr Chaghatai, Maulana Shiblee and even Catherine Asher)

Dara Shikoh with girls
Dara Shikoh with girls

Aurangzeb did not murder his brother in any whimsical way. A war was fought and Dara Shikoh lost the war. He was presented before a proper tribunal with judges and they held him guilty of apostasy. And as a result he was sentenced to death. The accounts of Bernier, Manucci and Catrou are figments of their own petty imagination and has nothing to do with the truth. A sad thing to happen in all ways.

Aurangzeb patronized culture in all ways. The kingdom was no longer rich enough to do all things, but even then under him architecture flourished, a musavari khana (artists studio) was working, and contrary to myths the King was even fond of proper music. Miniatures exist in which he can be seen listening to song recitals with his family.

Aurangzeb did the impossible by making Fatwa-Alamgeeri, a modern text by top Muslim scholars of the time to codify Islamic laws. And he implemented the same. Only two persons had introduced the Islamic system. One Hazrat Umar, and the other Aurangzeb Alamgeer. He abolished all foolish royal customs, wore normal dress, and lived an austere life for the benefit of his people. A real dervesh King ahead of his times in all way. No small reason that our National Poet Dr Allama Iqbal had all praise for the Mughal King of the past.

(Excerpts from the forthcoming book on Dara Shikoh)

So is blood thicker than water? Yes, but ideas are thicker than any blood. When two communities lived in a region for more than 1000 years and could not reconcile to each other, then the solution became Pakistan. More on that later!

Sitting Over Idle Money is Waging War Against ALLAH:

“Paisa to Kanjeroan kay pass be hota hai”
Title: Dead Shrines
Title: Dead Shrines

In the legends of history, we find GREED as the ultimate destroyer of human values. Obviously we all need money. Without money we are at risk of losing our values, but with excess money we are more at risk even losing our common sense of life. Our elders told us one thing only, “Paisa to kanjeroan kay pass be hota hai”. We were inculcated the concepts of ‘hilal’ and ‘haram’, and we learnt it well. We were never able to accumulate wealth at all. We are living behind our times. But what about those who daily bask in the orgasm of looking at their rising bank accounts. Billions mount after billions. For that the greedy has opted for a life which has no quality at all. He dies not have time for wife, nor for children, nor for friends and family and nor for his nation. The money bloats him all too well. Smug in his psychological handicaps, he reflects, a deprived childhood. The deprivation that he got as a child reflects in his craze for amassing wealth. All this can be seen very clearly with the lives of our so called leaders. Ready to sell their souls and country all the time.

King Midas
King Midas

The wealth horded by Arab tycoons can erase poverty in all the Muslim world in one night and give a new dimension  to Islam. King Midas (Greek Myths)The wealth of other countries like Brunei can mitigate international sufferings. But gold taps with diamond heads fascinate the rulers, the kings and queens. For others the orgies of Bangkok will do, or the gambling tables of La Vegas. Indeed victims of the Midas Touch.

The Pakistani legend Agha Hassan Abidi, the banker, tried to inculcate the common sense of putting Muslim money in Muslim countries.

Agha Hassan Abidi and the Pope
Agha Hassan Abidi and the Pope

Very seen he was outlawed, hunted, and finally erased from the senses of the world. Can the Pharaoh see what Moses is trying to do? Change the systems. Yes, changing the way of life.

When Jesus overturned the money changers baskets, he was trying to tell something? When our Prophet (blessings of Allah be upon him) inculcated honest trade in the world, he was telling something, when he would tell the defects of his animals to businessmen before hand. He had the title of ‘Ameen’ for no small reasons.

What does the world remembers? The rich in contempt centuries after their death. That person lives who does things for humanity. Rise above caste, colour and creed! Do not stop the flow of the rushing water of Allah’s blessing. Let everyone share the spoils of Allah’s bounty. Quranic values we can never forget.

Sleazist bank

Rising falling civilizations and Quranic values: Emerging homosexuality in Pakistan

In times of financial crisis all over the world as well as in Pakistan, the easy thing to do is to jump on the bandwagon of designs of foreign lobbies and ensure a stable standard of living for yourself. A few years back we received a gentleman from London, a Pakistani Muslim who we will call by his name ‘A’ only. He told me that he was studying at the London School of Economics and had got a grant of millions for a thesis entitled ‘Homosexuality in Islam’ and he told me that the Islamic values okay homosexuality and he was there to prove the same. He talked of the INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE WHO WERE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP INCLUDING DIPLOMATS from super-power countries. And he named some of them and I am not in a position to repeat those names. He asked me if I would affiliate myself with their group, they would enhance this place by visits and business of unimaginable extents. My head bowed down in utter shame.

35-The-Still-Life
Title: The Still Life

Two concepts are so sacred to our region and way of life. The concepts of ‘Yar’ and ‘Saheli’. These are so pure in their thoughts and feelings, that poems and stories are written about the ultimate extent of friendship. And these sacred concepts are marred by placing these very sacred relation in the concept of sexual interaction. The changing scenarios in western thoughts was highlighted here when Marcella Bedford Nesom came here in 1978 and found ‘lesbianism’ in the art works of M A Rahman Chughtai. Saleem Akhtar had written a story about same and it was imputed on the artist Chughtai that he had no objections to same and approved of homosexuality. It certainly provoked an ultimate reaction and we went on aggressive mode and said that if this accusation finds itself in print, we will go on a libel writ for a million dollars. Situation controlled.
The Bible tells us of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as other religious texts. Even historical proof of the destruction of the two cities have been found by archaeologists. Of course all kinds of perversions have existed in life but these perversions were never put on the grandiose scale but swept as dirt under the carpet.I remember once upon a time the intoxicating voice of the singer Eartha Kitt was used to bring homosexuals into normal life. GQ magazine reported recently about homosexuals in USA and it said that passive homosexuals carry restraining pads between their legs, for they cannot control their defecation anymore. Is that normal way of life? The degradation of humanity as we have known it in most cultures.

Title: Muezzin's Call
Title: Muezzin’s Call

Yes cultures clash, and values get trampled all the time. The exposure of western media, the influx of this even in cartoons related to small children, speak of the hazards of societies gone awry. We are subject to onslaught of the western way of life. Of course we can assimilate what is healthy in it, but we have to reject what history has proven to us has no value, then, now, or in the future. And for that we must hold on to the QURANIC VALUES which will save us from the disgrace that is slowly dawning on us as a civilization. Is degrading others a fundamental right of anyone? Are we to give all human rights to the Devil too? A lady from NGO was campaigning recently to remove ‘Zina’ from any criminal proceedings as it was the fundamental right of the two consenting adults to do whatever they like with their lives. It is time to put the foot of the State down and erase this kind of dissent from the society. Our values are Quranic and there is nothing wrong with them.

Anguish of Muhammed Salih Kambo

Muhammed Salih Kambo and his so called brother Inayat-ullah were men of prestige under Emperor Shah Jahan. Both belonged to Lahore and lived in a havelli inside Mochi Darwaza Lahore. The havelli and other residues are gone but the small kashigari mosque built by the brothers is still there and in every day use. But more important is the book Shahjahan- nama left by Muhammed Salih. It is the day to day history of the Emperor and one of the standard texts of Mughal history. The letters of Inayatullah (his INSHA) reveals history too. And then there is the grand story left by them which is a must read in every house from that period. A fairy tale of the times, that is ‘Bahar danish’. The brothers are world famous for their contributions to literature and history.

Muhammed Salih Kambo's tomb
Muhammed Salih Kambo’s tomb

Inayatullah built this mausoleum for himself, having retired from the world. He died in 1080 AH (1669 AD) and was buried in this mausoleum in Lahore.  After the death of Muhammed Salih, he too was buried in the same mausoleum. The two brothers rested in peace. And then the British took over Lahore in 1849, and in the footsteps of the Sikh rulers, ruthlessly tore down Mughal monuments as of being not worthy of their times. In fact William Bentinck had plans to level to the ground all Mughal buildings in Indo-Pakistan, including the Taj Mahal of Agra. But that is a separate story. Many of these worthy monuments were converted into Churches. The design of the Church in Peshawar recently caught under a blast is worthy of note. Not a church at all but a building converted into the purpose. Similarly the Mausoleum of Sahib Jamal Begum, wife of Emperor Jahangeer, more commonly known as the Tomb of Anarkalli was converted into a Church for a long time. Eventually it was given up and converted into a record room.

Present view of tomb
Present view of tomb

The mausoleum of Muhammed Salih Kambo was first given to an English gentleman Mr Seymour, and was his residence for many years. Later converted into SAINT ANDREWS CHURCH a long time back, and Rev A R Macduff was in charge of same. It is the anguish of Muhammed Salih that on his grave trampled host of people every day, particularly Sundays, with disregard to the man inside the same. Today it is no longer used as a Church but still then not returned to the Archaeological Department. There was the Principals office in it or perhaps the Administrator. But now it is even worse. The dome has been divided into two storeys by wooden framework into different classes, and host of students tread in it with shoe all the time. No ordinary men deserves this, lest two religious and literary scholars of Lahore, famous in the whole world.

Is it not a shame for us Lahorites, for Pakistan, as well as all the civilized world, that in these modern times, this unnatural happening is still being prolonged into modern times.

I appeal to the His Excellency The Pope in Vatican to look into the matter. The worthy local Bishops of Lahore, very enlightened should study the issue too. Otherwise this does not bode well for interfaith harmony in the world.

We love our Christian brethren as fellow Pakistanis. But this cause is just and needs to be ratified as early as possible. In all good faith!

More References: wikimapia , wikipedia , University of Alberta

 

 

Unconditional Love for Pakistan

Chinese 4

Every day we utter the Quranic words of “A’auzu Billa hi Mina Shaitan Nirajeem”, which literally means that COME UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE LAWS OF ALLAH IN THE SAME WAY AS THE HEN HIDES HER CHICKS UNDER THE SPREAD OF HER WINGS. That means unconditional love. This is the kind of love we have for Pakistan, a literal gift of Allah to us to start the Islamic renaissance again. AND THE TWO STALWARTS WHO MADE ALL THIS POSSIBLE QUAID E AZAM AND DR MUHAMMED IQBAL, THE ICONS OF OUR HEARTS, ARE SUBJECT TO MALIGNANT ATTACKS FROM FOREIGN LOBBIES. FRIENDS SPEAK OF THE GRAPEVINE IN THE USA AS WELL AS EUROPE TO RIDICULE ALLAMA IQBAL ALL THE TIME. INDEED HALF KNOWLEDGE IS DANGFEOUS BUT OUR PATRIOTS DO NOT HAVE RESOURCES TO MEET THEIR DAILY ENDS WHEN OUR TRAITORS HAVE ALL THE MONEY AT THEIR DISPOSAL FOR NEFARIOUS ACTIVITIES. THE MODERN HYPE IS BEING TOUTED IN NAME OF TARIK FATAH, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHERS. BUT CAN THE LOVE OF THE MOTHER OR THE CHILD BE DENIED. WE LOVE PAKISTAN AND A MILLION OF SUCH TRAITORS CANNOT UNDO OUR FAITH IN THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM. AND SURPRISNGLY OUR PARTNER OF ALL TIMES IS CHINA ITSELF. WE WELCOME CHINA’S STEP INTO GWADAR PORT AND WE REALIZE THAT THE BALOCHISTAN UPRISING IS SOON GOING TO BE OVER FOR WITH CHINESE BOOTS ON OUR GROUNDS, WE HAVE TO FEAR NO OTHER BOOTS HERE. THE CHINESE HAVE ALWAYS BEFRIENDED CHUGHTAI MUSEUM AND LOVE M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI. FIND WRITTEN COMMENTS BY CHINESE LEADERS AND ARTISTS ON THE ARTIST HIMSELF. LONG LIVE PAKISTAN. LONG LIVE PAKISTAN CHINA FRIENDSHIP!

Chinese-twoChinese-three Chinese-one

Chughtai Museum and Pakistan

Pakistan is a great country, and it could have been one of the greatest of a country, but foreign lobbies allergic to its Identity, mastered it through a horde of puppets, greedy to the core of their hearts.Except for our pride the Army of Pakistan, most governmental organizations are goofed and hostile to the country itself.That is why when you come across certain islands of the country, you see the best of Pakistan, something of pride for everyone. One of such islands is M.A. Rahman Chughtai, an icon of Pakistan, who generated aesthetics of the highest order and created goodwill in the world.
I resent people who speak against the country. Pakistan is here to stay. Pakistan will survive Pakistan Forever!Let us join hands to make Pakistan Pakistan!

About Chughtai Museum site

We created this website to promote harmony on Planet Earth. From various kinds of messages emanating from Pakistan, we wanted this site to sing the song of TRUE PAKISTAN, and we think we are very successful in same, judging from the international quality of our viewers. But precisely we have also attracted the wrath of those who hate Pakistan. Our website has been under attack from hackers from USA, USSR etc. The last Russian attack was very severe. We are not taking this lightly. We have put up our international internet friends to trace these people so that we can publish information about them and expose the conspiracy against Pakistan. Hands off Pakistan! Hands off our website! Allah o Akbar!

Arnold-Raphael-at-Chughtai-Museum-1
Arnold Raphael at Chughtai Museum