How much killing is too much?
The Pakistani flag is an emblem of freedom and independence for all Pakistanis. The star and the crescent symbolise light and progress respectively. The dark green represents Pakistan’s Muslim population, and since this is a majority, the green covers the greater amount of the flag. The white strip on the side represents the country’s minority groups. For a moment, dear reader, just imagine the green side overlapping and taking over the white until the entire flag is green. Bold and unimaginable isn’t it? However, this image isn’t far from the truth. It depicts what is happening right now in Pakistan, where every minority ...
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How Pakistan got boxed into religion
The National Database and Registration Authority’s (NADRA) refusal to change MPA Rana Mahmood’s religion from “Islam” to “Christianity” has many boxed in. A plethora of questions have arisen. Is this a human rights violation? Will Mahmood be considered an apostate if his records were to reflect that he left Islam? How can you change someone’s faith with a stroke of a pen? But no one is talking about the real question: Why do we have a “religion box” on our legal documents anyway? Say that and you essentially open Pandora’s Box. After all, in a 97% Muslim majority country, what good can ...
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Why the silence for persecuted Hindus?
The debate over whether Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted the country he founded to be a secular or an Islamic one has been going on ever since Pakistan’s inception. This debate is a highly contentious one and shows no signs of abating or even mellowing down despite the passage of time. Here, I will not ponder on the question regarding the vision that Jinnah really had for Pakistan. However, what no one can deny is that Jinnah was an individual who stood firmly for the generous and fair treatment of everyone, especially the minority communities. Over the past six decades, Pakistanis have ...
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Jinnah had a dream, and we failed him
Hopes were high when Jinnah presided over the Constituent Assembly in 1947 and declared without doubt that freedom of religion was to be respected. It was his wish to lift up the economic and politically deprived Muslims from their backwardness that led to the support of many non-Muslim minority activists as well, notably Christians. In a time where major Muslim political groupings allied themselves with the Indian National Congress, the Christians in their legislation secured Jinnah the desired support the All India Muslim League needed. His close friends and those amongst the founding fathers of Pakistan also belonged to minority ...
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Rinkle’s conversion: A matter of free will?
I was born a Muslim, I was raised a Muslim, but I discovered Islam by my own choice. The same could be said for Rinkle Kumari who recently converted from Hinduism to Islam and now goes by the name Faryal. It could actually be said for anyone who chooses to switch their religion from the one they were introduced to as a child. Faryal recited the kalma in front of the media and proclaimed that she, by her own choice, converted to Islam. Good enough. But one has to wonder why she felt the urge to immediately jump into marriage ...
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Rinkle Kumari was Hindu last month
For many years, I was convinced that Sindh is the most liberal and secular province. I thought that minorities were more secure here because of the history deeply rooted mysticism. But that was until I became familar with teenager Rinkle Kumari’s tragic tale. One, amongt many, whose story needed to be told. While most of us know Maya Khan and Veena Malik how many of us know Rinkle Kumari of District Ghotki, Sindh? She was picked up from her home and then reportedly forced to convert to Islam just a few days ago. How many of us are even aware of these incidents taking place? Nand ...
Read Full PostWill I ever be a Pakistani?
During the cricket World Cup in 2011, many who knew that I am a Hindu, including some of my colleagues, asked me who I would support; India or Pakistan. The question was very irritating and annoyed me to the point that I would lose my temper. I didn’t understand why on earth they would ask me such a stupid question – just because I’m Hindu? Why isn’t the same question asked of a Christian when Pakistan plays against Australia, England or New Zealand? Despite the fact that this state was created with a pledge by the father of the nation for ...
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Slaps won’t get us anywhere
India is in in the midst of a violent clash today – a clash between headlines and history. Too many headlines over the last few years have blurred our vision, and suddenly we find ourselves in chaos. The shrill voices discord that we thought we had left behind have let themselves loose on the consciousness of a nation. The nation that is angry over the political menopause of the Opposition party which has lost vigour at a time when the youth population is expanding. In a rush to garner attention, a devious political agenda is being put forward which might ...
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The tragic tale of a Lahori vegetarian
The value of a society is usually gauged by the way they treat their minorities. Folks, I confess to being a minority. No, I am not a non-Muslim; I am not gay, or a lesbian; I am not an atheist, nor am I fat (not that there is anything wrong with that). I am a vegetarian and I have spent most of my life answering stupid questions with uneasy looks and evasive answers. Questions like the following have often been put to me: “Why aren’t you eating anything baita (child), do you have a medical problem?” or “You don’t eat red meat, that is all right. Have some chicken?” I have had ...
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Dastaan: History on TV
Dastaan, a Hum TV production, is probably the most gripping modern day ode to the beauty and simplicity of pre-partition life. Written by Razia Butt, Dastaan depicts the love story of Hasan (Fawad Khan) and Bano (Sanam Baloch) – a romance which is shred to pieces by the gruesome and gory separation of 1947. The drama starts off as a tender series of events between the couple, but later morphs into a saga full of blood, greed and lust. This turn of events hurls Bano, the quintessential Pakistani girl, into the arms of madness, because she is devastated by the ...
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