Secur I just wanted to clarify this point. I think you know my background... if not you can look through my previous posts to find out that I am a wannabe Pashtun gradually adopting the language and culture who has studied them and now knows about their history more than Pashtuns do themselves. I love Pashtuns, want to be like them, true but you don't know the whole story.
Our grandfather came to Pakistan a little late when most families had already moved. My father was a kid and so were most brothers and everyone else. Our mothers side stayed in Lucknow though-always supported Pakistan even till very late. Only now her brother has turned Indian.
You would have noticed I say us when I condemn Muhajirs. That is because I am still loyal to the Firangi mahal house and the Ansari family from which I belong. We are a Muhajir family basically with perhaps unproven, limited Pashtun links, though no one really speaks Pashto amongst us and there is no proof of the past family legends-those also very few people know. I insist that instead of becoming a separate community we should have done everything in our power to integrate as Pakistanis and only that and if not that... into the various ethnic groups already present. By not doing so and becoming an ethnic group (God knows how this came to be) we exacerbated ethnic tensions. Later we formed a political party... is it coincidence that crime went up the roof in the late 1980's? An Indian member made a very valid point. How come the communities that migrated to India (Sikhs and Hindus) didn't become Muhajirs? Why did we adopt a term that is basically derogatory for ourselves... and we can't say other ethnic groups don't want to accept us, did we try? Its just an escape.
And that was how it was supposed to be. Jinnah referred to the refugees as Muhajirs at times but not once did he suggest that it would be permanent setup. It was basically a term used till the Muhajirs settled down and Jinnah has made numerous speeches that he expected they would later merge with the respective communities to make a very homogenous setup (this has happened to an extent for those who moved to places other than Karachi and I have a number of friends like these who do not call themselves Muhajir despite having crossed the border)... Instead we made ourselves into an elite community that wanted all the power... separate from the rest.
You can look through my older posts and you will find posts about how close our links to Lucknow, Hyderabad and Delhi are... since we moved late. There are also a number of people I know who were killed... some in the aftermath of gujarat riots, (no we didn't move after that-for some reason borders were sealed so we couldn't even more affected relatives or cousins) when the riots spread to Hyderabad. There may even be a video around. Here. Some are very close members of distant family or friends. I spent time with one of the people on the video. BTW I don't know all the people-some are relatives of people I know and the channel ain't mine:
When you lose someone basically you understand the importance of your country. You also look at the nature of your people. We are diverging. We once only had the word Pakistan zindabad on our lips and where are we now, cursing fellow Pakistanis? I could have hated Hindu's all my life for this but I know many Hindus suffered the same thing and continue to suffer it in Pakistan. The issue is building up a National identity as Jinnah envisioned (for which he made claims like abandon provincialism and the 11 August address) and it cannot be built if we are too divided in the ethnic and religious sense. Being a Pakistani means accepting every religious and ethnic group as our own and in time our ethnic identities were to disappear. We are supposed to be a nation, not a squabbling group of people who hate each other!
Instead after we moved... we forgot everything. We became racist to other races, we abused them and we looked down upon them. My khandaan members have been involved in some of the worst abuse to Pashtuns, Sindhis, Balochs and Punjabis.
Personally once we settled we should have helped the ethnic groups... thats what you do when you are in a better position right? Instead I just cannot understand why there is this sense of insecurity and why "hamari pehchaan" has to mean MQM despite its atrocities, its just that we want a Muhajir, a person from our community who we will vote for no matter what his record? Thats how an educated community behaves? Sounds like Jihalat. Furthermore we feel insecure? But why???? We have a gdp per capita according to H&H higher than anyone else (We earn +13,000 rupees more than the ethnic group that comes second according to this report), an HDI much better than anyone else. Take a simple example. Of the directors for radio Pakistan in Karachi 30% have been Muhajir, not a single baloch, 2-3 Pashtuns and Sindhis, rest punjabis. Compared this to the population. We are 8% of the total. We have a disproportionate role and we have built ourselves a tower with the help of Pashtuns, Sindhis and Balochs put ourselves at the top!
We take pride in the fact that we made Pakistan (though I hold this is a form of self-gratification and we should say that all ethnic groups made Pakistan and suffered equally for its formation) then why the hell can't we act like it? No one leaves his race, Secur. I saw things with my eyes. I am also a journalist so I get information others don't. I can qoute figures... numbers stats from reports and study's and I know. We are controlling Karachi and mistreating everyone else. Urdu is the national language and it is being imposed on everyone else... even the Punjabis. I saw my family abusing a Sindhi watchman in front of my eyes, at least people have respect not to abuse someone for his race in front of him. We didn't even have that honor? Then we ignore the crimes committed by Altaf. Does anyone ask about the situation in 92 when operation clean-up was launched? Violence was becoming a norm. What else could be done... and immediately the operation became an attack on Urdu-speakers... And guess what. I can post the report... every police officer remotely linked to that operation is linked... even the constables and sergeants under him.
I have stories upon stories... not from Sindhis or someone else... but fellow Muhajirs who were forced to pay extortion to MQM gangs. And now we want operations everywhere in Waziristan when we cry so much "bias this, discrimination that" about one little operation cleanup. We basically act like hypocrites Secur.
Now yes, about your statement. Even my Muhajir family/khandaan never ever stated any anti-pakistani feelings and love Pakistan in their own ways-even though some bhoot enters their body to defend Altaf's speech. There is a fool, an ideological cousin of Luffy but he is a wine-snobbing, morally-weak PPP supporter in Canada from the party which has an uneven ratio of producing some of the worst traitors to this country. But the issue is far different than that. Its what we teach our kids, its the conversations that take place in our living rooms and they consist of kicking Pashtuns, Sindhis and Balochs out. We say no one exept Muhajirs should enter Karachi... we insult people from other ethnic groups in front of them... my cousins and relatives have done it! And its really sad. This wasn't supposed to be how Pakistan was, we were to meld. Become one!
I rebelled against not only our khandaan, but all of society... I just said, enough! The message I wish to give is that ethnicity is temporary, a fluid concept that does not and should not be used to pitch us against each other. I wish to say... Pakistan comes first, make a statement of ethnic unity. I wish to stand against the discrimination.
I know my learning Pashtun language, knowing more about Pashtun geography, culture and history more than many people on Pakistani side know themselves will never be appreciated. But people don't understand what I am trying to say. Loving Pashtuns is a part of it, yes... I'd be crazy to be writing about Pashtuns, seeing the bias against them while they kept shouting Long live Pakistan not to love them dearly... but this is about more than that. Its about our unity. Its about Nationalism. Its about making the statement that all cultures in this country are extremely beautiful, that we do not have to hate our own people.
You will notice that despite adopting Pashtun culture I usually try not to comment on an issue holding too much sentimental value or which can be used by people like Luffy for example Bacha Khan. Basically about the forum I am talking about there were no Tajiks, Uzbeks or Hazaras. It was basically Pashtuns from Afghanistan insulting Pakistan, Punjabis and Pakistani Pashtuns (according to them we were Punjabi slaves) constantly. It was no one else. But people are unwilling to believe fellow Pashtuns can do this... so the conversation here has gone off on Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks being the root of the issue, which in many ways is also true.
It proves people are a little defensive when it comes to ethnicity and I am trying to say... that is what Altaf Hussain or a leader who does politics on ethnic basis uses to his advantage just in the way Luffy or darkinsky do to create divisions. There is a cousin of ours who simply cannot hear a negative word about India (Lucknow is and should be a part of Pakistan being a heart of Muslim League-so should Hyderabad)... its a weakness. We can't be loyal to other nations just because they have some of our ancestors or people from our ethnic group. Everyone disagrees with him... but in anyway it proves that these ethnic identities can be used against Pakistan's unity.
What I described happens in my family... I am sure it happens in almost every urdu-speaking family and probably in those of other ethnic groups as a friend of mine beautifully put it when i was thinking of adopting Pashtun culture and ways-I basically learned that there are bigots everywhere finding a whole army of them on the other forum-they abused me so much I felt very unsure about myself-Luffy's best friend, the most racist person on the forum even told me I was a donkey trying to adopt lion's skin (Non-Pashtun trying to be Pashtun.
Thing is these issues on the basis of ethnicity shouldn't be there people like me and you can stop it. We love our country... and by loving our country it means loving every other ethnic group in it. Its the essence of Pakistan, Secur. We cannot deny it. Its not a country built on a race or ethnic group but a beautiful amalgamation of 200+ languages. Frankly no one can learn the ways of 200+ cultures... but i will of the 4 main in my mission to promote brotherhood. A fractured country cannot function. We cannot allow ourselves to be fractured.
We can start with our homes secur. I challenge anyone who criticizes another ethnic group. You can do it too... together... we can play a role in the removal of ethnic bigotry from our country. I have nothing against Muhajirs... I just feel being born one I have a right to condemn them and how they behaved. It won't be the same if I do it for another ethnic group though, even my adopted one-because its like after becoming one I am trying to tell people what to do. A good way to describe me is that I don't count Muhajir history (there is nothing such as Muhajir-i still hold btw) after 47 and the history of Afghanistan since 1983 (It was the year when southern regions separated and durand line came into being. Before that we were one nation which is basically the reason for the pain in Sher Malang and Luffy's bum.)
That is why I don't want @
Hyperion and @
Andromache to be quiet to Luffy, because only people from the ethnic group they belong to can fight bigots and prove them wrong, though in this case it is my sincere hope that I may be able to convert Luffy though I cannot help but despise what he proposes. Me he will always label a non-pashtun. He did the same with Imran Khan because he happened to live in Mianwali!
... But it will be rectified , ethnic identities will disappear and we will be one nation , the time will be soon ...
... Stop taking these idiots seriously ...
