Isnt this the bitter truth?
‘Punjabis run Pakistan’
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/dec2004/pstory5.php
Altaf Hussain, the supremo of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), speaks to Sanjay Kapoor on the fate of Mohajirs post-Partition, the establishment’s constant suspicion of non-Punjabis and hopes for peace
What does a Pakistani look like? Altaf Hussain, the supremo of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), who was recently in India, harbours no confusion about it. In his reckoning, Pakistan, both as an idea and as a nation, has been taken over by the Punjabis, who today control the reins of power and are trying to mould the identity of the common Pakistani in their own image. To them, a Pakistani is a Punjabi or a Pushtu — fair and tall.
Worst-hit are those who left their villages and towns in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, chasing a flawed dream — a nation based on religion. In Hussain’s reckoning, these people have been targeted with the vilest of abuses — mohajir is just one epithet among a hundred. They remain torn by the dilemma of whether to accept or negate their subcontinental past.
Altaf Hussain, whose father was from Agra, has long been fighting the Punjabi Pakistani ruling establishment. Even though his party supports both the Central government and the Sindh provincial government, he is unsparing in his criticism of the vested interest that controls Islamabad. In a speech in London — where he has been in exile for 12 years — he called the Partition between India and Pakistan a “failure”.
Hussain believes that the end of Quaid-e-Azam Muha-mmad Ali Jinnah was hastened by a lobby in Rawalpindi that did not want peaceful relations with India. “He was eliminated as part of the conspiracy,” says Hussain. He also alleges that Jinnah’s right-hand man and former prime minister, Liaqat Ali Khan — also a mohajir according to the new political dispensation — was murdered to ensure that power remained with the Punjabis.
In the context of such thinking, what might happen to President Pervez Musharraf and his attempts to find peace with India? Hussain says that Musharraf, who has faced assassination attempts, is a liberal keen on bringing peace to this region. Hussain also claims to have a formula for solving the Kashmir issue, and believes that South Asia can emerge as another European Union.
Excerpts from the interview:
Although this is your first trip to India, you must have heard a lot about India from your father and forefathers…
Whenever my father and grandparents discussed India, they felt very sorry. They always remembered the good days they spent here. The life, the luxury — nothing is the same in our country. We don’t feel the same as we felt here. While religion is a great bond that brings people together, ethno-linguistic and cultural bonds, and living in the same land for centuries, have a lasting impact.
A lot of people feel that it was a mistake for Muslims to leave India on a call made by some leaders…
My father was not interested in leaving India after Partition. In fact, he did not leave in 1947. My elder brother had left and he put a lot of pressure on my father to come to Pakistan with the family.
For how many years after Partition could people come and go freely across the border?
Till 1953, after which the border was totally blocked by Pakistani authorities, [particularly] for Muslims who wanted to go to Pakistan.
But a lot of people came back to India.
Yes, but a lot of people wanted to go to Pakistan also.
So there was two-way traffic because people thought things would be better in Pakistan?
Yes, people thought there were more economic opportunities there and that they would get jobs. But, after 1953, the border was sealed. If it had not been sealed, maybe the two countries could have had stronger ties. Maybe Pakistan and India could have formed a union like the European Union. And maybe we could have had one currency.
As Maulana Abdul Kalam said to Indian Muslims, “You have for centuries lived in this land…this is your land. You are going to Pakistan because of Islam.” He said the land is not yours and not for you. They will not accept you. Pakistan will be for Bengalis, for Punjabis, for Sindhis, Pathans, Pushtoons…No one will accept you. And he seemed prophetic. The reason for the formation of the MQM was the fact that the people were feeling alienated from the other ethnic groups. We were called names. We were called makker (locusts), matrwa, panahgir, outsiders and mohajirs.
Mohajirs was a name given to you by them?
Yes. Pakistanis gave us that identity, although we kept on denying that we were mohajirs. “We are Pakistanis,” we said. Even people who were born in Pakistan were not accepted because their parents or grandparents were born in India. Even in job interviews, we were asked where we were born. Mohajirs were denied jobs.
Where do you think Pakistani leaders went wrong in nation-building?
In 1948, Quaid-e-Azam died. And then in 1951, Liaqat Ali Khan was murdered. From then on, the Punjabis took over. The murder of Liaqat Ali khan was the turning point when the entire cause behind Pakistan was lost. There was a conspiracy to eliminate Quaid-e-Azam immediately after Partition. I have repeated this in many speeches.
While Quaid-e-Azam was killed covertly, Liaqat Ali was blatantly murdered. Quaid-e-Azam was seriously ill and returning from Quetta. But he was given a ramshackle ambulance that was not even fully filled with fuel. In the Hub area near Baluchistan, the ambulance stopped because there was not enough fuel. Because he could not reach the hospital in time, he died in the ambulance. Can you imagine such poor facilities for a governor-general? The establishment conspired to remove the two big leaders — the founder-member and his right hand.
What happened next?
The hierarchy of Punjab took over the entire State of Pakistan and started encroaching on the rights of the smaller provinces, such as East Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh). Claiming that the Bengalis’ loyalties were doubtful, the authorities denied them their basic fundamental rights.
In the 1970 elections, the Awami League of Mujibur Rehman won with a majority. But the rulers of Pakistan and its Punjabi hierarchy were in no mood to transfer power to the winning party. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with the support of his army generals, raised the slogan, “Idhar hum, udhar tum” (Here we rule, there you rule). This was entirely against democratic norms. Bhutto even said if any elected member of the national assembly from West Pakistan (present Pakistan) went to attend the first national assembly session in Dhaka, their legs would be broken on [their] return to Pakistan. All the religio-political parties, particularly the Jamaat-e-Islami, and almost all political parties of West Pakistan, joined hands with the army generals against the handing over of power to the Awami League. They launched a largescale negative propaganda campaign, calling the Bengalis traitors and Indian agents. The army launched fullscale operations against the Bengalis, killing millions of innocent men, women and children. The Jamaat-i-Islami was fully involved in this butchering. All this ultimately ended with the creation of Bangladesh.
After disintegration, Pakistan was divided into four provinces, of which Baluchistan, Sindh and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) are now facing the same music as the Bengalis had. The same feeling of anger, deprivation and frustration has set in. To counter these voices, the establishment is once again branding the people in those provinces as traitors and enemies of Allah. Ethno-linguistic particularism has strengthened and is reaching its peak, and pluralism as a whole is weakening with every passing day. In fact, the time has come to say that the establishment of Pakistan should change its policy and should provide full provincial autonomy to maintain the unity of Pakistan.
You said you have a formula for solving the Kashmir problem.
To start negotiations, India and Pakistan should temporarily consider the Line of Control as the International Border. A series of dialogues should be carried out to resolve other issues like the opening of the Khokrapar border, the opening of a consulate office in Karachi, a ferry service between Mumbai and Karachi, promoting people-to-people contact, easing visa restriction policies, exempting people above the age of 60 years from visas and promoting trade between the two countries.
These are confidence-building measures, but what do you think is the solution?
After these are initiated, an understanding will be established and both countries will ultimately resolve the Kashmir issue, keeping in mind the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
You think with Pervez Musharraf — a mohajir — at the helm in Pakistan, the chances of peace are better?
Yes. Not because he is a mohajir, but because of his liberal and progressive nature. Musharraf wants a better relationship with India and he also wants the resolution of the Kashmir issue in a peaceful manner.
What is your vision for the subcontinent?
If Pakistan and India are keen to live in harmony and tranquillity, they should learn from Europe where, after centuries of warfare, they have reached the conclusion that violence is not the answer.
When will you go back to Pakistan?
Whenever my country allows me to come back.
