claps Bravo! you guys are fighting MQM's case brilliantly.
Lets talk about some myths here, It may come to you guys as surprise that MQM strongest hold is HYDERABAD, not Karachi. In Hyderabad even during the 92 operation, MQM suffered no setbacks nor there any fraction like HAQIQI group surfaced. Also MQM's posture in Hyderabad is somewhat different from what we see in Karachi. Wonder why? Reason is that people support them for same reasons in these two cities, but MQM handles them differently. In Karachi it’s about controlling the resources and in Hyderabad it’s purely about ETHNICITY and survival.
Now the myths about Urdu speaking elite suppressed other ethnicities. Since this thread is the by-product of thread about MQM, I will talk about Sindh only as MQM grew ONLY in Sindh.
Myth 1 USP deprived other ethnicities of education.
DD in other thread again and again mentioned Sindh University and urban & rural Sindh. What we actually know about their history? Apart from what we find on Wiki Pages.
Sindh University has only one campus in HYDERABAD, Elsa Qazi campus for B.Ed and M.Ed courses. The main Campus is in District Jamshoro, formerly part of District Dadu. Supposedly Hyderabad has 4 universities but in reality NONE of them is in HYDERABAD. No doubt Sindh University was the 1st university in Sindh, but till late 60's it was more like a post graduate centre for training academic professionals. It grew to a proper university when it was moved to Jamshoro. let me remind you Hyderabad was Sindh's capital up until Islamabad was declared country’s new capital. After introduction of quota system, residents of Hyderabad were effectively sidelined; despite having 3 major universities on city’s crown, they had/have no proportional access to these institutions. Dadu city which is about 170 kms away from these institutions has more quota than all of Hyderabad.
Till 90's Karachi had only 2 universities, and again Karachites had only 40% share in those (shared with URBAN Sindh).
Now about the myth, let’s suppose USP DID deprive other ethnicities, then why they didn’t bother to equip their next generations with better higher education? knowing very well that only the better education will help them to control “civil Burocracy” in the long run? If they had unchallenged control over country’s resources then I think they did a terrible job by not trying to sustain that control.
Myth 2 USP were not well educated (relatively speaking)
Again not true because if that was not the case then how they managed to acquire key civil posts, which allegedly gave them control over country’s resources and “influence” for more than a decade? It doesn’t mean other ethnic groups were less educated, but it’s a fact that proportionally within ethnic group USPP had higher literacy rate.
Myth 3 Liaquat Ali Khan “IMPORTED” immigrants to Karachi.
Again baseless accusation. Karachi was country’s capital that time, and country needed experienced staff to run day to day state business. The locals were not in great numbers in government departs and void had to be filled. These immigrants filled that void, and since Karachi was state’s capital it was logical for them to settle in Karachi. Decade later when LOCALS did start taking interest in Government jobs, the balance shifted towards them; Which was bound to happen.
Myth 4 Immigrants financial contribution is exaggerated.
A quick check on industry prior to Bhutto’s nationalisation program will reveal the truth. All major industry and businesses were held by these Memon and Gujrati immigrants. The new wealth started coming to Industry in late 60’s and then it flourished in Zia’s tenure. Also for those Gujrati and memon immigrants who migrated to Pakistan, Karachi was their natural choice for Karachi being the financial capital of country. The city had/has more business opportunities than any other city in Pakistan. In 80’s when heavy industry was MIGRATING from Sindh to Faisalabad and Gujrat, these immigrant memon and gujrati bijness community kept city’s economy intact. In 80’s Sindhi speaking industrialists also started coming into picture. Speaking of media, till mid 90s USP owned major media groups but it changed. Sindhi speaking groups like KAWISH also realised importance of media and now they are growing in numbers. But there is no denial that Jang group was/is the largest media outlet there. ARY which is Dubai based is also owned by memon immigrant family. List is long.
Myth contribution of Nizam daccan
Who you think paid for government expenditures in early months of Independence when British and Indian Government were delaying funds for the State? It’s a part of history and there should be no denial about it. They were also robbed of independence like Kashmir and Junagarh. Infact it was operation polo by British forces which crushed Hyderabad resistance and hand it over to India. (at least in Kashmir Indian forces bothered to advance their forces)
Myth Ethnic hatred was only demonstrated by USP.
Whoever believes in this crap either lives in la la land, or recently woke up from a long sleep or never set a foot in Pakistan (going to holidays doesn’t count).
Care to explain why most textile mills and other Industry from interior Sindh moved to Faisalabad in 80’s? Also why there were slogans like “bihari na khappai” “sar sain jo, vote Benazir jo” (When Benazir came back to Pakistan for the 1st time after exile) and slogans about pushing MAKArDs (Sindhi word for insect) into sea. Also what happened with those retired Punjabi speaking army officers and to their agriculture land in interior Sindh? Why many of them sold that land and moved to either Karachi or Lahore? And what was the percentage of Punjabi/Pushto/Baloch speaking students in universities and medical colleges in interior Sindh. If something is not on Wiki pages, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. There are no articles on internet about the birth of some bigots, but they do exist in every ethnicity.
In Sindh it is very different now; there is still a long way to go, but at least USP and Sindhi brothers have realised that they both are a reality and they are together in this mess.
Ethnic bigotry is the 2nd most dangerous threat to Pakistani society, Religious extremism being the 1st. We can’t brush it under the carpet saying that only a certain group is in paranoia. It takes two to tango, and in this case five. Every ethnic group has demonstrated this at some stage. MQM has become the largest armed group in Karachi just because of their sheer numbers and available resources after the Afghan war. Where all that latest weapons come from? Via direct flight from Delhi or they buy them from weapon smugglers operating in FATA.
1st step for a solution to a problem is acknowledging the problem. Until we acknowledge that this problem does exit among our ethnic groups, we can’t eliminate it and groups like MQM will flourish. Holding responsible only one group will only worsen the situation.