Myths Created by MQM

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
21

I have not found how much percentage of people that settled in \Punajb belonged to central indian states, and how much from east Punjab and haryana, i am trying to find a copy of 1951 and 1941 census, and as soon as i get it, i will post. However, majority of settling in Punjab were punjabis, most urdu speaking settled in Sindh. Bcoz this was a policy endorsed by Liaqat Ali khan. I do have a couple of books on India by English authors and i will write of what figures they qoute.

22

Its true that in terms of assimilation there were more challenges but hardly any effort was made to do it. Sindh university was largest university of Sindh and after creation of Pakistan, it was relocated to Hyderabad, while karachi university was started in 1951. Sindhi language along with urdu was a compulsory language in Sindh, till its status was abolished by famous general Tikka Khan and only urdu remained as compulsory language. Also when Sindh language act was passed in 1972, there was fierce opposition to it in Karachi and ensuing language riots killed many people.

People settling in Punjab had far greater problems in settling down for may reasons.

1- Most were peasants and did not have hig education as compared to their urdu speaking brothers and hence were not suitable for government jobs.

2- THe Sikh population and hindu population that left were mostly business class and not big land owners, so they did not leave much land that could be occupied by migrants for cultivation, for that was the only trade they new.

However, they struggled and made the ends meet. As for being prospering, the migrants that came from Jammu Kashmir, over the years prospered more than those who came from Punjab as they were better businessmen. Most big businesses in Punjab are dominated by Kashmiri migrants like Butt, Sheikh, Miyan communities.

23

They heavily dominated beaurocracy right from 1947 to 70s and they controlled the then capital of Pakistan Karachi, till it was shifted to Islamabd in 1964.

24

I commend your feelings & I share them ..., but its important to have an understanding from the other side.

My first point is that ethnic & linguistic makeup of the immigrated population from India that settled in Punjab & Urban Sindh was different..., what was the reason for that is not that important to me.., & frankly this could very well have been an outcome of a concsious choice by the immigrants perceiving better opportunities in Karachi rather then a result of coersion. The important thing is that based on this fact alone the circumstances of the immigrants were so different that the same standard of integration cannot be applied to both. For the former the integration in the society was natural for the later there was a perceived opposition. While this perception may have been real or delusional the important thing to understand the sequence of events that followed in subsequent decades is that such a feeling did exists , MQM who in the 80s did had heartfelt support from the people of Urban Sindh unlike today rise to fame in such a short span of time partly because of this feeling & not the other way around.
Secondly, the immigrant population that settled in Urban Sindh was culturally,socially,economically & educationally diverse, & their concerns & priorities were different. They consisted some of the richest business man in Pakistan e.g the 22 families that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto nationalized predominantly consisted of immigrants, at the same time there were others that were living in poverty & backwardness specially those migrants that came to Karachi after the fall of Dhaka. There were two things that they all be it rich or poor, educated or uneducated shared in common

1) A growing feeling that we dont have any share in national politics as a people.Please analyze the Political history of Pakistan from the mid 50s upto 1984 & analyze the insignificance of these people in National Politics, the failure of Fatima Jinnah was very strongly felt in this regards.., the feeling was that if a fairy tale story cant succeed then the rest of us will have no significant role in National Politics in Pakistan. This feeling of isolation from mainstream national politics gradually sowed the seeds of regionalism

2) There was a very strong feeling amongst the youth in the late 70s & 80's that muhajir people are docile, passive cowardly..., they can only concern themselves with their jobs & their businesses.., they dont have the mettle to aggressively fight for anything..., this feeling developed very strongly in the population that came after 1971 from Bangladesh who were not as settled as the rest of the population & it was specially targetted towards the Pathan who had a tradition of being macho & had a swagger about them, they were living & immigrating to Karachi for decades & there weren't any significant problem for a very long time. Howevr this started to change during the Afghan war when there was a huge surge in immigration & more importantly the new immigrants were also well armed & their influence & control over neighborhoods was increasing. It this feeling & a rebellion against sterotyped as docile more then anything else that enabled MQM to create a Mafia organization.

While all of these perceptions might have been delusional the important thing is they were at that time & in some regards even today felt to be true , the important thing is how to eradicate this perception ?

While I have no intentions to justify them.., infact I despise them because nothing more then this Robinhood, Mafia & terror philosophy has destroyed our society & the moral values of our youth, all I intend to point is that there were many factors that lead to the situation that we are in, its actually naive & even disrespectful towards us to assume that we are held hostage to this gangster organization purely at our own hands without any other factor playing any part in it.

25

Since I would not have the most accurate knowledge of the extent of control of civil bureaucracy the Urdu speaking people had till 1970s as you claim & I will also not have the most objective understanding as to where lied the real seat of power in those days.., the military establishment or the ruling elite so i will not comment on this any further ..., just that it does not seem comprehensible to me that the Muhajirs had such influence in those days that they could inflict 'Systematic ethnic cleansing' as claimed by the burqaX because it is just so inconsistent with the general mood being helpless & insignificant in the youth in the 80's which i will again repeat led to the political developments that followed & not the other way around

Wht r u doing ?
26

Meray bhai. If you don't have knowledge from pre-1980s days, then go learn via an un-emotional study (thunday dil kay saath).

Meray bhai, Urdu exploitation of Karachi and Haiderabad from 1940s to 1970s is a known fact. Without this info, how would you ever understand the dynamics.

You oh so conveniently start your Mutala-e-Mohajir from 1980s, then obviously would be flabbergasted about DD or anyone who talks negatively about us.

Go read first, and then come back. Just emotional tearful outbursts won't help.

You can't comprehend an idea if you haven't done the required level of study.

p.s. Let's quit using the term Mohajirs. This is the most despicable and derogatory term one can ever use.

FYI. Mohajirs are only those who were not born in a country and instead came from another country.

Most of us on this forum WERE BORN in Pakistan, so there cannot be a mo or Joe-shmo.

Perhaps we should strive to ban the M-word.

27

Correction, its not 'my' claim, its the claim of the people who were actually in the trains. There is a possibility that people who did 'Pakistan aagay hai' did it on few occasions (not 24x7) when they saw city getting too crowded by immigrants. Since there is no "video proof" on "Youtube" it is easy to discard anyway.

Bias would come into play if I had any sympathies for the likes of MQM, I only paid attention to the surviving grand-parents. Neither I am in favor of ethnic discrimination nor provincialism etc. I only love Islam and Pakistan, thats my true identity.

28

While you make me sound really naive & ignorant.., my point was that I am prepared to be skeptical regarding what I know of history from 47-80, if your version of history helps me explain the sequence of events that happen in the period after that for which I am more certain as I my source knowledge is living through this period.

I certainly have a problem with your assertions that we were oppressors, fascists, systematic ethnic cleanser & usurpers in the periods of 47-80,here you are not blaming any specific group or political entity for these vices as there were none , you are applying this to the community as a whole . Yes i am bound to have a bias towards not believing these as no one wants to believe that their ancestors were as evil people as you had made it sound in your posts. I would be prepared to shred any preconceived notions I might have & believe this outlandish claim but it just does not seems to be consistent with the feeling in the community in the 80s & 90s of which I have more certain experience of.

Firstly, your fail to convince where did these people drew the power to be able to commit such injustices..., civil bureaucracy ? lets be more analytical
the 50s was a period of chaos in the seat of power with rapidly changing prime ministers, ok it is plausible that during this time civil bureaucracy may have acted unjustly in favor of their own.
60s was the era of Ayub Khan - the most serious challenge to his power in the first half of his rule came from Fatima Jinnah - & while she did not manage to have any impressive political support across Pakistan, Karachi & the Urdu Speaking community was one of the few places where she did manage to have great support, so it does not make sense that he would allow this community who along with Bangalis were the only ones who posed a serious threat to his claim to power at that time to unjustly usurp the rights of Sindhis (Remember Zulfiqar Ali bhutto was the blue eyed Kid of Ayub Khan in this period) or Pathans .This decade also marks the rise of Zulfiqar Ali Bhuto as the most Popular leader of West Pakistan, i have never heard any slogans attributed to ZAB during this period that spells out any of the injustices committed towards ethnic Sindhis as pointed out by you.
The 70s was the decade of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto - there has never been any other political leader more powerful then what he was in the entire political history of Pakistan- it just does not make sense to me that in this era a community who had no political strength, no presence in the army establishment & whose influence in bureaucracy had considerably declined by this time could inflict any injustice to his native people.

Next come to the 80s , how can a diverse community that according to you have perpetually oppressed the local population can get truly inspired by any one(which they were in the mid-80s) under the pretext that are being ignored,marginalized & have become insignificant in the national affairs ?
How can a large section of young people whose ancestors according to you were usurpers be instigated to revert to voilence under the false pretext to rebel against being sterotyped as docile & passive ?
Above all How can anyone muster a community under a delusion completely incoherent with ground realities ?

I second you on this point we are Muslims & Pakistanis & thats the only Identity we should aspire for ourselves..., but I would have a problem accepting that we were solely responsible for aligning ourselves with any other identity & factors outside the community had no influence in the inculcation of this feeling As it seems irrational to me for us to adopt any other identity on our own as nothing disconnects us from the mainstream then doing so..,

The Hi/Bye Thread
The Hi/Bye Thread
29

Re: Myths Created by MQM

Racial hormony does not come from, rejecting your own ethinicity. It comes from first acknowledging your own eithinicity and race, as well as others around you. Its not about taking pride, or looking down on others. Its about acknowledging the differences. Before 1960's it was hard for media in USA, to talk about race. It changed, and good things followed.

The other key point is, if you do not belong to a minority ethenic community, you should not be the one, determining a name for them. Non blacks in america, chosed N-word for blacks, which they rejected. Blacks prefered African American, even though most of them have never been to Africa. Same should be applied for Muhajirs.

I hope you all understand my point.

Lafz ba Lafz- Poetry game
30

Re: Myths Created by MQM

MQM itself is a myth ..

31

Your analogy is absolutely wrong. Blacks in America were discriminated in every field of life. They had separate shools, hotels, residential areas, waiting rooms, school buses, bathrooms etc. Sixties peaceful civil right movement based on 'hindsa' or non-violent movement by Gandhi, lead by Martin Luthor King and others paved way for Black to have equal rights. Where as Muhajir right from migeration from India had superiority complex treating Sindhi brethern as red indians and looked down due different language and culture. They always enjoyed better positioning in government and in private businesses. It was Muhjirs who started hatred movement against locals and always behaved as they were at receiving end. This hatred has crossed boundries of all decency and humanity. Please correct your thinking and don't justify mqm existance by comparing them with African Americans.

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You are suggesting as if it was media who started talking about black/white races and suddenly things changed.

Har Tareekay Se tujhey Bh0oLana Chaha Magar...
33

I was talking about racial hormony, and how it can be achieved. You are openly showing your ethenic bias, against one ethenicity.

34

I can only laugh on these comments!

Talk about ignorance and the 'real myth' in these sentences. Unfortunately the situation was quite reverse. Muhajir first generation did not do enough to safeguard the future of next generation and were idealistic. They believed in fair competition and did not pass in civil exams even their own relatives.

On the contrary, non-muhajir systematically took over good bureaucracy by passing civil service exams merely on the basis of kinship or 'sifarish'. The prove of it was common questions during civil service interview:

" Peechay Se Kahan Se Ho"?

"Baap Kahan Paida Hua Tha"?

"Domicile Dikhao"

etc.

The quota system actually destroyed infrastructure of the country and competition based on skill and knowledge was abolished. Something which Muhajirs did not expect nor endorsed.

The influx of uneducated 'sifarishi' people in govt. machinary was encouraged by ZAB. He was good in many ways no doubt but caused a major problem in the standard of education, attitudes in the civil offices, banks, industries as well as destroyed cleanliness and the beauty of the city. He decided to nationalize many institutions built to a great standard by Muhajirs. He had personal animosity with Habib Bank owner (the man who gave blank check to Quaide Azam to run the country) since he did not vote for him.

MQM is a reactionary political party based on many of these realities.

However, MQM has taken a course which is not really aligned by many many people it claim to represent.

MQM does deserve to be applauded having middle class people come on to the top against normal culture of sardars, waderas and choudharies, khans.. skimming the cream out of the pie for decades in other cities. They are and have been the real oppressors of local Pakistani. They did not allow educational institutions to be built to standard in order to keep their influence on their own people. Still PPP power and other area political parties run in the family!

MQM has created Kamal, Ishrat, and Sattar like people with 'comparatively' decent and sincere behavior. Even non-muhajirs were giving friendly and encouraging remarks to Kamal in recent TV program during his interview.

35

As long as one racist exist there will never be racial hormony. A party based on ethnicity how it can avoid racial prejudices?

No I am not against any ethinicity if you read my posts. But definitely I will never accept any community who think that their survival is only in offensive attitude toward other communities with a philsophy of might is right.

36

Re: Myths Created by MQM

Races exists and will continue to exist. Its time to openely accept it. We have punjabis, sindhis, pakhtoon etc etc. No need to shy away from it, by calling yourself "pakistani" for the sake of winning a debate.

Racism should be eliminated, but will not done, unless races are openely recognized. Ignoring a race, or not acknowledging it, is also racism.

37

DD:

[quote]
Also notewrothy is that lot of those people that settled in Karachi did not come through punjab but entered Pakistan through KHokhrapar border, which is in Sindh and was closed after 1971 and recently was re-opened.
[/quote]

Such an ignorant comment can only come from someone who knows no one who migrated in 1947.
People who came to Karachi actually came through Punjab. On their way to Pakistani Punjab, they passed through Sikh areas in trains, where they were slaughtered in LARGE NUMBERS.

[quote]
One is that punjabis stopped migrants at time of partition from settling in Punjab and they were forced to settle in Karachi.
[/quote]

This is the first time I have heard this. :)
I think the situation was completely different in 1947. People coming from Hindu-dominated areas were only seen as Muslim brothers. Actually, there were some riots against Hindus in Pakistan when people here found out about what Hindus/Sikhs were doing in India.

It is ok to criticized MQM. I think they deserve it. But this thread shows that there are people like DD who are against the whole muhajir community, and abuse them in the guise of abusing MQM. They don't see any difference between MQM and muhajirs in general.

38

There were two major waves of Urdu Speaking People USP migration.

You are correct that the first wave came through in 1947 from Dilli to Lahore. These were mostly the federal government employees in Dilli offices who had opted for service in Pak. In fact their train was the first to be bombed by Patel's goons in order to make sure Pakistan won't have functioning government offices.

The second wave of USP migration started after Liaqat Ali Khan became all-powerful PM following Jinnah's death.

This is the time LIK "imported" millions of USP who mainly used Khokhrapar crossing. BTW the second wave of USPs came to Pakistan when the 1947 riots had long subsided.

The second wave of USPs formed the majority share of the ancestors of modern day USPs who now live mainly in Karachi and Hyderabad.

The Random Thread
39

burqa:

[quote]
You are correct that the first wave came through in 1947 from Dilli to Lahore.
[/quote]

I know of people who were from the south of Delhi, and yet they came from Punjab.
Actually, I have not heard of many people coming from Khokhrapar. Most people I have known of, including my own family, came through Punjab, and most of them are not from Delhi.

[quote]
This is the time LIK "imported" millions of USP
[/quote]

"Imported"? You smell of playing ethnic card. Liaquat Ali Khan did not "organize" or "convince" people to come to Pakistan. People came to Pakistan because that was their dream to live in a Muslim country.
This is another myth that has been nurturing for long time.

Pakistan - A History in photographs
40

The quota system didnt just screw mohajirs over. It also equally screwed the educated middle class from other ethnicities. However, MQM goons (uneducated mohajirs) decided to use this as an excuse to kidnap, torture and murder pathans, punjabies, sindhies, balochies and even the fellow educated mohajirs who actually love Pakistan.

MQM does not represent the middle class of Pakistan. It doesnt even represent mohajirs compleletly.

MQM has not done anything to abolish the feudal system. It can do nothing to finish it. MQM has no weight in punjab, balochistan and NWFP. Even in Sindh except for some slumps in Karachi where it is popular among uneducated mohajirs.

MQM is a terrorist party that needs to eliminated after taliban.