Re: Nirala fiasco
Dudes !
the case is in court. Lets hope justice is served sooner.
It not that important an issue but due to extensive ciculation, it has become quite popular.
more in this column reflections of thoughts of Mr. fradia and more..
heres today’s The News
Out of my head
By Khusro Mumtaz
Emails continue to pour into my inbox relating to my two pieces on the Nirala case (‘VIPs, victims and us’ December 5, and ‘The other side of the Nirala story – Part I’, December 12). After last week’s column some readers have accused me of selling out or of being gullible in quoting at length from a missive by a business professor and management consultant which was an energetic defence of Nirala CEO Faisal Farooq and which purported to give us the ‘true’ facts of the case.
The accusations came despite the fact that nowhere did I endorse what the professor was saying and despite my advisory that the business professor’s words had to be taken with a pinch of salt due to his close relationship with the confectionary tycoon. I had also ended the column with the stated intention of responding to the points raised by the professor in the next column.
However, the day after the column saw print my editors put paid to my plans for the follow-up by advising me that since a local court had cancelled Mr Farooq’s bail and issued orders for his arrest I would not be able to comment further on the facts pertaining to the case or Mr Farooq’s conduct (questionable or otherwise) during and after the incident as the matter was now sub judice. This meant reworking this week’s column so that it could see print. So do keep in mind that this week I may not be saying everything I wanted to say or everything that needed to be said.
However, the correspondence from readers also allows me to discuss some other related subjects. The first is the matter of freedom of speech. Even if I don’t agree with what somebody is saying I do owe it to the other person to listen to his side of the story. As the friends of Voltaire, French philosopher and writer, summed up his viewpoint, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it”. Everybody deserves a fair hearing otherwise we run the danger of becoming like Messrs. Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld with their Abu Ghraibs and Guantanamo Bays and their arrogation of the powers of judge, jury and executioner. As such, people like the business professor and others who have stood up to speak on behalf of Faisal Farooq deserve as much of a hearing as those calling for a boycott of Nirala products. Even if they are in the wrong they need to be heard nevertheless. The professor had even brought up some valid points concerning safety measures for children in motor vehicles and these cannot be emphasised enough either.
As friend and well-known journalist/editor Beena Sarwar put it: “I think this needs independent investigation since clearly the media can’t be [completely] trusted and also we can’t take the word of either of the two parties involved.” That being said the business professor and business consultant has undermined his own arguments by questioning the integrity of those (including his own former students) criticising the CEO, doubting their desire for social service and charity, and even their ability to appreciate art. He’s declared envy (of Faisal Farooq’s Porsche and of his wealth) to be the root cause of the condemnation. But, as one reader put it: “The gentleman is trying to insult our feelings as humans” by alleging this. Another outraged reader had this to say: “The icing on the cake of this deplorable effort [to defend the alleged guilty party], is his circumspect suggestion for a ‘muk mukka’; by asking Mr Faisal Farooq to donate Rs5 million for opening a school in the name of the deceased infant. Bottom line. Why not allow the law to take its course? Needless to say, without any ‘influence’ of any kind or nature.”
People want justice, pure and simple. I, for one, had no idea that it was a Porsche that was involved in the fatal accident until after my first column on the subject saw print. For all I knew it could have been a Suzuki Alto. But nobody – rich or poor, powerful or weak – should be considered above the law. For all that the professor knows the people criticising Mr Farooq could be the very souls of charity, devoting anywhere from weekends to entire lifetimes to social causes. They could also be unchallenged experts on art, able to distinguish a fake Sadequain from an original. Their criticism of Faisal Farooq does not mean that their entire lives are worthless or that they have no desirable qualities or abilities.
I fear that the professor has fallen victim to an all too common malady of our society. While we are quick to criticise enemies or strangers we are all too ready to forgive our friends and family. We all know people of questionable morals and values that are willing to do just about anything for a quick buck but we are still willing to meet with them on a daily basis. There is no social ostracism of the corrupt anymore. As long as it is friend or family or someone who can throw the right parties or help you on your way up all is forgiven, often with a simple homily such as: “He’s a good guy. Yaaron ka yaar hai”.
The professor himself wrote in to me following the last column and said, “Nothing should be greater than the truth”. I agree wholeheartedly. Let the truth come out and let the chips fall where they may.
The writer is a banker and freelance writer. Email: [EMAIL=“[email protected]”][email protected]