With or Without Musharraf – A Mohajir’s Perspective

Just before his death, Ataturk Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the father of modern Turkey, told his heir apparent, Ismet Inonu, that a deadly and catastrophic war was imminent in Europe. Ataturk advised Inonu that it was the latter’s duty to keep Turkey out of the European war. As tempting as it must have been to side with Germany, Turkey’s former ally, to retake the Balkans, regain Crimea, and reverse the outcome of the Soviet victory at Stalingrad, Inonu followed his mentor’s wishes. Turkey did not suffer from the disastrous effects of World War II.

Looming War

There is a civil war looming in the future between the religious fanatics and the “democratic” elites in Pakistan. One wishes to install Shariah Law and subject Pakistan to a Taliban-style theocracy. The other puts on a “secular” facade to manufacture a PPP or ML (N) victory to reinforce the domination of the country by one province. In the middle, playing one side against the other, is the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, desperately trying to hold on to perpetual power. Meanwhile, in London the mullahs and the ex-PMs are conspiring to bring “democracy” back to Pakistan. The venues for making decisions concerning our fate have degenerated from Buckingham Palace to Westminster and now to obscure hotel rooms somewhere near Elephant & Castle.

We Mohajirs, the Urdu-speaking descendants of immigrants from India, face an uneasy present and a very precarious future. We should not get involved in this pernicious civil strife. We should support neither the self-righteous burqa-clad vigilantes nor their more “fun-loving” opponents in Lahore and Islamabad. As the great philosopher, L’il Abner of the Ozarks, might have said “We ain’t got a dog in this here fight.” Among the numerous mistakes we have made in the past are the choices we have made in supporting one group of the “Sons of the Soil” against another, albeit for the sake of preserving Pakistan.

Sins of the Past

Our ancestors rose up against British rule in 1857 and paid a horrific price while the loyal “martial races” benefited from the generosity of the grateful European masters. In 1947, much against the advice of real Muslim leaders like Azad, Kidwai, and Zakir Hussain, many of our grandparents placed their trust in one party, one man, and one goal. They were surprised by Jinnah’s acceptance of a “moth-eaten” Pakistan that sucked out the very air they were breathing. Their choices dwindled from so-called Muslim rights and fair land reform to whether Khokrapar, Bombay, or Lahore was the best choice as a route for reaching Karachi. Throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, they watched in anguish as Punjabis and Bengalis battled over control of Pakistan.

Their support of Miss Fatima Jinnah against Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s first military dictator, earned them the anger and wrath of the ruling elite, the army, and the feudal landlords of West Pakistan. Supporting the Pakistani military in East Pakistan as “razakars” had disastrous results for the Urdu-speaking citizens of that majority province. The Pakistani army, under “Shaheed if we die, Ghazis if win” Tiger Niazi, surrendered in shame to sympathetic fellow Indian Punjabi Sikh conquerors, thus providing an eternal photo op for generations of Indian jingoists. The Urdu-speaking collaborators, left at the mercy of the victorious Mukhti Bahini, received collective and cruel punishments for their unfortunate complicity with the alleged war criminals. To this day they remain “stranded” in a hostile country and shamelessly abandoned by the very country which they supported.

The suffering of our parents’ generation under the successive brutality of Bhutto, Zia, Benazir, Nawaz Sharif , Benazir II, Nawaz Sharif II, the PPP, the ML, and the fratricidal factions of MQM are all part of Pakistan’s more recent and agonizing history. Military rule has been substantially better for Mohajirs than the so-called periods of “democracy,” when we have suffered from quotas, rigged elections, police and paramilitary violence, censorship, looting, destruction, and even mass killings. To his credit, Musharraf stopped the bloodshed and oppression that had become the norm for Karachi and Hyderabad. But, Mohajirs are just one people who have suffered persecution and worse at the hands of the Government of Pakistan. We need to get in line with Bengalis, Sindhis, Baluchis, Ahmedis, Saraikis, Pashtuns, and even Kashmiris.

Surviving the Present

Let us not delude ourselves into supporting or opposing Musharraf. He is a tool of the Punjabi military/feudal power structure that controls Pakistan. He is a Mohajir and will probably not engage in the brutality of “Sons of the Soil.” but he should never be perceived as a Mohajir leader. We should be prepared for a future that doesn’t depend on Musharraf being President in Pakistan or an exile in the U.S. or elsewhere. More importantly, we should not repeat the mistake of putting all our faith in one leader, one party, and one idea – not Altaf Hussain, not MQM, and not some nebulous and illogical “Islamic” state. All potential leaders and sincere political parties should present their ideas and gather support for very specific goals from the citizens of Karachi and Hyderabad. There should be no more surprises like a “moth-eaten” Jinnahpur or hasty alliances with one faction of Punjab against another.

Vision for the Future

Kashmir is not our problem. It already has democratic institutions and self-government. If for some God-forbidden reason, it becomes a part of Pakistan, Kashmir can become a problem for us. It will put our Indian relatives in a precarious position once again and will only add to the numbers among the “Sons of the Soil” ready for our persecution.

Pakistan, at best, is an exercise in futility. In a worst case analysis, it holds the prospect for further strife, degeneration, continued attempts at more hegemony by a single province, more dismemberment, increased oppression, incessant terrorism, more bloodshed, and a catastrophic civil war. Reunification with India is a pipedream left to the romantic foolishness of those who have illusions of a Pak Muttahid Hindustan, Akhand Bharat, or Bharat Mata. Such an endeavor requires the absence of jingoism and a presence of common sense, vision, and modernity exhibited by the founders of the EU. Perhaps future generations of Indians and the citizens of what will be left of Pakistan can attain that level of maturity.

Whether we stay in Pakistan, go it alone, or confederate with like-minded freedom loving Sindhis or Baluchis, there are many steps we can take in the interim. We should stress the obvious – uplifting of our poor citizens in Karachi and Hyderabad. We need to improve our cities’ infrastructure, education, health, public safety, law enforcement, and economies. We need to restore and strengthen our relationships with ethnic Sindhis, Pathans, Baluchis, and Punjabis who have lived in Karachi for generations. We need to revive our traditions of religious tolerance and coexistence and welcome Christians, Hindus, Parsis, and all types of Muslims who wish to live peacefully in our cities. We have to build institutions that are based on secularism, democracy, and a commitment to universal rights to safety, prosperity, and progress.

We can look to Singapore as a model for our evolution. I mention Singapore, not because it resembles Lahore as someone has written before, but because it symbolizes progress, diversity, confidence, discipline, coexistence, and modernity. The eventual fate of Karachi and Hyderabad can only be decided by their inhabitants – in their inalienable right of self-determination.