50
13.
ARE WE
CIVILISED ?
Imagine one
stops one’s car/ vehicle at a chemist’s shop to purchase life saving drugs for
one’s near relations who is in a hospital in a critical condition . That drug could save the patient’s life . Also imagine when one turns around to find
one’s way blocked by another vehicle whose driver has left the scene for hours. Any driver has often been
confronted by such incidents . And if
perchance the driver of the offending vehicle while one is foaming at the mouth
comes , often he does not utter a word of remorse . Usually it ends in a quarrel
.
Once my son was ‘ marooned’ for four hours because he made a
mistake of parking in the District Courts , Islamabad . He was rescued when the
owner of his car came .
And imagine one is driving in a lane meant for slow drivers .
Suddenly a vehicle zooms in front from the wrong side often hurling the
choicest words which could tongawalas to shame .
A landlord belonging to Southern Punjab set his dogs on a
four year old for stealing onions . Two
incidents , one related to Sindh and
another from Baluchistan , came to our notice through the media in which groups
of young girls were buried alive . When the media raised concerns , the all
powerful landlords said that that were the customs in their areas . It is reminiscent
of pagan Arabs who used to bury their daughters alive at the time of the birth
of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) . Incidentally I
have often compared us with those pagans regardless of the fact that we are Muslims.
I am grateful to Allah that I was born in a civilized society
. I enjoyed an additional benefit that my father and before him my ancestors
were educated and townspeople . Therefore , we did not know the existence of
such horrid customs till the media them to our notice .
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Odious and ruthless customs prevail viz. Karo Kari , Sawara
and Vani in the South of the Punjab ,
Khyber Pathunkuwa , Sindh and Baluchistan . All these customs are man-made to
benefit man at the expense of the weaker sex. Exploitation is abhorrent to
Islam . Hence such customs have no place in Islam .Had we read the Last Sermon
of the Holy Prophet ( Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him ) , we would
have been desisting from following those wretched customs ? Similarly the
beheading of our soldiers who were ambushed by the Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan is
odious , inhuman and callous . Was that an Islamic act ? No Muslim however wicked he or she may be can , stoop to this level .
Twice I encountered people who took the law into their own
hands . The first occasion was when I was sitting with a policeman. A man was
led by a group of people . The leader of the group introduced himself and
explained that the unfortunate man was a thief . Thereupon every person in the
police chowki took turns to beat him . I thought if Pakistan was civilized
country , the man could claim for damages from the courts .
Another incident occurred when I was visiting a farm in the
company of the owner . The gate of the farm was opened late . The owner flew
into a rage and beat the foreman very callously and simultaneously uttering the
choicest words . Believe me , my visit was ruined . Unlike the secular and the
capitalist west , serfdom is still existence in the rural areas in the land of
the pure . Those poor people are inhumanly treated by their masters.
No one can aptly
describe the ordeal for obtaining justice than the recently retired Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Pakistan . Unlike the
Islamic system for obtaining a quick justice , it is a trying affair because
the legal system in Pakistan is based on the Anglo- Saxon Penal Code .
We learn from various
sources that the US President himself answers all letters addressed to him .
Not only he , but all the US Senators
and Members of the House of Representative are supposed to reply to individual
letters addressed to them . Once a cousin living in Canada told me to write a
letter to the local MNA
52
requesting him to pay attention to a specific problem which
was being faced by the people of Rawalpindi . I replied that I did see his face
during the elections . However , I wrote him a letter . I was never
disappointed . I knew that no reply would come from him . It is not done in
Pakistan howsoever lofty promises .
Not only that , colleagues and friends at one time forget . Once or twice I wrote letters to a
famous columnist whose columns on social
issues grace every Sunday’s “ The News” because I knew him from Cadet College ,
Hasan Abdal days my alma mater . My letters were not even acknowledged . On the
contrary people not adhering to Islam ,
invariably replied . Once or twice , I wrote letters to the late Mr. Ardesher
Cowasjee . He always replied . I sent emails to the American hospitals or
Universities for my late son , Mustafa . They replied were within hours of the
despatch . Similarly the Australian Universities replied very promptly .
I am sorry for all decent
people and members of the educated civil society for writing this. . But
what if any educated person behaves like a buffoon as happened in the recent
past when a group began fighting in the courts
. Or on the hundred plus Pakistan TV Channels . How can explain the
rowdy behavior of the guests or the anchor person . Or when the guests and the
hosts talk together and audience cannot make out what was being said .
Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
May 07, 2014
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