The Final Nail

OCTOBER 2004 - I suppose we should all be grateful to Ch. Shujaat for driving one of the final nails in the coffin of Mr. Jinnah’s legacy, that is whatever little is left of it. An industrious nation like ours has wasted no time in undoing all that the founder of this country believed in and since all the aberrations that have been committed have been solemnly done in his name, it makes the whole charade uniquely disgusting.

For many weeks now there have been press advertisements and city banners strung up on roads where only government sponsored banners can flutter, all exhorting the Pakistani leadership to complete the ideological mission of the country’s founding fathers and transport to this pure land the mortal remains of one Ch. Rehmat Ali. This gentleman is credited with coining the name of Pakistan, a claim that is disputed by Mr. Khattak in the NWFP who is still around and who dismisses this claim to fame. The good Chaudhry lies six feet under in some undoubtedly well-tended graveyard in Cambridge as per his wishes. The print advertisement – I saw only one large one but there must have been more, originated from many gents all of who carried the all-important pre fix of the name that spells power these days. This advertisement hailed the bold and courageous step taken by the Prime Minister who was filling in while we selected and then elected another one and praised his decision of transporting the remains of Chaudhry Sahib back to the country that carries the name he created. I am told by learned folk that while these Chaudhries seem to be from the same power block that rules the land, they are possibly from another racial stock. There are Jats and there are Gujjars and which one is which, I am afraid I do not know, having always been poor at genetical engineering. Enough that as he served his Ripley’s Believe It or Not 45 day terms as the Prime Minister and the only one to complete his term successfully, without being hanged, dismissed, booted out, deposed or exiled, he had enough time to pass this historic order that required the country to make all arrangements for what we have been discussing up above. It would be interesting to find out who or which lobby was instrumental in having this order passed because while the move has generated enough heat in the media and wherever sensible people still converge, there has hardly been a meow about the order that the then PM passed as quickly as he could.

From all accounts it is a bad decision. There has been a spate of letters and articles condemning this latest slur on Mr. Jinnah’s name and legacy. Informed writers have quoted from historical records to make their point. Their contention is that firstly, Ch. Rehmat Ali’s claim to the all-important coinage is disputed. Secondly, he was more than critical of Mr. Jinnah and his policies, choosing instead to heap insult and abuse over him on more than one occasion. Thirdly, he visited Pakistan after its creation, took one look at it and threw up his hands in horror. That having been achieved he is reported to have expressed contempt for Mr. Jinnah’s creation and declared that he would not like to live for a moment longer in this parody of what was his great vision of Pakistan. Having got that off his chest, he caught the nearest steamer, plane or whatever it was that could ferry him back double quick time to his beloved England, which is where he was till his time ran out. Is this all true or fiction? Everyone has already spoken and written about it, but the alarming number of government-sponsored or at least government-encouraged banners that have been going up clearly implies that the story has not come to an end. From the strident tones of the language it is quite obvious that these gents, whoever they are, are determined to succeed and if Ch. Shujaat gave his blessing and approval formally whilst still ruling the poultry farm in Islamabad, then who is going to stop this pantomime? Not the ones who made the orders possible to start with you can be sure of.

Of course given the fact that we have made mockery of everything Mr. Jinnah fought for and believed in, this last act would fit in quite well. Mr. Jinnah’s portraits hang just about everywhere, usually in front of which men and women rob this country with a zeal that would shame the most hardened mercenary in the whole wide world. His words have been taken out of context, the text bastardized, the meanings grotesquely twisted and tell tale passages simply excised out of collective conscience or whatever it is that passes for that blessed state. The men and women who have ruled this land in his name and in furtherance of his ideals have all been turncoats and hypocrites who sought and found glory, loot and pleasure while the poor have simply been ground into the dirt. The motto that Mr. Jinnah left this country, faith, unity and discipline have all been gang raped by marauding leaders all working under divine instructions and for the greater good of the Pakistani nation. Therefore, it is no surprise that Miss Jinnah’s electoral victory was turned into a defeat, that men and women of substance were sidelined and relegated to nothingness and the country became the concubine of greedy usurpers. Mr. Jinnah’s mountain retreat in Ziarat – the same that adorns our bank notes and TV screen logos, has to be seen to be believed. Some may say it is just another old building whose good days are over – after all there is his lordship in Lahore who thinks nothing about pulling down the old fossil, but as The Residency in Ziarat crumbles, decays and rots like the founder’s memory and his teachings, there is no remorse or shame right across the land. It is one more brick coming down. Party on. Therefore, why shouldn’t Ch. Rehmat Ali’s remains be brought to his beloved Pakistan? What is stopping us from then burying him with full State honours next to the founder of Pakistan? Why not indeed? There will be no shortage of hired hands that will extol the great virtues of deceased and praise to the sky his vision and courage to strike out for a great new country. As for those who are in power, propelled to high places far beyond their wildest dreams, who owe their newly gained status and success to master puppet controllers, they will be only too happy to do their creators’ bidding. After all, this is the way things work. People like Mr. Jinnah have no place in the Pakistan of the 21st century. That was another age and that was another race.