Friday, September 7, 2012
Nusrat Bhai's Problem with PTI
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Aliens, Earthlings and the Universe
The next time you find yourself walking in the dark (power
outage, grid down, headed towards robbing a house, escaping a rapist, running
from the police etc) under the night sky, give a moment or two (depending on
the time you have) to the sky above you and observe the shimmering points of
light we call stars. Look at the moon and feel it’s cool light. Look up and you might be unaware that you are
looking through the window of planet earth’s sky, into the vast and eerily
quiet universe, breathtaking in its beauty and menacingly destructive in its
power.
Now look up and think before resuming your walk that, there
are a trillion or so planets out there, wouldn’t it be stupidly naïve to think
that we are the only living beings who possess cognitive intelligence? What if somebody out there, may be your age,
might be looking up, at you, in the same way you are looking up at the night
sky, in a random direction, may be that extra terrestrial ( alien) lies in that
direction, both of you divided by the barriers of time and space. What if one
day, one of those beings from another galaxy, got smart enough and devised a
smart way to reach your planet. Then what would happen? What would befall your beliefs,
which tell you about man being in the centre of the universe? The alien that
will visit you might or might not believe in a higher deity at all. Its
technology would be far far…I mean...far superior than ours and probably would
be something that our minds can’t even come to grips with. Why? Because it takes a civilization of an
unimaginable power, intelligence to cross the vast intergalactic distances. It
takes the light 2 million years from the nearest Andromeda galaxy to reach our planet
Earth. 2 million years. 2 million years ago, the first species of apes from
which us humans were to evolve appeared. So if you look up again turn your head
to the north east of the sky and observe a certain compressed W pattern, the
faint smudge of light on the right of the upper half of the W is your
Andromeda galaxy ( if you can’t find it
, then don’t worry, most cant!). But,
bear this in mind, the light that is entering your eyes from that faint smudge
of light is already two million years old, when the first of your ancestors
were roaming the plains of Africa, shirtless, pant-less, headphones-less and iPod-less.
Distances are vast; time is limitless, always ticking.
Now look around, you see that old woman, feeble on her legs,
slowly crossing the road, see that unshaven 40-year-old man heading back home,
bills and children’s fees on his mind, take a look at the coolly dressed teen
heading to a friend’s house. Imagine how an alien arrival would affect them.
When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 to Americas, the resulting visitation
of Europeans nearly wiped off the native American-Indian tribes whose bodies didn’t
have any sort of protection against the diseases that the Europeans carried
with them, e.g. small pox. What diseases, what plagues would an alien
visitation bring on earthlings? Ever wondered about that? Monday, July 23, 2012
Reflections in a waiting queue
Saturday, March 31, 2012
To Mourn the Death of a Political Activist
On 27th March, “unidentified persons”, shot dead an MQM activist, within hours of the incident numerous buses, hotels and shops were set ablaze and several casualties were reported in the aftermath of the killing. Then on 29th March, some ANP activist was killed by some “unknown people”.
Those people who think that setting ablaze shops and buses would somehow quench their thirst for vengeance, are wrong, it is not right. It is never right, by any law, by any code or by any moral standard to injure and maim people in vengeful anger and the political parties are utterly and entirely to held in blame for this carnage.
These knights of vengeance forget that when they set about to avenge the death of their comrade, the people would only mourn for the loss of their own personal property or worse their loved ones. Just for the death of two political activists, 7 Karachiites were killed,
is there any justification for that?
I ask you, how many of us actually shed a tear for the death of a political party of any standing. Majority of us do not, because we have other important things to do in life, struggle to earn bread for the family, study for exams or look after kids. Well, if we don’t care as a nation then why does the ticker on the news channels reads like, “ aaj------kay karqun ki halaqat kay sog per Karachi main shutter down hartal”, so are these news channels telling me that the Karachiites are shutting down their businesses and educational institutions as a protest?
As a consequence of strikes and shutter downs Pakistan suffers a loss of 15 billion rupees and Karachi alone suffers a loss of almost 2.5 billion rupees.
Would a hard-pressed shopkeeper actually even think of closing down his shop for a day just because some activist died?
Would a day laborer actually sit at home as a protest against the target killing of some obscure political activist?
Would a CEO actually think of bearing a loss on revenue for a day just because a political activist died?
No, nobody ever does that, except of course the political parties. How can I think of mourning the death of a political activist of any party when my city burns, when my city loses billions of rupees, just because of political chaos? How can shed I tear for those dead activists when innocent patients cannot get treatment because nurses and doctors fail to turn up at the hospital as a result of the strike. How can I grieve the death of those activists, when a day laborer is unable to feed his family because he could not go out to earn money, just because “some political workers died”.
No, in all honesty and sincerity, I would not grieve, mourn, or protest against the death of the political activist if it means chaos and carnage in my city.
We are much intelligent beings then what we consider ourselves to be. As intelligent beings, God has given us brains to analyze and process complex thoughts, surely we can figure out better ways of protesting, but no, we have to kill, maim and torture our own people to avenge the death of our comrade in arms. All I can say is that the Quaid would be disgusted.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Imran Khan and Messiah Politics

It’s a tradition of humanity and not of just individual cultures, that people are always expecting a messiah to come and solve all their problems. When evil has spread everywhere and vice is holding sway, people think that the time is ripe for a messiah to come and solve all their problems.
The messiah factor has come into play repeatedly throughout various millennia. From early age, we are exposed to that messiah culture. Remember Lion King? Simba is shown to be Messianic, as he and only he is entitled to rule and bring prosperity to Pride Rock. Remember Spider Man and Super Man? When the town police just take a doughnut break and let our super-heroes save the day (so much for teaching professionalism to the kids).
In that regards let us discuss Messiah Politics. A politics in which a leader is expected to come to power and solve all the country’s problems and to rid it of all evils and rule justly and wisely. In reality, there never was and there never might be a real political messiah. Politics and Messiah-ship are just two opposite words with different meanings. And yet Political Messiahs have been expected in every country to deliver them from corruption and other evils.
Scenes that the world witnessed when Obama campaigned for the throne of Whitehouse were one of ecstasy and high hopes for a bright future. American society which, in the words of Max Blumenthal is‘permeated by apocalyptic beliefs and the yearning for messianic deliverance’, Obama’s marketing campaign was nothing short than announcing the second coming of Jesus himself. Indeed, he was called “The One” and the “Only Hope” who would bring a massive “Change” in the American society. Indeed the public was awestruck by his rallies and the scenes shown on the television, of people cheering madly and looking upon Obama with utmost reverence were astounding. The word spread out. Obama after sometime was not just seen as the messiah for USA but a Messiah for the whole world. Indeed, it was startling to me that how easily American hegemony was accepted. Where Chachu Bush had failed Obama, even before coming to power had achieved. People from all over the world asked him to solve their countries problems, in other words begging for American Intervention!! At that time in 2008, it was totally acceptable to expect Obama to come to power and begin solving world problems. And, when he ascended the throne of Washington, the scenes of jubilation and joy “around the world” were the ones to remember. Even Alqaeda and the Axis of Evil seemed to think that change was coming and talked about giving him a chance. Such was the enormity of his aura. But then 4 years, thousands of civilian deaths, massive economic earthquakes and foreign policy disasters later, this “Messiah” is fighting for his Presidency and discontent is rampant with protests against Wall Street greed and failed policies are spread across 40 different cities. As one blogger put it, messiah Politics is generally short-lived.
Now come to our very own Messiah. Kaptaan Imran Khan. Indeed the words I have mentioned above, like “ The Only Hope” , “The One” that were used in Obama’s campaign, are now resonating in Kaptaan’s campaign as well. At the time when railways and PIA are practically defunct, poverty, corruption and crimes are at an all time high, it is natural for Pakistani people to seek messianic deliverance. And deliverance they are getting in the shape of Imran Khan. As you see people from all the strata of society gather in millions to listen to Imran’s speeches, you know that change is indeed coming to Pakistan. People are really expecting that Imran Khan alone will solve all the problem good days indeed are just around the corner. Given the Kaptaan’s track record, it might be reasonable enough to expect that, but in reality, chances of massive reforms seem slim. How Imran Khan tackles reforms in education and finance when every single layer of these important institutions of the country is crippled by corruption that has spread to the roots. Until and unless the Kaptaan comes up with a detailed road map of the reforms to be introduced, he will remain just like any other failed messiah, hyped up, disappointing and finally scorned. They say that Mussolini was also seen as the Messiah of Italy’s politics endorsed by Pope Pius himself, but look what happened in the end. Defeated, tortured, shot and his corpse strung upside down in a street of Milan.
Instead of looking for the Messiah, we should find the Messiah in ourselves. Anticipate, change but let’s not leave it to certain people to bring about it. True Revolutions are brought by masses not just leaders.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Islamic Reformation in Pakistan?

We are after all, children of the sun. Adam himself would not have existed if the sun did not shine its rays on Earth, thus triggering life creating processes, processes that created bacteria, which evolved into quadrupeds, then bipeds, the evolution culminating with the ‘creation of man’ ( Ashraful Makhluqat).
Now, I have just written a few lines and I am already guilty of heresy by accepting evolution. Now I must await the proclamation of my excommunication by the religious zealots of Pakistan. It is funny, that the fatwa in Pakistan is subject to how much you have to feed the Mullah to keep him quiet.
Less Money More Fatwa.
That is where we stand. We might call for revolution in politics but the real revolution in our character is still asleep, somewhere, in the middle of nowhere. People who choose to follow the tradition of Averroes (Ibn-e-Rushd) and Avicenna (Ibn-e- Sina) rather than the tradition of Taimur or Ghaznvi are a rarity in this country of ours. In fact, the rise of militant conservative Islam corresponds directly with the reformation of Europe and the rise of the Colonial Powers.
From the days of its inception, Islam more or less has had militant minded adherents. Not that it’s a bad thing (militancy is crucial to a religion or state’s ascendancy to power-Materialism 101) but our militancy has always led to our decline. Take the crusades for example. Though a military victory, it was a strategic disaster for the Muslims because all the knowledge flowed from the east to the dark and dingy universities of Europe where it was used to reform the religious beliefs and the society, thereby ushering medieval Europe in to the Golden Age, while the Muslims gloried themselves in swords and cannons. Militancy is not a problem of religion but a problem originating with its adherents.
It has been proven repeatedly that religion alone cannot bind people together, because every time it does, things like democracy, freedom of speech and human rights start to creep in, which subsequently leads to death and destruction.
I am not against religion, what I am against is, is the use of religion to exploit the masses. Whether sacrificing humans (war prisoners) in an Aztec Temple, bringing down the walls of Jericho by the ancient Jews, murder of hundreds of thousands of women on suspicion of being witches by the Christian ecclesia, or using suicide bombers to target people on the streets in the name of Allah, the most beneficent and the most merciful, religion has always been exploited.
The common people have always been exploited and led to ‘believe’ that their faith alone is the right one. Who to believe and who not to believe, that’s a question that ultimately rests in the hands of an individual but sadly for a Pakistani, this decision is taken away from his hands and placed in the hands of a chosen few who dictate our beliefs.
These elites in order to fool people, sometimes attempt to combine science and religion, therefore those scientific ideas that are compatible with the dominant religion are acceptable while those that question the religious tenets are deemed heretical. Thus using Quranic texts in our grade 9 and 10 science books to compensate for verifiable scientific facts is nothing short of funny. Averroes and Ibn-e- Sina would be laughing. It seems that the Quran today is used to explain everything except existing and declining social morals, which it was solely revealed for. Somehow, we turn a blind eye towards ayahs about honesty, dealings with neighbors and how to change ourselves.
It seems to me that the “Ummah” is one confused lot. And this confusion is visible in mass conversions from the Muslim faith in the Middle East and some other countries. Also, the oft-repeated statement that Islam is the fastest growing religion is true, not because of missionary success but our exploits on the bed. Thus in my opinion an Islamic reformation is overdue. Especially in Pakistan, this reformation is super overdue because no nation is as caught up in an identity crisis than ours. On one hand, we have a thoroughly secular Supreme Court of Pakistan and on the other hand is the Federal Sharia Court, which is thoroughly steeped in Islamic orthodoxy. The existence of two judicial systems in one country is indeed laughable if not downright nonsensical.
So why don’t we abandon this confusion and just follow the Quaid’s vision, which was to create a free secular society where everybody is free to go to his temple , mosque or whatever his or her place of worship is.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Spiritually, Morally and Politically Corrupt.
So, do you notice eerie similarities between the Constantinople of 1453 and the Pakistan and Muslim World of today? Both of them being involved in stupid religious debates. Both having a corrupt bureaucracy and religious clergy (The Emperor of Constantinople was at least good- nonetheless a bit foolish).
It’s disgusting that how the name of Prophet is now being used to take revenge, spill blood and grab acres of land. I believe that instead of imposing that black law on the non-Muslims, this law should be struck on those who are much more effectively defiling the name of the Prophet. It’s equally heart wrenching to view the different comments that are being posted on major news sites and forums ( one reader said, 'Islam, religion of Peace. And Love. Haha'). And honestly, who can fault these people. Obviously, the wrong version of Islam is being presented to them and they have every right to express their disgust. It’s funny that those Muslims who choose to spread Islam through the Jihad of Pen are now branded as Heretics. Shame.
But on the positive side, the religious parties have yet to gain majority in the National Assembly, which suggests that the people don’t support them much, but here lies the conundrum. Although the religious parties don’t get much votes from the people, but still the people are so conservative. For further explanation, do read this article on Dawn website http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/05/facebook-praise-for-taseers-assassination.html.
Where are we heading? What is our future? These are questions that wannabe news analysts love to ask. Well the answer is, annihilation, or at least becoming an American Colony or being merged back into India. I mean look at the situation, the Pashtuns are hinting towards creating a separate state for themselves merging both parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Then the Balochis are even more enthusiastic about their independence. And the Sindhi nationalists do hope for their own homeland ( although they say that very very quietly, but a stupid slur by Zulfiqar Mirza was a big hint). That leaves Punjab, which is hated by all three provinces. Coupled with that we have the religious fanatics attacking in every corner of the country and the Americans are persistently saying Do More Do More. If we don’t change our attitude and our beliefs then get ready for destruction because then the world community wont remove Pakistan because it’s a Nuclear Muslim State. No. It would wipe off Pakistan for the sake of humanity and no one will ever object to that. Don’t let 1453 happen to us.


