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This is an archive article published on January 20, 2012
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Opinion The turmoil in Pakistan

Hyderabad's leading daily,Munsif ,in an editorial on January 14,calls the political turn in Pakistan a “misfortune”.

Seema Chishti

January 20, 2012 03:12 AM IST First published on: Jan 20, 2012 at 03:12 AM IST

The turmoil in Pakistan

Hyderabad’s leading daily,Munsif ,in an editorial on January 14,calls the political turn in Pakistan a “misfortune”. Meanwhile,the daily Inquilab,published from Mumbai,Delhi,Lucknow,Kanpur and Bareilly,writes in an editorial titled ‘Gilani aur pareshani’ (Gilani and the worry) on January 14: “The army has shown patience for two reasons. Firstly,the Pakistani army has become demoralised and self-pitying after the American attack on the Osama bin Laden hideout in Abbottabad. Secondly,not just the army,any soldier with common sense knows that a conspiracy is unthinkable,given the crisis facing Pakistan,on the economic and other fronts. Rebellion against a government implies preparedness for governance by the rebels…This is why General Kayani’s army is showing obedience. If the economic condition was better,Gilani and his government would have been thrown out long ago.”

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Rashtriya Sahara writes on January 15,: “The constitution of Pakistan has been amended,like the Indian Constitution was amended after the 1977 general elections,to the effect that emergency cannot be declared under any condition except for a foreign attack. It is not possible for the Pakistan army to wrest power without the approval of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. More importantly,the Pakistani media today is not only independent,it is also against army rule.”

With reservations

SIASAT,in its January 11 editorial,writes: “The Congress-led UPA government thought of reservation right before the five assembly elections…. As soon as the election was announced in Uttar Pradesh,all political parties began wooing Muslims.” Delhi-based daily Jadeed Khabar,has welcomed the stay ordered by the Election Commission on the Centre’s decision of a 4.5 per cent quota for Muslims,out of the OBC quota. Rashtriya Sahara,in its January 13 editorial,has described as “laughable” BJP leader Uma Bharti’s statement that “Islam is a religion of equality and it does not believe in the caste system and differentiation as prevalent in the Hindu samaj,and since quotas are fixed on the basis of caste,Muslims who support this system would,on their own,be out of the Islamic fold,” and her appeal to the Muslim ulema to condemn the Centre’s “anti-Islamic decision”. The paper writes: “Uma Bharti is a Hindu OBC (Lodh Rajput) and she should have known that ‘OBC’ is the abbreviation of Other Backward Classes and not Other Backward Castes… The basis of reservation for Dalits too,is not on the basis of religion but centuries of historical and social injustice… As in other communities,there are forward and backward classes among Muslims. The 27 per cent quota was not meant for any caste.”

Storm over Rushdie

AS the Jaipur Literature Festival (beginning January 20) approaches,the protest by some Muslim organisations against Salman Rushdie’s participation is getting more intense. Many papers have details of the meeting between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram (where Gehlot expressed anxiety over the threat to law and order if Rushdie was allowed to visit Jaipur). ‘Salman Rushdie ka daura-e-Hind mansookh hona tay’ (the cancellation of Salman Rushdie’s India visit a certainty) was the Inquilab headline on January 18. The paper also quotes the BBC,saying that Rushdie’s name is missing from the festival programme. A prominent English daily had,on January 17,reported that Rushdie has been “persuaded to stay away from the literature festival” and “the Booker Prize-winning author’s events were purged from the festival website.”

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Interestingly enough,a prominent Urdu daily,Sahafat,had reported from Jaipur as early as January 14 that “the programme issued by the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival,does not contain the name of the controversial novelist.”

Delhi-based Hamara Samaj’s front page (January 18) had a story headined: ‘Mukhalfat rang laaee: Rushdie ka visa mansookh (opposition bore fruit: Rushdie’s visa cancelled). Regarding Rushdie’s claim that he did not need a visa as he is a PIO,the paper’s correspondent Aamir Saleem Khan has quoted the Rajasthan CM as saying that “the writer did not need a visa,yet the feelings and sentiments of the people would be kept in mind.”