Pulse 95.3 – stopped.
I stopped tuning in to the local desi FM channels a while ago, when the anti-Pakistan bias became too pronounced to be ignored, when the RJs (or whatever they are calling them today) became ever more unbearable and their linguistic shortcomings began to catch up with the grey-matter shortfall in their heads too frequently, and when most of the music they played fell under explicit or implicit shirk – this seemed to have been the latest fad in bollywood ‘lyrics’, where every next song had a couplet declaring some kind of blasphemy like “Rab deewana huwa” or “Rub bhulaney ko dil chahe” or whatever it was they said.
It was quite convenient for me to stop listening to these stations, of which there are no less than five, simply because my CD collection is diverse enough and entertaining enough for me. I inserted a Tina Sani, a Fuzon, a Junaid Jamshed, a Jesse Cook, and a compilation of Pakistani music in the magazine months ago and have not felt the need to replace those CDs with others from even my own collection during this period. Sometimes, when I do not feel like listening to music, I turn the volume down and listen to the magic of my own voice in my head, or to BBC. I have hardly ever had to tune in to the obnoxious mind-rot that are desi FM stations.
I was stuck in traffic yesterday, and on an impulse switched to the desi presets on my FM2, just in time to catch a certain listener Mr. Murali calling in to the show on at the time. The show is hosted by some young chap, who is still finding his bearings in the big bad world of media, but he tries his best and when he makes mistakes, they are honest; so you forgive him. Now he hosts a sports show, where he puts a question to the audience and people call in – the standard formula, and the standard irritating callers with their ‘expert’ opinions. This Murali character, however, had other things in mind.
He launched into a tirade against Pakistan, and suggested that Pakistan be boycotted by ICC just the way South Africa was in the past for its apartheid policies. He believed that this was the only way to teach a lesson to Pakistan, and though, in his view, Bangladesh would be the only country to oppose such a move (his assumption quite obviously rooted in the fact that Muslim countries would stick together, which if had been the case Israel would have been a small city in the suburbs of New York, but that is another discussion – at this point it only laid bare his hatred for Muslims), ICC ought to push ahead with the boycott having the (financial) might and clout of Indian cricket at its back.
I was shocked. And incensed – that he had the audacity to spew his hatred on air in this country as if he were sitting in Narender Modi’s Gujrat; that the radio station allowed this hateful speech to continue and end in its own time, and that they failed to denounce the caller and his views and distance themselves from those views in the strongest terms immediately after the call.
After years of believing that calling into radio stations with one’s views was a futile exercise, and a complete wastage of time and money, I began to dial the number of the radio station frantically, hoping for the call to get through, willing it to get through, only to discover that he was to be the last caller of the day for the program. The call left a bad taste in my mouth, and a few hundred of kilos of fury, disgust and utter disdain for any and all Murali like characters I encountered after that call – and since I was in Dubai, and stuck in a traffic jam, I had possible Muralis all around me. I have a feeling I managed to not succumb to road rage, but only just. I did roll down my windows, made sure the Pakistan flag hanging from my center view mirror was prominently visible, and contrary to my usual driving habits refused to offer any courtesy to any Muralis. It did not help at all.
I was looking for confrontation yesterday, and daring any and all. Fortunately for all parties involved no-one took me up on my offer; not even the guy sitting at the coffee shop in Bur Juman, whom I gave the full honor of listening to my incensed recounting of the incident to a friend and then proceeded to stare down in person. The raging fury simmered down to seething anger, and I stayed determined to address the offense.
So I waited, and called the radio station today; and while I stayed polite and within confines of acceptable language on air, I got the whole thing out of my system. Here is how the conversation went:
I called, and the RJ answered. He asked if he could put me on hold for sometime, and I told him he could as long as he did not put me on hold for a half hour. He declared that he would only put me on hold for a couple of hours, to which I assured him it would not be a problem as long as it were not a half hour. It was bad humor, granted, but it broke the ice. He promised to call me back in a few minutes, and I rallied my thoughts in the meantime.
And then, the call came. I had been listening to the previous callers on the topic of the day, so when he asked my opinion, I told him, my opinion had already been stated quite accurately, and that I liked his program and how he conducted it (not a complete lie), but that I had a few concerns to share, and I would share them if he did not disconnect my call and let me complete. He promised he would not and would respectively.
At this point, I brought up the Murali moron’s call, and reminded him of what he had said and asked for. I made it clear that I had expected the Radio station to come up with damage control after the call, and for them to distance themselves from the zealot’s views. I let him know how disappointed in the radio station I was, and how offended by the call I was as a Pakistani listener, and since the radio station had not replied to the zealot’s views, I felt compelled to offer a response.
At this point, I half expected them to cut me short, but due credit to the guys for playing fair this time and letting the Pakistani rebuttal through as well.
I started by asserting that if there were indeed a nation on Earth today which needed to be ostracised from International sporting activities for its aparthied like policies, it was India and not Pakistan. Here we have a country, where a mass murderer like Narendera Modi is elected to the office of chief minister twice through democratic procedure of voting; Narendera Modi, the guy who was refused a visa by even the United States because of his involvement in the genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, and here he was being elected! So, the majority who voted for this man condoned his actions, and rewarded him for his murderous role. Quite obviously, he was being elected not despite but because of his role in the savage murder of 2000+ Muslims in ’secular’ India. What happened to the Christians in Orissa was not hidden from anyone, and the Dalits – the untouchables – have been ostracised from Indian (read Hindu) society for much of the past two thousand years – their crime? Born to the wrong parents in the wrong caste. Until and unless, India set the record straight and understood what was meant by the word Secular, India needed to be boycotted from all international events and communities.
What I forgot to add was the fact that while Pakistan is labeled with all kinds of unflattering titles, and presented as the hot bed of terrorist and extremist activity, the fact remains that in the 60-year history of the country, the extremist mullahs have never formed the National Government. We have borne the brunt of military dictators, but we have steered clear of voting the fire-brand mullahs into the executive offices of the country. The MMAs and the JUI, for all their posturing and political activity, have always been marginalized in every election. The people of Pakistan have never voted in an extremist party, while in India, on the contrary, the BJP/RSS/Shiv Sena nexus has formed national government more than twice in the last two decades despite its hate filled agenda. Who then needed to be ostracized for aparthied – a people who resolutely denounce extremism every time they go to the ballots, or a people who reward their murderous zealots with re-election for their bloody achievements?
It did not matter though.
I am sorry I had to make that call. I am sorry I had to say things which my friends from India, and I have some very dear Indian friends – Muslims, and Non-Muslims both, might have found offensive and objectionable. But I am also happy that I spoke up today when I should have spoken up and when I needed to speak up.
I hate no-one, and I respect the sovereignty and the honor of every nation, including India. I object not to the near-complete oblivion of these radio stations to the fact that there is good Pakistani music being made all the time, and I do not even object to displays of an Indian patriotism by these radio stations even though when they are to be neutral radio stations catering to the Urdu/Hindi segment of this country and region, which roughly is split 45/55 Pakistanis and Indians, since most South Indians listen to radio stations in their own language. But when someone brings up my country, they had better show the same respect they expect from me for their country, or more.
Else, I intend to come out all guns firing every time they fire a shot this way.
this is probably the longest post i have read word to word till date. you have a very cool blog:)
and about the radio stations – you’re right even though they claim to be neutral, they’re most definitely not. they spend the first half of 14th august celebrating the pakistani independence day, and then the rest of 14th august marking the eve of the indian independence day (also the next 5 days) I too have many indian friends and dont hate anyone, but the cricket updates are so obviously partial, they make me want to punch them in the face. and no not punch literally – maybe with a phonecall liek you
humairahumaira
January 6, 2009 at 11:55 am
Humairahumaira:
Thank you for visiting the blog, and for reading the complete post. Thank you also for the kind words. Most encouraging really.
Frankly, I think they have stopped even making the pretense that they are neutral. They are Indian, in effect catering only to 50% of their target market.
Quite often they seem to even forget where they are stationed. Take for instance the example of how the Mumbai attacks were practically covered 24/7, while there is a deafening silence on the unprecedented tragedy that is Gaza. Every Muslim, Arab or not, whom I have met has been fuming and furious about the inhumane invasion of Gaza, yet you do not hear even ONE WORD about Gaza outside of news coverage. To me it implies their implicit approval and support of Israeli actions – the India/Israeli nexus is no great secret, and the where the Hindu sympathies lie in this context is no secret either.
The cricket coverage is an altogether different story. Even that Sri Lankan embarrassment, Fred or whatever his name is, belies a clear anti-Pakistan bias in his coverage. No matter where a match is poised, he is always found calculating the odds of a Pakistani loss. And the glee in his voice when Pakistan team does get into trouble is un-mistakeable. I sometimes wonder if he is Tamil.
At the end of the day, the blame rests with us – all of those who tune in to these radio stations and call in and allow them to think they can have the Pakistani audience despite their shameful policies.
knicq
January 7, 2009 at 9:46 pm
you’re absolutely right. their different attitudes towards the mumbai and gaza attacks is so obvious- i remember when they were covering the mumbai attacks 24/7, I was left wondering why they didn’t give even a small fraction of this attention to all the attacks on pakistan – we had the lal masjid incident which went on for sometime – where were they then? Im not saying what happened in mumbai wasnt a big deal, but how come it was a bigger deal than what happens in Pakistan on a regular basis?
oh is that cricket commentator sri lankan? I think his name is eric or something. i always thought he was (south) indian bcos his favorite line is “Pakeestan in alll sorrrrts of troubul”.
humairahumaira
January 8, 2009 at 12:37 am
Huzoor-e-wala, you surpass yourself, an excellent update, and one with which, as I am sure you know, I wholeheartedly concur. Your rejoinder to Murali was spot-on; hopefully he and his ilk can now go and hide back in whatever hole they crawled out of!
From a creed and race that has institutionalised racism and apartheid for 4,000 years, which has oppressed more innocent humans than any other through all of recorded history and which still is, beneath its sheen, a racist and xenophobic place, such comments are cheeky indeed…even ironic.
Humairahumaira: LOL! Your description of ‘Eric’ is so apt, I can almost hear his annoying twang and his whiny accent just reading your words…!
The issue though is that this particular channel (the one that covers live cricket – am not going to name the channel or its frequency to provide with it unwarranted free publicity amongst the thousands of readers of this website) is actually meant to be a ‘Pakistani’ station, but is hardly that. All the others are decidedly far worse!
I stopped listening to all five of them after the first 10 minutes of their pathetic, biased and limp coverage of the Bombay (there’s no such place as “mumb-land” or whatever in my book, the name’s Bombay) events. I had never seen a lame xmas pantomime get so much attention – what’s the world coming to, eh?!
What's in one?
January 8, 2009 at 7:33 pm
so what happens now?
adnan.
January 8, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Humairahumaira: Like I said, these channels no longer even pretend to be neutral. How can any channel be neutral if it relies on that sensationalist embarrassment to journalism, Zee News, for its news? Oh yes, his name is Eric – the Srilankan commentator. He had an Anti-Pakistan bias even when he was covering the West-Indies/Pakistan matches. I really am curious to know what his drivers are.
What’s in one?: Huzoor-e-wala, granted, but what’s in multiple? After all this is your third nick, and in all fairness, I must confide in you – I liked the ones starting with Ms better
You sum it all up succinctly. I have had it with being polite and all accommodating while these self righteous champions of all things apartheid point fingers at us.
LOL@ Lame Xmas Pantomime… I have yet to find a more apt term to define that self inflicted wound they had initially tried to call their own 9/11…
Adnan: One hopes better sense will prevail as less people forget to be nice, and more people remember to stand and deliver when someone thinks he/she can point a finger at their nation.
In other events, hopefully another post happens.:)
knicq
January 11, 2009 at 4:51 am
Full marks for your scathing remarks & music collection too!
If only all of us took action when needed. It is infuriating that the Pakistani govt. continues to sit like lame ducks & accept India’s absurd allegations! We expect the West & Obama to condemn/stop the holocaust run by Israel when none of our “Muslim” leaders have shown an ounce of responsibility. Apparently, calling for fancy summits and saying a few rosey words there is all that we are good for.
If only, I was there at ground zero instead of sounding tough here in cyber space. Sigh!
Mahwish
January 11, 2009 at 10:46 am
Mahwish: Apparently, my scathing remarks shut down a radio station! Isn’t that amazing? I am only beginning to find out how much influence I wield. Perhaps I should call Israel and lambaste them as well eh?
Or perhaps the zealot mafia pulled the plug on their advertising funds for letting my call go on – but you can’t convince me it wasn’t my call that did it.
Post hoc fallacy? I think not.
I am so happening!
knicq
January 12, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Did the station finish? Really…when did that happen?
Well done. I think you really do need to make that call to Tel Aviv….
What's in one?
January 12, 2009 at 4:58 pm
COOOL!
I have a couple of other numbers i’d like you to call if this is the case.
Mahwish
January 13, 2009 at 3:33 pm
asak everyone !
i really feel bad for what has happend on air. i think its not the rjs fault bcoz whatever the people are telling its there own point of view.
but to tell u the truth pulse 95.3 was a very informative channel. i am a housewife and i use to get all info thru this radio station only.
i really wish they come out with a solution to this probs sooooooon. inshallah.
femi
January 14, 2009 at 10:19 am
What’s in one: From the search queries which are leading people to this blog, it appears the station went off air on January 12th – six days after this post.
I have been trying the Tel Aviv number, but it appears the MOSSAD guys have informed them of what that call can lead to, and now they have caller ID. Either that or they are too busy on the other line thanking the US, EU, and OIC for their unstinting support in wiping out a people.
Mahwish: Send them in habibti. I give you esbeshal brize: AED 500 each call.
Femi: Wa Alaikum Assalam. Quite obviously, it was an ugly episode; however the RJ did have the responsibility to ensure hateful opinions such as Mr. Murali’s either did not get through on air, or if they did, there was an immediate and strong rebuttal to such opinions. A lame “We should not be so negative” is hardly that.
I find it hard to swallow that any of these channels is informative – the information they give out hardly, if at all, strays from the pathetic lot of bollywood; and when it does, it is almost always biased and prejudiced. Really, there is so much more to life (and music) than bollywood.
Even BBC, with its skewed perspective, is an infinitely better option for information gathering than any of these channels. FM 87.9, might I suggest? In the least, they do not flout all canons of good language so very blatantly.
For the record, they are out of business for financial problems, quite possibly NOT brought about by my call
knicq
January 14, 2009 at 11:49 am
Well done.
I’m proud of you as a fellow Pakistani and also as a fellow neutrality believer.
Desi stations suffer from a very severe lack of the knowledge of what ‘desi’ means. I think they assume it means ‘Indian’.
Honestly, you really want to sick it to ‘em? Lets start a Pakistani radio station. Its possible, it will sell and it WILL be neutral. Why? Because most of my Pakistani friends and colleagues love desi music (from any country in the subcontinent) and would like a more balanced play list.
Support is extremely easy if you have the connections, and given your calling magic, and our links we can do this.
Anthony
January 16, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Apparently the radio station was shut down due
to ‘frequency issues’- you might’ve have already read abt this:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/543459-amg-closes-popular-hindi-radio-station
Sib
January 18, 2009 at 9:07 am
Anthony: A great idea indeed. Except, the Radio station actually did start as quite a neutral radio station alternating between Pakistani, Indian AND ENGLISH music! They called it Awaz then, and it used to be a different frequency as well. It was a breath of fresh air – and then suddenly they decided to go all retro!
My guess is the Hindu zealot weighed in – the business community is predominantly RSS/Shiv Sainik – and the advertising money dried up.
The Pakistani segment of listeners might be neutral, but most of the Indian segment is hardly neutral. Plus, I am not really sure people listening to the trash that are desi radio stations even appreciate anything that is not the disgrace that is most of bollywood music. Bad lyrics, plagiarized tunes, and with the new breed of singers, even worse pronounciation!
I am all for starting a Pakistani radio station – or even a neutral one. My only condition will be to have RJs checked for grey matter, and put through a rigorous training where the sanctity of a language, any language, and importance of speaking a language correctly is drilled into them
Sib: Thanks for putting the ‘frequency issues’ in commas. If you have been in the UAE long enough, you will know that when they say it were not financial issues that shut them down, it quite likely WERE financial issues that shut them down.
knicq
January 18, 2009 at 2:09 pm
hi to all
well i read your first blog i do agree with you at some extant as being Pakistani i do get hurt when that Murli episode get on air but as you sa that is last call but only differnce betwen u and me is that u call them again day after that i couldntable to do that for that hats off to u bieng neutral i belive some time they do croos thier line like special in cricket or any event or terror attack took place in Pakistan it not only Lal Masjid or even woest attack of all Mariot which been condoum by more of every one even i have some friends from who condumed it any way its feel good that we now can spek our heart out atleast here
Dani
January 20, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Dani: Thank you for stopping by. I think it is important that we begin to assert ourselves as a nation and make our presence felt . And when I say we assert ourselves as a nation, i mean we assert ourselves as the Muslim nation.
Not only do we need to speak up every time we see a wrong, we need to see where we go and spend our money as customers, whom we give our money as advertisers, and where we direct our investments as individuals as well as countries.
1.6 Billion is a BIG market, and when you add the fact that this 1.6 billion includes some of the richest people as well as countries of the world, it becomes clear that we can be a great force – one no-one would want to displease, especially in these times when everyone needs more business, more people buying their produce.
If, today, people in the GCC countries alone stopped buying the American cars, and even Japanese cars made in America, Detroit’s big three would be begging for another bail-out, and the Toyota, Nissan and Honda guys would be quick to scale down their manufacturing plants in the US.
I am ashamed to admit today that I own an American car – even if it is made in Korea, and even if I bought it a couple of years ago – but my next car is not going to be an American – even if it is cheap, comes with long warranties and a big engine – I’ll settle for a Japanese car. Or Korean. Or German. Or Malaysian. And I will make sure they don’t get my money for a car they went to America or Australia to make in.
Coming back to these Radio Stations – they should get a lot more calls like mine, so that they know half of their listeners are Pakistanis and never forget it. Have you noticed that not once during the day do you get News in decent Urdu? And this when any neutral listener would admit that Urdu is more readily understood, and is easily the more cultured language.
Have you noticed that despite being in a Muslim country, in an Arab country, these radio stations do not even show the basic courtesy to Adhaan? How else do you disrespect your host?
Even the malls have the decency to sound the adhaan when the time for prayers comes, and the mall outlets routinely turn down the music to show their respect to this integral part of the country’s religious and cultural character. But these radio stations, with the exception of the less obnoxious Hum FM, do not feel the need to show this basic courtesy… they should broadcast adhaan, but in the least they should NPOT play music at the time of adhaan.
More callers need to address this issue.
I believe even the concerned government bodies should also intervene, and if these radio stations fail to show courtesy, they should be made to observe respect for Islamic values in an Islamic country – or they should be sent packing.
knicq
January 24, 2009 at 12:00 am
indeed a great post Nadeem & youre happening!
I hope youre aware that people lost their jobs with it..just like innocent peole die in wars.
RJ
January 31, 2009 at 7:56 pm
RJ: Thank you for the compliments.
I am aware that people lost their jobs with Pulse closing down, and I find that very unfortunate. Especially, since this was the only radio station where at least one got to hear some decent language – and not the atrocious pronunciation we are subjected to by the other radio stations. I take no delight in that unfortunate turn of events – I am quite sure I have not really contributed to that development either.
In the conspiracy theory world, if it were indeed my call that shut this station down, then we have a much bigger problem on our hands than we realize. Don’t we?
There is always the fact that these RJs were brought in for Awaz which was a station focusing on Pakistani music alongside Indian and English music.
I am hoping this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for these people, and for the audiences, and we will see this lot spear-heading a new trend in radio stations. A more balanced and more entertaining trend.
Here is wishing them all the very best.
knicq
January 31, 2009 at 8:56 pm
whoevr has written the above is v insuler and narrow minded. this typical pakistani thinking is self distructive. its harm more to pakistan, pakistan is a failed country poised to doom. look inside pakistan the above writter should ponder over the pakistan’s dark future, unless pakistan relaizes that it has the problem (in the basic philosophy) no body can save it even its god (usa)
tipu
February 2, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Thank you for your verdict Tipu. I am not surprised you find my thinking insular – whatever it is that you mean by it – and narrow minded. Most Indians would find any opinion in defense of Pakistan and any bit of information which shows India its own ugly face in the mirror to be quite insular and narrow minded.
I am sure you think that Murali character was being open minded in asking for Pakistan to be banned from sporting activities just as South Africa was for apartheid.
The rest of your comment is vague and rhetorical at best. Perhaps you would like to elaborate just what kind of thinking you mean by ‘this typical Pakistani thinking’.
Pakistan’s basic philosophy is The Two Nation Theory, which is given ever more credence every time Hindu India turns on one of its minorities.
Perhaps, you as an Indian feel the right to predict the doom of other countries on the back of the economic development that India has witnessed for some years now.
India is at the same time still the country where 7000 people, mostly unborn children, are murdered EVERYDAY for being the wrong gender, and continues to be one of the very few countries in the world with a negative female-male ratio; 93:100 as against the world average of 105:100.
. Just on this one very grave element of modern India, do watch and read here, here, and here.
What the future holds for both countries remains to be seen. The present looks bleak enough for India.
Stop worrying about Pakistan. We came along despite the worst opposition 60 years ago, and we will be there long after you get comfortable with the idea. Insha Allah.
knicq
February 4, 2009 at 12:28 am
hi well Mr.Tipu i am not shock to read your reply if you go through your own view then you yourself come to knw how has which thinking
Dani
February 4, 2009 at 2:32 pm
oh wow that was one sick call, actually what I noticed after Mumbai incident the behavior of Indians suddenly got very hostile towards Pakistan , even those people who used to stay calm in times of tension. I luved your post and the comments, only difference in my way of approach is I don’t care what’s going on in their country right now I am just too worried about our own mess. Its good to know thing but for me its our backyard we need to cleanup first, let them say whatever they want, but u did well to call that channel.
Anyways were u referring to 106.2 (Hum FMs) cricket commentary? Hate it oh btw but that’s the only desi channel I listen to if I ever get a chance and that too Sobia Khans show
, I think she is from our land
Saadie
February 19, 2009 at 10:58 am
No hard feelings but all this anti-India hate talk is coming from jealousy. You can’t stand the fact that your neighbor (which you were part of until 60 years ago) has gone from nowhere to somewhere. Well, we are on the map now and can proudly call ourselves ‘from India’on the steets of London, New York, or Kuala Lumpur. Look at our economy, need I say anything else?
I agree with you on the anti-minority stance that some small pockets subscribe to. It is to say the least ‘pathetic.’ But what you fail to see and aknowledge is muslims killing muslims in Pakistan. So before nosing around your neighbor and calling foul, I suggest you clean up your own act in your own house – ‘The Most Dangerous Nation On the Planet.
INRocks
February 24, 2009 at 10:17 am
Saadie: The behavior of most Indians towards Pakistan has always been hostile. For some very unfathomable reason, Indians continue to believe that Pakistan was taken away from them, and refuse to acknowledge the facts that it is a sovereign country. What is staggering is their refusal to admit that Pakistan was formed by the Muslims who lived in the parts which constitute Pakistan, and by the Muslims who chose to forfeit their lands and treasures in present day India to come settle in Pakistan. That Muslim League spear-headed by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had roundly routed Congress in all the constituencies in the Muslim majority areas in the general elections of 1946 was a resounding vote by the inhabitants of those constituencies in favor of Pakistan. Indians like to call themselves secular, which they are anything but, and like to call themselves democratic but they conveniently overlook the democratic premise behind Pakistan, and continue to hope for Pakistan’s failure, and continue to call the making of Pakistan a mistake that needs to be undone against all things democratic. The minute you put aside formalities with an Indian acquaintance, out comes the old “The Politicians divided us” lament. Excuse me, No! The politicians did not divide us. We were never one. We chose to be a separate country. Please get comfortable about it and stop calling the will of a 100 million people a mistake.
INRocks: Thank you for stopping by. Allow me to begin by stating that there was no anti-India hate talk until an Indian called up a radio station in a neutral country, where Indians and Pakistanis strive to put their differences aside to work together for their livelihoods, and asked for a ban on Pakistan for apartheid like practices. The anti-India hate talk, as you call it, was only an offended Pakistani showing such Indians the mirror, and reminding them that apartheid if it is practiced anywhere in the world today, is an Indian fact today.
You flatter yourself, my friend. We Pakistanis might have our fair share of problems, but an inherent hatred/jealousy of our neighbor is not one of them. That is a purely Indian pass-time. It is only in India that politicians, celebrities and the general public alike feel the need to go on a Pakistan bashing spree every time they need to gain some brownie points with their fellow country men. Saying that Pakistanis are jealous of India for its progress is a lot like Bush saying that 9/11 happened because of the terrorists’ jealousy of the American prosperity and capitalism. It is the kind of inane rhetoric that can hold water in brain-washed India or brain-dead America, but it will fail to hold its own in the face of facts and logic.
I do look at your economy, and yes you do need to say a lot more after that to prove India shining. Lets start with the killing of 7000 children everyday in India for being the wrong gender as I pointed out above. Most certainly not something to be proudly brandishing on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, New York or even New Delhi. As for being on the map now, perhaps that is something you need to understand about Pakistan. We are on the map now, have been so for 60 years, and there is nothing you can do or hope that will change that. Insha Allah, we will be on the map for as long as the world has a map. Your comment about us being a part of India demonstrates how far removed from reality you are. On 13th August, 1947 the Indian sub-continent was part of the British Raj. On 14th August when freedom dawned, Pakistan was Pakistan and India was India. Oh, and need I remind you Kashmir was Kashmir. Don’t act as if the people of Pakistan materialized overnight and wrested away Pakistan from you. The Soviet Union has shown more character than India in coming to terms with reality. Just because we were shackled together does not mean that we were one.
Now I like how you use the euphemistic “some small pockets” to refer to to the anti-minority stance holders. Another example of how far removed from reality you are. My friend, the some small pockets have voted in at least two BJP governments in the last 20 years, if not more. You will excuse my ignorance of the Indian political jostling – it is not my country you see. The some small pockets elect and re-elect Narendra Modi. Do you know what it means when an extremist party gets elected? It means that the majority voted for the extremist party. That the majority condoned the demolition of Babri Masjid, the massacre of 2500 Muslims in Gujrat, the killing of Christians in Orissa, and the downtrodding of Dalits. The majority is not some small pockets my friend. Really, if you faced facts, you would get off your high and mighty stance that we Pakistanis have anything to be jealous of of India.
We do not go about nosing about in our neighbor, but our neighbor seems to have this fixation on us. ISI is a recurring theme in your rhetoric not ours. We have credible proofs of RAW involvement, with your agents facing death sentences in our jails for their parts in bombing campaigns in our country but we do not raise the hue and cry you do. Going by the Indian rhetoric there is nothing that ever goes wrong in India without assistance from ISI. Only a matter of time, before your divorce petitions also start mentioning ISI.
I re-iterate my original stance, I have no problems with India or Indians as long as they accord the respect to Pakistan which they expect to be accorded India.
On the other hand, if you send missives like “The most dangerous nation on the planet” our way, all I can tell you is to continue to be afraid. Be very afraid. We might just prove you right.
knicq
February 24, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I actually thot of writing a lot things as a fitting reply to your this 7000 children being killed theory. But then all of a suddent i realised what I am going to do. Just one line the whole worlds knows where India is and where pakistan is. I find it below my dignity to compare anything of India with Pakistan. We are competing against the likes of the G5. At least do something to save your country to be on the world map in the years to come, rather than sitting in some other country and showing every bit of your pent-up frustration and anger for the recurring failure, that you all are. Ha!
Keshav
March 3, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Keshav, Thank you for stopping by and reading through the post and the comments. You are an Indian, and I do not expect you to take kindly to this unfortunate episode, however your comment transgresses the fine line between not taking kindly to something and being down right offensive.
You betray the one trait that most Indians, especially Hindus, have had towards all things Pakistan since the beginning. Denial. I have had to grapple with that sentiment for years now, and I have explained it in detail in the foregoing comment.
You seem to be in a state of denial about the killing of 7000 children every day in India because they are the wrong gender. You call it my theory, as if I have conjured it up out of thin air – even though the articles I have provided to serve as proof are reports by Indian Organizations based in India. ‘Female Foeticide in India’ is written by Indu Grewal and J. Kishore. One of my other sources for the stats is Indianchild.com. Additionally, there are newspaper reports from Gulf News and Khaleej Times. I am sure I could find many more sources which you will find impossible to discredit. A genocide of over a million children a year is very hard to glaze over even if you are as big a machinery as Indian media at work.
Fact is the world does not know where India and Pakistan are. The world only knows the glazed over picture of India beamed by the Indian media, and the contorted image of Pakistan conveyed by the same media. Fact is India is able to maintain this facade of democracy and secularism, when at its very heart it is an extremist Hindu country which votes for and elects and re-elects mass murderers like Narender Modi. India is a country where practically every election is preceded by atrocities against the minorities especially Muslim and Christian minorities because the BJP/Bajrang Dal/Shive Sena rightly believe that they will be rewarded for such atrocities. Fact is that Pakistanis have never voted in an extremist party – not even a moderate religious party, even though we are a religious country in theory while India is a secular country. Facts speak for themselves.
Your dignity is your problem. I am just glad Pakistan, despite all that is wrong with it today, is not bracketed with India. That would be a real shame – for us Pakistanis. We have rogue elements amongst us, and with help from the Indian agencies they are able to create mayhem in our country, but even at our worst we do not go about killing people systematically for being the wrong gender, the wrong caste, the wrong religion and so on and so forth.
You are welcome to compete with the Martians for all we care, just make sure when you deal with us you do that in a respectable and fair manner.
Thank you for your advice about doing something for my country. If you believe one can only do something for one’s country by staying in one’s country, perhaps you should direct your advice at the millions and millions of your fellow-Indians first. We Pakistanis – we do what we can for our country wherever we are.
Your rant about pent-up frustrations and anger for recurring failure is just that – a rant. It probably comes from the same flawed premise which INRocks up there subscribed to. Please do try and keep some perspective. This episode resulted because an Indian called up a radio station to vent his pent up frustration at India’s failure to undo Pakistan. Not the other way round. You don’t see Pakistanis going about doing that.
So really, Ha Indeed!
knicq
March 3, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Oh and Keshav, do write the lots of things you meant to write as a fitting reply to the proven genocide of 7000 children everyday in your country. I am keen to see what a fitting reply to such a shameful fact looks like.
knicq
March 3, 2009 at 4:46 pm