Happy Birthday, Pakistan

by HijabMan :: posted 15 August 09

HijabMan’s Note: This is a Guest post by my brother-in-law, Angrez (Bio coming soon)

Independence day is naturally the time when many nations take stock – what have we achieved and where are we going? Today, I am not in the mood to recount Pakistan’s numerous problems and deficiencies; that is done daily throughout the year. I am going to use this one day to remember something else.

I remember my mother telling me how, as a little girl of perhaps 4 years, she had escaped to Pakistan from Hyderabad Deccan with her family. A year after partition, India had invaded Hyderabad State in an operation known as “police action,” so the country would finally be absorbed into the Indian Union. My grandfather was the state mechanical engineer and had been asked by the Indians to bear false witness against the Prime Minister of Hyderabad, which he refused to do. The result was house arrest. The children and my grandmother were allowed out with an army escort. The details of how my grandfather escaped are unclear but the children were sitting in the cinema one day when their uncle told them to follow him quietly out. This was the beginning of their journey to Pakistan. I can’t help but wonder whether they broke into song (or should I say ghazals), like (soon-to-be Pakistani) von Trapps. They arrived at the border with East Pakistan where they had to change trains. As they walked along the platform an announcement was made that the family had escaped from Hyderabad and any sightings should be reported to the police. The fear that this caused is firmly ingrained in my mother’s memory. The family was able to catch the train across the border and went around the Indian coast by sea, until they reached Karachi.

This is not even close to the harrowing experiences of other refugees who walked to India or Pakistan and whose family members faced rape, murder and robbery. But it is a story that reminds me how easy my own life has been in Britain and the US. The most daring thing I have ever done is to cross the UN-monitored border between the Greek and Turkish sections of Cyprus, with a British passport. It also reminds me of how far Pakistan has come from being an underdeveloped section of the British Empire, with such a difficult birth, to a nation bursting with talent. Despite the rigors of living under inept leaders, its people continue to make films and dramas, sing about love and God, run charities like the Edhi Foundation and drive the economy through industries that were non-existent before 1947. Pakistanis are not more or less capable than anyone else and their past is a testament to that fact. Their future can be also.

| share on delicious | digg | reddit | facebook | stumbleupon |

Related Articles
Bio Data Construction For Dummies (Men's edition)
What Bollinger Could Learn From Edward Said (And Berkeley!)
Being Conscious/Grateful on Valentine's Day
Savannah Beach Inn Sucks Or Why I Love My Credit Card Representatives
KG: What Would Khalil Gibran Do?

1. anonymous at 16 August 09 :: #

   right on! :)

2. Mars at 24 August 09 :: #

   Good share…While I don’t believe in chest thumping nationalism, it is important to acknowledge the great lengths the country has come since its creation in 1947.

3. Constructive Attitude at 3 September 09 :: #

   Nice post!

   You havent updated in a while though!