Book Review: My Life's Journey: The Early Years (1966-1988) by Altaf Hussain

 

Originally this book was published in Urdu as Safa-e-Zindagi. It was based on lengthy interview of Altaf Hussain, better known as Altaf bhai. In the foreword of the book Matthew A. Cook says that the Urdu speaking population which migrated to Pakistan includes population form Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Bombay. He also says that most Mohajirs were not elites. They were artisans such as shoemakers, carpet weavers from Agra. Or metal workers from Moradabad and lock-makers from Aligarh.

He further says that most provincial refugee rehabilitation ministers were Sindhis rather than Mohajirs. The civil and police control was by the Punjabis and the Pakhtuns controlled the building and transportation sectors. Altaf Hussain writes about his childhood, mentioning the time when Ayub Khan won from Fatima Jinnah. Ayub’s son Gohar Ayub decided to celebrate his father’s victory in Karachi. On that very day Altaf and his mother were in rickshaw and were informed by the Rickshaw driver to get out of the vehicle as Pakhtuns were on the rampage.

Writing about his activism during student days, he mentions mobilizing students for B. Pharmacy admissions. They were initially denied admissions because by the time their result came out the admissions had closed. But finally, after constant struggle they succeeded in getting admissions.

The author says that Mohajir civil servants were sacked during Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Bhutto’s time. After his association with PNA he realized that the Mohajirs were considered third class citizens and no respect was shown for their lives. On 11 June 1978, the All-Pakistan Mohajir Students’ Organization (APMSO) was formed. It faced string resistance from Islami Jamiat-e-Taluba. Finances were a serious issue for the newly founded organization and Altaf donated the income he earned from tuitions. Altaf Hussain says: ‘I can never forget that 50 cc motorbike of mine which proved to be more faithful than many humans.’ Furthermore, he says that when he was building up the organization, he would often be hungry with other fellows. To satisfy their stomachs they would each have a samosa followed by several glasses of water.  

In 1984, Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM) was launched. It faced serious opposition. He was jailed three times. He was tortured and later the beatings resulted in kidney problems. Altaf Hussain says that he subordinated all his desires and interest to his mission MQM. He further states that his family had a very positive attitude that provided courage to him. Altaf stresses on the relation between class and politics. He says MQM is a friend of the poor, whether they are from Punjab, Sindh, NWFP or Baluchistan.

This autobiographical account covers the period from 1966 to 1988. This book provides a story of Altaf Hussian- how an individual rose to become Altaf bhai.

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Book Review: Iqbal by Francesco D'Adamo, Ann Leonori (Translator)

Iqbal is a fictional account about a person named Iqbal Masih who wanted to liberate bonded laborers in Pakistan. The narrator of this book is Fatima, a girl who was inspired by Iqbal’s courage and determination.

As a sign of resistance Iqbal cut his master’s carpet with a knife. His master Hussain Khan punishes him. There are also other children who were taken away from their families and enslaved by Hussain Khan. Once Iqbal tries to escape, but the local policemen brings him back to Khan, after taking bribe. For his rebellion he is severely punished by his master. After that incident he tries to escape again. This time he is successful. He contacts the Bonded Labor Liberation Front of Pakistan and helps in the liberation of other kids enslaved by Hussain Khan.

Iqbal had sown the seeds of hope in all the children. Sadly, he was murdered on Easter Sunday in 1995 in Muridke, a village near Lahore. This novel gives us an insight into Iqbal’s struggle. After reading this book, I wonder how many other Iqbals are still working and enslaved by the carpet mafia.

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Book Review: Books V. Cigarettes by George Orwell

 

This book was first published as an essay in 1940s. The author says that even if one buys books and periodicals, that does not cost more than the combined cost of smoking and drinking. Orwell shares his own experience of working at a secondhand book shop. He doubts whether ten percent of his customers at the bookshop are able to distinguish a good book from a bad one. Every month about a dozen books were stolen from the bookshop.

Orwell states that the job of a book reviewer includes praising trash, and majority of the books published are bad. Furthermore, he believes that the idea of intellectual liberty is under threat from two sides. First, is the theoretical enemy- the apologists of totalitarianism. Second, is the practical enemy- monopoly and bureaucracy. The weakening desire for liberty among the intellectuals themselves is the most serious symptom of all. Regarding imagination Orwell says: ‘...we know only that the imagination, like certain wild animals, will bot breed in captivity.’

The author says that in England the large numbers of well-trained and disciplined nurses are underrated. He also shares his own experience of living in St Cyprian boarding school in Sussex. He narrates how they were underfed, bullied and punished. With that they were also kept in unclean living spaces. He also shares stories of his poverty and how did he feel about it. In comparison with the underprivileged students the rich students were given preferential treatment.  

Ian Hy, Thackeray, Kipling and H.G Wells were Orwell’s favorite authors from boyhood. He also writes about the discussions between the different students who boasted their parents’ wealth. He says that: ‘In a world where the prime necessities were money, titled relatives, athleticism, tailor-made clothes, neatly brushed hair, a charming smile, I was no good.’ He feels dejected.

In this work, George Orwell touches on the themes of money, reading, bookshops, freedom of press, boarding life and patriotism. Anyone with an interest of reading about the early twentieth century England, should definitely read this.

 

 

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Book Review: Friedrich Nietzsche Why I am so Wise translated by R.J. Hollingdale

 

Nietzsche lived from 1844 to 1900. This book has been compiled by including excerpts from Ecce Homo and Twilight of the Idols. The author says that the overthrowing idols is his business. According to him, philosophy is a voluntary living in ice and high mountains- a seeking after everything strange and questionable in existence, all that has hitherto been excommunicated by morality.

Nietzsche says: ‘It also seems to me that the rudest word, the rudest letter is more good-natured, more honest than silence.’ He believes that he has a right to wage a war on Christianity because he has never experienced anything disagreeable from them. Furthermore, he states that he does not speak to the masses because he fears that he would be pronounced holy. He does not want to be a saint. He thinks there is nothing more mendacious than saints.

Moreover, in the book the author considers himself as an immoralist. This immoralist involves two denials. First, denial of the man who has been counted as the highest and second, denial of Christian morality. In Maxims and Arrows, the author clearly states his mistrust of all systematizers and says that ‘the will to a system is a lack of integrity.’

Nietzsche states that he knows his fate. He writes: ‘One day there will be associated with my name the recollection of something frightful- of crisis like no other before on earth, of the profoundest collision of conscience, of a decision evoked against everything that until the had been believed in, demanded, sanctified. I am not a man, I am dynamite.’

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Book Review: The Closed Valley: With Fierce Friends in the Pakistani Himalayas by Jurgen Wasim Frembgen

 

Jurgen Wasim Frembgen is an anthropologist, who is one of the first to venture into the Harban valley. This book is an outcome of the authors several stays in the valley between 1989 to 1997. Frembgen explores the life of the mountain people in Kohistan region of Pakistan. The Indus Kohistan district was created in 1976.

In the first chapter he mentions that the Indus River is locally known as Aba Sin (Father of Rivers). In ancient Indian Sanskrit it is called Sindhu from which the terms Indus and India were derived. The author also mentions about the flora and fauna of the area. He writes about the presence of rhesus monkeys in the area. The forest trees include spruce, pine, cedars, juniper and holm oak trees.

Frembgen states that the reason why he was so interested in the people of Kohistan was the romantic ideal of freedom from any kind of authority. Before his visit he read the novel, The Pakistani Bride, which was based on a true story in Kohistan. Frembgen writes about how he went to Chilas and met the district court judge Mahmud Ghaznawi who had origins from Kohistan. He wrote a recommendation letter for Frembgen so that he could have an easy passage to Kohistan. Frembgen was warned by Bilal (the postmaster’s son) that the women in Harban were especially beautiful and a wrong glance could be fatal.

The local culture in Harban is that one of the members from the host family massages the guest. This is a kind gesture for a tired traveler who has walked great distance. There are four caste-like groups which consist of Shin, Yeshkun, Kamin and Dom. In Harban, no Kamin men or women are allowed to take part in funeral rites. One perspective noted by the author is that the Yeshkun and the Kamin were already living in Harban before the arrival of the Shin people.

Frembgen states that in the past it was important to be a warrior, so handling of a gun was important. Today diplomacy and Islamic religiosity were crucial for success in life. People in Harban, heavily depend on logging and because of this deforestation has accelerated. Satellite images show that there are regions in Southern Indus Kohistan which have lost one third of their tree population in just one decade.

The author stays at Sher Ghazi’s (local Jashtero in Harban) house as a guest.  He discovers that the house does not have a bathroom and the whole village uses the slopes to defecate. The area has a lot of Tablighi influence. The old meeting place for women in the village was abandoned in 1960s, because the Tablighi Movement disapproved it. They drove musicians out of the valley and also banned dancing.

The story of the carpenter named Qalanadar Shah, from Hindi village in Hunza is a very interesting one. Shah fled from his house because he had arguments with his parents and works as a carpenter in Harban. Another interesting story is of the Majzub Baba who lives in Chilas. Frembgen also sees fortified towers. The height of the towers demonstrates a family’s political power. They serve as protection from attacks. The author says that ‘In many cases these conflicts go back to affairs of jealousy and broken marriage promises, but also to their matters of honor and disagreements over land ownership’. He further stresses that accusations of forbidden love affairs are rampant.

The author admits that the ethnographic work in the field never unbiased. He also makes it clear that he could not complete his original aim- which was to write a monograph of field anthropology of Harban culture.

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