DAWN - Cowasjee Corner; 27 September, 1998
Spurring strife
Ardeshir Cowasjee
THAT our leaders do not know that they are out of unison with reality until the day after they fall is manifested time and time again. That Nawaz Sharif does not realize that he is destroying what little is left of the ethos of this country is glaring. Spurring on sectarian and ethnic strife only breeds terrorism.
On September 2, an Urdu daily newspaper carried a news item informing the public that Engineer Roland de Souza of the NGO, SHEHRI, a God-fearing Christian, had written to the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) advocating that the construction of two mosques be halted, that they were unauthorized constructions causing sectarian strife.
Impossible, said those who know Roland. He is not a brainless idiot. I checked with Roland and the Chief Controller of the KBCA. Such a letter had neither been written nor received. The CC of the KBCA informed the newspaper accordingly. The mischief was obviously the doing of the builders' mafia that is protected by many in the Sindh government.
I walked down Karachi's 'Fleet Street' to call on the concerned editor. As a fellow journalist, I asked him why he felt the need to propagate strife. He produced a photocopy of a badly typed letter, written in wonky English on an obviously forged SHEHRI letterhead with an obviously forged signature.
Running to form, the editor attacked, called me a blackmailer and asked why I, in league with SHEHRI, was harassing the poor innocent Memon builders who were merely trying to build cheap housing for the poor. Many of my respected friends are Memons, I told him, and no builder, Memon or otherwise, is either poor or innocent. Builders are too often mere financiers who, to make a quick non-taxable buck, build what should not be built where it is built.
A couple of days later, the same newspaper printed a news item with photographs of members of a 'Jamaat' holding banners in front of the Press Club demanding my arrest and Roland's punishment. I warned Roland that the next thing to expect was posters and banners. They duly arrived, stuck and strung up purportedly by another Jamaat: "SHEHRI organization or Jewish agents, Ardeshir Cowasjee and Roland de Souza;" "Exile them from Pakistan;" "Worst enemy of Muslims;" "Traitor of country and nation, American spy, brother of Clinton, Ardeshir Cowasjee." The responsible press did not react.
Luckily, Roland is staunch and true. Had he been a runner, he would have left the country long ago. Though we get pathetic, or negligible, timely help from the courts, SHEHRI and the citizens who file the various petitions against illegal, dangerous buildings and the degradation of the environment have no other recourse but to rely on the law of the land and press on.
Then, came a fax on a completely unrelated matter, a copy of a letter sent by Mushtaq Moeeni of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in Islamabad to Ghiasuddin Afsar, Incharge NPAG, Karachi, asking him to investigate the "musical group Junoon" who, after their successful tour of India and interviews on Zee TV, are accused of "belittling the concept of the ideology of Pakistan," disagreeing with "national opinion," talking of "cultural similarities," and hoping for "the reunification of India and Pakistan."
I rang Moeeni in Islamabad and asked why a copy had been sent to me. He had no answer, but confessed to have written as 'directed' by his ministry (Secretary, Roshan Zamir; Minister, the Prime Minister). Knowing Roshan, a balanced man, I presumed a frightened underling had over-reacted.
Talking to the joyous Junoons, the brothers Shahryar (manager), and Salman (composer and guitarist) was great fun.
Salman of Lahore is an old friend of Imran Khan with whom he has played cricket, as he has played with the great scorer Nawaz Sharif. Imran was the man who, in September 1996, after the corruption scandals had exploded, started the Ehtesab movement and Salman, inspired by him, recognizing the rot and corruption, wrote his famous song, spurring the people on to demanding a long overdue 'Ehtesab'.
Benazir Bhutto's government was dismissed, and Leghari and his caretakers propagated the culture of 'Ehtesab'. Junoon, presuming that the caretakers would be overjoyed to project their Ehtesab video on PTV, approached Information Minister Irshad Haqqani, his secretary Abu Shamim Arif, and the PTV MD. No go.
The BBC at that time was making its documentary 'The Princess and the Playboy', and Junoon's 'Ehtesab' was included. The producer, during an interview with Leghari, enquired why his government had refused to release the song on PTV. 'Send Salman to me', said Leghari, 'and I will have it run.' Salman duly appeared at the Aiwan, was given the runaround by Leghari's press secretary, and heard no more. Leghari's cry for Ehtesab was hollow. He had decided to stay with honest or dishonest Nawaz Sharif.
Come Nawaz Sharif and his government and the Junoons were asked to compose a song to promote the 'Qarz Utaro, Mulk Sanwaro' scheme. They declined, not wishing to be politically identified. On August 14, 1997, a video of their recording of Iqbal's 'Khudi' was shown on PTV. The usual accusations were levelled - an insult to Iqbal and so forth. Funnily enough, Salman was rung up by a teacher who told him that she had been attempting to teach her class the words of 'Khudi' for months without any success, but after his video had run nine times the children could now recite it fluently.
In September 1997, PTV televised live a pop concert from Karachi, with Junoon and two other groups performing. This resulted in Nawaz Sharif making his famous announcement that henceforth youngsters in jeans, and with long hair, would not be tolerated on the nation's channel. Ridiculous. We are forced to see bald heads, bewigged heads, toupeed heads, dyed heads, so why can we not run the whole gamut and see long-haired heads?
Then came their video of 'Sayonee', shot in Multan, aired on PTV, again arousing allegations of 'belittling religious places', 'offensive to mysticism', and all the usual obscurantist phrases that are trotted out each day by the guardians of our undefined ideology.
In March 1997, Junoon was invited to India to perform at the Zee TV Cine Awards ceremony. They were a success, and in May were again invited to perform in India, this time sponsored by EMI.
The redundant ministry of culture which should not exist should at least try to get its act together. Pop groups all over the world preach the unity of mankind, that music has no frontiers, that there should be peace and brotherhood on earth. Pop groups can be anti-war, or anti-nuclear, pro-environment, or espouse any cause that appeals to them. The Junoons are not political animals, but pop animals, and when they talk about a common culture it relates to music, when they condemned India's nuclear test, it is because like millions all over the world they do not believe in the annihilation of mankind. When they talk of breaking borders, they talk of cultural exchanges, of musical, not political, borders.
The group is now off on a tour of the US, to collect funds for Imran's cancer hospital. May I suggest that the Pakistanis in the US who ask me over the Internet how they can help, go to the concerts and contribute to one of the few worthy causes we have.