Fallout of Mansour’s Death: New Age Islam's Selection, 24 May 2016
New Age
Islam Edit Bureau
24 May 2016
• Fallout of Mansour’s Death
By Abdul Basit
• The Raiszadas of Pakistani Politics
By Ayaz Amir
• Celebrating Enviable Ties
By Malik Muhammad Ashraf
• Pakistan’s Position in HE Rankings
By Hassam Waheed
• Renaming Roads Won’t Erase History
By Abhishek Sikhwal
Compiled By New Age Islam Edit Bureau
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Fallout of Mansour’s Death
By Abdul Basit
May 24, 2016
The killing of the Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a US drone strike is a major setback for the insurgent movement. His death comes barely a year after the disclosure of the death of the Taliban’s founding leader Mullah Omar.
Mansour was reportedly targeted by US drones in Ahmedwal town, 20 kilometres from Balochistan’s Noshki district. The US considered the new Taliban chief a major hurdle to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. However, it is yet to be seen if his killing will have a significant impact on the Taliban’s ongoing spring offensive in Afghanistan, and whether it will improve the prospects of peace talks or undermine them further.
In July 2015 when Mansour assumed the leadership of the Afghan Taliban, finding a political solution to the Afghan conflict looked achievable. Given his pragmatic approach, politically accommodating nature and closeness with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, the stakeholders of the Afghan conflict looked towards his appointment favourably, in hopes of reaching a political compromise. However, the developments that transpired following his appointment were concerning.
It is noteworthy that in the last meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group, the Afghan government demanded that all obstacles to a peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict should be removed by force. Previously, under a secret agreement, Pakistan’s establishment cooperated and coordinated with the CIA in its drone campaign against leaders and operatives of Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban.
Mansour’s killing can possibly be the result of a renewed understanding to put the faltering Afghan peace process back on track, slow-down the ongoing spring offensive, and work with the reconcilable Taliban groups by isolating the hardliners.
Another striking fact about this drone attack is that of the 296 done strikes that the US has conducted in Pakistan, this is the second one outside the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Previously, most of the strikes were strictly confined to Fata’s North and South Waziristan tribal regions. The other drone attack outside Fata was on November 21, 2013 targeting a seminary of the Haqqani Network in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district. If true, this could potentially signal the start of a new phase of the US drone campaign against the Taliban hiding in Balochistan. This could force Taliban leaders to relocate back to Afghanistan or take shelter elsewhere in Pakistan.
The immediate fallout of Mansour’s death will be the crash of the QCG-led peace process. All stakeholders will adopt a wait-and-see approach and reassess the situation that arises following his death. The Taliban will not return to the talks, if at all, until they have chosen a new leader. Meanwhile, the QCG members will closely observe the appointment of the Taliban’s possible new leader, and see what policies he adopts towards the peace talks.
Mansour’s death will also spark intense power struggles within the Taliban’s top leadership. Despite the solid hierarchical structure of the movement, the appointment of a new leader is not a simple matter. Judging from the Taliban’s current leadership hierarchy, one of Mansour’s two deputies – Sirajuddin Haqqani (chief of the Haqqani Network) or Maulvi Haibatullah Akhundzada, former judicial chief and a religious scholar – may succeed him. Mullah Omar’s son Mullah Yaqoob and Mullah Qayum Zakir, the most senior Taliban commander after Mansour, may also be leading contenders.
Mansour himself was not a consensus candidate to succeed Mullah Omar. His appointment, which bypassed the mandatory meeting of the Taliban’s religious council or Rahbari Shura, was deeply controversial and contested. Some Taliban religious scholars termed his appointment ‘religiously illegal’. At the time, Mullah Qayum Zakir, Mullah Yaqoob and his brother Mullah Manna, Mullah Muhammad Rasool Akhund and some members of the Taliban’s Qatar office – including Mullah Omar’s close aide Tayyab Agha – publicly opposed Mansour’s appointment. Only recently has Mansour managed to overcome internal differences by winning over the conditional loyalty of some groups.
His death will also provide a new opportunity to IS-Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State, to further entrench its presence in eastern Afghanistan. It will enable IS’ local leadership to win the loyalties of disgruntled Taliban elements who may be attracted towards it if their demands and grievances are not addressed in the leadership struggle. The hardliners within the Taliban movement, who might face US drone strikes or military operations, may gravitate towards IS-Khorasan if pro-talks elements prevail in the new power struggle.
Mansour’s sudden death can thus result in three possible scenarios for regional peace and security.
First, if Pakistan’s complicity in Mansour’s killing is proven, it can result in unification of the Afghan Taliban with their Pakistani counterparts and Al-Qaeda. The Taliban can launch reprisal attacks to avenge Mansour’s death on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border. If this were to happen, it would herald a new phase of militancy in the region which would blur the lines between transnational, regional and local militant groups operating in the Af-Pak region.
Second, there is a possibility of a positive outcome – as a result of the empowerment of a Taliban leader who is favourably disposed towards a political settlement. However, the chances of this are slim because the new leader will face immense pressure from within the Afghan Taliban to continue the fight. New leaders of militant groups can only win loyalty when they assert themselves forcefully through battlefield victories.
Third, further factionalisation and division of the Taliban movement may weaken their military prowess and political cohesion. If this happens, then Kabul and Washington will be inclined towards a divide-and-rule approach by politically accommodating the reconcilable elements while taking action against the hardliners.
Following the death of Mullah Omar, divisions within the Taliban ranks neither altered the overall shape and nature of the Afghan conflict, nor did they significantly impact the Taliban’s battlefield gains and spring offensive. The fight continued as the Taliban Shura sorted out differences and leadership disputes. The implications of Mansour’s death are likely to be more or less the same.
Abdul Basit is an associate research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore
Source: thenews.com.pk/print/122233-Fallout-of-Mansours-death
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The Raiszadas of Pakistani Politics
By Ayaz Amir
May 24, 2016
To account for their overseas properties the Sharifs are peddling the line that they were always rich and that their father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, was a big industrialist before Bhutto struck and nationalised Ittefaq Foundry.
Casting scepticism aside, even if we swallow this tale and go a step further and concede that the Sharifs were on a par with the Tatas and Birlas, the question remains: in those golden days did they own even a marla of land in the United Kingdom, let alone the gilded walkways of Mayfair?
When they were breaking world records in iron and steel production in Ittefaq Foundry – its first address not Kot Lakhpat but Brandreth Road – were they aware even of Mayfair’s location, let alone the price of property there?
We should be told what is more easily digested. Ittefaq Foundry may have been a flourishing concern in the 1970s but that never put the Sharifs at the level of the Dawoods, the Valikas, the Adamjees, or the rest of the 22 families. Their rise, indeed their unstoppable rise, came afterwards, during the Zia era after they had managed to curry favour with Gen Zia’s Punjab governor, Lt-Gen Ghulam Jilani, who earlier in Bhutto’s time was head of the ISI.
The story goes that Jilani was building a house in Lahore and elders of the clan – I am being coy – looked to the construction of the house. Take it as a safe bet that anyone who looks to the many details involved in house construction – provision of sand, cement, sariya, work force, etc, you visit your under-construction house and you see a diligent soul superintending the work – creates a place for himself in your heart.
When the Zia regime began looking for civilian faces, the access to Gen Jilani paid off and Nawaz Sharif was picked as Punjab finance minister in 1981. There was no looking back after that.
In 1985 after Gen Zia had secured his own position as president through a laughable referendum – the question posed in the referendum was that if you were for Islam then Gen Zia would be president of the Islamic Republic for a term of five years – elections were held to the national and provincial assemblies. On Pir Pagaro’s recommendation Muhammad Khan Junejo was appointed prime minister. The question arose as to who should be Punjab chief minister. Pir Pagaro wanted Malik Allahyar Khunda. Gov Jilani was for Nawaz Sharif. Gen Zia did not want to put everything in Pir Pagaro’s basket. So, as we would say in Urdu, Nawaz Sharif’s lottery came out.
Politics, however, was not the only thing on the mind of the Sharifs. From the time Nawaz Sharif became finance minister and throughout his stint as chief minister, the Sharifs embarked on a crash industrialisation programme. Bhutto had nationalised only one Ittefaq Foundry because that is all the Sharif clan had. But taking loans left and right from state banks – and back then there were only state-owned banks – the Sharifs set up one sugar mill after the other, and other mills besides, surpassing the achievements of the Ayub-era five year plans.
It was during this time when all these mills were being set up that much like Columbus discovering America the Sharifs discovered Mayfair. During the great days of the Ittefaq Foundry they had not studied the map of Mayfair. With the acquisition of political power in Punjab, the powerhouse of Pakistan politics, the Sharifs bought their first overseas properties.
The Sharifs say they have been in the iron and steel business for the last 70 years. True…in the 1970s they were counted amongst the rich of Lahore. But theirs was run-of-the-mill prosperity, nothing to rival the big seths of Pakistani business. It is a different story today. The Sharifs are big today, very big. The question is: when did this happen, before or after the conquest of political power?
Send a rocket into outer space and this money trail would be visible from there. Courtesy Gen Jilani and the favour of Gen Zia, the Sharifs make an entry into the portals of power. Business sense and acumen they already have…no one can deny them this. Taking advantage of the new opportunities coming their way they embark on a Stalinist industrialisation programme and only then do they become squires of Mayfair. It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes or an Ibn Batuta to spot the various milestones of this journey.
The Sharifs are not alone in enjoying such a distinctive transformation. What was Asif Zardari before his marriage to Benazir Bhutto? Partial owner of Bambino Cinema – there were other partners but the Zardaris managed the cinema – and middling Zamindar in Nawabshah. But after the marriage the world became his oyster…properties everywhere: France, England, the US, you name it and the Zardari flag fluttering there.
How was all this acquired? There is nothing proven, no guilt established, no sentence handed down. Asif Zardari may be the object of a thousand rumours but in the eyes of the law he is as clean as the driven snow. Just as there are many allegations but nothing proven against the Sharifs.
Nor are civilians alone to be found in this mud-house, this bath of Baghdad or Babylon. Military loot and plunder may not be on this scale but who is the innocent who will maintain that it is not there? The one difference was spelt out to me by a real-estate tycoon. He said that when it comes to corruption civilians eat with their hands and end up spoiling their clothes. Military men are sticklers for form and eat with knife and fork. It is a strange feeling that an army which is a fighting army today, officers and men laying down their lives, still finds it difficult to cut its umbilical cord to the real-estate sector.
In a poor country such as ours, defence housing authorities, and now an air force housing colony too, singing the praises of lavish housing schemes…it’s almost obscene and certainly very tasteless. But it goes on, to the point where even the Intelligence Bureau thinks it kosher to get involved in the real-estate sector. Pakistan has survived many tribulations. It will survive RAW and the Taliban but this real estate thing looks bigger than any external threat.
Corruption is not just about morality. It makes for bad politics. We need better governance, we need a stronger democracy. But Zardaris and Sharifs, when they are into Surrey Palaces and Mayfair flats, undermine their ability to a) deliver better governance and b) stand up to the overweening power of the military.
The Torkham border closes and who does the Afghan ambassador go and see? Not anyone in the government but the army chief and when the army chief gives the word the border opens. The Angoor Adda border crossing is handed over to the Afghans…maybe for the best of reasons, but where’s the civilian input in this transaction? The PM is embroiled in Panamagate and he doesn’t know what is going on.
The Iranian president visits and the ISPR comes out with a tweet it has no business floating. And there is no one to rap its knuckles.
And we look at all this and can see the frail bark of democracy being tossed to and fro…and we look at the pilots on deck with all their property stories and never-ending evasions and our hearts, used to so much, miss another beat.
Source:thenews.com.pk/print/122231-The-raiszadas-of-Pakistani-politics
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Celebrating Enviable Ties
By Malik Muhammad Ashraf
24-May-16 266
Relations between Pakistan and China turned 65 on May 21, 2016. To commemorate the 65th anniversary of their ties in a befitting manner, the two countries have chalked out a weeklong (May 21-to May 28) programme of festivities and cultural activities. And why not celebrate a relationship that over the years has withstood vicissitudes of times, changing regional and global realities, has attained dizzying heights to the mutual advantage of the two, and is poised to remain on the upward curve in the future too.
Pakistan and China have been a source of strength to each other through testing times and buttressed this process with unstinted determination. Soon after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, Pakistan was one of the first non-communist countries to recognise China. Pakistan also staunchly supported China’s to attain a legitimate place in the UN. Pakistan played a leading role in ending China’s international isolation by orchestrating rapprochement between China and the US. When China faced international blockade Pakistan provided air corridor to her. Pakistan has been and continues to support one China policy at all international forums and endorses China’s stance on Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and issues related to human rights. The two countries have shared identical views on global issues like UN reforms, nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and climate change. They have been on the same wavelength on regional security matters that were instrumental to the forging of strong defence ties between them. Pakistan and China are working together to fight the menace of terrorism in the region, and also collaborating with each other in promoting peace in Afghanistan.
China has played a sterling role in the economic uplift of Pakistan, bolstering its defence capability, development of its nuclear programme and provided uninhibited political support to Pakistan on issues of concern — like the Kashmir issue — at international forums. It helped Pakistan in 1965 and 1971 wars with India. The two-way trade volume between the two countries has gone beyond $16 billion, and is likely to cross $20 billion mark considering that the economies of the two countries are complimentary, and there is still a vast potential waiting to be realised. The relationship that some thought was founded on mutual disillusionment with India and the security threat from her to both the countries has undoubtedly crystallised into a much wider and deeper relationship.
The hallmark of bonds between Pakistan and China, apart from the foregoing factors, has been a sentiment of bonhomie between the people of the two countries. It is a relationship of genuine love and respect that is beyond the realm of normal diplomatic ties.
Needless to emphasise that Pakistan has been the greater beneficiary of this friendship — from military to economic assistance. The strength, sustainability and uniqueness of relations between the two countries has baffled many an observer of the world history. Andrew Small, of German Marshall Fund, an expert on Asian affairs, in his recently published book while examining what he calls the “unusual nature of the secretive relationship between China and Pakistan” remarks that it [the relationship] is much more promising than Pakistan’s erratic ties with the US. History indeed testifies it. The leaders of Pakistan and China also have trust in the strength of their relations. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif thinks they are “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the sea and sweater than honey.” President of China Xi Jing Ping during his visit to Pakistan emphatically declared that China and Pakistan were “iron friends.” Similar characterisation of relations between the two countries by the Chinese leaders has been repeatedly reiterated. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Pakistan early last year assured Islamabad that China and Pakistan were in sync on all matters and have ‘iron clad’ understanding between them, one that has taken years to hone and fortify. The history of relations between the two indeed testifies to this reality.
Looking at the ties between Pakistan and China from a future perspective, there are strong and encouraging portents to suggest that they are moving towards an upward swing. The changing security environment in the region, US aggressive manoeuvres in the South China Sea and ever increasing anti-China nexus between the US and India with the former trying to prop up the latter as a regional super power to checkmate Chinese increasing influence in the region and beyond, will surely necessitate further upgrading of defence cooperation between Pakistan and China.
Another ingredient to strengthen ties is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which undoubtedly will act as a catalyst to regional connectivity and an economic boom to be shared and enjoyed by all countries of South Asia and Central Asia. Its impact beyond our shores is also assured. As Pakistan is striving to strengthen its democratic institutions and to stimulate a process of sustained economic growth, cooperation with China under the CPEC will surely enhance its ability to achieve those objectives. Development of infrastructure such as rail network, roads, oil and gas pipelines and optical fibre and implementation of power producing projects under the corridor will catapult Pakistan on a higher plank of economic prosperity. It would spur industrial activity on an unprecedented scale leading to creation of jobs for the ever-increasing labour force. Pakistan will become a hub of economic activity for the Central Asian and South Asia countries due to the connectivity that will be ensured. This visionary initiative of the Chinese, in addition to its potential to unleash the economic bonanza, will also promote peace in the region by creating economic dependence and linkages.
China, of course, will also reap huge economic benefits from the project on perennial basis in terms of saving on its oil imports, quick and easy access to markets in the Gulf, Middle East, Africa and expansion of its commercial interests on a global level. The corridor traversing and meandering from Kashghar to Gawadar will further strengthen relations between the two nations, a win-win situation for both the countries as well as other beneficiaries.
Malik Muhammad Ashraf is a retired diplomat, a freelance columnist and a member of the visiting faculty of the Riphah Institute of Media Sciences, Riphah International University, Islamabad.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/24-May-16/celebrating-enviable-ties
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Pakistan’s Position in HE Rankings
By Hassam Waheed
24-May-16
Recently, a British ranking agency Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Elsevier (an academic publishing company) announced the ranking of higher education system of different nations. A sample of 50 nations from all over the world has been selected in this regard. According to these rankings the USA’s higher education system is best among all with an aggregate score of 100. The UK and Germany are on number two and three, with aggregate scores of 98.5 and 94 respectively. The top 10 nations with respect to higher education system are USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Netherland, China, South Korea and Japan. Pakistan has also topped the rankings but from bottom. Even countries like Mexico and Estonia are better than Pakistan. Pakistan stood last on number 50, with an aggregate score of 9.2 out of 100.
For the last 10 to 12 years, we have heard that our higher education system has improved a lot, and we are investing in it by giving scholarships to students and financial support to teachers and research scholars. But this ranking is narrating a very different story.
The ranking agency QS has made this ranking on the basis of four indicators. The first one is the strength of system. It checks the overall performance and strength of the home county’s institutions as compared to other institutions of the world. It gives a nation’s overall position in the world with respect to its institutions. Access is the second indicator, which is about chances of a native’s chances to get access to world-class universities. It explains the possibility for a country’s residents to get a place at top class universities of the world. Flagship institution is the third parameter. It illustrates nations standing of top institutions in the world. Basically it describes to what extent a nation’s institutions are popular in the world. The fourth and final indicator is economic context. It simply ranks the selected nations with respect to investment in higher education.
Keeping in view these four indicators it’s quite clear why Pakistan is at the bottom. The weaknesses of our institutions are not hidden, and there are a number of systematic flaws. For instance, in the education sector, you will not find anyone who is ready to accept responsibility. In 2000, the University Grant Commission was transformed into the Higher Education Commission (HEC). All of a sudden funds of educational institutions increased, as well as the number of universities. Every institution had been granted degree-awarding status. The problem of quality and quantity began from this particular point. No one thought how those universities or degree-awarding institutions would survive in future. Now results of that ill-planned practice can be seen. While the number of graduates, MPhils and PhDs is increasing, quality of research work is going down. Plagiarism is a common practice, and researchers are doing it very smartly by using synonyms and antonyms. The situation worsened after the historical 18th amendment, according to which education is a provincial subject, but the HEC is to perform its duties with the help of provincial higher education commissions. After the 18th amendment provinces made their own higher education commissions, which are neither financially prevailing nor administratively affective, while the federal higher education commission still enjoys financial independence. For example, the Punjab higher education commission does not have adequate funds to allocate to universities, and the worst part is its autonomy remains under threat by the Punjab Higher Education Department, which is under the control of a bureaucrat. In these circumstances achievement of good scores in higher education rankings remains a dream.
In recent past, merely two or three Pakistani educational institutions were able to get recognition on the international front — Quaid-e-Azam University, NUST and Aga Khan Institute of Medical Sciences. More importantly, weak research culture is another reason behind this abysmal performance of educational institutions. Lack of independence and unnecessary intervention from government also affects the working of universities. From the appointment of vice chancellor to a security guard, there is government interference.
Lack of research culture is another hurdle, as financial and technological constraints greatly affect this sector. Due to limited resources it is difficult for universities to accelerate in the field of science and technology. Universities of private sector are better in this regard, as they take high fees and invest in students, but the situation is dismal in public sector universities. Due to low funds and lack of proper resources, most of the public sector universities are performing below par. Some public sector universities do not even have access to online journals. PhD and MPhil scholars lack innovation, as they are bound to limited guidance of supervisors, who do not encourage them to go beyond a certain point. Very few teachers respect student’s choice or ideas.
Investment in higher education is another vital thing. Currently the federal higher education commission‘s annual budget for the fiscal year 2015-16 is 63 billion rupees. Government presents the excuse that education is a provincial responsibility, but then it is the federal higher education commission that provides financial assistance to different educational institutions of all the provinces. In this situation 63 billion rupees is not enough money. Moreover, provincial higher education commissions are still lagging behind, as they are struggling for administrative powers and getting a special budget for research and development is very difficult.
There is huge progress in fields of research and education globally, as most nations have understood that the only way to lead the world is to invest in human capital. It is important to understand the fact that we are not lagging behind: we are the last among the 50 nations. While it may be difficult to compete with European and American nations, but we can certainly try to be like Mexico and India.
As a very tiny part of this system I feel sorry for myself. It looks like there is no way out. People always suggest going abroad to pursue a doctorate, but what if someone is not able to get financial assistance or scholarship? This is not criticism. This is a story of many ill-planned policies that lead us to nowhere but a deep sea of hopelessness.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/24-May-16/pakistans-position-in-he-rankings
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Renaming Roads Won’t Erase History
By Abhishek Sikhwal
24-May-16 204
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare wrote one his most memorable lines: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” The bard wouldn’t have survived a day in ‘Rising India’ because a mob would force him to refer to the rose as Gulaab. If a scholar were to politely inform them that Gulaab is derived from the Persian language, he would be promptly labelled a ‘presstitute’.
Last week, while the country was busy discussing elections, two stories didn’t get as much coverage as they perhaps would have in a more uneventful news cycle: (1) Rishi Kapoor calling out the Congress party for naming so many public assets under their family name, and (2) VK Singh calling out Akbar for having a Delhi road named after him. While the Congress party is rebuking Kapoor’s charge, Akbar is unable to defend himself (mostly because he’s been dead for 411 years).
Kapoor, an actor who won a National Film Award for Mera Naam Joker, was perhaps not joking when he tweeted that “Change Gandhi family assets named by Congress. Bandra/Worli Sea Link to Lata Mangeshkar or JRD Tata link road. Baap Ka Maal Samjh Rakha Tha?” (Do they think it’s all their father’s property?) When I read that tweet I was happy that someone was voicing a thought that had occurred to me in the past as well. Like Kapoor, I too am tired of seeing the Gandhi family name plastered on every airport, park and roadway across the country.
While I agree with his sentiment, I don’t necessarily agree with his suggestion to rename these public assets after film stars or musicians. He ended his fulmination by stating “Raj Kapoor has made India proud over the years all over even after his death. Certainly more than what has been perceived by politics.” While I respect all the people that Kapoor mentioned, I do think a country like India, which has a diverse history, should be naming its public assets after rich historical figures and not entertainers. America, which has a no dearth of movie stars or musicians, has never commemorated them by naming things after them.
Only Culver City, a mini suburb built on what was the parking lot of the classic MGM Studio in Los Angeles, includes a cluster of roadways named after some of the movie house’s most famous stars -- (Fred) Astaire Avenue, (Judy) Garland Drive and (Katharine) Hepburn Circle. Of course, the Hollywood Walk of Fame does honour the entertainment industry by embedding names of stars into the sidewalks but we all know that the fragile ego of the average Indian celebrity would be mortified by a similar memorial.
By chiding the Congress for treating Indian assets like their “Baap Ka Maal” (father’s property), and then slyly suggesting that perhaps we should name these public assets after his Baap (father) (Raj Kapoor), Mr Kapoor is being a tad hypocritical. Entertainers are already immortalised by their work and enjoy the spotlight throughout their lives.
The people we need to memorialise are the ones whose deeds we Indians would otherwise forget. Men like Kailash Satyarthi, Bishnu Shrestha and Jadav Payeng; women like Pooja Taparia, Priti Patkar and Reema Nanavati. India is full of individuals who work tirelessly in the shadows and it is their selfless focus that we need to honour. I don’t know about you but 30 years down the line, I’d rather be walking down Kailash Satyarthi Road than Tiger Shroff Marg.
During his tirade, Mr Kapoor had also asked “If roads in Delhi can be changed why not Congress assets/property ke naam? (names of) Why?” The moment I read that tweet, I began to think. I began to think why the hell we ever renamed Aurangzeb Road to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road. Giving that inch was a bad precedent because panjandrums like VK Singh are now, literally, taking a mile.
The minister of state for external affairs asked the government to rename Akbar Road as Maharana Pratap Road because the Rajput king “has not been given his due” despite being “truly secular and a man of masses.” While there already is a Maharana Pratap road in Karol Bagh, I find it amusing how vague Mr Singh’s complaint is.
By calling the Maharana “truly secular”, he is insinuating that Akbar wasn’t so. It is well documented that Akbar laid the foundations of a multi-cultural empire because he was a patron of art and culture. While the Rajputs were using their perceived manifest destiny to rule over Dalits and make their opium-addled wives dive into pyres, Akbar created a forum at the Ibadat Khana and invited people of all religions (even atheists) for open discussions on spirituality, the validity of the Quran and the nature of God.
Akbar had to later discontinue the debates because instead of the TED talk he had envisioned, the end result was like the debates on The Newshour with the representatives of each religion denouncing other faith systems. Not only was Akbar the first secular king of India, he was also the country’s first Arnab Goswami!
Shaina NC, an official spokesperson of the BJP, agreed with Mr Singh and tweeted “Imagine Hitler road in Israel! No other country honours its oppressors like we do!” This constant demonisation of the Mughals as oppressors is something the BJP really needs to stop doing. Everyone at that time was either conquering or getting conquered. The reason why the Hindu dynasties had to submit to the Mughals was because they had chinks in their armour.
We can’t see the 16th century through 21st century values because if we are going to do that then we need to talk about the how the Rajputs subordinated Dalits and women. For all their purported valour, if they upheld the caste system then they were just as oppressive as the Mughals. When a Shudra was being hit with a stick, he didn’t care if the stick was being held by a Hindu or a Muslim; he just didn’t want to be hit.
When the Left came to power in West Bengal in 1969 (at the height of the Vietnam War), they changed the name of Harrington Street to Ho Chi Minh Sarani in order to vex the Americans as their consulate stood on this road (and continues to till this day). One can’t discount the theory that the BJP is sending a similar signal to the Congress whose party headquarters are located on Akbar Road. Between Rishi Kapoor’s tirade and VK Singh’s complaint, it seems the Congress family name is seen by some as being as oppressive as the Mughal Empire.
Jawaharlal Nehru was recently erased from Rajasthan’s history textbooks. History, after all, belongs to the victors. When the BJP has not even spared the first prime minister of India, then Akbar should count his days in Delhi. It is interesting to note that while our neighbour Bhutan has gone carbon negative, our cavilling administration instead wants to emulate Burma in their bid to be Muslim negative.
Only time will shine light on the futility of playing with history in the times of the Internet. Meanwhile, Indian students and citizens would do well to pay heed to Alvin Toffler’s advice that “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Abhishek Sikhwal is a Calcutta-based author and the founder of Resetto
Source: dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/24-May-16/renaming-roads-wont-erase-history
URL: https://newageislam.com/pakistan-press/fallout-mansour’s-death-new-age/d/107397