Fat Man! Little Boy!

August is a  very happening month and not only because I was born during the month ! Actually most opinions agree that August 6, in the year 1945 is the day the world changed forever! Well we all know USA used an atomic device on that day . " Little Boy" , was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. And just three days later on 9th August "Fat Man" was detonated over Nagasaki city. Estimates vary and depending on who you believe between 80,000 to 120,000 lives were lost instantly. Both cities were turned to rubble. Another 50,000 to 100,000 victims died later as a result of the these nuclear attacks. This signal event ended the second world war decisively and has  largely shaped political, geographical and international contours of our world today.

August came early this year not quite far from the Japanese shores; in Sentosa island. A resort island off the southern coast of Singapore. Actually it is connected to the city by road , cable car, monorail and even a pedestrian boardwalk. Yet another big bang happened here on June 12 , 2018. There was a lot of uncertainty and Yes - no ; go- no go for a while but a "Fat man & a Little Boy " did manage to drop in once again. Exactly on Capella resort! Luckily no one exploded. Korean fat man; president for life Kim Jong-Un and the American brattish little boy; president Trump shook hands in a bid to avoid nuclear tipped rockets flying  over the Korean peninsula. Seems like the world has averted this catastrophe for now! This whole event was high on drama, sound bites and optics and might prove to be as historical as the events in 1945. A little bit to the west of Singapore things were not so dramatic !

In fact every effort was made to keep things as close to the chest as possible. It was hilarious but will prove historical in the long run. The deadly combination of "little boy and Fat man" exploded over Pakistan. They were more potent than a nuclear device! In fact they were Book Bombs !

Lieutenant General Mohammad Asad Durrani is a retired chief of the notorious spy agency of Pakistan- ISI . In a prime example of life being stranger than fiction, he somehow has gotten friendly with Amarjit Dulat . Ex chief of ISI's biggest rival - Indian Spy Agency RAW! Maybe it is their Punjabi connections, maybe their track 2 interactions but they have hit it off and are drinking buddies in their retirement. They have written a book together : The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace  .

Everything has exploded in the Pakistani security establishment. They were livid at their such an  errant "little boy"   !  Having read the book I can safely conclude that no state secrets were divulged by Durrani. All he seems to have said has been said before and most of the campaign generalities he talks about is common knowledge. What seems to have  touched a raw nerve is the fact that he is  gunning for peace between India and Pakistan. Definitely not an operating philosophy for the Pakistan establishment. Most damning in my opinion is his belief that Pakistan was not made for ever ! This one is huge ; specially coming from a three star general and their chief spy albeit retired. He has laid bare chinks in their armour, the one's we could all see anyway. Last we heard he is going to face a court of inquiry. In a secretive Pakistan we will know of the outcome when we will. Maybe never !

Even as the din from the first explosion was abating, along came the second. More powerful; really a "Fat Man"! The thing is that at the time of writing the book was unpublished as yet. Reham Khan's autobiography . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GRxgs9XyGM

What seems to have got everyone's goat is the fact that she broke the news at an Indian Channel. A crime in itself. But the bigger issue is the fact that she directly indicts establishment's blue eyed boy Imran Khan : her ex husband;of being in collusion with forces sympathetic to Taliban who changes his views and statements to suit his audiences.  Anything to grab power.She raises a big red flag for the voters to vote with caution lest Imran manages to grab power and lead Pakistan into an  intractable abyss.

Having tied up Nawaz Sharif in all kinds of tangles, some of  his own making; the field is clear for Imran. All he has to do is to show up on the election day  but for this impertinent women who dares to speak!! Everyone and their mother is hell bent on tarnishing the reputation of the author as a person; as a  mother; as a wife; as a women; as a Pakistani; as a Muslim and even as a journalist. Nobody has read the book! This book if and when it comes out may change the outcome of this election and the course of history. The only ray of hope for the establishment is the fact that nobody reads; especially a common voter in Pakistan. And the book is in English, a language in my personal experience even fairly educated in Pakistan are not very comfortable with.

The thing though is that with so many voices trying to shout her down and shut her up in itself proves that she is surely worth listening to.  Personally I believe she has a very crucial point about Imran khan. As Reham was married to him for a year (10 months according to Imran) she validates my assessment of Imran not being trustworthy. We will have to wait till 25th July to see if August has arrived !

Importance of being Manjoor Pashteen !

Early this year in January a rather dapper looking Pashtun shopkeeper Naqeebullah  Mehsud  got shot to death in Karachi. Nothing out of ordinary! Just another day in office for the establishment's blue eyed boy SSP Rao Anwar of the Sindh police. He would most likely have received a medal and promotion for this  kill but for the fact that the dead man was an innocent whose entire list of crimes consisted of having a wrong name and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This also would have been ignored but there was another young man who just would not let that happen- a veterinary doctor named Manjoor Pashteen. 

He had earlier midwifed now famous Pashtun Tahafuz Movement in 2014 to champion the rights of his people, specially the right to live. Common wisdom conservatively puts the number of disappearances and extra judicial killings in Pakistan in hundreds if not thousands and they have continued to rise over the years. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) recorded 338 executions in police encounters in 2010, an alarming 50% increase from the 226 executions that took place in 2009. Investigations were launched only in 25 of the 338 cases, following protests by families of the victims.  

http://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-content/pdf/ff/10.pdf 

So Manjoor has been successful in garnering  nation wide support and in organising large demonstrations and protest demanding justice in this case. Establishment typically at first shielded the culprit ,helping him disappear.  Hoping for the movement to die down. That did not happen and the PTM gained speed. At the same time they also moved in from the left flank and unleashed their stooges in the media that on one hand declared Manjoor variously to be a foreign spy working for NDS; a RAW agent; a CIA plant and a Khwarij ( apostate). On the other hand they  blacked him out by providing zero coverage in the mainstream media.

Unfortunately for them PTM  gathered steam despite all of these counter measures and is now being treated a serious threat to the State itself. 

There are several regional ; religious; ethnic and linguistic groups and subgroups in the area that became Pakistan in 1947. Broadly speaking they were Punjabi; Sindhi ; Baloch; Pathan; Muhajir ( immigrants from the rest of India) and the biggest group of them all - Bengali ! Well in the only such instance in the history of the world numerical majority left the federation of Pakistan after a bloody battle; citing injustice ; discrimination and repression. It is now a new country called Bangladesh.

Muhajir community has constantly and loudly complained of the same repression, disappearances, extra judicial killings  and at various forums regretted being part of Pakistan. For now the establishment has succeeded in dividing their Movement but for how long is a question?

Jiye Sindh movement has not died , just gone underground. Same litany of woes as above. So that brings us to Balochistan! Needless to say it is a very sore point with Pakistan. Their Achilles heel so to say. To put it mildly Baloch have had it , period! They are all packed and ready to walk out right at this very moment and give Pakistan a death blow.

That leaves Punjabi, considered the core of the establishment and Pathan/Pakhtun communities. Is Manjoor Pashteen important? You bet he is. Even if one disregards  Pakhtun community's Afghan connections ; he is the only one standing between Pakistan's fig leaf of fighting terrorism and exposing them as a state that has used terrorism as a state policy within and outside. A discredited cabal that chooses to imprison Shakil Afridi instead of rewarding him for  helping neutralize Bin Laden is on a very shaky ground. Manjoor Pashteen maybe the very last straw.

Laundry List !

Canada provides a unique perspective to see rest of the world and its happenings. It is the America which is not! Obviously being just north of the USA has its pros and cons. Jury is still out to decide which is more numerous. Guess they frequently change the top position depending on the issue at hand and party at the helm of their respective governments.

Much as everyone dismisses Canada as the 51^st province of the US; it certainly is not. Although there are massive similarities in the character, thoughts, beliefs, processes, systems and the people. Sometimes a mirror image of each other, most times a reflection. There is a shared history, shared peaceful open border as well as rather a long laundry list of contentious disputes between the two. Both in terms of Trade as well as politics.

From this vantage point it is obvious that despite the end of the cold war and the sad demise of the Soviet Union it is quite not such a unipolar world as America would have liked it. Challenges abound. Newer, vigorous and markedly virulent threats question them regularly. 

US can safely blame the duo of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon for letting the China genie out of the bottle. It probably was a smart thing to do at the time. US needed someone to lick its Vietnam wounds and China needed someone to help loosen the Russian bear hug. One less Soviet friend suited US as well so …. Today an eagerly expansionist Communist China is providing the stiffest challenge; at times acting surreptitiously, suspiciously and ominously.  US currently owes China about a trillion dollars. Some fiscal experts say it is a problem for China, some say it is a problem for the US. However, all agree that it is a massive problem and a huge lever.

Many moons ago US went willingly into the quagmire of Afghanistan to stop Soviet Russia’s access to the Indian Ocean. Today it is faced with the spectre of a communist China right on the mouth of Indian Ocean in Gwadar Port, Baluchistan.

As if it was not enough there is that throbbing pain on the other side of their head called North Korea. Kim may be a megalomaniac that needs to keep up his boasts, but I really doubt if he is foolish enough to let ballistic missiles fly over the Korean peninsula.  He certainly will remain an imminent danger to Japan and South Korea and keep threatening the US. Then there is China. Again! A lot of Kim’s bluster and capabilities stem from the support it receives from China. The sole major nation to do so.

It serves certain quarters to propagate the myth that Afghan’s can’t be defeated.  Anybody can be and so can they. Their History is proof enough.  It is an ancient land that has been inhabited for thousands of years. Arabs invaded them a little more than thousand years ago. Their entire society and ruling kingdoms capitulated. Now it is not my proposition that they should be defeated but the false self-serving narrative mostly touted by the Pakistani establishment needs to be countered. It essentially is a smoke screen to hide their keystone role in keeping the pot boiling. Ironically US paid Pakistan handsomely to execute this diabolical plan against itself!

Who other than China supports Pakistan in this endeavour? And really guess how North Korea got its nuclear capabilities? If you guessed Pakistan; you are right. Remember Father of the Islamic bomb; A. Q. Khan was running a nuclear Walmart under the watchful eyes of ISI!

It is rather easy to connect these dots. There are several other issues at hand like Saudi Arab’s penchant for promoting Wahhabism. Its rivalry with Shia Iran and the attendant fallout in the middle east. Mexican immigrants; Colombian drug cartel etc. Good lord! at the time of writing the whole US government was shut down because of funding issues.

 Talk about problems! US has got aplenty. Someone the other day said that the biggest problem they have is ‘Trump’! Now if he has seen through Pakistan’s game in Afghanistan; he is not such a dolt! Is he now? Only thing I am confused about is that if  this is the beginning of the end; the end of the beginning or the beginning of a beginning?

Women's prerogative !

Portrait of a women - Pablo  Picasso

Women are all believed to be Gemini. They change their mercurial mind rather suddenly. I have borne the scars of the sharp edge this scythe  myself. Maybe  the entire fault lies with us. Maybe we do not have the ability to read between the lines. Maybe we misinterpret what we hear and see. Maybe...   

"If you never change your mind, Why have one?"   Edward de bono has impeccable logic. However my question is, if you changed your mind what on earth did you change it to?

The best thing about being a woman, is the prerogative to have a little fun. Shania Twain says so and with that she has shut me up nice and proper. I can not fault this one.

Now before you chalk me up as a misogynist sob , let me quickly add that this phenomenon is not restricted to women alone. Someone said that  gluttony is mankind's exclusive prerogative. How true ! No other animal ever eats more than what they need except the human kind.

Interestingly enough "The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself." So said Pauline kael , the famous film critic.

Charles William Ashworth aka Charlie Peacock is a singer, songwriter and author. He may have uttered a great truth when he said," I am a politician, and as a politician I have the prerogative to lie whenever I want!" This might have been said in jest but most  of us do believe the words to be true of all politicians.

As I said some of the blame lies with us. We let them off the hook rather easily. Politicians I mean. Take the case of Nitish Kumar. A couple of months ago when he ditched his then political formation to hitch his wagon to an unarguably corrupt and rotten to core political disposition; It was marketed as a brave , selfless move to contain reactionary, divisive, fundamentalist forces. Remember he was in power together with them till a couple of days before dumping them on the wayside. We swallowed this hogwash eagerly!

Several months down the line he realized that his new alignment , he is sharing power with now, is corrupt. Actually he realized they  were corrupt all this while but he was under no compulsion to take any cognizance till then! So what does he do?  Ditch this alignment too; that's what.  He dropped them like hot potato and got back  together with those same previously condemned ; famous reactionary, divisive , fundamentalists. Talk about prerogative !!

Was he lying previously, or is he lying now? He is as wrong now as he was in the past ; if you ask me. But we let him use his prerogative without  questioning and without him having to go back to people and seek a new mandate. We are the worst culprits here!

It is a fool's prerogative to utter truths that no one else will speak ; Neil Gaiman the author says. So I will take this opportunity to use my prerogative and endorse this truism that is  good for personal, professional and political life :-
 
Do not take people for granted. No matter how much they love you, people get tired eventually.

नौ दिन चले अढ़ाई कोस !

Back to sq. one.

ओ रे कन्हैया , किसको कहेगा तू मैया ?

यूँ  तो चिठ्ठी पत्री गए ज़माने की बात हो गयी ; इधर कुछ दिनों से देखता हूँ कि लोग फिर लिखने लगे हैं।  कोई राष्ट्रपति जी को लिख  रहा है; कोई प्रधान मंत्री को  तो कोई संपादक महोदय को। विषय वही है ; ज ने वि , और क्या ? सो मै उसी विश्वविद्यालय के छात्रों को यह पत्र प्रेषित करता हूँ। जिस तलक भी पहुँचे ! कल ये शिकायत अपने से न होगी कि  मै कुछ कह सुन सकता था , किया नहीं। मेरा निजी  स्वार्थ  ही है , बस। 

आज   यकीं नहीं  होता  पर अपने बड़े ही प्रिय  चचा से प्रेरणा पा के कुछ दशकों पहले तक माओ की लाल किताब अपनी जेब में रखे घूमता था। उम्र उतनी ही होगी जो आपकी आज है। चचा ने ही दी थी। चचा  अब नहीं पर  किताब रह गयी। उसी किताब से नौजवानों के लिए एक उद्धरण है," दुनिया तुम्हारी है ; हमारी भी।   अंततः तुम्हारी ही है।  तुम नौजवान अपने जीवन के स्वर्णिम काल  में हो , जैसे सुबह का सूरज ! हमारी सारी  उम्मीदें तुम से हैं"। ऐसा  माओ  ने मास्को में 1957 में चीनी विद्यार्थियों से कहा था।  

अब इसे जीवन की विडंबना ही कहा जायेगा कि उसी सोवियत रूस के अपने लम्बे प्रवास के दौरान मुझे अनुभव हुआ कि वामपंथ एक बहुत ही रुमानी विचारधारा  है ; यथार्थ से बहुत परे ! सो इस सब से बहुत पहले बचपन में जिस पार्क में खेलने जाया करते थे वहां शाखा लगा करती थी।  5 से 6 पिट्ठू गरम और 6 से 7 शाखा।  वही  आर  एस एस वाली! बहुत प्रवचन सुने हैं मैंने।  लाल भी , केसरी भी। कभी दाढ़ी भी रखता था और दोस्तों के साथ हरे में भी घुस जाता था । जासूस को कोई पहचाने क्यों कर । 

कहने का भाव यह है कि  मै एक बौद्धिक जिप्सी हूँ।आम बोल चाल  में थाली का बैंगन।  आपको कोई प्रवचन नहीं दूंगा।  यह नहीं कहूँगा की यह मानो , वह न मानो। जो भाये मानो , जितना भाये उतना मानो ; चाहो तो कुछ भी न मानो। बस प्रश्न पूछने की आदत डाल  लो।  व्यक्ति को अंतिम दिन तक जिज्ञासु बने रहना चाहिए।  जितना हम जानते हैं ; ज्ञान का विस्तार उससे कही आगे तक है। 

कॉलेज की एक असाइनमेंट  में मेरे 10 में से 7 आये। अपने को मै  उस विषय का तोप मानता  था। शायद था भी। मेरी दुनिया जैसे खत्म हो गयी। जब तक अपने प्रोफेसर से हफ्ते भर बहस मुहासबा करके उसको 8 नहीं कर लिया दिन का चैन और रातों की नींद न आयी। आज बस अपने पे हँसी आती है। उम्र ही कुछ ऐसी होती है।  बड़ी बड़ी बातें जूते की नोक पे और इक जरा सी बात पे जान लुटा  दो। यह शायद रहती दुनिया तक न बदलेगा। बस उम्मीद करता हूँ कि आप मुझ से अधिक समझ दिखाएंगे। 

इस सारे प्रकरण में एक अच्छी बात ये हुई कि जो महानुभाव लाल किले पे लाल निशान लगाने को दिन रात एक किये रहते हैं वह भी तिरंगा पकड़ लिये! मजबूरी में ही सही। दूसरी तरफ भी बस तिरंगे की ही चर्चा  गरम  है। सो आप भी पकड़ लो। दुनिया बदल जाएगी, वक़्त बदल जायेगा ; और सरकारों का तो वैसे ही कोई ठिकाना नहीं। आप लोग जीवन की एक एक सीढ़ी चढ़ते जाओगे।  कुछ इधर जाओगे , कुछ उधर जाओगे।  नयी दिशाएँ , नए क्षितिज , नयी सोच और नयी जिम्मेदारियां होंगी। सफलता आपके कदम चूमेगी।  नहीं बदलेगा तो यह कि आप की पहचान विश्व भर में फिर भी भारत से ही होगी। किसी पार्टी , किसी विचार धारा , किसी सरकार और किसी कॉलेज से नहीं।मै  विदेश में रहता हूँ ; निजी अनुभव से बता रहा रहा हूँ। भारत टूटा ... तो आपका।  भारत बर्बाद ...तो आपका। जान लो ! 

बीते  ज़माने में मेरी एक मित्र ने मुझे उलाहना दिया जो   मुझे  निहायत  बुरा और खुदगर्ज़ लगा। आज शायद आपको भी लगे।  वह मित्र अब जाने कहाँ है पर  उसकी बात मेरे पास ही रह गयी है। अपना समझ के आपको बता देता हूँ। समय की कसौटी पर खरी उतरी है। " दुनिया  का भला करने निकले तो हो  पहले अपना तो भला  करो"।   कुछ बनोगे तभी न समाज  और व्यवस्था को बदलने की ताकत पाओगे। शिक्षित होने और मत शिक्षित होने के फ़र्क़ को जानो  भाई हमारी सारी  उम्मीदें तुम से हैं।

प्रश्न करना न भूलना ; खास तौर पे अपने से।

निस्का बोमो , निस्का बोमो ,बूचा मेथ !

दादा हमारे डाक बाबू थे, ब्रिटिश शासनकाल  में। यह समाज में रुतबे वाला पद था। उन दिनों लद्दाख में तैनाती थी।  दादी को लेकिन पास पड़ोस की महिलाओं की खुसर पुसर से परेशानी थी । निस्का बोमो , निस्का बोमो ,बूचा  मेथ ! यानि लड़कियां ही लड़कियां हैं , लड़का कोई नहीं। सो जब पिता जी का जनम हुआ तो लाडले बच्चे का नाम रखा गया जवाहर लाल । दादी तो दादी  हमारी बुआओं ने भी इस भाई को लाड  लडाने  में कोई कमी न छोड़ी। 70  साल पहले घर का खाना पसंद न आने पे इस बच्चे के लिए होटल से पसंद का खाना मंगवाया जाता रहा  !  अंग्रेज गए  देश आजाद हुआ। बंटवारे के दौरान गाँव का घर जला दिया गया। किसी तरह खाली हाथ लुट  पिट कर शहर पहुंचे और एक रिश्तेदार के किराये के मकान  में शरण ली।

जैसे तैसे पढ़ाई की। कश्मीर में ढंग का काम न मिलना था न मिला। इस दौरान प्यार , शादी ,बच्चा वगेरह सब हो गया। सो एक दिन 8 रुपय्ये  जेब  में डाले दिल्ली चले आये! बहन  के पास। एक समाचार एजेंसी में मामूली सा काम मिला। अब कमरे का किराया और पीछे घर को खर्चे के लिए पैसा भेजने के बाद दो वक़्त की रोटी खाने लायक नहीं बचता  था।  सस्ता जमाना था ;रोटी के साथ दाल  मुफ्त मिला करती थी। सो दो रोटी का पैसा चुकाते   रहे और फ्री दाल से पेट भरते रहे। तीसरी खाते तो शाम का क्या होता?

समय के साथ कुछ चीज़ें बदली।  नहीं बदला तो यह की हम पिताजी को दुनियादार नहीं बना सके।  पत्नी के ताने बेकार ; बच्चों का रूठना बेकार; दोस्तों का रस्ता दिखाना   बेकार; रिश्तेदारों का उलाहना बेकार।  अरे भई अमुक आदमी फलां पोस्ट  आपसे पहले कैसे पा गया ? देखिये उसको सरकारी घर मिला ; आप कहाँ रह गए ? अच्छा हम लोग कार  क्यों नहीं ले सकते? मंत्री जी से नहीं कहला सकते तो इतने साल पत्रकारिता का क्या फायदा?  हे भगवन यह सीधा  आदमी हमारे ही पल्ले पड़ना था?

सालो हमारे घर में वृहत परिवार के लोग आते रहे।  कोई शिक्षा  के लिए , कोई नौकरी के लिए , कोई मुसीबत का मारा तो कोई वैसे ही सर्दियों में दिल्ली घूमने के लिए। कोई 6  दिन रहा कोई 6 साल।  हम चाहे मन में कोसते रहे ,पर पिता के चेहरे  पे कोई शिकन न आई। हमारे घर का नाम रखा था "जवाहर  ढाबा". आज भी जब हम दो तीन लोग ही खाने की टेबल होते हैं तो बड़ा अजीब लगता है।

किसी आदमी  का मूल्यांकन उसकी वाणी , विचार और कर्म से करें।  उसके पद , पैसे और पुरस्कार से नहीं। फिर भी अच्छा लगा एक शरीफ आदमी का यूँ  सम्मान  पाना। आज उन्हें मिला पदम श्री सिर्फ उनका नहीं है।
जीवन में जितने लोगों ने उनका साथ पाया उन सबका भी है। हर उस सीधे ,और भोले इंसान का भी है जो जोड़ तोड़ नहीं जानता।  जो जुगाड़ नहीं बिठा पाता;बस अपना कर्म अपनी शक्ति अनुसार करता रहता है

मै थोड़ी दृष्टता तो कर रहा हूँ पर जानता  हूँ कि मेरे पिता  बुरा नहीं मनाएंगे। सो यह सम्मान  हमारे परिवार की परम्पराओं के अनुसार आप सब के साथ साँझा कर रहा हूँ. चाहें तो आप भी आगे हर  भले मानुस के साथ साँझा  कर लें।

लोग झूठ बोलते हैं; सीधी  ऊँगली से भी घी निकलता है। आप सबको गणतंत्र दिवस की  बधाई !