Light Within: Shared Heritage and History

Shared Heritage and History
Saturday, 25 April 2009

Pakistan and India share a collective history that goes back centuries, yet both countries are guilty of not celebrating it as a shared history.

Let me elaborate. I watched The Legend of Bhagat Singh a while back and a few things struck me.

One, the history of the struggle against the British has always been taught as a two-sided game: there was the Congress, there was the Muslim League and they were the representatives of India. We know nothing of the less-profiled heroes - the likes of ones who were highlighted in this movie. They too are part of both of our countries' histories, but invisible heroes they are! And the weird thing is that the agenda of these less profiled movements was more comprehensive than the ones adopted by either of the main parties. They had one demand right from the beginning: total independence.

Total independence. That would imply complete freedom from the presence of the British and their political structures - the complete aboilation of the colonial structures. In place of mere transfer of political power. But, unfortunately, at the end of the day that is precisely what happened. The colonial structures in the form of the bureaucracy, the political framework and the ruling elite remained wholy intact. And the result is out there, for all of us to see. The poor of both our countries are yet to benefit from the fruits of "freedom". So then was it the lack of sagacity of the top political brass or was it the compulsions of working within the system or was it that the top political brass did not, just, try hard enough? Maybe a combination of all three, but I'm digressing here.

Back to The Legend of Bhagat Singh. There was another thing struck me. In fact, it glared me right in the face as I was watching the movie: majority of the events chronicled in the movie took place in Lahore, my hometown, and yet I had scanty knowledge about them prior to watching the movie! It is almost as if Bhagat Singh, Azad and friends have been erased from the slate of history on this side of the border! I will hazard a guess, as to why it was done. They were not Muslims. Period. And therefore, could not conform to the Two Nation Theory and had to be disposed off. Is it just me, or does anyone else also see the problem here?

So while I was still mulling over this, I came across this article. The author is an Indian lady who accounts her experiences of a visit to Bukhara. The article is worth a read for it narrates the history, the heritage and the myths of bygone days. Days which were shared by both our countries. Yet, we don't remember them like that. By and large it is a Muslim history and therefore, it is either: revered and glorified [knowingly or unknowingly]; or hated for the barbaric kings who brought it to the subcontinent. The collective "Indian" [lets say - the pre-partition Indian identity] element has been purged from this history. Why? Again, was it done owing to the events of '47? Or had we begun demarcating our history even earlier?

So in the light of all that, I want to leave you with this question: how can we work towards reconstructing a shared heritage and history for the subcontinent? For we do share the heritage and history of this area - that is just one more fact of life!

posted by S A J Shirazi @ Saturday, April 25, 2009,

30 Comments:

At 2:39 PM PKT, rama said...: Hullo! I cannot express in words my appreciation of this piece.

YES! YES! YES!

Pakistan was sadly divested of the whole legacy of the non-communal, pro-people, anti-colonial, anti-imperialist freedom struggle. That is something I could never understand, when so many Muslims and so many places in today's Pakistan were at the forefront of the movement. Bhagat Singh is as much a hero of Pakistan as he is of India. Jointly celebrating people like Bhagat Singh today may be the way for the people of Pakistan and India to come together, emotionally, grow together economically, and together work to rid the subcontinent of the curse of poverty.

Warmly

rama
At 2:47 PM PKT, Sidhusaaheb said...: Speaking from personal experience, I realised upon visiting the Pakistani part of Punjab that all the people there are similar to those in the Indian part of Punjab in almost all aspects apart from the religion that we follow.

We speak the same language, we eat the same kind of food and, in the villages, we even live in the same kind of houses and wear the same kind of dress (salwar-kameez for the women and chaadra-kurta for the men). We have the same culture in terms of village fairs, etc., as well.

I have written more about the commonalities that I observed at:

http://sidhusaaheb.blogspot.com/2006/07/pakistan-visit-part-4.html

I think it is only through greater interaction amongst the people on both sides of the border that we can come to know more about our shared heritage and history and celebrate it together.

:)
At 5:02 PM PKT, Alina said...: From what I've read and discovered, the strongest reasons for highlighting or dismissing parts of history are always political. Or reasons to be less proud of: fear, discrimination, hate. History has to be seen as a whole, always, to see all the aspects before passing judgements. But that would lead to being impartial, and impartial people are harder to control and influence I guess.
At 5:17 PM PKT, Saadia said...: I think not only Pakistan should change the history in its text books but India as well. They both are too hypocrate to talk about real history. So I wont blame Pakistan alone, as India is also not doing something better here. True they are more or less same people but (as) divided nation, they should not atleast divide their history.
At 7:06 PM PKT, ayesha said...: @ Rama: Glad you agree. My hope is that soon more people will begin to share the belief.

@ Sidhusaaheb: I myself have often used the example of the two punjabs when pointing out the similarities between our two people. So while greater contact is necessary, I think it is also about shedding the taboos associated with the 'other'. Dunno, if it is entirely the product of partition but the 'other' is somewhat demonised in our countries. So we also need to fight that if we want successful integration.

@ Alina: You are very right, the causes for dismissal here too are political than anything else. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the history of partition and the political nature of the subsequent Pakistani state, but it all traces back to those tumultuous years.

@ Saadia: Yes, both countries need to fix it. But the sad truth is that the discrepancies are greater on our side of the divide than the Indian. And that is primarily because we have worked so hard to manufacture our identity that we have forgotten who we truly are! This was just one example. At least, we can put our own house in order. Can't we?
At 9:07 PM PKT, Sidhusaaheb said...: I think a lot of the effects of demonising and what is conveyed to us by our respective governments disappear when people communicate with each other.

Here is the story of another freedom fighter and revolutionary, like Bhagat Singh, who chose to call himself Ram Mohammed Singh Azad:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udham_Singh

:)
At 9:57 PM PKT, Pervaiz Munir Alvi said...: Pakistan shares its history and culture with all of its neighbors not just with India as Ms. Ayesha Saeed sees it. Indian films which she has referred to are often biased and full of anti Pakistan propaganda and there fore could hardly be a source of historical facts. Indian line is always that there is no need of Pakistan so let us remove the international border. That is a silly argument and a non starter as they come. To Sidgusaaheb, Punjab was divided at the insistence of Mr. Nehru of India. Of course Pakistani Punjab and Indian Punjab share their history and culture. Indians and Pakistanis unfortunately also share their centuries old hatred and antagonism. My question is what do the Pushtoons of Pakistan and Tamils of India share with each other. What is common between Balochs of Pakistan and Assamese of India? Once we move away from the plains of Punjab and the Ganges valley we are hard pressed to find the commonalities Ms. Ayesha Saeed is looking for. Sub-continent India is like Europe. It contains many nations within itself. Why India should not be divided on cultural and linguistic lines like Europe and Central Asia. The idea of India is as young as the Idea of Pakistan. If one is inclined to re-examine then why to stop at Pakistan. Let us examine why India should be a singular state. There is reason why there is Pakistan. It goes beyond the religion and the two-nation theory of the past. Pakistan was created so that we do not get pushed under the Indian rug. Ms. Ayesha Saeed and Sidhusaheeb need to look beyond Lahore and Punjab. Pakistanis need to think more of Kashmir, Frontier, Balochistan, Sindh and Indus valley and less of the Ganges valley. Our future is with Pakistan and not with India.

Pervaiz Munir Alvi
At 11:04 PM PKT, rama said...: Hullo again, there's a spelling mistake in the title, it should be Heritage not Hertiage. Pls change that fast. I am informing some Indian blog digests about this post.

I just had a one and half hour phone discussion with a friend, hurling scorn at him for his vile, bigoted "Hindu" mentality. Reading Mr Pervaiz Munir Alvi's comment, I feel he should if he has the inclination examine himself, in the privacy of his own conscience, aesthetics and ethics. His thinking is infantile, ugly and pathetic. He himself should proble such questions and find answers that are indisputable, and can stand the test of "what would you have said if the accident of birth had not put you in the situation you are in". Like mother's milk, Hindu Indians have ingested distorted, pernicious conditioning. Sadly, I have to accept that the same is the case with some people in Pakistan. But no amount of argument, or demonstration of facts and figures can change the thinking. There has to be one's own urge and relentless effort, against all odds, to never embrace inhuman and juveline attitudes.

No one is threatening Pakistan. If you read this post and feel that your Pakistani identity is threatened - that's your problem Sir. Your Pakistani identity seems to be so weak that its ratlled by this post! As I see it, any enlightened Pakistani, as a true patriot, as someone concerned about the lives and well-being of the common people of Pakistan - can celebrate Bhagat Singh. God save nations from its false puny patriots!

Anyway, I can coexist with and entirely ignore such views, as I do those of my patriotic Hindu fellow citizens, whom I am ashamed to share my Indian citizenship with. May your tribe be well and flourish. The earth and life will take care of creation and humanity, patriotism notwithstanding.
At 11:47 PM PKT, ayesha said...: With all due respect Pervaiz sahab!

No where did I maintain that we forget the Balochis and the Pathans. All I've maintained is that we should celebrate the similarities that we have with India. How would that, in any way, undermine the identity of the Pathans or the Balochis? Why can we not celebrate both of them and feel equally proud about them? Why does our identity have to be threatened, Sir? Why would the celebration of what was our shared past, be a negation of our present and future? Why not own up to it and create a niche for ourselves? One that preferably would stand on its two feet and not be compared to India after every two seconds!

I really don't understand why our identity must be threatened by India. And yours is the standard response I have receive whenever I have raise this issue. Beats me.

@ Rama: Fixing it. Thanks for pointing out! :)
At 8:03 AM PKT, Anonymous said...: Dear Rama,

Here are some of your words and phrases about me and my comments.

“examine himself, in the privacy of his own conscience, aesthetics and ethics.”

“His thinking is infantile, ugly and pathetic.’

“inhuman and juveline attitudes”

“false puny patriots”

Now who is rattled? You or I? What did I say negative about your people or your country that upset you.

And Dear Ayesha,

Here are some of your statements.

“we should celebrate the similarities that we have with India”

“Why would the celebration of what was our shared past be a negation of our present and future?”

What about our dissimilarities? Should we celebrate them too? Or in your opinion it will be politically not polite to do so? What about our similarities with our other neighbors? Do they not count or you do not get to see their movies on your TV and DVD.

What do you know about the shared past?

Are you willing to celebrate the persecutions of Sikhs by the armies of Aurangzeb or the retaliations of Sikhs by raping Muslim girls?

Are you willing to celebrate the destruction of Hindu temples by the Muslims or the desecration of Muslim mosques by the Sikhs in Punjab?

Are willing to celebrate the two way butchering that went on with Hindus-Sikhs on one side or Muslims on the other?

These historical facts are also part of our “shared past”. Should we be selective in celebrating our past? And my last questions. Why are we so keen to get back into the culture we got out of six decades ago? What is that attracts you about Indian culture?

Pervaiz Munir Alvi
At 8:46 AM PKT, rama said...: Hullo again.

I am not rattled. I am angered and disgusted that mature, educated people can embrace attitudes which only degrade them. I am appalled at the ignorance, and the smug contentedness at the ignorance that this signifies. When Rajiv Gandhi was the PM of India in the late 80s, there was a period when a "Mera Bharat Mahaan" campaign was aired - to nauseating excess - on Indian TV (Doordarshan; I used to call it Rajiv-darshan). One of the spots was of a young, middle class Indian saying "maloom nahi sach hai ki nahi, lekin jab Time magazine calls India a superpower, bahut achha lagta hai". That used to make me cringe in shame. That bechara had nothing within himself to appreciate, so he had to look to such pathetic things to get his sense of self. Nor could he look up to genuinely meaningful things or elevated people. He could only see as high as his own "inner height". Last evening, a friend of mine said "when I see the map and think that India stretches from Afghanistan to Burma, it makes me feel proud". How I lashed out at him! You puny, pathetic beggar, you are so bereft and bankrupt that you have nothing else to feel proud about, so you have to find pride in such meaningless things as the imagined geographical contours of your supposed nation.
My friend, I have no ill-will for Pakistanis, or Muslims. I only despise pseudo patriots and disharmony-mongers. But humanity and harmony are very refined things. Not for the brutish herd that makes up the bulk of human-kind. But I do hope brutes will keep coming to light, and thus ascend to the Almight's measure.

Best, rama
At 9:57 AM PKT, ayesha said...: Sir,

What about our dissimilarities? Should we celebrate them too? Or in your opinion it will be politically not polite to do so?

I would rather have the glass half full than empty sir. If we want to bog ourselves down on the dissimilarities, then by your very definition why should the people of Punjab and NWFP share a common sentiment of Pakistaniat? Our dissimilarities in tradition, culture, language are exactly the same as the ones between a Pathan and a North India? If we must look at dissimilarities then what gives us a greater allegiance to them?

Sir, in my humble opinion: Bridges are not built by focusing on differences. They are built despite them. So it would be politically correct to ignore the differences and try to surge forward from a common ground. Is that not the basis of coexistence of any sort?

What about our similarities with our other neighbors?

Sir, did I say anything about not celebrating similarities with other countries? I did not. But yes, celebrate them - by all means! I also have a sneaky feeling that you would not have raised these objections had my post been about Afghanistan. And yes, there is just about the same amount of bad blood between Pakistan and Afghanistan - but hey, they are our brothers!

By these standards, it is essentially goodbye humanity!

Are you willing to celebrate the persecutions of Sikhs by the armies of Aurangzeb or the retaliations of Sikhs by raping Muslim girls?

Are you willing to celebrate the destruction of Hindu temples by the Muslims or the desecration of Muslim mosques by the Sikhs in Punjab?

Yes, sir I know of all this history. But I feel it is more important to work towards forging our differences than keep lamenting about the horrors we caused each other.

Continuous litany about these differences only encourages a xenophobic culture. I am proposing that we rid ourselves from the ghosts of our past and work towards a better future. A more humane one, hopefully!

These historical facts are also part of our “shared past”. Should we be selective in celebrating our past?

Yes, you are right these historical facts are also part of our history and past. But is it not time to make to reconcile with the horrors we perpetuated on each other and move on to better relations between our two people?

Also Sir, my question to you: do we ever celebrate differences in good spirit? No, we generally tend celebrate them in the spirit of upmanship - with an attempt to glorify them so that we appear different from the other. What purpose does that serve?

Why are we so keen to get back into the culture we got out of six decades ago? What is that attracts you about Indian culture?

First let me try to answer your second question.

It is NOT the Indian culture that I'm celebrating!

My post said that we should celebrate our common heroes. Bhagat Singh was a Lahori, by virtue of his birth. He lived and died in what is my city. I see him as a revolutionary Lahori! What makes him Indian to you? His religion? (he, btw, was an atheist) If that's your qualification for Indian culture - then you must ask for all the Lahori Sikhs to pack up their bags and leave for India.

And the first question then. Sir, why was all this thrown out of our culture 60 years ago in the first place? To make us feel more secure about ourselves? I don't know, but I can make an attempt to tell you what it did do to us. It made sure that the very basis of our identity is defined in reference to what our neigbhour is. So there is essentially no room for constructing our own identity! To borrow the name from ATP - our pakistaniat is not defined inherently by our own selves! Our pakistaniat is by virtue anti-Indian. And frankly, I'm rather sick of that definition of my nationhood. Sir, why do we not celebrate the ancient civilizations of Mohendejaro and Taxilla as part of our heritage? They get one measly chapter in our social studies books - telling us that they are ruins and were great civilizations - but we are never taught what those people were really about! Why not? Were they not part of our history as well? How come we have exorcised them? Again because of religion? Sir, basically in our overzealous attempts to construct a Pakistani identity we have really forgotten who we are. That is why you are enraged when I try to highlight bits that were 'thrown' out of our culture 6 decades ago!
At 11:58 AM PKT, Alina said...: I'm not very familiar. I wrote a presentation on Pakistan as a touris destination for my Business English class a few weeks ago, and had to research the history a little, so I have some ideas. However, this is hardly a unique case. Some parts of the Romanian history were also in shadows for dozens of years during the Comunist period.
At 12:58 PM PKT, Sidhusaaheb said...: Alvi Sa'ab,

You have very rightly cited the example of Europe.

I sincerely hope that the relations between India and Pakistan will some day be akin to those among the member states of the European Union, where movement of people and trade shall be free and, of course, the similarities as well as the differences shall be recognised and celebrated!

:)
At 3:09 PM PKT, Anonymous said...: Ayesha,

Great post. Corruption of history to suit political aims is an established and well documented practice.

Rubina Saigol in a paper titled "Enemies Within and Enemies Without: The Besieged Self in Pakistani Textbooks" talks about how states engineer the production, organization
and distribution of social knowledge to construct national collective memory. She explores the various different others represented in Pakistani textbooks as enemies in an effort to build a singular Pakistani identity. Saigol also writes about the challenge of designing curricula for a post-national world.

Rubina Saigol's paper sheds some light on the attitude of a young Pakistani student I'd met. He commented that he hates the British for what they had done to Pakistan (and he wasn't talking about the partition.) What threw me was that, even with all his professed hatred, here he was studying, living and enjoying life in the UK. And when I asked him why was he here then, he said he came here to make a better life and that the British owed him that.

The paper can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/u4wwm
At 3:11 PM PKT, Chrome said...: Oops! The previous comment wasn't supposed to be Anonymous.
At 4:21 PM PKT, Saadia said...: Ayesha I am not fond of hindi or hollywood movies and dont watch them as they are very unrealistic, I believe more in books and literature and India failed to talk about real history in their text books as well as Pakistan.

I am glad you do criticise your country and this proves how much many Pakistanis are open to show where Pakistan is not good at but is there no person from Indian side who is non-Sikh can say yes India is as hypocrate as Pakistan....thats what irritates me most!

Pervaiz Alvi saheb, its not only Punjab but Nehru had a big hand making in Pakistan.
At 5:40 PM PKT, rama said...: Hullo again! I am really surpised to read the last comment: " is there no person from Indian side who can say yes India is as hypocrate as Pakistan....thats what irritates me most!". This only underlines what Ayesha said, about the Pakistani identity being constructed negatively around the demon of Hindu-India. So its like, yes, we can admit to our failures, but so must India! This is acutely childish. Come on! Grow up! Forget about India! Think about yourself as you'd like to! Make Pakistan what you'd like it to be! If there are faults and failures in Pakistan, then its in the interest of Pakistanis to discern and correct them, and let India be damned. But coming to India itself, you only have to make a little bit of effort to see the extent of internal critique that's present in India. But even that is inadequate. And there can never be too much of critique. The more the better. That's the meaning of democracy. Love of nation is expressed in concerned critique. Speaking personally, those who know me will be able to judge how much of an "India apologist" I am. My blog is also testimony. Last year, I told Gunter Grass when he visited Calcutta, "India is the motherland of apartheid". Among (some) Indians, the sense of democratic citizenship has grown very strong, they don't feel the need to hold on to the security blankets of "Mera Bharat Mahaan". That's the professional business of the Hindutva brigade, and their magic is on the wane, and their corruption is on the ascendant. For every hate-filled utterance of the Hindutva monkeys, there are many others in India who will give back a fitting reply.

The people of India and Pakistan have to emerge from the dark shadows of the other cast in their minds and hearts. Its a new century, a new world is being made. Its time for independent self-awareness and expression.

Best, rama
At 6:27 PM PKT, Saadia said...: Rama your problem is that you talk too much and admire yourself. Bro you also need to grow up and admit the reality that both countries are not perfect. We need the people like Ayesha who stands for truth and can criticize even her own country....learn from it, it will help you for your better growth ;-). You need not to claim that how good you are but your actions will show....while here I see another Rama do i really need to visit your website, especially the indecent words you used for another guy's comments.
At 7:58 PM PKT, BD said...: I think we guys need to just chill!
Can we just focus on the blog post?
At 8:32 PM PKT, Saadia said...: bd I respect your suggestion :-), thanks and chill ;-)
At 8:41 PM PKT, rama said...: This is perhaps the first time in 6 months of blogging that I have engaged in any such detailed commenting. So actually I do not talk too much. What I have to say, I say on my blog. I don't admire myself. I have convictions, which are borne out of experience, which I know to be out of the common run of most people's personal life trajectories. Hence I have uncommon views and reactions.

There's no need to take anything I said personally. I am only referring to the articulations of the people in question. So "puny", "juvenile" etc mean "puny or juvenile point of view". The person may well be an adult body-builder. But his sensibility is puny and juvenile. A spade has to be called a spade in honest discourse.

Further, if there was anything vile or hurtful in my words, then, equally, people should become sensitive to the vileness and the hurtfulness of what they consider to be "normal" discussion. So far as I am concerned, disharmonious talk, underpinned by ill-will, animosity, bitterness etc - are as vile and violent as any mere words I might use. A child needs mollycoddling. An adult must be brave enough to face the truth!

Of course I admire Ayesha, who as you say "stands for truth and can criticize even her own country." Since you are not aware of anything about me, it is inappropriate to simply assume that I must be "pro-India". If you sought to educate yourself, you too might grow.

You may disregard me, but you cannot disregard truth, or mask it beneath courtesies. You now have another opportunity to observe your own reactions, and see their make-up.

But I would not like to deprive anyone of a sense of having emerged a "victor" or "vindicated" in this discussion. Nor am I seeking to win or prevail. Harmony, human well-being are what matter to me. And its not simply a matter of academic discussion, or coffee shop debate. This is my life work. Hence the heat in my communications.

My apologies to everyone. Now I shall make my exit.

Best

rama
At 4:20 AM PKT, Anonymous said...: @everyone

This is a great and valuable discussion - one that's not seen very much outside the blog forum.

I want to emphasize my support for some of the points raised in this discussion.

1) That both countries are guilty of hiding facts and presented a prejudiced view of their histories. Some folks in here have presented Bhagat Singh as an example of distortion, or the lack of mention, in history as taught in Pakistan. Similarily in India, while the BJP came to power, several NCERT history textbooks were rewritten to reflect a view that our ancestors did not eat beef (to appease the hardcore Hindutva supporters). This attracted hoarse criticism from various sections of our society and by and large, the Indian middle class. Historical distortion, whether it is with respect to denying a hero's status on the basis of his religious identity or denying a people's cultural habits, is distortion regardless. In the end, only truth matters, unless you believe that knowing the truth, you would rather other learn from lies. In which case, what you are promoting is not "education", but your own ego. Satyamev jayathe ("Truth always wins")

2) India's greatest challenge in terms of presenting its history in a factual manner is to remove the vestiges left by its Hindu Nationalist movement and its colonial rulers.

3) Pakistan's greatest challenge in terms of presenting its history in a factual manner is to remove the India-phobic perspectives and focus on rewriting the story of its people. Does this involve some soul-searching? Most probably.

History is best presented as a set of facts and opposing interpretations, so that the final interpretation is left to the reader him/herself. Ultimately, any meaningful interpretation is supported by real life experiences and not by bookish knowledge. If India's history textbooks excluded the section on the Indus Valley civilization, on account of the Indus Valley lying in Pakistan territory, then who is the worse for it? Me, the reader, who else? Because I have just lost a great part of my understanding of the great forces of history that shaped me.

@pervaiz
Sir, I'm an Indian. And despite what you say, it is not the official Indian policy to swallow Pakistan or deny its nationhood. No PM of India has ever said or indicated anything of that sort. Why do you fear India then?

You asked what is common between Assam and Pashtuns in terms of their histories? It may surprise you to know that there are racial similarities between the two. There are linguistic similarities between the two. Instead of taking different cultures at face value, real historians examine these similarities and differences in depth and often come up with more comprehensive truths than the xenophobic perspectives you display. One thing that many middle class people fear in every part of the world are perspectives like yours. Because there are people who want to live together despite their differences and there are people don't see that desire and want to tear them apart. Look at what's happening in Iraq!

As an Indian, do I care about what's taught in Pakistani history textbooks? At some level I have to. Because the first political conversation I had with a Pakistani friend went something like this:

Friend: Gandhi slept with two girls by his side.
Me: Perhaps, but you gloss over his accomplishments.
Friend: But he was weird.

I have heard from enough sources not to reject what my friend said. But, the fact that she found it meaningful in a conversation we were having about Pakistan and India's problems tells me that she's been indoctrinated to believe that just about everything about "Indian" history. I wonder if she realizes that when Nehru asked Gandhi to reconsider Jinnah's request for the Prime Ministership, it was Gandhi who suggested Jinnah's name for the PM to demonstrate that India was a democratic and secular republic. We have had Muslim presidents and prime ministers since then. So, here's the next question:

Should Pakistanis be equally concerned about what's taught in Indian textbooks?

Of course. Because I do not want to hold a prejudiced, and ultimately false view of anything. I want to know the truth, the facts, pure and simple. I do not want it sifted for the digestable and the indigestable, for the morally repugnant and righteous or the patriotic and the unpatriotic.

Satyamev Jayathe.
At 7:21 AM PKT, Rose said...: I hate to see history being tampered with for any reason, mostly though it is because of political reasons. Thanks for sharing this information.
At 12:14 PM PKT, junoesque said...: thank you for this refreshing point ov view.

gives me hope for us all and our futures
At 8:40 AM PKT, dipesh said...: Hey ayesha,

Nice post here. Like Pakistan, India too lives in a lot of denial about it's Muslim past and the Hinduvta brigade wants to erase around 600 yrs of history. I think it hurts no one when we celebrate our heritage and past.

@Saadia,
There is no dearth of die-hard critics of the Indian society in India. I am one of them as well. I, like plenty others, am not blindfolded by the 'Mera bharat mahan' campaign. I understand that one of the strengths of democracy is to self-critique itself. Nationhood and patriotism are strong emotions and obviusly a majority will be swayed by such emotions. But that statement that we are not harsh critics of ourselves is incorrect. Anyway, you miss the main point, as a society your concern should be how to contribute to YOUR own society and improve it, not to be complacent by comparing it with others. It's like that kid in school who says 'Look mom he scored worse than me'.
At 12:44 AM PKT, Anonymous said...: Hi AYESHA,

Came here thru a link in Abhishek's blog. I'm glad I found your blog, really great post ! The way the ruling class write history to aid them, as is said history is written by the victor. But eventually, its the generations of Indians and Pakistanis and Bangladeshis who live in mutual distrust of each other.There is no concept of India without Pakistan and Bangladesh and Nepal and Sri Lanka. Our destinies and our myths are so entwined. Hope one day we find sanity.

Again, excellent take on the issue.
At 8:52 PM PKT, Anonymous said...: Have you seen the new India search engine www.ByIndia.com they added all the cool features of popular products like MySpace, YouTube, Ebay, Craigslist, etc. all for free to use and specifically for India. Anyone else try this yet?

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At 9:38 PM PKT, zebee said...: Should we be selective in celebrating our past?

replace the word 'celebrate' with 'acknowledge' - and the answer is a resounding No!

Why are we so keen to get back into the culture we got out of six decades ago

I have never been to pakistan, but based on what i have seen in pictures - and more than that, from my interaction with pakistanis, as well as what i have heard from those who live side by side with them, abroad - i would like to ask - have you really 'got out' of it? and furthermore, why would you want to? leaving behind your culture, is simply leaving behind your culture - not that of indians!
At 10:31 PM PKT, Raza Rumi said...: What a great post and thoughts. Indeed there was going to be a discussion given the topic. However, I some of the comments and their tone/tenor is very much a negation of the spirit of this post.

Respecting history and shared heritage is imperative for dynamic societies and polities.

thanks for reiterating this, myopic polemics notwithstanding..

www.razarumi.wordpress.com