One People

In response to a reader letter to his publication Harijan in 1939, Ghandi wrote this reponse. Readers of this blog will be able to figure the political position posed by the writer of the letter, but here I admire how Gandhi clearly understood the universality of people. His answers take the form of questions and the message - from any perspective - Hindu or Muslim - remains relevant today, over 62 years after Gandhi's death on 30th January 1948.

Why is India not one nation?

Was it not one during, say, the Mughal period? Is India composed of two nations? If it is, why only two? Are not Christians a third, Parsis a fourth, and so on? Are the Muslims of China a nation separate from the other Chinese? Are the Muslims of England a different nation from the other English? How are the Muslims of the Punjab different from the Hindus and the Sikhs? Are they not all Punjabis, drinking the same water, breathing the same air and deriving sustenance from the same soil? ...

... The way suggested by the correspondent is the way of strife. Live and let live or mutual forbearance and toleration is the law of life. That is the lesson I have learnt from the Quran, the Bible, the Zend Avesta and the Gita.

London Calling

The Taliban leadership do not have as their principal aim al-Qaeda's violent global jihadist agenda

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband

Mmm ... tunes change ...

In 2001, the Americans blurred the lines between the Taliban/Al Qaeda and in the process also confused Pashtoon interests with terrorism. It was always complex, but the net result is, nine years later, Pashtoons feel unrepresented, out of favour and vilified. The London Conference on Afghanistan is primarily about handover/withdrawal - call it what you like. At least that is the mood today.

From the BBC:

Talking with the Taliban is emerging as the big issue at the London conference. At first glance, it appears a simple idea - weaken the insurgency by luring away low and mid-level Taliban fighters. This - it is argued - could be done by offering jobs and a general amnesty for the insurgents. But it will be difficult - if not impossible - to pull off.

Part of the problem is that international forces (and the Afghan government) are struggling to understand who they are fighting and what is actually fuelling the insurgency here. And that raises the question: if you do not fully understand who you are fighting, can you hope to win them over?

Photograph from the Boston Globe

... the truth is the truth ...

Quotes from Mahatma Gandhi:

"A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble."

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

"We may never be strong enough to be entirely nonviolent in thought, word and deed. But we must keep nonviolence as our goal and make strong progress towards it."

"Even if you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth."

F Word

A quick test of observation. Read this sentence:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.


Count the Fs in this sentence aloud. IMPORTANT: Count them ONLY ONCE. DO NOT go back and count them again.

How many did you find?

The average person finds three of them. If you spotted four, you're above average. If you got five, you are very observant. If you caught six, you are a genius. There is no catch. Many people forget the OFs. The human brain tends to see them as Vs and not Fs.

The Prison Dream (2)

This song by Fiza Fayaz is inspired by Ghani Khan's The Prison Dream. Khan Abdul Ghani Khan, of course, was the son of Bacha Khan and this poem was written during Ghani Khan's political incarceration at Hyderabad Jail in 1948.

Tor_Khan تور خان

I dream, I dream, and seek for it some answer from the world.
I lie and rest my head on the beloveds lap;

I dream that I set off like a butterfly;
Fly round a narcissus and skim past a jasmine;
Circle the necklace round the beloveds delicate neck
And hail her, invisible, with silent greetings.
I dream, and seek for it some answer from the world
I dream...

I dream that I set out shrouded in a zephyr;
Go to my darlings side as a vision of love;
Hang before her eyes like a desert dream,
And lose in one jangle the riches of my life.
I dream, and seek for it some answer from the world
I dream...

I dream of an evening at a garden full of flowers
Red eyes of the cupbearer with wine in ruddy hands;
Fingers on a sitar in elation like Khayyams,
Gently turning over it the sweet fable of love.
I dream, and seek for it some answer from the world
I dream...

I dream, I dream, and seek for it some answer from the world.
I lie and rest my head on the beloveds lap;
I dream...

Written by Ghani Khan in Hyderabad Jail 1948
Translation by: ghanikhan.wordpress.com

The Prison Dream (1)

Khob winam alama ka e sok rakri maana

Prot yem sar mi ayekhe da khpal yaar pa zangana
I dream o wise ones, if (only) someone gives me the meaning
I rest my head here, on my beloveds lapGhani Khan

Tor_Khan تور خان

Hope and Remembrance - Bacha Khan

Yesterday, I spoke of despair. Today I shall speak of remembrance, and with it, hope. In fact, I started 2010 with a message of hope. As much as I believe in peace, I believe in hope. If you take away hope from people, then what is the reason for them to go on?

On this day, in 1988, Bacha Khan, Leader, Philosopher, Activist and Soldier of Peace died. Bacha Khan's words, whilst sometimes reflected the difficulties of the moment, offer a vision of peace and hope. His message, is one that I have repeatedly come back to on these pages. There is another way, and that is the way to peace, freedom and hope.

نن پښتون تە ټـوپک نە ،
د قلم ضرورت دى
باچا خان
Nan, Pukhtoon ta topak na, da qalam zaroorat de.
"Today Pashtoons do not need guns. They need pens."
Bacha Khan

Tor_Khan تور خان