RajeevSrinivasa
http://bit.ly/...
yet ISI complained ishrat jehan's corpse was not veiled! such entitlement! hindu's coffin marked 'kafir':
http://bit.ly/...in india, dead mohammedans, especially dead mohammedan terrorists such as sohrabuddin and ishrat jehan, are treated with great tenderness. nobody writes 'terrorist' on their coffins. the GoI and teesta setalvad and the ELM invent all sorts of encomiums -- so sweet and innocent and 17 years old (ishrat jehan), such a nice family man (sohrabuddin).
"kashmiriyat", "pakistaniyat", "malayaliat" all mean nothing -- they are all devices to get hindus to accept mohammedan supremacy. at the end of the day, every mohammedan believes that every hindu is inferior, wicked, and can only be 'saved' by conversion. (especially if the hindu is a woman, so that he can have free use of her vagina and her womb.)
this is the fate of all those 'progressives' once mohammedans are in a majority, or a large (30%) minority. of course, india's clever 'progressives' have salted away large amounts in swiss accounts and probably acquired foreign passports so they can fly off when the shit hits the fan. only the most naive of them will be left holding the bag.
also, funny hindi transliteration these pakistanis use "rakhengay" etc.
A 'kafir' for bigots but friends defend him as patriot
Anita Joshua
Premchand at a session of the Youth Parliament of Pakistan.
Islamabad: Was it ignorance, oversight or bigotry? This is the question doing the rounds on the Internet as young Pakistanis come to terms with the coffin of Premchand — one of the 152 passengers killed in last week's plane crash in Islamabad – being labelled 'kafir' (non-believer).
A bit of everything seems to be the answer from the discussion triggered on various websites. The reactions range from remorse and disgust at denying the youngster respect in death, to anger at why an issue is being made of what may have just been a clerical error.
Premchand, a social worker from Sanghar in Sindh, was among the six members of the Youth Parliament killed in the plane crash. What made his death stand out was what happened later. Summing it up, the first post on the online discussion forum 'pakistaniat.com' said: "His death — like the death of everyone on that flight — was a matter of national tragedy; the treatment of his dead body a matter of national disgrace."
Friends who identified Premchand's body were quoted by news reports as saying that the coffin came marked 'kafir
.' The word literally means 'infidel' or 'non-believer,' but it is seen as an insult in these parts. "It was shocking. He could have been marked as Hindu or non-Muslim, but using the word 'kafir' is the worst example of intolerance."
Muneeb Afzal, a member of the Youth Parliament (MYP) said, recalling that the night before the crash he had received greetings from Premchand to mark the 15th of Shabaan.
Pouring out the angst felt by his friends, the post on pakistaniat.com adds: "Literally labelling someone's coffin 'kafir' and not even giving them the respect to list their religion by its proper name is a shameful and disgusting way to disrespect the last remains of anyone. All the more so, the last remains of a patriotic Pakistani who was on that plane solely to represent Pakistan and to seek to be a better Pakistani – he was on his way to the 'session' of the Youth Parliament!"
Anita Joshua
| Premchand was one of the 152 passengers killed in plane crash in Islamabad |
Premchand at a session of the Youth Parliament of Pakistan.
Islamabad: Was it ignorance, oversight or bigotry? This is the question doing the rounds on the Internet as young Pakistanis come to terms with the coffin of Premchand — one of the 152 passengers killed in last week's plane crash in Islamabad – being labelled 'kafir' (non-believer).
A bit of everything seems to be the answer from the discussion triggered on various websites. The reactions range from remorse and disgust at denying the youngster respect in death, to anger at why an issue is being made of what may have just been a clerical error.
Premchand, a social worker from Sanghar in Sindh, was among the six members of the Youth Parliament killed in the plane crash. What made his death stand out was what happened later. Summing it up, the first post on the online discussion forum 'pakistaniat.com' said: "His death — like the death of everyone on that flight — was a matter of national tragedy; the treatment of his dead body a matter of national disgrace."
Friends who identified Premchand's body were quoted by news reports as saying that the coffin came marked 'kafir
.' The word literally means 'infidel' or 'non-believer,' but it is seen as an insult in these parts. "It was shocking. He could have been marked as Hindu or non-Muslim, but using the word 'kafir' is the worst example of intolerance."
Muneeb Afzal, a member of the Youth Parliament (MYP) said, recalling that the night before the crash he had received greetings from Premchand to mark the 15th of Shabaan.
Pouring out the angst felt by his friends, the post on pakistaniat.com adds: "Literally labelling someone's coffin 'kafir' and not even giving them the respect to list their religion by its proper name is a shameful and disgusting way to disrespect the last remains of anyone. All the more so, the last remains of a patriotic Pakistani who was on that plane solely to represent Pakistan and to seek to be a better Pakistani – he was on his way to the 'session' of the Youth Parliament!"
To spare his relatives from the added pain of seeing Premchand termed 'kafir' in death, his friends did their best to cover it up by writing over the marking on the coffin, "We love you — from the Youth Parliament." Still, word got out as one of the MYPs decided to speak up during a condolence meeting covered by the media. Though he came in for criticism for bringing this into the public domain and adding to the family's grief, the subsequent discussion on the Internet reflects the feeling that silence on such matters is seen as complicity, on which bigotry feeds.
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 3:54 PM, Ravi wrote:
Check out the Facebook page in Prem Chand's memory (with 140 Pakistanis) :http://www.facebook.com/pages/Remembering-Prem-Chand/147995411877554?v=wall&ref=mfThey (MYPs) protested against the marking of the coffin of one of their colleague Prem Chand as 'Kafir.' "It was shocking. He could have been marked as Hindu or non-Muslim, but using the word 'Kafir' is the worst example of intolerance," said MYP Muneeb Afzal.Prem Chand We Are Ashamed – by Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi
Cross-posted from his blog
There have been very few times when I have not found the right words to express my grief, sorrow, anger or passion for something and today is one of those days as today I write for my man, Prem Chand – A Pakistani Hindu, a true patriot, a social worker who spent his life trying to uplift the condition of his fellow countrymen, he gave sweat and tears to this land of pure. An elected member of PILDAT;s Youth Parliament, whose fellow YP's say the following about him:
He greeted muslims with a warm Assalamo alaikum…he sent msgs of congratulations on shab barat and other holy days…..He used "Allah" hafiz to bid farewell…and he swore by this name…I hv been with him….He was more of a sufi who believed in all religions and the good things in themAnd it doesnt even matter if was he was that intolerant about religious beliefs, even if he were a staunch Hindu he didnot deserve what we gave him. He was on board EQ-202 Airbus 321, Airblue's flight to Islamabad which crashed in Margalla Hills leaving 152 dead and the nation mourned (officially for 01 day). He was not travelling on personal visit, he was meant to be present at Youth Parliaments session the next day.
And like said above, he gave his sweat and tears to this land of pure – and what did he get? Some religious bigot wrote "Kaafir" (English: Infidel) on his coffin. (Link) We are no short of these religious bigots whose favorite pass time is to judge and discriminate on Pakistanis on basis of their faith – but this sad incident, which killed 152 human beings was an opportunity for these religious fanatics to show their true face. The poor guy, who was born in a Hindu family and spent his life trying to work for the people of his country was given the title of "Kaafir" by someone amongst us. This particular segment of our society pounces on every opportunity to exhibit their religious fanaticism from the very beginning, when Quaid e Azam (the founder of Pakistan) was labelled as "Kaafir-e-Azam".
Bear in mind, Pakistan was made because people of Indo-Pak subcontinent felt they were discriminated upon on the basis of their faith – The same we are doing with our minorities.
I would cross-post some of his words here:
I believe in democratic process, because true democracy can solve all problems of state. – Prem Chand.
Prem Chand's last status update on Facebook was:
"Comments Can Make a Person & Comments Can Break a Person."So Be Careful and Ethical While Giving Comments for Someone." – He rightly said so. A single word comment on his coffin has shattered many across Pakistan.I protest against these religious fanatics and I salute Prem Chand – And all the Prem Chands in the making and I confess to the religious minorities of Pakistan – that just because of our silence, just because of our muted response to injustices done to you – we stand here after 64 years. I dig my head in shame, and I vow to fight for you, for us, for the Pakistan we were supposed to have.
Please join this page on facebook as we try to take it from, to pick it from here and voice out for minorities of Pakistan.
Below is the letter written by Zulqarnain, Prem's friend:
Its very painful for me to write to defend such gem of a person. But in a society like ours where people are discriminated on the basis of their faith, Its essential to show these religious bigots their real face.
Prem chand was born to a poor family and was its lone feeder. He belonged to Sanghar, Sindh. He was 25 and was married and also had children. He, however, looked younger than his age and we also used to crack jokes on him for this which he thoroughly enjoyed. He certainly was not a "man" and had those boyish looks. He was doing masters from Sindh university, something pertaining to Social work. He not only called himself a social worker but his text messages also bore this signature. The signature was later changed to "YP Minister" when he was made minister for Youth affairs, culture and sports in previous session of YP. This honour was well deserved as he had prepared and presented a comprehensive research report on state of social welfare in Pakistan. He was hardworking, dedicated and sincere. His educational back ground was such that he could not make flowery speeches.
He was not good at speaking English and his Urdu also had that pinch of Sindhi accent but this never deterred him to stand up and speak whenever he wanted. He was a patriot and loved pakistan, worried about it as much as we "muslims" do, brought resolutions, prepared them, asked for help, tried to pinpoint and resolve all the problems that Pakistan faces, spoke against India on water issue and had no qualms on the prospect of going to war with her. I say all this to show that he was "normal". He was not alien or "Indian".
I have met many people from religious minorities. All of them have that peculiar air about them. they lack confidence, they have fears of the unknown, They are very cautious. Prem Chand also seemed to be the victim of discrimination. Though that did not make him a loner, but it sure taught him to love more. He over tried. tried to be more good to you than u wud expect, tried to make good friends of everyone. Most of the time he lived in the room right next to me during the sessions so he often came over to my room. Thats when I observed this. He would send u text messages just to stay in touch. he wont mind if u didnt reply. I guess, he could not afford to be egotistic.
He was very tolerant in his religious views. We never discussed religion much. Though once I remember a fellow colleague of us talked to him in good faith. He probably wanted to convert him to Islam. Though he never said so. There I came to know that Prem knew much about Islam. He liked Zakir Nayak and comparative studies of different religions. He was interested in Sufism as well. And he wont mind if u asked him questions about hinduism. When interacting with us he would use "muslim" greetings not to prove anything but simply to avoid putting others in a difficult situation.
I still remember the time when we used to hang out. He used to borrow cigarettes from friends and puff away scores of them just for the fun of it. He was not a smoker though. I also remember that prem did not have a FB account. He also did not know how to make one so Hassan Javed (the late youth prime minister) made one for him on his laptop. When the account was made he jokingly asked Hassan to allow him to add Hassan's female friends as he did not have girlfriends of his own……Thats all I can remember right now hope it helps.
Zaidi! Who knows what I be
Poet. Writer. Humanitarian. Philanthropist. Artist. Social & Youth Activist. Aeronautical Engineer. A Mad Man. A dove. Founder/Chairperson Pakistan Youth Alliance. Compiling a treatise of Spiritual & Inspirational Poetry under the aegis of " Plastic Tears : An Insight "
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7 Responses to "Prem Chand We Are Ashamed – by Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi"
http://tribune.com.pk/story/32670/youth-parliament%E2%80%99s-last-session-not-as-they-expected/Laila Ebadi says:
Prem Chand's coffin was marked as "Kafir", which the parliamentarians "strongly condemned". "He called himself a social worker. No person has the right to decide who goes to heaven or hell," said one teary-eyed parliamentarian.
It indeed was a heart shattering news, Thanks to S A A Zaidi for such a wonderful post. I have started a piece to be written on the same issue but you have depicted our grief…aliarqam says:
Indeed its a day of humiliation for us as a nation, we denied a son of the land by tagging his coffin with a humiliating word…
yaar, mind my french, but iss madarchodh, munafiq, hippocrite qaum ka kya hoga? it seem even god has given up on the madness we call religion in pakistan. lanaty quam ka yeh hi anjam hoga. ashamed to be a pakistani and a muslim because of such psychotic bigots.ashamed says:
Thanks Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi for sharing this wonderful post.Farhad Jarral says:
i love u i miss u i pray u prem chand , tumhary thinking aur social work tumhay hamesha zindha rakhengay ,thanks for great feeling sharing .irfan urfi says:
irfan urfi
humza ikram says:
1 comment:
I strongly feel that an "underground railroad" network needs to be in place to get the Hindus out of Pakistan and Bangladesh, preferably into India, but if need be, into a European or Western country. It does not make sense for the Hindus to remain there, eventually get converted (best option), killed or raped because of their faith. Get them into India, save their well-being, and, from a strategic standpoint, increase the Hindu demographics within the currently defined borders of India, as we wait for the complete self-annihilation of Pakistan and probably Bangladesh (wherever there is Islam, this is a distinct possibility).
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