Do you support the division of Pakistan into smaller Provinces?

[united pakistan]

aur suppose k MQM ko sooba mil jata hai, tu Wo waha pe badmashi ku dikahye gi ???? aur kis pe ????

karachi k halat dekh ker asani se smajh aa jana chahiye
apni her baat manwane k liye wo karachi ko khoon se laal ker dete hein our agar un ka koi kuta bhi mar jay to 100 bandey katal ker dete hein ya koi un k khilaf kuch bhi keh de to pore sindh mein strike ker dete hein or jo na kere us ki zindgi khatre mein hoti hai bhata late hein or.........so on and so far
karachi or kuch cities ko agar ek sooba bhna bhi diya jaye to koi burai nhi lekin at least muhjir sooba nhi

[brightside.]

Originally Posted by A-TOWN BOY

i'm against the creation of karachi as a separate province. if it does happen, all the money will flow into the hands of MQM. not to forget their policies against the people coming to karachi for a living.

The people coming to Karachi for 'a living' are erecting illegal properties in the slums and outskirts of Karachi. I have no problem with any Pakistani citizen coming to Karachi and renting/buying/constructing property legally. But these people are just coming in and settling down wherever the $%^ they feel like. This is not good for our city (from many different perspectives, including livability and urban planning). Our city is the only one liberal and cosmopolitan enough to accept anyone of any ethnicity and no one has trouble finding something or the other to make a living. But these droves of illiterates are flooding our city, and on top of that they are living on illegally occupied land, and then they demand political power in Karachi! Screw that!

Agar koi un ghatia mutli-colored buses k competition mei achi saaf suthri bus chalata hai tou ye log uss pe hamla kar dete hain aur jala detey hain. Aisay immigrants ko koi passand nahi karta. Aisi harkatein karni hain tou Karachi se apnay ilaqay wapis ja k karo.

Originally Posted by A-TOWN BOY

kyunki karachi ki dolat poore mulk se aati hai.

Hain? Aap ulta bol rahey hou dost. Karachi ka GDP kisi bhi aur jaga se ziada hai Pakistan mei. Karachi is not as reliant on Lahore or other areas as they are on Karachi.

[Aashiq]

Agreed with Fadi and Brightside since they are both from Karachi unlike the other people arguing against a Karachi province. Any person with half a brain would know making Karachi a separate province would be good for Karachi and its citizens.

[united pakistan]

Originally Posted by brightside.

The people coming to Karachi for 'a living' are erecting illegal properties in the slums and outskirts of Karachi. I have no problem with any Pakistani citizen coming to Karachi and renting/buying/constructing property legally. But these people are just coming in and settling down wherever the $%^ they feel like. This is not good for our city (from many different perspectives, including livability and urban planning). Our city is the only one liberal and cosmopolitan enough to accept anyone of any ethnicity and no one has trouble finding something or the other to make a living. But these droves of illiterates are flooding our city, and on top of that they are living on illegally occupied land, and then they demand political power in Karachi! Screw that!

Agar koi un ghatia mutli-colored buses k competition mei achi saaf suthri bus chalata hai tou ye log uss pe hamla kar dete hain aur jala detey hain. Aisay immigrants ko koi passand nahi karta. Aisi harkatein karni hain tou Karachi se apnay ilaqay wapis ja k karo.

Ye baat theek ha k public property ko nuqsan nhi pohnchana chahiye lekin is ka mutlab ye nhi k un logo ko us sheher se nikal dia jay balke whan law and order ki situation theek kerni chahiye warnaa lahore islamabad mein aisa ku nhi hota wha bhi poore mulk k log rehte hein shaid karach jitne nhi lekin mumbai ko dekh lo waha aisa kuch ku nhi

Hain? Aap ulta bol rahey hou dost. Karachi ka GDP kisi bhi aur jaga se ziada hai Pakistan mei. Karachi is not as reliant on Lahore or other areas as they are on Karachi.

karachi ka gdp sab se ziada hai lekin ye nhi kha ja sakta k mulk ki puree dolat karachi se aa rhi hai ku k phir lahore faisalabad islamabad rawalpindi sialkot gujrat or peshawar ka gdp kisi or mulk ko to nhi jata na
it is really very sad that we are still discussing gdp of cities not of PAKISTAN

[united pakistan]

Originally Posted by Aashiq

Agreed with Fadi and Brightside since they are both from Karachi unlike the other people arguing against a Karachi province. Any person with half a brain would know making Karachi a separate province would be good for Karachi and its citizens.

no body is against the creation of new province but today if people are demanding a so called muhajir sooba under influence of a London based political group then it is quite possible that they will demand a separate country for muhajirs
is mein hamara kya kasoor hai k muhajir aa ker humare sab se baree shehr per qabza ker lein or 65 years k baad bhi wo PAKISTANI nhi bane abhi bhi MUHAJIR hi hein

[A-TOWN BOY]

Originally Posted by brightside.

The people coming to Karachi for 'a living' are erecting illegal properties in the slums and outskirts of Karachi. I have no problem with any Pakistani citizen coming to Karachi and renting/buying/constructing property legally. But these people are just coming in and settling down wherever the $%^ they feel like. This is not good for our city (from many different perspectives, including livability and urban planning). Our city is the only one liberal and cosmopolitan enough to accept anyone of any ethnicity and no one has trouble finding something or the other to make a living. But these droves of illiterates are flooding our city, and on top of that they are living on illegally occupied land, and then they demand political power in Karachi! Screw that!

i totally agree on the illegal slum part. they shouldn't have been allowed in the first place. but i disagree that karachi is the only liberal and cosmopolitan city of pakistan. islamabad is a perfect example of one. plus one does not need a degree to enter karachi. illiterates can enter karachi if they want. also u can't really say it's your city coz u came there first. karachi belongs to a pathan as much as it belongs to a muhajir. if any ethnicity can claim to being a native, it's the sindhi community. period. as far as political power goes, why not? if MQM can win elections with the backing of the muhajirs, why can't ANP use the pashtun vote? not to say that i like either party. but all i'm saying is that there shouldn't be double standards.

Originally Posted by brightside.

Agar koi un ghatia mutli-colored buses k competition mei achi saaf suthri bus chalata hai tou ye log uss pe hamla kar dete hain aur jala detey hain. Aisay immigrants ko koi passand nahi karta. Aisi harkatein karni hain tou Karachi se apnay ilaqay wapis ja k karo.

yeh police ka kaam hai unn ko rokna. agar unn main dum nahi hai toh behtar hai military ko bula lein. such scumbags should not be tolerated. but that doesn't mean u can "deport" them from karachi. neither should such a law be passed.

Originally Posted by brightside.

Hain? Aap ulta bol rahey hou dost. Karachi ka GDP kisi bhi aur jaga se ziada hai Pakistan mei. Karachi is not as reliant on Lahore or other areas as they are on Karachi.

of course karachi ka GDP ziada hai. lekin karachi ka saara paisa aasmaan se nahi tapakta. aur naa hee saara revenue 100% locally created hai. bohat saare log poore pakistan se apna paisa aur business karachi laate hain.mere hee kuch rishte daar apna paisa karachi le gaye. aise hee asmaan se nahi aaya karachi main paisa. haar koi contribute karta hai karachi ki development main. aur jahan tak baat hai reliance ki toh gwadar develop karte hain, phir dekhte hain.

[A-TOWN BOY]

Originally Posted by united pakistan

is mein hamara kya kasoor hai k muhajir aa ker humare sab se baree shehr per qabza ker lein or 65 years k baad bhi wo PAKISTANI nhi bane abhi bhi MUHAJIR hi hein

yeh intihaai ghalat baat kahi aap ne. naam united pakistan hai par afsoos baat aapne tangg zehen jahilon wali ki hai. yeh mulk jitna hamara hai utna muhajiron ka bhi hai. balke meri nazar main ziyada kyunki woh apna sub kuch choor kar pakistan ki khatir aaye. unhon ne koi qabza nahi kiya. bhla apne ghar par koi qabza kar sakta hai kya. aur kisi ko muhajiron ki patriotism par shak nahi hona chahiye. har muhajir MQM ka supporter nahi hota mere bhai jis tarah har punjabi nawaz sharif ka supporter nahi. aur jis ne bhi aap se kaha keh muhajir apne aap ko pakistani nahi samajhte woh ya toh kabhi zindagi main kisi muhajir se mila nahi ya phir woh muhajiron se be waja nafrat karta hai.

[fadi rulzzzz]

Originally Posted by A-TOWN BOY

yeh intihaai ghalat baat kahi aap ne. naam united pakistan hai par afsoos baat aapne tangg zehen jahilon wali ki hai. yeh mulk jitna hamara hai utna muhajiron ka bhi hai. balke meri nazar main ziyada kyunki woh apna sub kuch choor kar pakistan ki khatir aaye. unhon ne koi qabza nahi kiya. bhla apne ghar par koi qabza kar sakta hai kya. aur kisi ko muhajiron ki patriotism par shak nahi hona chahiye. har muhajir MQM ka supporter nahi hota mere bhai jis tarah har punjabi nawaz sharif ka supporter nahi. aur jis ne bhi aap se kaha keh muhajir apne aap ko pakistani nahi samajhte woh ya toh kabhi zindagi main kisi muhajir se mila nahi ya phir woh muhajiron se be waja nafrat karta hai.

+ 1

[united pakistan]

Originally Posted by A-TOWN BOY

yeh intihaai ghalat baat kahi aap ne. naam united pakistan hai par afsoos baat aapne tangg zehen jahilon wali ki hai. yeh mulk jitna hamara hai utna muhajiron ka bhi hai. balke meri nazar main ziyada kyunki woh apna sub kuch choor kar pakistan ki khatir aaye. unhon ne koi qabza nahi kiya. bhla apne ghar par koi qabza kar sakta hai kya. aur kisi ko muhajiron ki patriotism par shak nahi hona chahiye. har muhajir MQM ka supporter nahi hota mere bhai jis tarah har punjabi nawaz sharif ka supporter nahi. aur jis ne bhi aap se kaha keh muhajir apne aap ko pakistani nahi samajhte woh ya toh kabhi zindagi main kisi muhajir se mila nahi ya phir woh muhajiron se be waja nafrat karta hai.

thanks for clearing that i was not thinking in that way,but i have heard from many people that muhajirs want a separate homeland under influence of mqm but sorry i think my comment was unnecessary and quite disturbing
I apologize if my above comments hurt any body
and my name at this forum is UNITED PAKISTAN because i want pakistanis to be united where there is no punjabi sindhi balochi muhajir pathan or seraiki but only Pakistanis
I wrote this because i was raged at the present condition of karachi

[Intoxication]

Karachi needs a Local governance system not an independent province. Otherwise, most of what has been stated by A-town boy makes sense.

[A-TOWN BOY]

Originally Posted by united pakistan

thanks for clearing that i was not thinking in that way,but i have heard from many people that muhajirs want a separate homeland under influence of mqm but sorry i think my comment was unnecessary and quite disturbing
I apologize if my above comments hurt any body
and my name at this forum is UNITED PAKISTAN because i want pakistanis to be united where there is no punjabi sindhi balochi muhajir pathan or seraiki but only Pakistanis
I wrote this because i was raged at the present condition of karachi

koi nahi hota hai. yeh baatein maine bhi suni hain. lekin suni sunai baaton par yaqeen nahi karna chahiye. yeh sub bakwaas hota hai. agar kal ko koi kahe ke pakistani aur indian punjabi mil kar pakistan se alag ho kar aik punjabi mulk banana chahte hain toh kya aap uss par bhi aise hee yaqeen kar lenge?

[siamu maharaj]

Originally Posted by united pakistan

thanks for clearing that i was not thinking in that way,but i have heard from many people that muhajirs want a separate homeland under influence of mqm but sorry i think my comment was unnecessary and quite disturbing
I apologize if my above comments hurt any body
and my name at this forum is UNITED PAKISTAN because i want pakistanis to be united where there is no punjabi sindhi balochi muhajir pathan or seraiki but only Pakistanis
I wrote this because i was raged at the present condition of karachi

Muhajirs who wanted separation was because they were 1) sidelined and 2) outright killed in huge numbers. MQM was a REACTION to it. And just so you know, I hate MQM. We lost Bangladesh due to such politics, Balochis are hardly part of Pakistan and Muhajirs were treated really bad and then people bitch about MQM. Maybe a better idea would've been to not kill Muhajirs or totally sideline them. If not for MQM, Muhajirs would've been an extinct species and Karachi would've been worse than Faisalabad (I am from Faisalabad before any Punjabi gets offended). And just so I make it clear once again, I hate MQM. But in Karachi that's the only possible choice.

Also, I never understood how Punjabis and Pathans are always full of hatred for Karachi (just venture into Lahore-related threads to see it) and Muhajirs and then suddenly they bitch about MQM and how they love Karachi. At least be consistent!

I can talk a lot on it, but anyway, it won't change anything.

But one thing I'll tell you, and because it makes me want to punch anyone who says it. Why do we use the word Muhajir? And how it makes us a lesser Pakistani and we should go back to India.

1) Muhajirs left EVERYTHING to move, so if anything they are the MOST loyal ones. Most Punjabis just went from Indian to Paki Punjab. We didn't even move to a similar culture. So how aer we lesser Pakis? And anyway, Mr. Choudhry sahib in another thread said he wants punjabs to merge so that was another big WTF!

2) Muhajir is a word that was used and got stuck. Maybe engage your brain once in a while and learn who languages and cultures work. There are two things common in this group of people - language and the fact they migrated. Surprisingly people from different part of Urdu-speaking India have many similarities and are hence bunched together. And FYI, they call themselves URDU-SPEAKER and NOT Muhajir. Seriously, you hear this term wayyyy more from Punjabis who bitch about it than from Muhajirs themselves. Also, since Biharis are inferior ( ) we tend to not call them Urdu-Speakers. Anyway the point was that within themselves you'd always refer to where you're from (UP, Bihar, Hyderabad). Bitching about the word "muhajir" is the lowest form of bitching.

[smfarazm..]

Originally Posted by A-TOWN BOY

aur kisi ko muhajiron ki patriotism par shak nahi hona chahiye. har muhajir MQM ka supporter nahi hota mere bhai jis tarah har punjabi nawaz sharif ka supporter nahi. aur jis ne bhi aap se kaha keh muhajir apne aap ko pakistani nahi samajhte woh ya toh kabhi zindagi main kisi muhajir se mila nahi ya phir woh muhajiron se be waja nafrat karta hai.

Originally Posted by siamu maharaj

Muhajir is a word that was used and got stuck. They call themselves URDU-SPEAKER and NOT Muhajir. Bitching about the word "muhajir" is the lowest form of bitching.

+1

[Intoxication]

@ Saimu, so you're saying Muhajirs/Urdu Speakers don't hate anyone? Everyone hates everyone in Pakistan!

Anyways, if anyone wants to understand Muhajir politics in Pakistan, then they need to read these 3 articles by Babar Ayaz (he is a Muhajir/Urdu Speaker himself).

ROVER’S DIARY: The dynamics of Muhajirs’ politics —Babar Ayaz

To understand the role of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has been in the red-spotlight following allegations by the former Home Minister of Sindh Zulfikar Mirza, I think it is time to briefly review the role of the Muhajirs in the politics of Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular.

It has also become imperative after the fear expressed last week by Altaf Hussain that he might be killed or silenced as he is an obstruction in the way of the balkanisation of Pakistan, implicitly by the US. He also went out of the way to end the MQM’s isolation by offering his unconditional services to the Pakistan Army and the civil government in that order. In this three-part analysis of the dynamics of Muhajir politics, we will address the issue of the MQM’s fear of balkanisation in the concluding article.

The Muhajirs migrated from the Muslim minority provinces of India mainly for three reasons: economic opportunities, personal security, which was endangered by the communal riots and, under the delusion that Muslims of India are one nation.

At the time of partition, over 70 percent migrants were from East Punjab because Punjab was one of the two provinces of India that was divided on communal basis, the other being Bengal. As the migrants from East Punjab belonged to the same ethnicity and spoke the same language, most of them settled in West Punjab and have easily assimilated with the local Punjabis.

The rest of the migrants were from Muslim minority areas such as UP, Bihar, CP, Delhi, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Gujarat, Bombay, etc. It is this lot that migrated to Sindh: one — because for some strange reason Jinnah’s government dictated that Sindh would take 200,000 refugees from the first influx, while Punjab was given 100,000; other provinces quota was much smaller; two — Karachi was made the capital of the country; and three — it was a business hub with an international seaport and airport. Hence most of the middle class immigrants came to this city in search of better economic opportunities. Some who came by crossing the Sindh border with India settled in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. By the mid-50s over a million Muhajirs had settled in Karachi, completely changing its demography. They formed over 60 percent of the population, while the Sindhi ratio dropped to some 7 percent.

For the first 11 years the Muhajirs had it too good as they held many more jobs in the government than their ratio in the country’s population and advanced their businesses. They were happy to be the junior partner of the Punjabi ruling elite although they formed only 3.3 percent of the country’s population. In 1951, of the 95 senior civil services jobs, 33 were held by the Muhajirs and 40 by the Punjabis. In 1959, out of 48 top military elite positions, 11 were held by Muhajirs, i.e. 23 percent of the total. In the same year, of the total top (Class 1) bureaucracy, 3,532 positions, the Muhajirs’ share was 1,070, i.e. 30 percent of the total (Language and Politics in Pakistan by Tariq Rehman, pg 121). This was the time they supported the Muslim League, which was the ruling party for most of this period.

Once General Ayub Khan ousted the elected government and imposed martial law, initially they continued to enjoy privileged positions, particularly in the civil bureaucracy. However, the Muhajirs’ share in power started declining by the early 60s. Ayub’s first constituency was obviously the army, which had 20 percent Pakhtuns. And for the first time Muhajirs were replaced by the Pakhtuns as the junior partner in the ruling power set-up.

The Muslim League was divided into pro-government and opposition factions. But the leadership of the disgruntled Muhajirs started rallying around the religious parties. They were the first generation of immigrants and needed a moral reason to be at Bunder Road, Karachi instead of being at Chandni Chowk, Delhi. And what could be a more honourable reason than the cause of religion. Nobody wanted to say that they came to Pakistan in search of better economic opportunities because this sounds too materialistic in a society that had feudal social values. Their association with religious parties was more for opposing Ayub Khan who had changed the power equation and was a secular man and less for the love of religion.

The first flashpoint of ethnic violence in the city between the Muhajirs and the Pakhtuns was on the celebration of the 1965 elections victory by Gauhar Ayub in Karachi. The Muhajir leadership had opposed Ayub and sided with Fatima Jinnah. Several people were killed in these clashes. The Muhajirs have since then resented the influx of the Pakhtun immigrants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata to Sindh, although Pakhtun workers are mainly associated with the transport and construction industry — jobs Muhajirs were not interested in.

Once the military-blessed democratic government of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) came in 1972 in what is today’s Pakistan, the power equation changed again and the Sindhis got the first opportunity to be the junior partner of the Punjabi ruling classes. As Sindh is the second largest province of Pakistan after Punjab with 23 percent population, this equation is likely to remain unchanged in any democratic dispensation. This again irritated the Muhajir leadership who, instead of joining hands with mainstream political parties like the PPP, opposed the government from the religious parties’ platform. On the other hand, for the first time after 25 years of independence, the Sindh government got back the Secretariat and Assembly building, which belonged to them before partition.

An anecdote here may explain the level of resentment of the Muhajirs on this change of the power equation. As I was going through the corridors of the Sindh Assembly where I had gone to meet a friend, I met two Muhajir leaders of Sukkur Muslim League, Syed Hasan Mian and Ashfaq (I have forgotten his last name) pointing towards some Sindhis who were passing by dressed in their shalwar kameez and Sindhi caps. Hassan Mian lamented: “Is it not sad such people who do not know how to dress have now flocked in droves to the Assembly?” I pointed out respectfully, because he was a friend’s father: “Uncle, is this not a fact that the province belonged to the Sindhis who gave the Muhajirs shelter when they came from India, so why should they not be here?” His immediate response was, “You have never been on the side of the ‘Qaum’ (Muhajir nation) even as a student so you will not understand.” Note the use of term ‘qaum’ as early as 1972.

During Ayub Khan’s military dictatorship, we witnessed the civil administration dividing the people of Sindh by creating Muhajir students and political organisations to weaken the movement for the restoration of democracy. In Sukkur, our Students’ Action Committee against Ayub Khan was divided following the same policy by the Deputy Commissioner and in Hyderabad a Karachi-Hyderabad-Muhajir-Punjabi-Pakhtun Mahaz (Front) was established by the Commissioner through Information Department official Ishtiaq Azhar. Azhar latter joined the Muhajir Rabita Committee (Muhajir Coordination Committee) in the 1980s and supported the MQM.

Another major upsetting development for the Muhajirs was that Mumtaz Bhutto, who was the first chief minister under Bhutto’s government, restored the status of Sindhi as an official language and that it would be taught in schools. Fanning hatred, Urdu newspaper Jang wrote in black border on the first page “Urdu ka janaza hai, zara dhoom say niklay” (it is the funeral of Urdu; let it be with a bang!). This unleashed the wide-scale Mohair-Sindhi language riots in Sindh for the first time. Both Muhajirs and Sindhis attacked each other; many were injured and properties burnt.

The Sindhi leaders protested in the early 50s when Karachi University was established with the option to choose Urdu or English as a medium of instruction. The Sindh University was packed off to Hyderabad because Karachi was made the capital. Hari (peasant) leader Hyder Baksh Jatoi had pointed out that this decision will be disadvantageous for the Sindhi students living in Karachi. But Jinnah and his colleagues erroneously believed that making Urdu the one national language was the corollary of the Muslim League’s theorem ‘one-religion, one nation’. This policy denied equal status to major other languages of the provinces and hence slowed down their growth to become official and commercial languages.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...3-9-2011_pg3_4

[Intoxication]

ROVER’S DIARY: Muhajir politics in post-Bhutto period —Babar Ayaz

The Muhajirs played an important role in the 1977 movement against Bhutto’s government and were happy when he was removed in a military coup by General Ziaul Haq.

The formation of the Sindh government and the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) government in the Centre finally opened doors for the Sindhi-speaking middle class. They started getting more jobs in the government and public sector, particularly with head offices in Karachi. The Muhajir bureaucracy and leaders were not willing to accept that their share in jobs and economic opportunities in future would be in proportion to their demographic position, which was more or less the position by 1989 in the federal government.

Once again the Muhajirs were faced with the same position that they thought they had left behind in the Muslim minority areas of India and for which they had supported the Muslim League’s politics under the British. Remember Sir Syed had asked for a 50 percent quota in jobs for the Muslims although they formed 13 percent of the UP population.

That was the main reason that Muslims of the Muslim minority provinces played a leading role in the Muslim League’s movement, although eventually it evolved into the demand for Pakistan comprising Muslim majority provinces. This movement, as convincingly explained by Hamza Alavi, was driven by the “Salariat...that class of people who receive a formal education to qualify for jobs in the colonial state apparatus” and professionals. In UP, according to Alavi, the Muslims constituted 13 percent of the population in 1857 but held 64 percent of the jobs. However, after the British takeover by 1913, their “share of jobs fell to 35 percent”.

Once the demand for Pakistan was accepted, a large number of migrants had actually come to Pakistan scouting for better opportunities. After settling down, they invited their kith and kin. They were again not willing to accept the shrinking share of jobs and other economic opportunities after the restoration of Sindh as a province. They got the major share of the evacuee properties in Sindh.

However, there was reverse discrimination against the Muhajirs as power started shifting into the hands of Sindhis. In the good old times when the Punjabis and Muhajirs had the second largest share in the establishment, the discrimination was against the Sindhis. However, there are still more Muhajirs in government jobs if the public sector is included, as against a 7.5 percent share in the population.

Bushra Zaidi’s killing in a bus accident in 1985 unleashed violence against the Pakhtuns, who controlled Karachi’s transport sector thanks to Ayub-era favouritism. There was pent-up anger against the transporters because of the rough behaviour of the drivers and frequent accidents due to rash driving of the buses and mini-buses. Inadequate public transport was and is also irritating for the Karachiites. The Muhajirs, who form a bulk of the commuters, started burning buses; the Pakhtuns attacked some Muhajir settlements in retaliation. And soon what started as a spontaneous reaction to an accident turned into an ugly ethnic conflict, killing many people.

Meanwhile, the Muhajir youth, who are equal sons of the soil of Sindh as they were born and bred in this province, started feeling the pinch of unemployment and lack of educational institutions. Bhutto had nationalised all the educational institutions in 1972; thereafter not a single new college was added in Karachi. At an average, by the late 1970s and mid-1980s some 20,000 students who got lower grades in matriculation could not get admissions to any college or technical institutes every year. It was this crowd of unemployed Muhajir youth standing idle at the corners of the streets who were given a voice by Altaf Hussain and Azeem Tariq by founding the All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO). Azeem Tariq was assassinated after he parted ways with his comrade Altaf Hussain.

Hussain had himself said in an interview that when he went to the University of Karachi to join BSc Pharmacy, he was shocked to see welcome banners of various ethnic student organisations and forced to think about his own identity. The Muhajir students till that time used to rally on the basis of ideology behind leftist groups of the National Students Federation (NSF) or the rightist student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami called the Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba (IJT). The creation of a Muhajir organisation delighted Zia’s intelligence, who thought it an antidote to the rising Sindhi nationalism after Bhutto’s hanging by the military government.

The division of students on ethnic basis did raise a question in the minds of the founders of APMSO: what is their identity? They were told by their older generation that all Pakistanis belonged to one Muslim nation. The second generation of Muhajirs soon realised that they do not need religious reasons to be here in Pakistan. The rise of ethnic politics around them made them think that there was no such thing as one Muslim nation. Instead, strong ethnicity-based politics was the order of the day. Addressing the APMSO rally at the University of Karachi on December 15, 1980, Altaf Hussain maintained that the Muhajirs should be accepted as the fifth nationality of Pakistan. He thus moved away from the thinking of the older Muhajir generation, which by and large — leaving aside some leftists — always strongly proclaimed that Pakistan has one Muslim nation and those who raised the issue that it has four nationalities are traitors or agents of the Jews and Hindus. However, the MQM later dropped the fifth nationality slogan officially and declared that Muhajirs were Urdu-speaking Sindhis; a position reiterated by Altaf Hussain in his marathon press conference on September 10, 2011. That is what the Sindhi nationalists had advised them in the early 1980s. But in spite of this official declaration, the MQM had to privately stick to their earlier political formulation that the Muhajirs are a separate ‘Qaum’ (nation) to keep its vote bank intact. The politics of constituency is not allowing the MQM to expand.

As a matter of fact, MQM literature shows that both Altaf Hussain and Azeem Tariq dismissed the theory that Muslims were one nation on the basis of common religion. They argued that if religion makes one Muslim nation, why were the Muslims divided on national basis in many countries. APMSO Secretary General Azeem Tariq maintained in a speech in December 1980: “Soon after the creation of Pakistan, the ideology of Pakistan or ideology of Islam was negated because Muslims from the Indian Muslim minority areas going through the phase of migration were stopped at the borders of Pakistan in 1954 and returned” (MQM booklet published in ‘Muhajir Qaumi Movement — Tashkil aur Jedojahad’, Edited by Ahmed Salim).

MQM leaders courageously exposed the hypocrisy of the Pakistan movement’s basic argument. They asked that if Muslims are one nation then why Muslims from anywhere in the world — and particularly from India — can be denied entry into Pakistan at any given time. They were courageous to refer to the analogy of Israel where Jews from anywhere in the world can go and acquire Israeli nationality. It was courageous because any comparison of Pakistan with Israel is deplored by the majority of people here. It was on the basis of this thinking that Altaf Hussain “has on several occasions said that the creation of Pakistan was a mistake” (The Idea of Pakistan by Stephen P Cohen).

The Muhajirs’ younger leadership led by Altaf Hussain had taken the sensible course to declare that they do not want the division of the province, a position they continue to hold even today. They also supported Sindh’s major demands at the National Finance Commission (NFC) and on the water distribution issue. At the one end they have been rightly supporting Sindh’s stance against the domination of Punjab, but within the province the MQM has been asking for control over the big cities — Karachi and Hyderabad. In a foreword to Altaf Hussain’s recent book, My Life’s Journey, Professor Matthew A Cook rightly pointed out: “The principle of negation also appears to drive tension between Muhajirs [sic] and Sindhis from one historical crisis to another. Nonetheless, while these crises are anti-Sindhi, Muhajir politics not only illustrates how negation produces alterity but — by opening socio-political conversation—the possibility of mimesis.”

Alliance of the PPP and the MQM in Sindh suffers from this mimesis and alterity between the parties that represent the Sindhis and Urdu-speaking Sindhis. It is unfortunate that in spite of officially announcing a few years back that the ‘M’ in MQM stands for ‘Muttahida’ (united) and not for Muhajir, the leadership vacillates between the two incompatible positions.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...4-9-2011_pg3_4

[Intoxication]

ROVER’S DIARY: MQM: the way forward —Babar Ayaz

Has Hurricane Mirza sobered down the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to change its aggressive tactics for the time being? Or, are Mirza’s outburst and some other behind-the-scene developments going to change the MQM’s political strategy? If the restrained response to Mirza is just a tactical ‘one step back’ approach, then there is not much to rejoice for the well-wishers of Karachi. But if the the MQM is rethinking its strategy it would not only be good for the party but for the country also.

Unfortunately, Altaf Hussain’s marathon press conference is not reassuring that the MQM would change its strategy and abandon its desire to emerge as a multi-ethnic middle class party. However, realising that politically the MQM is getting isolated, the MQM leader skillfully did not reply to Mirza’s allegation directly that he had confided in Mirza that the US wants to balkanise Pakistan and MQM is going to support it. On the contrary, the MQM supreme leader spent more time in reassuring the Pakistani establishment of his party’s full support in foiling such a conspiracy to break Pakistan. Referring to old books and a series of articles by American analysts, he joined the right wing club, which has been harping that the Americans want to break Pakistan.

Though MQM leader Mustafa Kamal vehemently denied that their party has a militant wing, public perception in the country is otherwise. Only MQM voters believe in what Nine Zero [MQM headquarters] says. If this perception has to be proved wrong, it would not happen by lengthy speeches and eloquence but by a change in the future strategy.

The MQM has a sound middle and lower middle class Muhajir base in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas city centres and not in the suburbs. This is enough power to present and bargain with other parties for the rights of its vote bank through non-violent democratic means. It does not need to rely on any militant wing, particularly if it wants to attract the middle and lower middle classes of other ethno-linguistic communities of Pakistan. Consistent non-violence politics in spite of provocations from other parties alone would help the MQM to change the existing perception about it.

The MQM says that this perception has been created by the political parties and nationalities that represent the ruling elite of Pakistan, but being a party that has perhaps the hi ghest literacy rate among its supporters it has to realise that perceptions are stronger than reality. And they are not completely baseless either.

MQM leader and ideologue Altaf Hussain had lectured his followers in 2003 on the “Philosophy of ‘Realism and Practicalism’”. He defined practicalism as “an act of doing things, making or taking decisions, adopting ways and means in accordance with the actual spirit and essence of reality (realities) and realism is called practicalism”.

And that is precisely what the MQM is not doing. Just look at the reality of Karachi’s demography. The city, according to international figures, has a total population of 15.7 million people and ranks as the 13th biggest city of the world. Although, if one extrapolates its 1998 population as reported by the Census and on the basis of the official 3.5 percent growth rate, it should be 14.3 million.

But the MQM maintains that the city population is much larger. How they calculate a higher figure is not known. By and large the urban population’s growth rate has two components: natural growth, which is close to 1.9 percent as it is usually below the national average in urban centres, and by way of in-migration, which in Karachi’s case is estimated to be 1.5 percent. So the rate of growth based on 1998 looks quite realistic. Now take a look at the 1998 survey demographic linguistic break-up, which is the following: Urdu-speaking 48.52 percent; Punjabi 13.64 percent; Pashto 11.96 percent; Sindhi just 7.34 percent; Balochi 4.34 percent; Seraiki 2.11 percent and the rest 12.09 percent. The rest includes Gujarati and other languages. The Pakhtun, however, claim that their number is higher now. But a large number of Pakhtun workers live alone in the city and are not registered as Karachi voters. Similarly, the MQM can also claim that the Gujaratis are part of the Muhajirs as their younger generation is Urdu-speaking.

Now in the last 13 years there has been a big inflow of Sindhis and Pakhtuns to the province, so they do claim that in the next elections they should have more seats from Karachi. I know that ideally the big cities should be a melting pot and voting should be on non-ethnic basis. But the reality is that except for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Muslim League (PML), all other parties are voted for on ethnic basis in Karachi. Given the reality that the Urdu-speaking are not more than 50 percent of the city considering the MQM’s claim, the other ethnic groups feel they are under-represented because most of the constituencies are carved out to suit the MQM. The Awami National Party (ANP) claims that the Pakhtun population is over 20 percent of Karachi. Now that is apparently an exaggeration.

To be practical and for achieving a long-term goal of emerging as a multi-ethnic all-Pakistan middle class party, the MQM should change its strategy. It should be willing to share Karachi with other ethnic communities. That will establish its credentials as a tolerant party. At present, whether it was pushed against the wall, as Mustafa Kamal puts it, or it allows its militant wing to disturb Karachi’s peace in a turf war, the fact is it has isolated itself.

It is not what emotionally charged Zulfikar Mirza is saying, the MQM is getting the flak from all other parties, media and ethno-linguistic communities. That is the reality and ‘practicalism’ is to step back and change the present strategy, thinking about a better and long-term future of the country in general and Karachiites in particular. If Karachi loses, the Muhajir youth loses more than anybody else in the city for they have nowhere to go for education and jobs. The leaders of MQM have been fighting with Sindhis and Pakhtuns over the Karachi-Hyderabad election turf, although it is in their prime interest to maintain peace in these cities. Karachi’s law and order situation has scared the private sector away to Punjab and to the Gulf countries. What Muhajir leaders fail to understand is that today we live in times where governments are shrinking and employment for the Muhajir youth is in the private sector. That is where no quota works, which the MQM resents, and merit matters. The Muhajir youth has been shown not the path of excelling on merit but is being fed on lectures that they are being deprived by other communities and being armed. The impact of this policy of the Muhajir leaders can be seen by the fact that the quality of Muhajir youth merit has been consistently declining in proportion to the increase in their reliance on the barrel of the gun. The MQM leaders deny vehemently that they encourage violence and at the same time admit that their youth picks up the guns in self-defence against the onslaught of other ethnic and political forces.

Altaf Hussain once rightly said that the creation of Pakistan in the name of religion was a mistake. But now that this country has survived for 40 years since 1971 in the present shape, its undoing would be a greater mistake and bloody too, as much water has flown under the bridge and many common interests have evolved between the different ethno-linguist communities of Pakistan. With more respect, equity and recognition to the different nationalities living here, Pakistan is a viable country now. As far as the various studies that propose balkanisation of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran are concerned, these are actually scenario-building by analysts of a different creed. But on the other hand, one should also refer to the number of books and analyses that warn how such an eventuality (balkanisation of Pakistan) would destabilise the region, including India. A region that has the damned nuclear arsenal too.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...5-9-2011_pg3_4

[khalid-don]

I read all three articles and agree with author suggestion

"What Muhajir leaders fail to understand is that today we live in times where governments are shrinking and employment for the Muhajir youth is in the private sector. That is where no quota works, which the MQM resents, and merit matters. "

[siamu maharaj]

@intoxi - No, Muhajirs aren't blame-free either, and surely they have issues with others too. When I got time I'll probably post more on that.

[deltaone]

Agree with bright and siamu.

All three articles above are biased, flawed and wrong. Economic opportunity? Security? well being? BS. Go tell that to Muhajirs of Bangladesh who not so long ago used to call themselves Pakistanis and are rotting there.

One of my grandparents was a 2nd generation Nawab of India. He left his palace and lifestyle behind for PAKISTAN. His journey began on 11th August 1947 when he and his cousin embarked on their journey to Pakistan against their family's wishes on board a train which later was hijakced by mobs where they murdered and abused those on the train. He had to pretend he was dead to stay alive. Only a few survived and one of them was him.

People who label us as 'MOHAJIRS' forget our contribution to the economic prosperity of the country. People like my grandparents were highly educated professionals who left all they had to make Mr. Jinnah's dream a success. Many had to live in slum like areas. They made significant contribution to the economy of the time. To this day Karachi is the economic hub of Pakistan because of our contribution to the economic well being of the country. One of my grandparents served in the Air Force in the 50s. They were all proud to be Pakistanis.

Those who label us as Muhajirs should be reminded of Liaqat Ali Khan, Adamjee family and Nawab of Junagarh (not sure how it's spelt) they gave all their wealth to Pakistan. Literally, a blank check.

Much can be said of how a specific province manipulated and targetted urdu speakers and Bengalis. Numerous attempts were made to malign muhajirs and MQM. One such example is Jinnahpur. Infact in reality as it is now known MQM was the only party to reject ISI funding.

[Intoxication]

The articles are not biased flawed or wrong. Thats what you think.

Urdu speakers/Muhajirs weren't the only ones who left their land and wealth behind to move to Pakistan and suffered the atrocities of partition, majority of the migrants were Punjabis.

The economic prosperity of Karachi isn't just owed to the Muhajirs, after partition, many other ethnic groups also migrated to Karachi, its just that Muhajirs tended to concentrate in Karachi more. Where as, say the Punjabis, spread out more evenly across Punjab, Karachi and other areas.

And its funny how you just sneakingly target one province (i'm guessing Punjab), for the East Pakistan problem, when its was not just the Punjabi elite but also the elite from 3 other ethnic groups (Muhajirs, Sindhis and Pashtuns) who didn't wanna share power with the Bengalis. Those opposed to sharing power fairly with the Bengalis were those in the bureaucracy of Pakistan (composed primarily of Muhajirs and Punjabis), those in the Army (composed of Punjabis and Pashtuns), Ayub Khan (a Pashtun) and Bhutto (a Sindhi) amongst others. Though I do agree that Jinnahpur was a conspiracy, but thats all part of politics, just like Zia helping the MQM to form and nurturing Nawaz Sharif in order to weaken the PPP, or just as how the PPP took away local government control from Karachi and imposed old British era laws there, all politics in order to weaken your rivals. Dirty politics.