|
 |
New Delhi: The
subcontinent can become a paradise in the region by retaining
cultural, social and political identities of countries like India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh, says former Pakistani Army officer,
journalist, writer and commentator Abdul Rahman Siddiqi, an old "Dilliwallah"
from Ballimaran in Chandni Chowk.
"I advise: don't touch Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. There can
be a subcontinental union, but absolutely no reunion. The people
of Pakistan have a deep love for India, but they love their
Pakistan more...India can be a master of the subcontinent but not
in the way you (India) want," Brigadier (retd) A.R. Siddiqi told
IANS here in an interview.
"After all, we are all very poor countries. And we are not apes,
but humans in essence. But we have sold our freedom to the US,"
said 88-year-old Siddiqi, who retired in 1973 as the head of
Inter-Services Public Relations.
Recalling India's reaction to the US post-9/11, Siddiqi said: "Jaswant
Singh, the then defence minister, offered everything to the US,
including naval bases, even before (then joint chiefs of staff
committee) General Colin Powell and the US president telephoned
India for help."
"But they called (then Pakistani army chief and president Pervez)
Musharraf, after which he pledged support," Siddiqi said, pointing
out the difference.
The writer, who is in India to launch his book, "Smoke Without
Fire", a memoir of his pre-partition days in Chandni Chowk
published by the capital-based Aakar Books, left India in 1947 for
Pakistan to work as a journalist.
"I flew out to Lahore from Safdarjung airport in March 1947 in a
chartered plane. It cost me Rs.98 (about $2 at current rates),"
Siddiqi recalled. He then shifted to Peshawar before opting for
the army.
An alumnus of St Stephen's College, Siddiqi is the author of "East
Pakistan: Endgame: An Onlooker's Journal (1969-1971)".
Siddiqui said he was in the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in
1965 with his "best friend General Osmani (known as Bangabir
General MAG Osmani). Osmani, who had retired from the Pakistani
Army in 1967 trained the Mukti Bahini and commanded it during the
1971 liberation war.
Commenting on the communal harmony inherent in Indian society, the
writer said: "The culture is still Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb (the
co-existence of Hindu and Muslim cultures of northern India)."
"There will be no improvement in relations between India and
Paksitan till India tries to stop saying that Pakistan is
responsible ... (for terror)," he said.
Siddiqi said Delhi has not changed much over the years because the
people still relieve themselves under the sky. "My home is still
there. I became emotional when I visited it, but I knew I couldn't
stay there for more than a night. But there is no nostalgia left,"
he said.
Siddiqi said "his home in Ballimaran had one lavatory - without a
flush - for the entire family".
"There were two mugs - one of which was to wash oneself. During
the rainy season, we - the Siddiqi brood - ate a lot of spicy food
like keema parantha and suffered from dysentry. My mother, a
stickler for cleanliness, said why do you have to go to the toilet
every day... I was perennially constipated," Siddiqqi laughed. "I
still remember the day when the first flush toilet came to our
neighbourhood. I gave a speech. I was barely 8-9 years old,"
Siddiqi said.
The Siddiqi clan of Punjabi Saudagar Muslims from Multan and
Punjab, was the most affluent in old Delhi and lived in Haveli
Hissamuddin Haider - a Punjabi traders' citadel, the writer said.
Old Delhi has left an indelible mark in Siddiqi's early education.
"I was getting proper education but I had to join the Oriental
College at Fetehpuri Mosque (after his grandfather objected to his
regular education), where I studied Persian, Arabic and Urdu. I
was in the company of Pathan students and joined an akhada
(wrestling club) for one and a half years," he recalled.
The publication and the launch of Siddiqi's book in India, an
initiative of the Policy and Planning Group, is an attempt to
bridge the divide between India and Pakistan, said Diljeet Titus,
the Group's secretary.
(Madhusree
Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)
|
Comments
|
Quick links