The Misfits of Society By Waseem Altaf 26 Aug. 2011 A country gets recognition through its intelligentsia and artists.

They are the real assets of a nation. The cultural growth of a society is not possible withou t these individuals acting as the precursors of change. Unfortunately this state was not created, nor was it meant for these kinds of people. It was carved out for hypocrites and looters who could have enjoyed a heyday without any fear or r estraint Qurattulain Haider, writer of the greatest Urdu novel Aag Ka Darya had come to Pak istan in 1949. By then she had attained the stature of a world class writer. She joined the Press Information Department and served there for quite some time. I n 1959 her greatest novel Aag ka Darya was published. Aag Ka Dariya raised important questions about Partition and rejected the two-nation theory. It was this more than anything else that made it impossible for her to continue in Pakistan, so s he left for India and permanently settled there. Sahir Ludhianvi, one of the finest romantic poets of Urdu language settled in La hore in 1943 where he worked for a number of literary magazines. Everything was alright until after partition when his inflammatory writings (communist views an d ideology) in the magazine Savera resulted in the issuing of a warrant for his arrest by the Government of Pakistan. In 1949 Sahir fled to India and never look ed back. Sajjad Zaheer, the renowned progressive writer Marxist thinker and revolutionary who came to Pakistan after partition, was implicated in Rawalpindi Conspiracy C ase and was extradited to India in 1954. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was a Pakistani citizen, regarded as one of the great est classical singers of the sub continent, was so disillusioned by the apathy s hown towards him and his art that he applied for, and was granted a permanent In dian immigrant visa in 1957-58. He migrated to India and lived happily thereafte r. All of the above lived a peaceful and prosperous life in India and were conferre d numerous national awards by the Government of India. Now lets see the scene on the other side of Radcliff line. Saadat Hassan Manto a renowned short story writer migrated to Pakistan after 194 7. Here he was tried thrice for obscenity in his writings. Disheartened and fina ncially broke he expired at the age of 42. In 2005, on his fiftieth death annive rsary, the Government of Pakistan issued a commemorative postage stamp. Zia Sarhadi the Marxist activist and a film director who gave us such memorable films as Footpath and Humlog, was a celebrity in Bombay when he chose to migrate to Pakistan. Rahguzar, his first movie in this country, turned out to be the last tha t he ever directed. During General Ziaul Haqs martial law, he was picked up by th e army and kept in solitary confinement in terrible conditions. The charges agai nst him were sedition and an inclination towards Marxism. On his release, he lef t the country to settle permanently in the UK and never came back. Faiz Ahmad Faiz, one of the greatest Urdu poets of the 20th century was arrested in 1951 under Safety Act and charged in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy case. Later h

e was jailed for more than four years. Professor Abdussalam the internationally recognized Pakistani physicist was diso wned by his own country due to his religious beliefs. He went to Italy and settl ed there. He could have been murdered in the holy land but was awarded the Nobel Prize in the West for his contribution in the field of theoretical physics. Mea nwhile his tombstone at Rabwah (now Chenab Nagar) was disfigured under the super vision of a local magistrate. This was our way of paying tribute to the great sc ientist. Rafiq Ghazanvi was one of sub-continents most attractive, capable and versatile a rtists. He was an actor, composer and singer. He composed music for a number of films in Bombay like Punarmilan, Laila majnu and Sikandar. After partition he ca me to Karachi where he was offered a petty job at Radio Pakistan. He later resig ned and spent the rest of his life in seclusion. He died in Karachi in 1974. Sheila Ramani was the heroine of Dev Anands Taxi Driver and Fantoosh released in the 50s.She was a Sindhi and came to Karachi where her uncle Sheikh Latif was a produ cer. She played the lead in Pakistani film anokhi which had the famous song gari ko chalana babu However seeing little prospects of any cinematic activity at Karach i, she moved back to India. Ustad Daman, the simpleton Punjabi poet had flair of his own. Due to his unorthodo x views, many a times he was sent behind bars. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru offered h im Indian citizenship which he refused. The reward he received here was the disc overy of a bomb from his shabby house for which he was sent to jail by the popul ist leader Mr.Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Had Mohammad Rafi the versatile of all male singers of the Indian sub-continent chosen to stay in Pakistan, what would have been his fate. A barber in the slums of Bilal Gunj in Lahore, while Dilip Kumar selling dry fruit in Qissa Khawani B azaar, Peshawar. Ustad Salamat Ali a Bhagwan in Atari turned out to be a Mirasi in Wahga all his life. Last time I met him at his rented house in Islamabad, he was in bad shape. We also find Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan who went to India and was treated like a god. His compositions recorded in India became all time hits not only in Pakistan an d India but all over the world. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Faakhir, Ali Zafar and Ati f Aslam frequently visit India and their talent is duly recognized by a culture where art and music is part of life. Adnan Sami has even obtained Indian citizen ship and has permanently settled there. Salma Agha and Zeba Bakhtiar got fame af ter they acted in Indian films. Meanwhile Veena Malik is getting death threats h ere and is currently nowhere to be seen. Sohail Rana the composer was so disillu sioned here that he permanently got settled in Canada. Earlier on Saleem Raza th e accomplished singer immigrated to Canada. I was told by a friend that Saleem R aza was once invited by some liberal students to perform at Punjab University wh en the goons of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba attacked him and paraded him in an object ionable posture in front of the students. After returning to Pakistan the Chhote Ustads of star plus who achieved stardom in India have gone into oblivion, while Amanat Ali and Saira Reza of sa re ga ma fam e have disappeared. And ask Sheema Kirmani and Naheed Siddiqui, the accomplished dancers how conducive the environment here is for the growth of performing arts . A country gets recognition through its intelligentsia and artists. They are the real assets of a nation. The cultural growth of a society is not possible withou t these individuals acting as the precursors of change. Unfortunately this state was not created, nor was it meant for these kinds of people. It was carved out

for hypocrites and looters who could have enjoyed a heyday without any fear or r estraint. The best policy for merry making in the Islamic Republic remains Never to defy th e status quo. Be a part of it, promote it and therein lies the perfect recipe fo r success. Waseem Altaf is a human rights activist. Source: View Point URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicCulture_1.aspx?ArticleID=5373 Forward to a friend Print

COMMENTS 9/2/2011 4:32:00 PM Ghulam Mohiyuddin Rizvi Saheb, only a few decades ago we all thought that China and India will alw ays be backward, and that apartheid was the eternal destiny of South Africa.

9/1/2011 11:05:21 PM Syed Rizvi Ghulam Sb. The virus of mullahism has penetrated the fabric of the society. Yo u can kill all the Mullahs, but you cannot kill the virus without killing the pa tient infested with the virus. Sorry to be so pessimistic

9/1/2011 4:03:15 PM Ghulam Mohiyuddin The nightingales have to be killed so that the rasps of the mullah can be heard.