Sunday, 29 May, 2011

Illustrated & D

esigned by Javeria Mirza

2 Global Challenges,global solutions 4 Back from the brink

the reviewBy Hashim bin Rashid

uetta: FC commandos kill unarmed Chechens. Karachi: Two armed terrorists reportedly escape SSG forces in PNS Mehran. Rawalpindi: One rash-driving major gets the protesting lady detained in a police station overnight. The time to submit the Pakistan army to people’s scrutiny has come.

‘Shot 12 times’. The autopsy report of the Chechen women shot by military men at a check post in Quetta says. She was seven months pregnant.

Three Chechen women and two men were crossing a Frontier Corps check post when paramilitary troops killed them – firing into the cowering figures, standing tall, as if on objects in a range. The video recorded by local journalists made it on national television. The FC guys responded: the women were wearing suicide belts and had grenades. The bomb disposal squad negated the claim.

It was pure and brutal murder – amongst many that take place in Balochistan with frightening frequency, but go unrecorded. Had this multiple murder not been captured on video, this too would have remained unaccounted for. The perpetrators may yet remain unaccountable though, like so many other crimes that our army and our spooks commit in that and other parts of the country.

In Karachi, the PNS Mehran base was invaded – by four people or six, depending on which version you believe. The media cried out about the destruction of

two P-3C Orions worth over $ 0.5 billion. The 11 servicemen, including Lt. Yasir, were mentioned, but mostly as an afterthought.

A 15-hour stake out, despite the SSG called in, and yet by the initial account the inability to nab or eliminate all six was a tremendous show of military incompetence. This story of terrorists invading and getting away has become a habit. The attackers of the Sri Lankan cricket team brisk-walked from the Liberty Market – not one captured.

This is the state of our inability in the face of a terrorist attack and this is a product of a skewed sense of spending.

While it may be c o n s i d e r e d sacrilegious, the question need be asked: should those P-3C Orions (ordered: 2004; received: 2010) have been ordered at all?

Let the details on the objections wait.

An army in conflict with itselfThe PNS Mehran attack appears to have

played upon fissures existing within the military itself. The British newspaper Guardian has questioned whether the attack was an ‘inside job.’ A Pakistani English daily has revealed that the LeT and Sipah-e-Sihaba prisoners were called over to negotiate with the militants that had taken GHQ hostage. It has also suggested sufficient intelligence was available before hand to predict the attack.

But somewhere along the chain of military command warnings are not being heeded.

And somewhere along the line it appears the monsters that the military bred in its ‘strategic’ depth policy got out of hand. A falling out which can be traced to the shift in Afghan policy post 9/11, a significant marker is this relationship is the Lal Masjid raid.

We have seen this army fail against its gravest internal enemies. What more are we to speak of the malaise that afflicts the armed forces of Pakistan?

The malaise

inflicting the army

The terrorist raid on the naval station in Karachi was i n c r e d i b l y audacious .

It is sad but true that the navy high-ups and the military establishment have failed us, and on multiple grounds. Indeed it could have been worse if the response wasn’t somewhat prompt and determined, possibly saving many other aircraft and high-value assets, while a

developing hostage situation involving our Chinese friends and American ‘allies’ was also narrowly averted. Yet again the incident reverberated around the world, sending all the wrong messages about our capability to tame terrorism, the alleged infiltration of the radicals in the military, and especially about the safety of what now seem to have become albatrosses around our necks, the nukes. Shame on the unimpressive naval chief, who allowed the base to remain a soft target despite the clear Taliban warning of revenge attacks

after the Osama assassination, with Pakistan specifically singled out as Enemy No.1. He reportedly cut a sorry figure in his interaction with the media after the raid, but the dapper cut of his stiffly starched and matching fatigue outfits was immaculate, one could see that from the pictures. Unfortunately, there was nothing in his language or his body language that conveyed a bit of remorse for possible mistakes or shortcomings on his part. And, any ill-judged talk of resignation might well be a million light-years away. Absolutely no hint of greatness or sense of history in the man.

In fact, this was the face that would sink a thousand ships. One definitely felt that this captain was not one to go down with his ship. One profoundly hopes that in future he ‘burns his boats’ in the figurative rather than the literal sense. What a far cry from naval commanders such as von Tirpitz, Karl Doenitz, Erich Raeder, Chester Nimitz, Isoroku Yamamoto and Lord Fisher, all fiercely devoted professionals, innovators and strategists, who genuinely cared for the welfare of their men, trained the crews rigorously, developed new tactics, introduced new

battleships and undertook vast naval reforms of their respective navies, often in adverse circumstances.As so often in the past, good men have paid with their lives for the negligence and the naïve, casual approach of their superiors. It has been revealed that the base was plumb in the middle of a densely populated area, and included a nearby marriage hall (!), which must have been very popular among the ‘bloody civilians’. And also not without interest to uninvited and unwelcome ‘wedding guests’ who could

It is about time that the army surrendered (and it will be deemed an honourable surrender too) it’s astronomical financial empire to the government and concentrated solely on its professional military duties

By Khawaja Manzar Amin

Need of the hour

“I, -----------------------, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and uphold the Constitution of the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan which embodies the will of the people,

that I will not engage myself in any political activities whatsoever and that I will honestly and faithfully

serve Pakistan in the Pakistan Army (or Navy or Air Force) as

required by and under the law.”

The oath of an army officer

From Page 1

Food shortages are the most vital challenges to global economy and emerge as a new precedence for nations rather than depleting fossil fuel

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Global challenges, global solutions

The title of the book – “World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse” by Lester R. Brown–

is really scary but it brilliantly explains the connections between food and energy. War for fresh water, devastating weather moves, mudsliding, and insecurity of food are the topics and detail shows the grip of the writer.

Food shortages are the most vital challenges to global economy and emerge as a new precedence for nations rather than depleting fossil fuel. Unrest in Middle East and further hike will deteriorate the situation.

Certainly, hike in fuel prices will shift the burden on future generations. Food supply will never be able to meet the growing population. In developing and under developed countries where already situation is alarming can not meet the desired growth rate.

As global trends changes, government policy will change which will defiantly creates winners and losers, and for those who are aligned with changes will welcome these changes. Investment in Sectors like food and energy are very much interested in policy change because of their huge profits. And other enormous profit taking sectors are like architecture, agriculture transportation. Brown, the writer is very much clear about the approaching changes in policy but it’s a matter of when not why.

A very interesting and informative part of the book is 12 Investment Mega-Trends, which are going to shape our world in 21st century. The first Mega-Trend is an apparent shift in energy and

power sectors. Countries like Saudi Arabia having biggest oil reserves in the world is investing in solar energy so that can secure themselves is future as the oil reserves will be ended in 2110. The word top energy consumer is china, now having huge investment in commodities. Japan and Germany both have innovation based economy are now investing in green technology which is future’s source of energy.

How to hedge against in inflation which is big question of this century and a possible answer of this question to the writer is investment in real estate and this is second Mega-Trend. Huge investment in farmland from countries like South Korea Saudi Arabia, China, United Arab Emirates lease or purchase land in Sudan, Pakistan and Ethiopia. And in Brown’s view this the other way of water acquisitions.

In near future, Wars on water are not out of question but at present there is strong competition on water among nations. In the last 50 years with an immense increase in urban communities water usages has almost tripped. Three nations that produce a major portion of world’s grain are facing threat as their water level falls. Brown agrees the term “virtual water” introduced by John Allan of King’s College London which describes the critical role of water in agriculture.

Subsidy on food items is a major hinder when we calculate the actual cost. In writer’s point of view governments spend heavily to subsidized food products and annually $ 500 billion are evaporated with fossil fuels rather only $ 46 billion are spared for alternative fuels.

As the energy prices rises world turns to wind and solar energy this century will witness localization instead of globalization. Future technologies are going to change the whole

business; clean energy is not in demand only due to cheap source of energy but due to environmental issues. In near future a clean shift from fossil fuel to clean fuel will reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent. Brown proposes that governments must impose heavy taxes on fossil fuel to reduce carbon emissions and to promote energy economy. And this is the only way to safe our e n v i r o n m e n t o t h e r w i s e there would be devastating effects as governments and their policies are moving in the direction, but the whole process is very slow.

N u c l e a r energy has become again a big question mark in the wake of partial radiations in recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. On the other way some nations like Germany is in a review process and this could be rebirth of a question nuclear why nations go nuclear this time not due to prestige of any nation but energy needs of a nation.

Further emphasis is added

by Brown, huge demand of food items, high speed increase in world population, shortage of water, all will push this world towards low-cost and clean source of energy. And in this battle some will make big profits and some will loose. But this transition should be made for clean environment for future generations.

By Mazhar Farid Chishti

Title: “World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse”Author: Lester R. BrownPublisher: W.W. Norton and Company (2011)Price in Pak Rs1200/-

The malaise inflicting the armyThe carnage at Lal Masjid (another unaccountable

added up to the military’s closet archive) appears the node at which the target became the military itself.

Military insiders, bred on the Islamic credentials of the military during and post-Zia years, turned against it. And the military became in conflict with itself.

A 22-hour stake out at the GHQ, a 15-hour stake out at PMS Mehran and Osama bin Laden found in the PMA Kakul neighbourhood subsequently followed. All these almost impossible without internal collusion.

This means the military has become deeply compromised from within.

Of matters of ‘high-profile’ security

But then this is not all of it. If the army thought it was going to get away with a situation where the PNS Mehran base chief was going to publicly declaring, “There was no security lapse,” and interior minister Rehman Malik claimed that the invaders, “were dressed like Star Wars characters,” then the army was in for a surprise.

At PNS Mehran, Pakistan’s equivalent of the now-famous US Seals, the SSG had taken 15 hours to take control of the base.

And subsequently even well-known anchorpersons that it had bred began to narrate

a story tale of 121 unanswered attacks on military installations post 2002.

A set of Wikileaks even alleged that the ex-air chief had admitted before the Americans that the F-16s were being sabotaged within the air force to prevent them from flying to targets in North Waziristan. This suggested all three facets of the army had been internally compromised.

But it was not only this. In the midst of these very serious discussions came blogger Café Pyala’s claim that he had been personally driven in a private vehicle by a retired colonel through Masroor Air Base, believed to be a storage site for nuclear weapons, only on the colonel’s verbal declaration of his army identity.

If the blog is right, then entering certain high-security installations may only require the display of a confident military oeuvre. And again it boils down to the deep inequality at which the armed forces treat civilians and the special treatment members of the armed services expect.

The need to produce heroesAnd the PNS Mehran operation has brought

about something special. The armed forces of Pakistan may award the first Nishan-i-Haider of its longest standing war in Pakistan’s history to one naval Lt. Yasir Abbas.

It is ironic that if accorded, this shall be the first award for resisting an internal threat. It shall

also be ironic that the Nishan-i-Haider (whose recommendation has reportedly been made by the prime minster to the president) shall come after a public campaign by Lt. Yasir’s family and friends.

Who gave families the right to demand’s the country’s top military honour?

And if such is the case then the families of each of the 9000-plus soldiers who have lost their lives in the war against terror should be compensated with the military’s highest award.

But forget this. This is an interesting moment. The military has finally felt the need to produce heroes in its decade-old war against Islamist insurgents. And the public is buying it.

And so the first Nishan-i-Haider of this war may just be awarded.

The need for a paradigm shiftSo where does the military stand now: Discredited

in front of the public, demoralised amongst its rank and file.

The military’s ‘doctrine of security’ always was a Pandora’s box. It was great as long as the box remained closed. When the box opened no control mechanism existed.

Very early in Pakistan’s history did the military begin determining national security policy. Save the ZAB years, civilian input into this covert policy and a covertly maintained set of actors remained minimal.

These were a corroded set of policies that have

Poetry, criticism & fiction

Mitti Milay Khwab is Ali Iftikhar Jafri’s maiden verse collection in Urdu. Dr. Wazir Agha’s critique of Majeed Amjad is meant to revalue and project

the late poet’s person and art. Dr. Nusrat Raza, a feminist, has focused the plight of the expatriate brides in her quasi-fictional stories published under the title Visa For Hell.

Mitti Milay Khwab Ali Iftikhar Jafri makes his debut as an author

of a collection of ghazal with a literal bang. He is essentially a poet of modem sensibility drawing heavily on the Zeitgeist. He fantasizes his poetic reveries in the mono logic prologue to the book. It is a dream-come-not-true situation arising from the fears and uncertainties lurking the poet’s mind.

Ghazal, as a conventional literary genre, allows little room for deviation from its artistic norm or innovation. Yet Ali ftikhar seems to have succeeded in establishing a distinct identity for himself as a ghazal-go through the medium of this book. His diction, imagery and symbolism are configured but asymmetrically so as to create an aura of wonder and poetic affluence about his verse. The self-drawn sketch on the dust cover and the ones appended to the contents of the book tend to augment its thematic impression.

Hum say hoNgay kisi rastay pay kum aey raahguzar Khak may tairy huey khak hum aey raahguzar

Majeed Amjad Ki Dastan-e-Muhabbat

Majeed Amjad (1914-74) is an eminent modem Urdu poet. Though not an ideologue, he held a tragic view of life which permeates his verse. In his life time he remained a quiet, reserved introvert perennially feeling the ‘inexorable cruelty of time in his bones’.

Ironically a poetical icon of his rank and

status was ‘discovered’ only when he had ceased to be. The cognoscenti and many critics came to regard him as ‘a philosophical poet of great depth and sensitivity’. His first verse collection Shab-e-Rafta appeared in 1958, the second viz., Shahb-e-Rafla Ke Baad in 1976 and the third, a complete

collection of his works, called Kuliyat-e-Majeed Amjad, in 1989.

His was ‘an incredibly original and distinctive poetic voice’ with a unique range and depth. Majeed Amjad Ki Dastan-e-Mohabbat is a collection of Dr. Wazir Agha’s six critical essays on the former’s person and art alongwith an introduction. Its foreword has been written by Dr. Khawaja Muhammad Zakariya.

Dr. Wazir Agha’s estimate of Majeed Amjad’s person and art is fairly balanced. Besides poetics, the work has its moorings in philosophy also. The chapter on Majeed Amjad’s ‘love story’ is quite revealing. By writing these essays, Dr. Wazir Agha has made an invaluable contribution to

the Majeed Amjad studies. Khawaja Zakariya’s preface serves as a value-addition to the collection.

Visa for Hell Dr. Nusrat Raza’s ‘real life stories’ have been

simultaneously published in both English and Urdu. The Urdu version is titled Raah-e-Azab (Kaahey Ko Biyahi Badais). The stories are focused on ‘bridal slavery through legitimate trafficking’.

A medical doctor by profession, Dr. Nusrat Raza has been campaigning against domestic abuse and gender-based violence since the year 2000 when she got chance to provide counseling to some survivors of domestic abuse in the UK. She was particularly concerned about the plight of the women from the sub-continent having immigrated to that country on the basis of spouse visa, which in their case is a euphemism for ‘legal trafficking’.

In her foreword to the book, the author explains the mechanics of the spouse visa which

facilitates ‘sponsored’ immigration of spouses to the UK. She also comments on the sexual, financial, emotional and physical abuse to which spouses are subjected by their sponsors. The Domestic Violence Rules in the host country do stipulate a measure of relief to the affected women but they are pre-empted from seeking it for lack of education/awareness or brainwashing by their abusers.

The volume comprises 10 ‘stories’ – all pivoted on the theme of sponsored immigration, domestic abuse and the fortunate ‘deliverance’ of the affectees at the end of the tether. All of the 10 cases in the stories, as the author avows, end satisfactorily because of the protagonists’ personal strength and courage. ‘They all stood up against cultural barriers, patriarchal domination, falsified religious constraints and their own ignorance about their human rights, easily available police assistance, Women’s Aid approach to domestic violence and gender based violence as well as Domestic Abuse Rule.’

From Page 1

now shown their failure.The generals that run the army need be

reminded that security policy is a result of politics and must be controlled by civilians.

The same set of generals must also be reminded that they are paid from the national exchequer – from civilian tax money – to serve citizens.

And it is high time that the armed forces of Pakistan come out clean over their misdemeanors and catharcizes itself.

The army, its history and its present, must be opened up to public accountability.

We have seen this army fight tenants for land, we have seen it displace villagers for private property schemes and cordon them off if they had the audacity to resist. We have seen this army launch full scale operations against political activists to protect its governments.

We have seen this army fail against its gravest internal enemies. What more are we to speak of the malaise that afflicts the armed forces of Pakistan?

And let us just think more about the early question we asked about skewed military spending.

Were the P-3 Orions ordered to monitor Al Qaeda’s activities in the Arabian sea? Was the order of submarine torpedos, supplied by the US (again) to torpedo down Mullah Umar’s submarine? Or is the recent order of 50 J-17 Thunders meant to pound militant hideouts in Waziristan?

None of them.There is a need to make military spending

accountable to civilian rulers. The military’s role is to provide technical assistance after a policy determination has been made.

There is a need to make military policy subservient to civilian determination. The military’s role is to carry it out.

If this does not become the case, there is no solving the malaise that the military has put upon itself.

Title: Mitti Milay Khwab Author: Ali Iftikhar Jafri Publisher: Ilqa Publications, 12-K, Gulberg 2, Lahore Pages: 89

Title: Visa For Hell – Bridal Slavery Through Legitimate Trafficking (Real Life Stories) Author: Dr. Nusrat Raza Publisher: Best Books Publications, Shadman-I, LahorePages: 176; Price: Rs.200/-

Title: Majeed Amjad Ki Dastan-e-Mohabbat Author: Dr. Wazir Agha Publisher: Jumhoori Publications, Aiwan-e-Tijarat Road, Lahore Pages: 116; Price: Rs.200/-

easily slip in under that otherwise delightful and auspicious guise. This points to a serious underlying malaise. It is about time that the army surrendered (and it will be deemed an honourable surrender too) it’s astronomical financial empire to the government and concentrated solely on its professional military dutiesIt is not only time, it is the need of the hour. There has been a great deal of talk of privatization in the public sector since long, and the transparent privatization of some of these (un)military financial enterprises of all hues may well bring in a handsome amount to the national exchequer. How the proceeds are ultimately ‘utilized’ is another worrisome matter, but in this case at least, the disease is still worse than the bitter remedy. There is a not uncommon human condition which is known as being ‘wise after the event’. It would apply precisely to us, except that we are not prudent even after a ‘revolving door’ series of disasters. How many times have we seen reinforced walls of concrete and steel springing up at sensitive sites (which were known to all and also located in thickly populated areas) – after the event? Despite the tragic record, the latest attack once again exposed the woeful lack of preparedness and vigilance even at a military base with millions of dollars worth of high-tech equipment received after long years

of sanctions and paid for with a third of our people going hungry, and without such critical social services like health and education. How many lives lost, how many dreams cut short, how many youthful martyrs because the superiors only had tunnel vision, lacked professionalism, refused to learn from past mistakes or plan for the future and were easily distracted by more pressing ‘beneficial’ endeavours.The people desperately crave some good news, even small mercies. The international scene is one of total disarray with the country practically standing alone. The economy will take years, if not decades, to recover. The Abbottabad raid has badly shaken our perhaps over-confident faith in the ability of our army and air force (not to forget the intelligence agencies) to protect our territory in a high-tech environment. The war on terror (will it surpass even the Hundred Years War?) goes on implacably, exacting an almost daily growing toll of gruesome, mostly civilian deaths.

The present situation presents yet another opportunity to the dysfunctional politicians to get their act together and do their bit for the national good. Many of the things that need remedying are beyond their talents or political will, while others need a much bigger time-frame for their resolution, like the economy or the war on terror. But the least the government and the political class, backed by the civil society, can and should do is to muster enough courage to reform the present internal (im)balance of power in their favour – in the letter and spirit of the constitution.

Need of the hour

By Syed Afsar Sajid

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By Salman Rashid

Back from the brink

A q u a r t e r century ago, driving from Dipalpur to Haveli Lakha in Okara district of

Punjab, I passed a gateway with a couple of human figures in terracotta. If memory serves, there were some more peering down from niches in the wall. Pausing, I learnt that this was the ‘tomb of Bhuman Shah’ in the village of the same name. Bhuman Shah, so my young informant said, was a great saint from even before his grandfather’s time – which in the vernacular means a very long time ago.

I looked in and noticed a building with an impressive façade flanked by octagonal turrets with a central gateway on my right. Straight ahead, at the end of the street could be seen another building with an octagonal turret. To the left, a battered dome that I took to

date from the early 18th century reared up behind a wall. The young man invited me to look in on what he said was a fort, but it being just about sunset I declined hoping to return another time.

It took me 25 years to get back. The figures in the wall were gone, and only one remained in the gateway. Inside, the street seemed to be more crowded with houses and the building on the right with the pretty façade was fronted by ugly cubicles all but concealing it. Going up the street and turning left at the foot of the second turreted building, I was surprised to find the domed building all spruced up with a fresh coat of yellow wash. The tomb of Bhuman Shah had been restored, and furnished with booklets in English and Urdu encapsulating the man’s life.

Born in 1687 to Rajo Bai and Hassa Ram of village Behlolpur near Dipalpur, Bhumia is said to have been a miraculous child whose birth was not attended by the customary labour pains. Three hundred years is a sufficiently long time to veil his life with a mist of the usual formulaic miracles that are the staple of all saints. But if one were to sift through the murk, even as a teenager Bhumia was smart enough to have developed an impressive discourse on eschewing materialism and mortifying the soul through hardship to attain oneness

with god.When the boy saint was

about 13 and visiting an ashram at Pakpattan, he is said to have been recognised as the reincarnation of a great saint of the past. The keeper of the ashram, himself an accomplished monk, initiated the boy into monk-hood. There Bhumia learned the secrets of the Udasi order of monks who believe that true spirituality transcends religious division. When he was ready to set out to put his world to rights, his mentor suggested he take the name of Bhuman Shah.

Legend has it that he

arrived near the village of Kutb Kot and camped by a well in the forest where Hindu, Muslim and Sikh alike came to seek his benediction. Among the seekers was the mother of Lakha Wattoo, who was then serving time in the jail in Lahore. The woman petitioned the saint to bring her son back and Lakha was

home in a few days. The yarn being that Bhuman Shah has appeared in his cell led Lakha through solid walls and within moments brought him back to his mother’s hearth. To show his gratitude, Lakha ordered his entire tribe to vacate the village and donate it lock, stock and barrel to Bhuman Shah. The chief’s word was law and Kutb Kot became Bhuman Shah as it is known to this day.

And so the saint who abhorred worldly wealth all of a sudden became lord and master of a vast estate. With this newly acquired affluence, Bhuman Shah now had a headquarters

where he began a kitchen that daily fed all comers regardless of caste or creed. By 1747, the year of his death, Baba Bhuman Shah had a large following. The body was cremated, the ashes buried at the very spot where saint spent his time in meditation and a domed building was raised above it. Though he died unmarried and with no heir to inherit his holdings, Bhuman Shah passed on his mantle to one of his disciples and that remained the moor: as he

lay dying each man nominated a successor to lead the cult of Bhuman Shah.

The cult grew and the free kitchen that daily fed hundreds of hungry mouths seems to have won admiration all round. The ‘official history’ of the cult records an unnamed British divisional commissioner adding three thousand acres to the Bhuman Shah holding in appreciation of the good work being done. In 1910 with increasing numbers of followers resorting to Bhuman Shah for the four annual festivals, the magnificent edifices with the corner turrets

were paid for from earnings from the agricultural holding. The one on the right as one enters the complex called the sarai or Bhajan Mahal and the other the fort. During the festivals, attended by all religious denominations in united India, the fort housed the upper crust of devotees while the sarai was for the middle tier. Commoners, it is told, had to make do as they found best.

The free kitchen continued to function until 1947 when the Hindu population was exchanged with Muslims. Finding the two buildings handy, refugees moved in and portioned them out according to their individual needs. The samadhi complex was spared only because it afforded no reasonable accommodation. As time went by and families grew, makeshift walls were raised to create courtyards until the once-grand edifices became virtual mohallahs. The cult’s agricultural land was similarly annexed by the new-comers.

Years passed, visa requirements stiffened and by the 1980s free travel between Pakistan and India became virtually unknown. The trickle of Bhuman Shah devotees that had continued after partition eventually dried out. A generation of Muslims grew up in Bhuman Shah without hearing bhajans and qawalis sung around the domed samadhi of the saint whose name their village carried. It was forgotten that Bhuman Shah had four annual festivals where tens of thousands of visitors congregated.

December 1992 saw one of the most shameful acts of all times: the razing of Babri Mosque in Ayodhia. Muslims all over Pakistan responded with the even more dishonourable deed of destroying everything that had anything to do with either the Hindus or the Sikhs regardless of the buildings’ religious or secular nature.

The occupation of Bhajan Mahal and the fort by dozens of families was a blessing in disguise for that held the vandals at bay. But the samadhi

of Bhuman Shah was heavily damaged. Thereafter the derelict building became the refuge of drug addicts. Thus matters stood at the turn of the century. Meanwhile, easier visa requirements once again permitted some devotees to visit and locals were surprised to see Europeans among the visitors.

In 2005 Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) responded to appeals from the followers of the Bhuman Shah cult in India and elsewhere. The complex containing Bhuman Shah’s samadhi and yet another one as well as a large building known as Darbar Hall was restored. But when ETPB turned its attention to Bhajan Sarai and the fort, those who had taken over the buildings and destroyed their character resisted.

Under the Antiquities Act 1974 the two buildings, as well as the samadhi complex, are protected monuments. Though Pakistan is famous for mindlessly destroying perfectly serviceable built heritage, we do have the example of a priceless building being pulled back from the brink in Chiniot. That happened because of official interest. Now, owing to pressure from cult followers abroad, ETPB has taken the right line of relocating the squatters to take over and restore the two residential houses.

It is imperative that the sarai and the fort be reclaimed and used only for the purpose they were originally built for. Religious tourism is a big thing and the Udasi cult followers from India alone mostly belong to the moneyed class. Restoring the festivals at Bhuman Shah will not only bring Muslim, Hindu and Sikh together, it will also bolster the local economy.

In the bargain, ETPB will have preserved two fine examples of the built heritage of Punjab.

–Salman Rashid, rated as the best in the country, is a travel writer and photographer who has travelled all around Pakistan and written about his journeys.

The shrine and the dharmsala in the background

Restoring the festivals at Bhuman Shah will not only bring Muslim, Hindu and Sikh together, it will also bolster the local economy

Sunday, 29 May, 2011

Back from the brink