From: mirza@sce.carleton.ca (Murad A. Mirza)
Subject: Re: Dr. Akhtar Hammed Khan, Sher aur Ahmek
Organization: Carleton University
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 01:21:27 GMT

anajam@athena.mit.edu (ADIL NAJAM) writes:

>In reference to the Economist article about Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan and in 
>response to the posts by Saqib Mausoof and Naveed Siraj Memon, I would add
>my voice to the "not so loud" chorus of people who find the incident most
>disturbing, and even embarrasing.

>I say so knowing that my views are biased. ...... Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan
>is a person that I respect to the level of revering......for me he is a
>guru, a role model, an ustaad and an ideal all rolled in one.

>Two days ago in an e-mail note to a friend on this issue I had written:

>	It is indeed pathetic. In fact in the late 60s also he had been
>	targeted similarly and was called all sorts of names and things 
>	and was called a communist etc.  From my acquaintance with him I 
>	do know that Doctor Sahib has unorthodox and progressive ideas 
>	which he fearlessly and freely expresses. Being a hard and 
>	dedicated man he also makes many enemies, specially since he is 
>	so forthright in his statements.  From all this it is easy to 
>	assume that the said news is right.

>My admiration for Doctor Sahib, like that of so many others in the world,
>is not because of his ideas, but because of his work.......May it be his
>work in the Commilla Project, in the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) or in
>influencing such efforts as the AKRSP or Hyderabad's Khuda Ki Basti.

>Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan is indeed the fist and last word in participatory
>development. His life is proof that when inspired adn given the
>oppurtunity the most deprived and oppressed people can rise above the
>injustices of fate and society to build for themselves not just a future
>but a happy future. Anyone who has met Doctor Sahib or seen his work
>cannot but be impressed and awed by the achievement. To me, all that I am
>now doing or intend to do later is influenced by the hope and the belief
>that what Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan did in Orangi can be replicated across
>the length and breadth of Pakistan.  I once asked Doctor Sahib how we
>could "duplicate" Akhtar HAmeed Khan's so that we could have one for each
>mohalla, each village, each basti of Pakistan .........His [angry] reply
>was 

>	".....you do not need Akhtar Hameed Khan's......you need people 
>	who care and people who understand........when you have those you 
>	will need no one else.........and remember Akhtar Hameed Khan 
>	did not 'make' OPP, the people of Orangi did, never 
>	forget that............"

>The words speak for themselves.

>It is indeed traggic that we cannot even honour our truly great.  When I
>was doing a talk show on PTV I tried to convince PTV to call him as a 
>guest on the show......I tried for six months, and was consistently
>refused....their arguments were "no one knows him"........My answer was
>that is exactly why we should invite him.......then they said "he has
>no 'entertainment value'"..........tell me, folks, what does one say to
>that!.......The irony was when in the SAARC exchange scheme PTV showed a
>documentary produced by Bangladesh TV ...... lo and behold, the Bangladesh
>documentary was full of (repeated) praise for him as the architect of
>the Comila project and all the other self-help development schemes that
>have followed.............Indeed, this is worth being ashamed of.

>When will we learn to stop petty bickering.......how many great men 
>must fall at the altar of the sheer insolence, ignonimity and 
>pathetic incompetence of their peers?

>As for the poem issue, once again we see an example of religion and
>religious fervour being abused for personal vengence and petty desires. 
>When I read this news in confunction with the few titbits that I have been
>hearing about the murder of Christian teachers in Faisalabad, I wonder if
>we are progressively losing all understanding of the real spirit of Islam?

>As a lover of poetry I know that nearly any shey'r can be given any
>meaning if enough perverted logic and twisting is applied to it........As 
>I see the issue, that is exactly was is happening with Dr. Akhtar Hameed
>Khan.......


>As for the title, "sher aur Ahmak".........maybe it is appropriate.....
>Indeed there is a Sher, and the Ahmak's amongst us are again trying to
>cage him...............


>ADIL [.....jinhay jurm-e-iishq pay naaz thaa, 
>		woh gunah gaar chalay ga-aye.....] NAJAM
>--------------------------------------------------------
>jinhay zindagi ka shaoor tha, unhay be-zarri nay mitta diya
>jo gira'N thay parda-e-khak par, wohee ban kay baithay haiN motabar

assalam alaikum
thanks for the info.

overheard at a mullah gathering
	"saray darhi walay badmash nahi hotay balkay kuch
	badmashoun ney darhi rakh li hay"

Murad [always remiding himself of the DAY] Mirza.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.pakistan