Agree .... and I hope you realise it holds good for India too .... without necessarily putting a religious persecution spin on to everything.
In the context of this article, the 'spin' is one of placing the blame for the communal tension in India on Pakistan - very few Indians on this thread have actually come out to refute the authors premise and acknowledge the problem lies in the prejudice and discrimination within Indian society, and not in the existence of Pakistan.
It is Indians choosing to use Pakistan as a scapegoat for their issues, and essentially dragging Pakistan into the debate.
I have read everything posted here my friend ..... and must admit I came to know of this "muhajir" concept here itself. They may be wealthy and well settled now ..... on the dint of their own effort and toil to restart life afresh ..... in spite of the reception given to them early on ..... have you thought of it that way? Further food for thought .....
What reception? Many of them found shelter with families in Pakistan, lived in whatever makeshift accommodation could be arranged by a GoP that itself barely had accommodation to run its affairs out of.
And out of that the community has grown into one of the most successful communities in Pakistan.
I am sorry but I must disagree. We have no interest in your land and/or the human issues it would bring with it piggy-back ..... now.
Then direct your sentiment of 'abhorrence' towards the prejudice and discrimination within India and Indians that causes Indian authors to scapegoat Pakistan for India's communal ills.
I am talking about the Indians and the sentiment prevailing at the time of Partition, coming on the back of Freedom won with blood and tears ..... only to be rewarded by further blood and tears ..... by your own people who have been living alongside you for centuries. This is the Indian point of view my friend and i do not expect you to understand.
All of humanity has been living alongside for longer than the people of South Asia - to only focus on a subset of that shared existence to focus on lands and people you consider part of some mythical larger nation is irredentism and expansionism.
In fact, why didn't Indians just remain part of the United Kingdom? The Punjabis, Bengalis, Tamils like Scots, Irish and the English. What happened to the 'shared existence' there?
Like I said, Indians like you focus on only a subset of humanity's 'shared existence' because it supports your expansionist narrative.
The sentiment at partition was of a people choosing their own destiny as an independent nation on their own land that their ancestors had inhabited for thousands of years. It is none of the business of other people in the region to claim that land or whine about 'one nation' when none existed. Had one nation ever existed there would have been no desire to form two nations.
You are taking my words out of context here. No one found "Pakistanis" abhorrent ..... but the concept of Pakistan ..... before and at the time of Pakistan's creation ..... while you guys were still Indian. Yes, now that the deed is done and sitting in front of our respective keyboards 6 decades hence, it is easy to say "we are different from you, we are a sovereign country, we decide."
The concept of Pakistan is Pakistan - and for Indians to call our nation abhorrent is a refusal to accept it, belittle it and interfere in it. Once again, it is none of your business what ideology our nation is based on and what laws we have. Save your abhorrence for prejudice and social ills in your own nation.
Its rather ironic really, at the start of this post you were complaining about Pakistanis seeking to fight for the 'rights of Indian Muslims', yet here you are blithely talking about how Pakistanis should find it perfectly acceptable for Indians to pass judgment on their nation.
My point AM is that at that time 60 years ago, when the decision was made to tear the country apart, "we deciding" meant both you and us deciding together. It was not your decision or your insecurities and needs alone my friend ...... it was everyone's freedom ..... fought for and won together ..... and you guys had NO grounds till then of feeling whatsoever insecure from a "Hindu majority." It was a power game pure and simple, and we and you are paying the price till today. So please do not get on your own high horse and imply that either I or other Indians are either suffering from a superiority complex or are being disrespectful ..... cause we have a totally different view about where the disrespect originated from in the first place.
Cheers, Doc
There was no country or nation to tear apart - South Asia had never been one nation. The British essentially brought a myriad Kingdoms, States and people under one banner in a colony. The partition was of that colony and the region, not a nation and not a people, since there was no singular nation and no singular people in South Asia.
I am not the one questioning the existence of your nation as an abhorrent regional bully with expansionist and hegemonic ambitions right now - you are the one hurling abuse at my nation, so drop the disingenuous attempt to turn the 'high horse and disrespect' comment onto me - you have repeated your disrespectful comments about Pakistan several times now.