Prem Chand We Are Ashamed!

[desiman]

Prem Chand We Are Ashamed!

July 30, 2010 by Ali Abbas




There have been very few times when I have not found the right words to express my grief, sorrow, anger or passion for something and today is one of those days as today I write for my man, Prem Chand – A Pakistani Hindu, a true patriot, a social worker who spent his life trying to uplift the condition of his fellow countrymen, he gave sweat and tears to this land of pure. An elected member of PILDAT;s Youth Parliament, whose fellow YP’s say the following about him:

He greeted muslims with a warm Assalamo alaikum…he sent msgs of congratulations on shab barat and other holy days…..He used “Allah” hafiz to bid farewell…and he swore by this name…I hv been with him….He was more of a sufi who believed in all religions and the good things in them.

And it doesnt even matter if was he was that intolerant about religious beliefs, even if he were a staunch Hindu he didnot deserve what we gave him. He was on board EQ-202 Airbus 321, Airblue’s flight to Islamabad which crashed in Margalla Hills leaving 152 dead and the nation mourned (officially for 01 day). He was not travelling on personal visit, he was meant to be present at Youth Parliaments session the next day.

And like said above, he gave his sweat and tears to this land of pure – and what did he get? Some religious bigot wrote “Kaafir” (English: Infidel) on his coffin. (Link) We are no short of these religious bigots whose favorite pass time is to judge and discriminate on Pakistanis on basis of their faith – but this sad incident, which killed 152 human beings was an opportunity for these religious fanatics to show their true face. The poor guy, who was born in a Hindu family and spent his life trying to work for the people of his country was given the title of “Kaafir” by someone amongst us. This particular segment of our society pounces on every opportunity to exhibit their religious fanaticism from the very beginning, when Quaid e Azam (the founder of Pakistan) was labelled as “Kaafir-e-Azam”.

Bear in mind, Pakistan was made because people of Indo-Pak subcontinent felt they were discriminated upon on the basis of their faith – The same we are doing with our minorities.

I would cross-post some of his words here:

I believe in democratic process, because true democracy can solve all problems of state. – Prem Chand.

Prem Chand’s last status update on Facebook was: “Comments Can Make a Person & Comments Can Break a Person.”So Be Careful and Ethical While Giving Comments for Someone.” – He rightly said so. A single word comment on his coffin has shattered many across Pakistan.

I protest against these religious fanatics and I salute Prem Chand – And all the Prem Chands in the making and I confess to the religious minorities of Pakistan – that just because of our silence, just because of our muted response to injustices done to you – we stand here after 64 years. I dig my head in shame, and I vow to fight for you, for us, for the Pakistan we were supposed to have.

Please join this page on facebook as we try to take it from, to pick it from here and voice out for minorities of Pakistan.

Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi


Below is the letter written by Zulqarnain, Prem’s friend:

Its very painful for me to write to defend such gem of a person. But in a society like ours where people are discriminated on the basis of their faith, Its essential to show these religious bigots their real face.

Prem chand was born to a poor family and was its lone feeder. He belonged to Sanghar, Sindh. He was 25 and was married and also had children. He, however, looked younger than his age and we also used to crack jokes on him for this which he thoroughly enjoyed. He certainly was not a “man” and had those boyish looks. He was doing masters from Sindh university, something pertaining to Social work. He not only called himself a social worker but his text messages also bore this signature. The signature was later changed to “YP Minister” when he was made minister for Youth affairs, culture and sports in previous session of YP. This honour was well deserved as he had prepared and presented a comprehensive research report on state of social welfare in Pakistan. He was hardworking, dedicated and sincere. His educational back ground was such that he could not make flowery speeches.
He was not good at speaking English and his Urdu also had that pinch of Sindhi accent but this never deterred him to stand up and speak whenever he wanted. He was a patriot and loved pakistan, worried about it as much as we “muslims” do, brought resolutions, prepared them, asked for help, tried to pinpoint and resolve all the problems that Pakistan faces, spoke against India on water issue and had no qualms on the prospect of going to war with her. I say all this to show that he was “normal”. He was not alien or “Indian”.

I have met many people from religious minorities. All of them have that peculiar air about them. they lack confidence, they have fears of the unknown, They are very cautious. Prem Chand also seemed to be the victim of discrimination. Though that did not make him a loner, but it sure taught him to love more. He over tried. tried to be more good to you than u wud expect, tried to make good friends of everyone. Most of the time he lived in the room right next to me during the sessions so he often came over to my room. Thats when I observed this. He would send u text messages just to stay in touch. he wont mind if u didnt reply. I guess, he could not afford to be egotistic.

He was very tolerant in his religious views. We never discussed religion much. Though once I remember a fellow colleague of us talked to him in good faith. He probably wanted to convert him to Islam. Though he never said so. There I came to know that Prem knew much about Islam. He liked Zakir Nayak and comparative studies of different religions. He was interested in Sufism as well. And he wont mind if u asked him questions about hinduism. When interacting with us he would use “muslim” greetings not to prove anything but simply to avoid putting others in a difficult situation.

I still remember the time when we used to hang out. He used to borrow cigarettes from friends and puff away scores of them just for the fun of it. He was not a smoker though. I also remember that prem did not have a FB account. He also did not know how to make one so Hassan Javed (the late youth prime minister) made one for him on his laptop. When the account was made he jokingly asked Hassan to allow him to add Hassan’s female friends as he did not have girlfriends of his own……Thats all I can remember right now hope it helps.

Prem Chand We Are Ashamed! Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi's Blog

 

[BATMAN]

Every thing is engineered.... the crash the choice of flight... etc.
It is indians who are pushing their best to profit out of nagative media campaign.
I'm sure even this article was written before... all given inputs cannot be collected overnight.
First of all not all passengers bodies were found and is it a co-incidence that his body was found and our media is running this name every second... while no one knew this person before....
any how his life tells he was enjoying a respectful life which he couldn't in india due to his low cast status in hinduism... where he was only good for a sacrifice, at the max.

 

[jha]

Every thing is engineered.... the crash the choice of flight... etc.
It is indians who are pushing their best to profit out of nagative media campaign.
I'm sure even this article was written before... all given inputs cannot be collected overnight.
First of all not all passengers bodies were found and is it a co-incidence that his body was found and our media is running this name every second... while no one knew this person before....
any how his life tells he was enjoying a respectful life which he couldn't in india due to his low cast status in hinduism... where he was only good for a sacrifice, at the max.

 

[desiman]

Every thing is engineered.... the crash the choice of flight... etc.
It is indians who are pushing their best to profit out of nagative media campaign.
I'm sure even this article was written before... all given inputs cannot be collected overnight.
First of all not all passengers bodies were found and is it a co-incidence that his body was found and our media is running this name every second... while no one knew this person before....
any how his life tells he was enjoying a respectful life which he couldn't in india due to his low cast status in hinduism... where he was only good for a sacrifice, at the max.

lol best comment on pdf till now by far lol

 

[RescueRanger]

Such a pathetic attempt at politicising a tragic event. Human remains still litter the crash site, it will take a few more days to comb through them, only 50 or so out of the 152 have been identified, the remaining are to under go DNA testing.

Bodies had very little distinguishing features they were (if you excuse me) charred like cinders. The entire youth parliament died in that crash, yet someone picks on prem chand and uses him and his tragic end as a tool to steer up hatred.

I would urge such people to show some ounce of human compassion and fear their own mortality.

 

[Justin Joseph]

Prem Chand We Are Ashamed!

July 30, 2010 by Ali Abbas




There have been very few times when I have not found the right words to express my grief, sorrow, anger or passion for something and today is one of those days as today I write for my man, Prem Chand – A Pakistani Hindu, a true patriot, a social worker who spent his life trying to uplift the condition of his fellow countrymen, he gave sweat and tears to this land of pure. An elected member of PILDAT;s Youth Parliament, whose fellow YP’s say the following about him:

He greeted muslims with a warm Assalamo alaikum…he sent msgs of congratulations on shab barat and other holy days…..He used “Allah” hafiz to bid farewell…and he swore by this name…I hv been with him….He was more of a sufi who believed in all religions and the good things in them.

And it doesnt even matter if was he was that intolerant about religious beliefs, even if he were a staunch Hindu he didnot deserve what we gave him. He was on board EQ-202 Airbus 321, Airblue’s flight to Islamabad which crashed in Margalla Hills leaving 152 dead and the nation mourned (officially for 01 day). He was not travelling on personal visit, he was meant to be present at Youth Parliaments session the next day.

And like said above, he gave his sweat and tears to this land of pure – and what did he get? Some religious bigot wrote “Kaafir” (English: Infidel) on his coffin. (Link) We are no short of these religious bigots whose favorite pass time is to judge and discriminate on Pakistanis on basis of their faith – but this sad incident, which killed 152 human beings was an opportunity for these religious fanatics to show their true face.

The poor guy, who was born in a Hindu family and spent his life trying to work for the people of his country was given the title of “Kaafir” by someone amongst us.

This particular segment of our society pounces on every opportunity to exhibit their religious fanaticism from the very beginning, when Quaid e Azam (the founder of Pakistan) was labelled as “Kaafir-e-Azam”.

Bear in mind, Pakistan was made because people of Indo-Pak subcontinent felt they were discriminated upon on the basis of their faith – The same we are doing with our minorities.

I would cross-post some of his words here:

I believe in democratic process, because true democracy can solve all problems of state. – Prem Chand.

Prem Chand’s last status update on Facebook was: “Comments Can Make a Person & Comments Can Break a Person.”So Be Careful and Ethical While Giving Comments for Someone.” – He rightly said so. A single word comment on his coffin has shattered many across Pakistan.

I protest against these religious fanatics and I salute Prem Chand – And all the Prem Chands in the making and I confess to the religious minorities of Pakistan – that just because of our silence, just because of our muted response to injustices done to you – we stand here after 64 years. I dig my head in shame, and I vow to fight for you, for us, for the Pakistan we were supposed to have.

Please join this page on facebook as we try to take it from, to pick it from here and voice out for minorities of Pakistan.

Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi


Below is the letter written by Zulqarnain, Prem’s friend:

Its very painful for me to write to defend such gem of a person. But in a society like ours where people are discriminated on the basis of their faith, Its essential to show these religious bigots their real face.

Prem chand was born to a poor family and was its lone feeder. He belonged to Sanghar, Sindh. He was 25 and was married and also had children. He, however, looked younger than his age and we also used to crack jokes on him for this which he thoroughly enjoyed. He certainly was not a “man” and had those boyish looks. He was doing masters from Sindh university, something pertaining to Social work. He not only called himself a social worker but his text messages also bore this signature. The signature was later changed to “YP Minister” when he was made minister for Youth affairs, culture and sports in previous session of YP. This honour was well deserved as he had prepared and presented a comprehensive research report on state of social welfare in Pakistan. He was hardworking, dedicated and sincere. His educational back ground was such that he could not make flowery speeches.
He was not good at speaking English and his Urdu also had that pinch of Sindhi accent but this never deterred him to stand up and speak whenever he wanted. He was a patriot and loved pakistan, worried about it as much as we “muslims” do, brought resolutions, prepared them, asked for help, tried to pinpoint and resolve all the problems that Pakistan faces, spoke against India on water issue and had no qualms on the prospect of going to war with her. I say all this to show that he was “normal”. He was not alien or “Indian”.

I have met many people from religious minorities. All of them have that peculiar air about them. they lack confidence, they have fears of the unknown, They are very cautious. Prem Chand also seemed to be the victim of discrimination. Though that did not make him a loner, but it sure taught him to love more. He over tried. tried to be more good to you than u wud expect, tried to make good friends of everyone. Most of the time he lived in the room right next to me during the sessions so he often came over to my room. Thats when I observed this. He would send u text messages just to stay in touch. he wont mind if u didnt reply. I guess, he could not afford to be egotistic.

He was very tolerant in his religious views. We never discussed religion much. Though once I remember a fellow colleague of us talked to him in good faith. He probably wanted to convert him to Islam. Though he never said so. There I came to know that Prem knew much about Islam. He liked Zakir Nayak and comparative studies of different religions. He was interested in Sufism as well. And he wont mind if u asked him questions about hinduism. When interacting with us he would use “muslim” greetings not to prove anything but simply to avoid putting others in a difficult situation.

I still remember the time when we used to hang out. He used to borrow cigarettes from friends and puff away scores of them just for the fun of it. He was not a smoker though. I also remember that prem did not have a FB account. He also did not know how to make one so Hassan Javed (the late youth prime minister) made one for him on his laptop. When the account was made he jokingly asked Hassan to allow him to add Hassan’s female friends as he did not have girlfriends of his own……Thats all I can remember right now hope it helps.

Prem Chand We Are Ashamed! Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi's Blog

A shameful incident how can they do this to a dead.

But, the writer has bring up a positive face of pakistan. Pakistan need more like him.

 

[somebozo]

Another pathetic attempt of politicizing incident with a tone of communal divide. The Pakistanis dont have a culture of "cry baby" and we have become hardend to these kind of news being part of WOT. Other than that, writting kaffir on someone coffin is truly shameful and offensive unfortunately we have no shortage of such religious bigots. Pakistan really needs to improve on its minorities especially Hindus and Christians.

 

[Imran Khan]

AHHHHHHHHHHHH so sad why not simply they use his name.

 

[Imran Khan]

Friday, July 30, 2010
Myra Imran

Islamabad

Youth Prime Minister Hassan Javed Khan, who lost his life in the tragic incident of Airblue plane crash in Margallah Hills on Wednesday, had so many plans to make the last four-day session of the Youth Parliament Pakistan (YPP) 2009-10 a memorable event. Unfortunately, the last session became memorable but because of the death of Javed and his six other colleagues.

With their eyes filled with tears and grief writ large on their faces, Members Youth Parliament (MYPs) dedicated last session of YPP 2009-10 to their friends, who lost their lives in the plane crash. The session started with one-minute silence in the memory of those, who lost their lives and a joint prayer for the families and souls of the departed.

The session was also joined by the family members of Hassan Javed Khan who are currently in the city and are passing through the painful procedure of collecting the dead body of their beloved son. As the body is unrecognisable, the couple has given blood test and is waiting for the result. “It is a very hard time. May Allah give us strength to bear this grief,” said Javed’s mother, who broke into tears many times while listening to the good words said by her son’s colleagues during the session. She said that Hassan was about to leave for higher studies in UK.

Youth Parliament members told ‘The News’ that bodies of three MYPs have been recognised and handed over to the families that include Youth Minister for Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs Prem Chand, Youth Information Minister Syeda Rubab Zehra Naqvi and Youth Shadow Minister for Information Bilal Jamaee. “The families of other three are waiting for the results of DNA test,” said MYP Hanan Abbasi.

Relatives of late Youth Shadow Minister for Information Bilal Jamaee also attended the reference organised in the memory of departed MYPs at the start of the second day. The MYPs mounted poster sized pictures of their lost colleagues on the wall and lit candles. They also organised Qura’an Khwani in the evening.

The house started its proceedings with a Calling Attention Notice by Hassan Taseem Ahmed that invited the attention of the speaker towards tragic incident. The Calling Attention Notice was followed a resolution presented by MYPs Ayesha Bilal Bhatti and Ehsan Naveed Irfan. At the end they played a clipping prepared by MYPs as a tribute for their colleagues.

The resolution mentioned, “the house mourns death of the six youth parliamentarians, who were assets of this country. The house extends its deepest condolence to their families and friends and demand that the inquiry regarding the plane crash should be held in an efficient and speedy manner so that such disastrous incidents can be avoided in the future.”

The aggrieved members looked visibly shocked and in the state of disbelief as most of them found it hard to control their tears while expressing love for their colleagues. Every member was given a chance to speak and share memories regarding their lost colleagues. “It is painful not to see Bilal’s face around. He was so particular about attending the session regularly and never missed even a single one proceeding but this time was destined not to attend the last session,” said Isbaur Rehman.

Imtiaz Ali Khoro from Sindh was the only MYP from Sindh who missed the unfortunate flight, as he had to come two days before the schedule. “We used to discuss politics and resolutions through out our way to Islamabad. We were like a team,” he added.

The MYPs vowed to take forward the mission of those who lost their lives. “Our biggest tribute to our deceased members could be to carry out their mission and vision for which our six members were travelling and lost their lives,” they said.

They protested against the marking of the coffin of one of their colleague Prem Chand as ‘Kafir.’ “It was shocking. He could have been marked as Hindu or non-Muslim, but using the word ‘Kafir’ is the worst example of intolerance,” said MYP Muneeb Afzal.

Ehsan Naveed Irfan, who stayed in the hospital till early morning to help hospital staff in identifying the body, praised the hard work of all those involved in the operation but called for more coordinated efforts and improved equipment. “No doubt we have dedicated people but we need more of them with improved capacity so that they can handle the situation in best way,” he pointed out.

The MYP remembered Rubab for her hard work and determination, praised the maturity of Syed Arsalan Ahmad and paid tributes to the spoken skills and extraordinary sense of humour of Bilal Jamaee. “We wish that our leadership becomes like these six bright stars,” said one MYP.

 

[into the wild]

indians can stoop to any level, but they want peace

kattar hindutwa mentality to take advantage of others grief and using it as their propaganda is very saddening. there r countless muslims too who lost their life..

thank god v r not at peace with them, and that also explains why v need a stronger eastern front..

allah bachaye hindustani shar se!!

 

[desiman]

indians can stoop to any level, but they want peace

kattar hindutwa mentality to take advantage of others grief and using it as their propaganda is very saddening. there r countless muslims too who lost their life..

thank god v r not at peace with them, and that also explains why v need a stronger eastern front..

allah bachaye hindustani shar se!!

whats wrong with you, how is this taking advantage of you ? its an article written by a Pakistani and questioning something that happened in Pakistan, so whats India have to do with this ? Stop blaming India for your own problems.

 

[into the wild]

whats wrong with you, how is this taking advantage of you ? its an article written by a Pakistani and questioning something that happened in Pakistan, so whats India have to do with this ? Stop blaming India for your own problems.

if something happened in pakistan why r u being emotional here, this guy was pakistani first, dont misinterpret his hinduiness for being bharat lover... and he can be used by bharatis to start their islam and pakistan bashing..

pakistanis can write what ever they want, pakistan has given freedom to its writers, and not like india..

 

[Justin Joseph]

if something happened in pakistan why r u being emotional here, this guy was pakistani first, dont misinterpret his hinduiness for being bharat lover... and he can be used by bharatis to start their islam and pakistan bashing..

pakistanis can write what ever they want, pakistan has given freedom to its writers, and not like india..

This is the worst comment one can make. If it is so then why rant about Gujarat or babri masjid they are happen in India.

You keep on ranting on some very old sad incedents where everyone is victim but even if you kill ahamadiya or shia or christian or Hindu we can't utter a word.

What a Hippocraty.

 

[mehru]

I didn't know it but sparklingway pointed it out in Airblue thread.

Very sad indeed. It's a shameful act. Sadly we have no such law which could hand out punishments to people for showing their hatred against minorities. We definitely need one. Only then our nation will learn something.

Yes indeed Prem Chand. We are sorry!

 

[mehru]

indians can stoop to any level, but they want peace

kattar hindutwa mentality to take advantage of others grief and using it as their propaganda is very saddening. there r countless muslims too who lost their life..

thank god v r not at peace with them, and that also explains why v need a stronger eastern front..

allah bachaye hindustani shar se!!

What the hell you are talking about? This is not a propaganda. This indeed happened. Yes Muslims died as well but noone wrote Kafir on their coffins. Prem's cousin hid the tag kaafir on his coffin as his family arrived.