"I love you Makranis! Yes I do!"
If you haven’t had a chance to read Dr. AQ Khan‘s “Random Thoughts” column in The News today, you are missing out. In the piece, entitled, “Pleasant Memories,” the father of Pakistan’s atomic bomb unveils his “special interest” in the Makrani people, an ethnic group of African descent [also known as the Sheedis] who live in Baluchistan and Sindh. He wrote,
They were an extremely jolly people, with shiny eyes and smiling faces. Most of the men worked at Keamari port, as guards at cinema houses or plied donkey carts for the transportation of goods. Those of us who have seen their donkeys have not failed to notice how healthy these are and how well they are treated. There seems to be an understanding between owner and donkey and this is apparent in every behavior. I noticed at the time that they would stop work punctually at 4 p.m., return home to rest for a short while and then take their donkeys to a place near our building and let them roll in the sand. After this they would brush them down, often hugging and kissing them in the process. Never once did I see a Makrani mistreating his donkey…
AQ Khan proceeds to discuss the Makrani and their donkeys for, oh, another five sentences – the Makrani donkey cart races, how they got the donkeys to speed up, the list goes on. He then goes on to describe the Makrani children. This is the line that got me, “Makrani children are extremely cute…They looked very much like African pikaninis with dark curly hair and shiny eyes.” [Pikanini or pickininy refers to an old derogatory term used by the plantation owners in the south of the United States to describe slave children.] Dear God.
It could very well be that AQ Khan, from the confines of his home, is launching a PR campaign to keep his status as “Pakistan’s hero,” alive [his personal website could be exhibit A]. However, this column is yet another failed attempt to re-brand himself as someone other than the man accused of selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya, and North Korea. Instead of humanizing himself in this piece, he comes across as clueless and ignorant, reminiscent of a batty distant relative you pray won’t make politically incorrect remarks at dinner. And this wasn’t his first faux pas. On August 19, AQ Khan’s column topic, “Science of Computers: part 1” was reportedly plagiarized from the University of Sussex, Imperial College London, and Cambridge University, [revealed in this letter to the editor, and covered in Ahsan's post at Five Rupees].
These columns form the backdrop of AQ Khan’s back-and-forth “he’s been released – no just kidding” narrative in the news media. News of a smuggled letter written to his wife Henny in 2003, unveiling Pakistan’s nuclear cooperation with China, Iran, Libya and North Korea and how Khan would be the fall guy, has added yet another dimension to the saga. The story, revealed by Simon Henderson in the Sunday Times, was so riddled with intrigue that it could spark a book deal and a movie spin-off.
In his recent Dawn column, Cyril Almeida wrote, “…there is another reason to worry if Khan remains in the media limelight: we will be unable to focus properly on present-day issues regarding nuclear doctrine, command and control systems and safety and security.” He added, “Perhaps what is needed to bury the issue …is for a concerted, public campaign to put Khan’s role in the nuclear program in the correct perspective. Unmask the ‘father of the bomb’ and diminish, accurately, his role and he may choose to stay quiet himself.” Given that the U.S. Kerry-Lugar Bill passed Wednesday, and such aid is partly contingent on Pakistan’s cooperation “to dismantle nuclear supplier networks,” this issue will likely crop up again.
sometimes you have to see things with your own eyes rather then with the eyes of west.
they do everything in their own interest why can’t we?
remember the threat:
“back to stone age”
“either with us or them”
Be careful in falling in their trap !!
Daanish-
Could you clarify your comment, please? I don’t believe I saw this situation from “Western” eyes per se, but recent actions by AQ Khan did call for closer scrutiny. I apologize if it appeared otherwise.
Thank you Kalsoom, for writing it.
thanks, Kalsoom, for this article and for bringing this to our attention. he has no diplomatic skils. we pakistanis seem to be saying negative things all the time.
“They looked very much like African pikaninis with dark curly hair and shiny eyes.”
Oh my god! Actually it’s really interesting to see what really is the average level of racism in common Pakistani discourse translated into its English equivalent…
Rabia,
I think it’s interesting as well. It’s why I don’t think AQ Khan was trying to be offensive. As we all know in Pakistan, a lot of racist terms are part of the vernacular and it’s not until we are in more “politically correct” environments that we realize the context of a phrase or word.
I think SanamRFS makes a good point about the colonial influence in countries like Pakistan. At the same time, his whole column was eerily reminiscent of books written by authors like Rudyard Kipling (Jungle Book, White Man’s Burden) that describes a group of people as one large stereotype, and describes it in a way that makes the author appear superior, distant, and patronizing. It’s ironic how it was done to us, and we can do it to others.
Growing up in Pakistan, I never heard about the Makranis. In fact, I only recently found out about this minority group. I was instantly fascinated. So, when I read Dr. Khan’s account, it was with this same fascination. However, the cringe factor soon set in as I read one un-pc comment after another. I will say there is definitely a sweet innocence in his reminiscence of the Makrani people. His use of the term “pickaninny” is possibly reminiscent of the days of the British Raj as this was a well-known racial slur in the UK, at least when my mother was growing up there.
I am left with an image of Dr. Khan peering through a large looking glass into another world saying, “Look, Mummy, those people really like their donkeys.”
As for his blatant plagiarism, there is no excuse.
Get this man an editor!
kalsoom:
i have nothing but sympathy for this blabbering “hero” in his twilight years…and how i wish he would fade away gently and not cause these hiccups for the nation
* he had a role in pakistan’s nuclear journey
* just as he had a role along with other in the army hierarchy who are never named in nuclear proliferation [we should, but would never learn the names of others who aided and abetted him - one more reason why there should have been a real truth & reconciliation commission]
while his “scholarship” (and memory) is suspect:
* …descendants of the Arabs who came to this area centuries ago with the Muslim armies.… best guess is remnants of african slave trade settled here…makran was also occupied by oman in earlier centuries
* They also held donkey cart races on Sunday mornings from Khaliq Dina Hall to Keamari. .. the races were from liari to abdullah shah ghazi’s mausoleum (clifton)
* he did not mention that they were also boat builders…in lyari and in the now dfunct vilage of ibrahim hyderi they built dhows
i would still give him the benefit of doubt…cut him some slack folks…he is reminiscing!
I know, I know. As I mentioned in my post – it’s not that he meant to be offensive, but a lot of his references are clueless. The plagiarism deal though? That is pretty awful. My point of the piece is that IF AQ Khan is trying to better his image, which I think he’s trying to do with these “Random Thoughts” columns, his personal website, etc., he’s not doing a very good job.
Temporal, I should have added a disclaimer because there are many valiant AQ supporters out there – to all of them, I really don’t mean any offense but I do think this column as well as his recent actions do lend itself to scrutiny. We shouldn’t blindly lionize a figure in Pakistani history because he was “the father of the nuclear bomb.” Everyone is human and they should be viewed as such, flaws and all.
kalsoom:
hope am not placed with the “valiant supporters”:)
i try to keep a balanced perspective….emphasis is on try…
re: the good doc, he is suffering from terminal cancer, is retired and obviously bored with not much to do but while his time reminiscing about the good times…rebuilding his image is far far from his mind…don’t shoot me for this educated guess
re: plagiarism: there is no justification for being lazy and inarticulate
re: nuclear proliferation – he is the fall guy…obviously some very senior faujis were also involved…that uncle sam is choosing to ignore this and still plays with those faujis and their colleagues shows their moral bankruptcy also…this point particularly bothers me when armchair critics dump solely on khan
peace
Haha, don’t worry I didn’t group you in with the “valiant supporters.” I think your assessment is fair and that’s why we can debate about it
.
so self righteous…maybe he should have thought of this compassion before opting to design a weapon of mass destruction for this country….if i were him i would have told the pakistani govt to first get all their people clothed and fed, and then design the bomb for them.
@Daanish I’m surprised at your remarks. I don’t see what this has to do with western values or point of view. Kalsoom is pointing out the ridiculousness of AQ’s post. Just because you’re from Pakistan doesn’t mean you have to support everything a fellow Pakistani says. AQ’s post makes him sound completely ignorant and I’m sorry to say, on crack. As a member of humanity, one must do their duty to point out when someone is rambling like a complete nut.
BTW, the western comments that you quoted were made by a similar moron…and I believe his people criticized the hell out of him.
the sheedis as called in sindh and the makranis are great people.i remember many of their men and women drunk with highland queen and dancing in gwadar in 2002
A book (expensive but looks good) has come out about The Role of Sheedhis in Sindhi History. Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-African-Descent-Pakistan-Sheedis/dp/3639182634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254494612&sr=8-1
O god! how did I miss this?, hero or not, he needs to get a few writing lessons, soom would you volunteer please? ten points on what NOT to do while writing for a paper pretty please?
All the founding fathers of America slave owners ? Jefferson’s progeny from his trysts with his slaves are still around.
Lincoln was a slave owner.
The founder of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in his personal life, practices and habits was anything BUT a Muslim.
Prophet Mohammad, unarguably the most revered and followed human ever, had a formal marriage with a 9 year old.
Why cant we put Dr. Khan’s innocent use of a supposedly racist term in the same category as we do with all of the above mentioned heroes and personalities ?
S. Harpasand,
With all due respect, I don’t think you can compare AQ Khan’s derogatory remarks today with the fact that Jefferson was a slave owner – what is PC today is different than the societal norms from before. And c’mon – you can’t put AQ Khan in the same category as Jinnah, Abraham Lincoln, or the Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
I have said multiple times at this point that AQ Khan’s comments were ignorant but weren’t done in a malicious manner. I think why many people are critical of him as a “hero” isn’t just because he makes silly remarks – it goes far deeper than that. Regardless of who is to blame for the nuclear secrets scandal, the fact is that he was involved to some degree. THAT is why him being a hero is questionable in my mind, and why it’s important not to blindly idolize or deify him just because he created Pakistan’s atomic bomb. Giving him a free pass because of that is wrong and it’s not conducive.
Monty Python couldn’t have done better. Maybe A.Q. Khan should consider a career as a comedy writer!
african slaves were imported by kalat,talpur sindh,oudh,bahawalpur,janjira and many other states as guards for harems ( castrated to make khwaja seras) or warriors,marathas hired arabs as soldiers.slaves were also used as soldiers(
talpurs,janjira,marathas).the famous sniper in siege of lucknow ( an unknown heroin) in pakistan was an amazon slave from nawab of oudhs harem.she during the lucknow
there were many rebel snipers at siege of lucknow from june 1857 to march 1858 who shot dead many british soldiers as well as native soldiers loyal to the british as a sniper.it has been asserted that when a rebel sniper was was shot dead by british counter snipers it was discovered that it was an african amazon.
His most famous bag was Major Banks commander of British garrison at the besieged Lucknow Residency who he or she shot dead on 21 July 1857.
This particular individual was known to be icily precise. His shooting would ‘spurn the waste of a single cartridge’ and inflicted no small damage of the morale of the besieged British and natives.
Based on the disparity of naming and no clear record for the numbers killed by this particular marksman, it is possible that another eminent rebel sepoy marksman, Juba are composites of several individuals.
It has also been asserted that Bob the Nailer was an African slave from Oudh’s kings disbanded Army named by the Britishers as Bob the Nailer (because he used to put nails in his musket shots). A special mine was dug by British to destroy the House which this marksman used as his post as a result of which he was killed on 21st August,
slaves were mostly sold by sultan of oman (granted asylum at gwadar gifted to him as a jageer by the Khan of Kalat in late 1780s to talpurs ,
to kalat and to other states.the sultan of oman was the largest slave
owner in the world.
And I always thought that it was some other A.Q. Khan. Just because his columns lacked good writing prowess.
O well, all said and done…and for whatever his faults, I give kudos to the man for stealing nuclear secrets and helping us where we are.
It might sound ignorant to say this but hey, if we weren’t a nuclear power, do you really think the West would give so much crap about us and what can happen if Al-Qaeda gets a hold of our technology?
I love Dr. AQ Khan and he is my hero. But unfortunately our politicians had given him a hard time. We should respect this legend and hero of Pakistan. without him we wouldnt be a nuclear nation and india would be more aggresive towards us than its today. I salute u AQ Khan. District Swabi
i would like to read his book !!!! i am really impressed to see the briefing of his book …