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Archive for December, 2020

In memory of Quaid-e-Azam by Brig (Retd) Asif Haroon Raja

In memory of Quaid-e-Azam

Asif Haroon Raja

 

 

The nation celebrated the 145th birth anniversary of the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah today on 25th December with zeal and fervor. The Creation of Pakistan in a short period of 7 years after the historic Lahore resolution on March 23, 1940 was a miracle of the 20th century. The Muslims of India suffering under the yoke of British-Hindu combine since 1757 loved Jinnah and out of reverence named him Quaid-e-Azam.

 

 

 

Man of steel nerves and strong conviction, Jinnah was a man of taste, he spoke eloquently and dressed immaculately. None could outclass him in arguments. The illiterate people flocking to his public meetings listened to his speeches delivered in English with rapt attention without understanding what he was saying. Their simple reply was, ‘whatever he was saying must be correct and for our good’.

Jinnah lived all his life by a strict code of personal ethics and never compromised on principles. His personal sense of disciple was renowned and he tried to install this quality into the Muslim League and the Muslim masses that he was able to influence. His sharp intellect and a quick grasp of an unfolding situation were astounding. This unique gift enabled him to battle single-handed on the chessboard of politics against a powerful coalition of adversaries and win. Achieving Pakistan in the face of stiff opposition from those protagonists of a United Bharat and the foot dragging by the British was in itself a brilliant feat.  

His personal physician had diagnosed his disease of tuberculosis and had cautioned him that he had not more than two years to live and that too if he rested and took care. Knowing the ill-intentions of the Congress leaders and the British who were against the partitioning of India, Mr. Jinnah told him not to divulge his disease and the doctor honored his commitment. Despite his illness, he struggled day and night and removed all obstacles placed in the way of creation of Pakistan.

Creating a new nation had taken all the character, foresight, faith and energy of the Quaid. What made Jinnah taller than his contemporaries was his unselfishness. His struggle for Pakistan was not for glory or fame. History has rarely produced such an example of selflessness and high moral standing.

After his demise on September 11, 1948, and revelation of the hidden disease, Mountbatten remarked that if he had any inkling of the deadly disease and his short life expectancy, he would have deferred the partition plan for some years and awaited his death. He knew that without him there was no one else who could compel him to allow the partition of India and there would have been no Pakistan.

How right was Quaid-e-Azam when he stated that “the Muslims who are opposing Pakistan will spend the rest of their lives proving their loyalty to India”. Today the pro-India Indian Muslims and the successors of Sheikh Abdullah and other Kashmiri leaders are repenting their decision to prefer India over Pakistan.  

Not a single leader who came after MA Jinnah came anywhere close to his stature. Each leader sang his song and quoted his ideals but none emulated his pristine principles and instead placed self before national interests.  

Stanley Wolpert described him in these words in his book ‘Jinnah of Pakistan’: “few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three”.

Hector Bolitho in his book ‘Jinnah Creator of Pakistan’ narrated: “Jinnah made a forlorn scattered multitude into a nation”. He added, “Unlike the creators of other nations, such as Washington, Cavour and Bismarck, Jinnah achieved his aim without the support of an army”.  

R.G. Casey Governor Bengal wrote: “It is not too much to say that Mr. Jinnah is the only outstanding Muslim of all-India stature in Indian politics today…He is man of iron discipline and he has denied himself the luxury of any qualities which might loosen his concentration upon his purpose”. (Verdict of India, Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan).

Lord Listowel rated Mr. Jinnah as a bigger political giant of the 20th century than even Gen De Gaulle. Harry Truman considered him as the recipient of the devotion of loyalty seldom accorded to any man.

John Biggs Davison said, “Although without Gandhi, Hindustan would have gained independence, and without Lenin and Mao, Russia and China would still have endured the communist revolution, however, without Jinnah there would have been no Pakistan in 1947”.

Gordon Johnson said, “Mr. Jinnah set a great example to other statesmen to follow by his skill in negotiations, his integrity and his honesty”.

The British author Beverly Nicholas judged Jinnah as the most important man in Asia because he could sway the battle this way or that as he chose. He opined that “Jinnah’s 100 million Muslims will march to the left, to the right, to the front, to the rear at his bidding, and to nobody else’s. It’s not the same in Hindu ranks. If Gandhi goes, there is Nehru, or Raja Gopalachari, or Patel or a dozen others, but if Jinnah goes, who is there?” He further described the difference between Jinnah and the typical Hindu politicians saying comparison was of a surgeon and witch doctors. (Verdict of India).

Sir Francis Mudie, Governor of Punjab who knew Jinnah since 1936 observed, “Jinnah impressed me more, I think than anyone else I have ever met, and I was very fond of him. He never compromised officially”. He added, “In judging Jinnah, we must remember what he was up against. He had against him not only the wealth and brains of the Hindus, but also nearly the whole of British officialdom and most Home (England) politicians, who made the great mistake of refusing to take Pakistan seriously”. He missed the Muslim political and religious leaders opposed to the idea of Pakistan.    

Sir Agha Khan 111 said, “Of all the statesmen that I have known in my life, – Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Churchill, Curzon, Mussolini, Mahatma Gandhi – Jinnah is the most remarkable. None of these men in my view outshone him in strength of character”.

2nd last Viceroy of India Wavell mentioned, “Mr. Jinnah was one of the handsomest men I have ever seen; he combined the clear cut, almost Grecian features of the West with Oriental grace and movement”.  

The last Viceroy of India Lord Mountbatten remarked, “Jinnah never made an agreement by bowing down to anyone but on equal basis”.  

Pathick Lawrence said, “Gandhi died by the hands of an assassin, Jinnah died by his devotion to Pakistan”.  

Gokhale called him the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. Mahatma Gandhi opined, “Mr. Jinnah is incorruptible and brave. I believe no power can buy him”.   

Jawaharlal Nehru said, “Good character and good politics were those secrets due to which Jinnah got success”.  (The Discovery of India).

Allama Iqbal stated, “MA Jinnah is the only personality of India from whom the whole nation has expectations”.  

Jinnah’s ADC Mian Atta Rabbani in his book ‘Jinnah a Political Saint’ wrote, “MA Jinnah was no Wali or a Saint in terms of religious terminology, but he was certainly a political saint for the Muslims of the subcontinent.  As a political saint he turned the Muslims minority of the Indian subcontinent into a nation and emancipated them from the evil axis of Anglo-Hindu tyranny and domination by guiding and leading them to eventual goal of Pakistan, a safe haven for them, and established the largest Muslim State.

  1. H. Enverdescribed the Quaid as ‘the modern Moses’.   (The Modern Moses).
  2. Sharifuddin Pirzadasummed up the profile of legendary Quaid in these words: “Jinnah possessed Ataturk’s astuteness, Bismarck’s boldness, Churchill’s charisma, De Gaulle’s dignity, Lincoln’s liberalism and Mao Tse Tung’s magnetism. Jinnah was incorruptible, candid, consistent and undoubtedly a colossus”.

Some of the sayings of MA Jinnah:“Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all the nations of the world. We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation”“With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that cannot be achieved”.“Think hundred times before you take a decision; but once that decision is taken, stand by it as One Man”.“A Muslim is not born to give up. If he is forced to be enslaved, he will become Babur. He will emerge as Sultan Tipu. He can happily embrace martyrdom but will never accept slavery”.The Quaid’s fantastic decision making ability is reflected in his statement, “I do not believe in taking the right decision. I take a decision and make it right”.   Thank you Quaid-e-Azam for bestowing upon us the priceless gift of Pakistan. We apologize for not living up to your ideals and aspirations and failed to make Pakistan a model Islamic welfare state as had been envisioned by you. May your soul rest in peace and be granted the highest place in Heaven!The writer is retired Brig Gen, war veteran, defence & security analyst, international columnist, Chairman Tinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, Member CWC PESS & Member Veteran Think Tank; Member Council TJP. asifharoonraja@gmail.com

Khan Zia

Just for interest, I had a lengthy meeting with Lord Listowel, who had been the last Secretary of State for India in the Attlee government, before writing the book, ‘Pakistan:Roots, Perspective and Genesis’. During this, he repeatedly used the phrase, ‘without Jinnah there would not have been any Pakistan.‘ He said this was not simply because the Congress Party was opposed to it but also the entire British establishment in India as well as Britain. 

For what it is worth, I have little doubt that the British only relented because they expected a civil war to break out and wanted to get out before that happened. To get the Congress to accept partition, they carved out Pakistan in the way they did and set an impossible date for Jinnah to get the country going that ensured it would collapse and rejoin India soon after birth. You might like to see some of the evidence that I have pieced together below:

How Pakistan Was Set Up to Fail

(K. Hussan Zia)

When the idea of a separate state or states to safeguard the interests of Muslims of India was first officially adopted by the Muslim League at its annual session in March 1940 it met with strong opposition not only by the Congress and other Hindu parties but also by the British as well as Muslim religious parties including Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, the Ahrars as well as Khaksars. The latter made two attempts on Jinnah’s life and even succeeded in wounding him on one occasion. In August 1942, the Akali Sikh leader Gayani Kartar Singh proclaimed in Amritsar, ‘If Pakistan is foisted upon the Sikhs with the help of British bayonets, we shall tear it into shreds as Guru Gobind Singh tore up the Mughal Empire’ (‘A History of the Sikhs, vol. 2, by Khushwant Singh, New Delhi, 1991, p. 252).

 

Master Tara Singh threatened a Sikh uprising and declared an ‘Anti-Pakistan Day’ on 11th March 1947. In a fiery speech from the steps of the Provincial Legislature he denounced Muslims, Jinnah and Pakistan ‘Our motherland is calling for blood and we shall satiate the thirst of our motherland with blood —- I have sounded the bugle. Finish the Muslim League’. He then proclaimed the Sikh slogan ‘Raj karay ga Khalsa baki rahay na ko’ (only the pure Sikhs will rule; no one else will survive) and proceeded to hack down the pole bearing the Muslim League flag and tore the banner to shreds with his kirpan (dagger) to the shouts of Pakistan Murdabad —- death to Pakistan (The Punjab Boundary Force and the Problem of Order, August 1947, vol.8, by Robin Jeffrey, as quoted by French).

 

How Pakistan came into being despite such formidable opposition is a question that is often asked. The simple answer lies in the conviction and resolve of the Muslims of India to have a space of their own where they could live freely, without being dominated by the Hindus. Exhausted by the long war, Britain realized she could no longer hold on and decided to give India her freedom. It only remained to be decided in what form power should be transferred to avoid chaos and possible civil war.

A country-wide election to the Central and Provincial Assemblies was held at the end of 1945 in which the Congress Party fielded candidates on the Muslim as well as non-Muslim seats for a united India. Muslim League, on the other hand, contested only in the seats reserved for the Muslims as did various other Islamic religious and regional parties like the Unionists, that had opposed the creation of Pakistan.

 

Muslim League won eighty-seven percent of the Muslim votes cast and every single seat reserved for them in the Central Assembly. It also won 428 of the total 492 (87 percent) seats in the Provincial Assemblies. In Sind, it won all but one seat. In Bengal, the League collared ninety percent of the vote. In NWFP it fell one vote short of a majority in the Assembly and Dr. Khan Sahib of the Khudaee Khidmatgars formed the government with the help of the Congress Party. In Punjab, the League bagged 79 of the 86 seats reserved for Muslims and was the largest party in the Assembly but the Governor called on Sir Khizar Hayat Tiwana, who’s Unionist Party had only ten seats, to form the government in collaboration with Congress and assorted Hindu and Sikh groups.

The election firmly established two facts —- that the Muslims did not want to be a part of Hindu-dominated united India and secondly, it was only the Muslim League that represented the interest and aspirations of their vast majority.

There were intelligence reports that the Congress was soon going to embark on plans to overthrow the government through a large-scale mass movement. Viceroy Wavell cabled Pethick-Lawrence, the British secretary of state that Congress leaders had been making speeches ‘intended to provoke or pave the way for mass disorder —- asserting that the British could be turned out of India within a very short time; denying the possibility of a compromise with the Muslim League; glorifying the INA; and threatening the officials who took part in the suppression of the 1942 disturbances with trial and punishment as war criminals’ (Transfer of Power Documents 1942 – 1947, Vol VI, p. 451).

Wavell assessed the political situation in India at the time as: ‘Congress feel that HMG dare not break with them —- their aim is power and to get rid of British influence as soon as possible, after which they think they can deal with both Muslims and Princes; the former by bribery —- and if necessary by force; the latter by stirring up their people against them. —- They will continue —- until they consider themselves strong enough to —- revolt against British rule’. (Transfer of Power Documents, Volume IX, pp. 240-2).

The British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee thought, ‘The situation might so develop as to result in a civil war in India, with all the bloodshed which that would entail’ (Transfer of Power Documents 1942-1947, Vol. IX, P. 319). He had decided to hand over power to avoid such an eventuality. He would have much preferred if India remained united but when the Cabinet Mission failed in 1946, the only option left open was to partition the country. To get the Congress Party to agree to it, the latter was assured that it will be done in such a way that Pakistan will not be a viable country and unlikely to survive for long.

Mr. Gandhi had dispatched an emissary from his own entourage, Sudhir Ghosh, to London to liaise privately with the Labour Government. While studying at Cambridge he had established durable links with Quakers and Labour politicians, including Pethick-Lawrence and Cripps. Privately, the former considered him a ‘vexatious embarrassment’ while Wavell referred to him as ‘that little rat’ and a ‘snake in the grass with a very swollen head’. Nonetheless, he remained Mr.Gandhi’s man for making back-room deals with the Labour Party. His first mission was to arrange for the removal of Wavell and replace him with someone more acceptable to Congress.

A telephone conversation between Vallabhbhai Patel in Delhi and Sudhir Ghosh in London on 28th August was intercepted and reported to Wavell. In it Patel was heard saying ‘Cripps had promised if there was any disturbance in Calcutta, he will order Section 93 (dissolution of Muslim League Government and the imposition of Governor’s Rule in Bengal). What is he doing? Ghosh told him that Cripps was out of the country but he would take up the matter with another minister. Patel then told him to remain in the country and await further orders ‘We are taking charge on 2nd September’ (Liberty or Death: India’s Journey to Independence and Division, by Patrick French, p. 254). There could not be clearer evidence that at least some members of the Labour Government were colluding with the Congress.

Earlier, Wavell had recorded that the Cabinet Mission had been ‘unable to remain really impartial’ and had been ‘living in the pocket of Congress’, further concluding the Mission ‘might have succeeded had Cripps and Pethick-Lawrence not been so completely in the Congress camp’ (Wavell: The Viceroy’s Journal, edited by Penderel Moon, pp. 287, 324). Jinnah wrote to Attlee, with a copy to Churchill that the conduct of the Cabinet Delegation had ‘impaired the honour of the British Government and shaken the confidence of Muslim India’ and ‘shattered their hopes for an honourable and peaceful settlement’ (Transfer of Power Documents, Vol. VII, p. 527).

Wavell sent transcripts of the intercepts of telephone conversations Ghosh had with Gandhi to Attlee, with a note of protest stating ‘I cannot continue to be responsible for the affairs in India if some members of your Government are keeping in touch with the Congress through an independent agent behind my back’ (Transfer of power Documents, VIII, pp. 328-9). It had become a familiar refrain. There had been frequent complaints from him and his staff about the ‘lack of realism and honesty’ on the part of the cabinet in London (Wavell: pp. 397-409).

Sudhir Ghosh did not cut much ice with Secretary of State for India, Lord Pethick-Lawrence but found Attlee ‘a great deal more understanding’, who told him in early September 1946 that ‘there was a good case for a new viceroy but there was no sense in making a change unless he was in a position to find someone who was obviously better than the present occupant of the post’ (The Collected Works of Mahatama Gandhi, VXXXV, p. 518). The Transfer of Power record, as well as Wavell’s own journal, is replete with pleas and exhortations on the subject while stressing the need for honesty, fair play and justice. Wavell was no politician and obviously had not adjusted to their ways. It made him an obstacle both for Congress as well as the British Government and the time had come for him to go home for their scheme to be put into effect as envisaged.

After the Japanese surrendered, Nehru had gone to Burma as a guest of Mountbatten. Following their discussions, Krishna Menon, who was an influential member and councilor for the Labour Party in Britain, conveyed it to the British Minister and Congress sympathiser, Stafford Cripps in a secret meeting that Mountbatten’s selection would be most acceptable to Congress (Freedom at Midnight, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, foot note p.19). In mid-December 1946 Attlee sounded out Mountbatten to replace Wavell as the viceroy in India.

He took over on 24th. March 1947 while still remaining in regular contact with Krishna Menon. In one of his letters to Mountbatten after a meeting with Attlee, Menon informed him: ‘no lack of desire on the part of the P.M to be of assistance. I found there and everywhere else that the Fuhrer (Jinnah) had overplayed his hand’ (Transfer of Power Documents, Vol. XII, p.255). The Congress Party had already agreed to the creation of Pakistan composed of provinces having a majority of Muslims provided parts of Punjab and Bengal, where Muslims were in minority, were joined with India.

There is evidence to suggest that based on assurances given to them, Congress leaders accepted Pakistan only as a stopgap measure. In a letter to India’s representative in China, K. P. S Menon on 29th April 1947, Nehru wrote that he was in no doubt eventually India would have to become one country and it could well be that Partition was but a stepping stone on the path towards that goal (Nehru: The Making of India, by M. J. Akbar, London, 1989, p. 405).

To ensure this happened, India withheld Pakistan’s share of finances and other assets after independence. Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, who became Supreme Commander of both India and Pakistan after Partition reported to Whitehall on 28th September 1947: ‘I have no hesitation whatever in affirming that the present India Cabinet are implacably determined to do all in their power to prevent the establishment of the Dominion of Pakistan on a firm basis. In this, I am supported by the unanimous opinion of my senior officers, and indeed by all British officers cognizant of the situation, (Auchinleck, by John Connel, London, 1959, p. 1379).

British complicity in the nefarious scheme is clear from minutes of the meeting Mountbatten had with the Provincial Governors on 15th April 1947. In it he told them ‘—— partition of India would be a most serious potential source of war. —– A quick decision would also give Pakistan a greater chance to fail on its demerits. The great problem was to reveal the limits of Pakistan so that the Muslim League could revert to an unified India with honour’. When the Acting Governor of Bengal informed him that in the event of partition, ‘Eastern Bengal alone was not a going concern and never would be. It could not feed itself —- It would become a rural slum —- Muslims knew it as well as Hindus, so they felt that the object of the cry (by the Hindus) to partition Bengal was to torpedo Pakistan’, Mountbatten replied, ‘Anything that resulted in torpedoing Pakistan was of advantage in that it led the way back to a more common-sense solution’ (Transfer of Power Documents, Vol. X, pp. 242 -244, 250 and Shameful Flight, by Stanley Wolpert, p. 142).

It had been originally announced that the transfer of power was to take place on 30th June 1948. Citing the example of Irish independence when Britain had taken more than two years just to agree on the modalities of the transfer of power to Ireland, Jinnah asked for more time. Instead, for good measure, Mountbatten advanced the date to 15th August 1947 giving Jinnah less than two months to set up a new country! Not only that, eight tehsils in central Punjab adjoining Pakistan, including Ajnala, Gurdaspur, Batala, Jullunder, Nakodar, Ferozepur, Zira, Fazilka and parts of Shakargarh and Lahore where Muslims were in majority, were all awarded to India to ensure the latter had access to Kashmir and control of rivers flowing into Pakistan.

Over and above all this, even before she could get established, Pakistan had to accommodate and settle nine million destitute refugees from India. The fact that she survived and prospered and continues to do so against all odds can only be attributed to the resilience, fortitude, determination, unity of purpose and spirit of sacrifice of her people.

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America at the Crossroads: The Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy by Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja 

America at the Crossroads: The Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy

 

 

 

By Mahboob Khawaja, PhD

Editor’s Note
As we look at the picture of the Earth taken by Apollo 17 in 1972, it is important for us to remember that all differences aside, we share this world. It is the only home to more than 7.5 billion of us, and there is nowhere else to go – at least not in the foreseeable future. We may set out as migrants or refugees across our artificial boundaries of nation-states, but we are one planet and we came into being out of one people. This is a theme in the work of Mahboob Khawaja. However, humans seem very good at making complexity and chaos out of order and wholeness.

 

Donald Trump has taken the sickness of division and chaos to unimaginable levels when he entered the position of the most powerful person on the planet. This power is not attributable to him, but to the position and power of the United States (regardless of how shamefully much of that power was achieved). The President of the United States is given the sacred trust of the people of the U.S. to use that power wisely, justly, and for the good of the people – all the people. Trump has utilized this power solely for his own benefit and has inflicted his love of chaos and cruelty on the world. He has had the collusion of the Republican Party in general, and elected Republicans in particular, in supporting his wanting dismantling of the government infrastructure, the undermining of democracy, and the random and dismissive approach to international relations and issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The people of the United States, and her elected representatives, need to take seriously our responsibility to the global community, and for the multitude of problems, the planet and her inhabitants face. We can be a force for good, or we can pursue the path of rogue nation. I believe that if we choose the latter the path will be short for the U.S. and for the Earth. Therefore, the Biden administration has a big job in front of it. The first being convincing the American people of the need to follow a new path together rather than a (comfortable) failed path that has brought us to the brink of disaster.

Mahboob Khawaja, PhD

“We have let the government’s evil-doing, its abuses, power grabs, brutality, meanness, inhumanity, immorality, greed, corruption, debauchery and tyranny go on for too long. We are approaching a reckoning. This is the point, as the poet W. B. Yeats warned, when things fall apart and anarchy is loosed upon the world.” John W. Whitehead “Monsters with Human Faces: The Tyranny of the Police State Disguised as Law-and-Order.” Information Clearing House: 7/25/2019 (Quoted by Mahboob A. Khawaja, “Democracy of Inhumanity and We, the People of Global Consciousness”. Information Clearing House: 1/01/2020).

Trump’s Absolutism and the Clash of Democracy

President Trump embarked on deceitful triumphalism after a fair and free outcome of the 2020 Presidential election. While denying the facts and enlarging the scope of hype, false rhetoric and wickedness to claim a political win utterly divorced from the prevalent facts on America’s – We, the People landscape. Enticing questionable stance on the results of the election and constantly blaming the Democratic Party and Joe Bidden –President-Elect– as the unlawful and fraudulent winner of the election. President Trump’s domestic spoilers are few and those 126 GOP House Republicans supporting the Texas lawsuit to nullify the results of four US states’ elections, brought a slap to their expectations today when the suit was rejected by the Supreme Court.

President Trump failed miserably to understand the vitality of an effective leader to console the masses in situations of unusual crises, to know his own strengths and weaknesses, and to analyze the wisdom of people around him conducting the governing circle. Intelligent and conscientious leaders unite the masses in crisis but Trump is focused on dividing and driving the American people to violence and unpredictable political chaos. It is this type of insane egoism that brought the downfall of so many leaders in human history. This author recently observed (“American Presidential Election and Democracy Look for Change, Moral and Intellectual Leadership.” UncommonThought:11/19/2020.)

Wickedness and piety cannot be combined in one human character. Trump inflicted disharmony and racial discrimination against the population of color. There is always inconsistency in a delusional mind and so it is with Trump’s paranoia and vengefulness. He has incapacitated the inborn moral and intellectual faculties of Americans and besieged the nation in its conduct of the basic tenets of liberty, justice, and democracy. This was not accidental but a planned scheme – despite being unknown in its short-long terms consequences over the nation’s ability to cope with the change phenomenon for a sustainable future. America under Trump became insane – a victim of its own obsession with power and fearful of its future.

To glance ahead, America and its claim to a working democracy will haunt future generations with suspicion and extended discard. Trump and his coercive puppies could not think of America as part of the global community except as conforming to their own fantasies, phobias, prejudices, policies, practices and preferences, favoring Israel and Netanyahu and nothing else for the pandemic entrenched people of America. History will tell of this time when Trump plagued the body politic with the deliberate misinterpretation of the election and outrageous futuristic hypotheses leading nowhere in a civilized society. The sudden and inexplicable democratic plunge into self-geared wickedness must be catastrophic for future generations. What happens in America affects the global culture of human thoughts, freedom and justice. President Trump lacking the capacity of wisdom cannot control his feelings and is a of being a misfit to hold that office. The American masses are caught in a storm of ugly confrontational democracy as they appear unenlightened and unprepared to cope with its aftermath. Time is critical for American short- and long terms political culpability to sort out a sustainable political future. The logic of reason shall call for a smooth transfer of power to Joe Bidden-President Elect on January 20, 2021. But American pride and prejudice could change many events into defying assertions of working democracy.

In Search of Vaccine and Cure for the COVID-19 Pandemic

The US media highlights the COVID-19 Pandemic surge – more than 16 million cases of infection, and more than 300K deaths now more than 3K daily. This is pandemic carnage that could have largely been averted if there was a responsible federal administration thoughtful of – We, the People. Could there be a revulsion against the capitalist democracy in-waiting to take its shape and form once Trump and his supporters submit to the will of the people? Apparently, the vaccine against Covid-19 is ready to be distributed but one must be cautious not to imagine a magic cure in days or weeks or if the vaccine will do the job as it is claimed to be by the manufacturers both in American and Germany. Covid-19 is a global pandemic and its remedial approach should have organized global sharing and pooling of knowledge-based scientific resources all across the world. We are One Humanity – natural disasters and fatalities know not any borders, flags, or nationalities but surge like wildfire as is being witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Not so, Americans and the EU still buried in the past would not consider the Russian Covid-19 vaccine already prepared and administered or the Chinese vaccine because they are manufactured by the politically opposing entities. Again political absolutism heightens animosity and hatred rather than human understanding and cooperation for a precious cause of saving the lives on Earth. To save the life of one human being is to safeguard the whole of humanity. We are all born equal: One Humanity:- the Divine Message of Al-Qur’an states it clearly:

“Proclaim in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created,

Created man (human being) out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood,

Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,  He Who taught (the use of)  the Pen,

Taught man (human being) that which he knew not.”

It is sheer ignorance and a human tragedy to highlight the political differences when mankind is in urgent need of a viable cure for the Covid-19 pandemic. Politicians are not the medical experts to authoritatively speak for scientific reasoning. Most often medical practitioners prescribe medication on experimental basis, often not certain about the ultimate impact. The masses across the globe are fearful and losing faith on political leaders leading medical propagation of various vaccines for human consumption. It seems illogical to expect sober, judicious and reasonable undertaking when politicians are indulged in abusing truth and honesty in their behavior. If human life can be deceived and cheapened in America and across the globe, one wonders how to evaluate the importance of human rights, freedom and justice in any viable context. Joe Bidden and some of his colleagues appear to be rational, enlightened and self-disciplined folks to assume the next governance of world’s powerful Government. He promised to vaccinate 100M Americans during the first 100 days of his presidency –  a planned and rational optimism for change and to restore normalcy for the future. Destiny and future-making are always timeless and constantly moving phenomenon as we look beyond the obvious critical horizon of human anxiety and sufferings to come.

  1. Be the leader who is open to listening and learning and with a spirit to engage with the masses across America and the world as you claim to be and listen to voices of REASON, even to the dull and ignorant – they all have a story to tell.
  2. Plan, organize and set your strategic priorities in writing – like the statement of top objectives and monitor and achieve success by doing the best. The WHO, Global Warming  (a time bomb in waiting) Climate Summit and Global mankind is waiting for you and so are the neglected people targeted victims of color, ethnicity, and creed- all leading to more man-made disasters.
  3. The COVID-19 Pandemic is a critical issue and a priority to be dealt with cautiously and scientifically for the good of the masses.
  4. Mankind looks for Hope, Unity, Peace and co-existence amongst the divergent cultures and nations of the world. You take initiatives to bridge gaps between cultures and civilizations, including Russia, China, the Muslim world and others abhorred and hated by Trump presidency. If Immanuel Kant’s ‘Perpetual Peace’ was taken seriously, today’s America and Europe would have been at peace, not wars within themselves and with the global community.
  5. Trump lacked imagination and visionary foresight and neglected advice and reasoning in all official endeavors. He opted for transgressors, killers and morally corrupt dictators, kings and princesses across the globe.  You Mr. President (elect) will have the opportunity and time to take corrective actions to enhance human equality, human rights – be it in America’s Black Life Matter, Kashmir, Palestine, Myanmar-Burma, China or elsewhere and take initiative to legislate changes to ensure participation of the indigenous, black and people of colors as equal citizens in American political systems.
  6. Your Chief Justice will administer your oath in the name of God –The Beneficent – The Merciful – the Creator of the World – Who created human beings from a living sperm and sustained life on Earth – and you will perform the art of leading mankind as being part of mankind on a living Universe and Earth as we are accountable for all of our commitments and pursuits.


Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including: Global Peace and Conflict Management: Man and Humanity in Search of New Thinking. Lambert Publishing Germany, May 2012. His forthcoming book is entitled: One Humanity and The Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution

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America at Crossroads: Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

America at Crossroads: Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy

by

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

 

 

We have let the government’s evil-doing, its abuses, power grabs, brutality, meanness, inhumanity, immorality, greed, corruption, debauchery and tyranny go on for too long. We are approaching a reckoning. This is the point, as the poet W. B. Yeats warned, when things fall apart and anarchy is loosed upon the world.” John W. Whitehead “Monsters with Human Faces: The Tyranny of the Police State Disguised as Law-and-Order.” Information Clearing House: 7/25/2019 (Quoted by Mahboob A. Khawaja, “Democracy of Inhumanity and We, the People of Global Consciousness”. Information Clearing House: 1/01/2020).

Trump’s Absolutism and the Clash of Democracy

President Trump embarked on deceitful triumphalism after a fair and free outcome of the 2020 Presidential election. While denying the facts and enlarging the scope of hype, false rhetoric and wickedness to claim a political win utterly divorced from the prevalent facts on America’s – We, the People landscape. Enticing questionable stance on the results of the election and constantly blaming the Democrat Party and Joe Bidden –President-Elect as the unlawful and fraudulent winner of the election. President Trump’s domestic spoilers are few and those 106 GOP House Republican supporting the Texas Lawsuit to nullify the results of four US states elections brought a slap to their expectations being rejected today by the Supreme Court. President Trump failed miserably to understand the vitality of an effective leader to console the masses in situations of unusual crises, to know his own strengths and weaknesses and to analyze the wisdom of people around him conducting the governing circle. Intelligent and conscientious leaders unite masses in crisis but Trump is focused on dividing and driving the American people to violence and unpredictable political chaos. The insane egoism that brought downfall of so many leaders in human history. This author recently observed (“American Presidential Election and Democracy Look for Change, Moral and Intellectual Leadership.” 11/2020: https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2020/11/19/american-presidential-election-and-democracy-look-for-change-moral-and-intellectual-leadership.php

https://www.pravdareport.com/opinion/145315-presidential_election/

Wickedness and piety cannot be combined in one human character. Trump inflicted disharmony and racial discrimination amongst the black and indigenous and colored population…….There is always inconsistency in a delusional mind and so is Trump paranoid and vengeful who has incapacitated the in-born faculties of American lifelines to be a morally and intellectually crippled and more of a besieged nation in its conduct of basic tenets of the American liberty, justice and democracy. This was not accidental but a planned scheme of things although unknown in its short-long terms consequences over its ability to cope with the change phenomenon for a sustainable future. America under Trump became an insane – a victim of its own obsession with power and fearful of its future.

To glance ahead, America and its claim to a working democracy will haunt future generations with suspicion and extended discard. Trump and his coercive puppies could not think of America as part of global community except their own fantasies, phobias, prejudice, policies, practices and preferences to Israel and Netanyahu and nothing else for the pandemic entrenched people of America. History will tell a time that Trump plagued the body of politics with faulty misinterpretation of the election and outrageous futuristic hypotheses leading to nowhere in a civilized society. The sudden and inexplicable democratic plunge into self-geared wickedness must be catastrophic for the future generations. What happens in America, affects the global culture of human thoughts, freedom and justice. President Trump lacking the capacity of wisdom cannot control his feelings of being a misfit to hold that office. American masses are caught in a storm of ugly confrontational democracy as they appear unenlightened and unprepared to cope with its aftermath. Time is critical for American short- and long terms political culpability to sort out a sustainable political future. The logic of reason shall call for a smooth transfer of power to Joe Bidden-President Elect on January 20, 2021. But American self-geared pride and prejudice could change many events into defying assertions of working democracy.

In Search of Vaccine and Cure for the COVID-19 Pandemic

The US media highlights the COVID-19 Pandemic surge – more than 16 million cases of infection, and more that 300K deaths and 3K daily pandemic carnage which could have been averted or partly cured if there was a responsible federal administration thoughtful of – We, the People. Could there be a revulsion against the capitalist democracy in-waiting to take its shape and form once Trump and his supporters submit to the will of the people? Apparently, the vaccine against Covid-19 is ready to be distributed but one must be cautious not to imagine a magic cure in days or weeks or if the vaccine will do the job as it is claimed to be by the manufacturers both in American and Germany.

 

Covid-19 is a global pandemic and its remedial approach should have organized global sharing and pooling of knowledge-based scientific resources all across the world. We are One Humanity – natural disasters and fatalities know not any borders, flags and nationalities but surge like wildfire as being witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Not so, American and the EU still buried in the past would not consider Russian Covid-19 vaccine already prepared and administered or Chinese vaccine because they are manufactured by the politically opposing entities. Again political absolutism heightens animosity and hatred rather than human understanding and cooperation for a precious cause of saving the lives on Earth. To save the life of one human being is to safeguard the whole of humanity. We are all born equal One Humanity:- the Divine Message of Al-Qur’an states it clearly:

“Proclaim in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created,

Created man (human being) out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood,

Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen,

Taught man (human being) that which he knew not.”

It is sheer ignorance and a human tragedy to highlight the political differences when mankind is in urgent need of a viable cure for the Covid-19 pandemic. Politicians are not the medical experts to authoritatively speak for scientific reasoning. Most often medical practitioners prescribe medication on experimental basis, often not certain about the ultimate impact. The masses across the globe are fearful and losing faith on political leaders leading medical propagation of various vaccines for human consumption. It seems illogical to expect sober, judicious and reasonable undertaking when politicians are indulged in abusing truth and honesty in their behavior. If human life can be deceived and cheapened in America and across the globe, one wonders how to evaluate the importance of human rights, freedom and justice in any viable context. Joe Bidden and some of his colleagues appear to be rational, enlightened and self-disciplined folks to assume the next governance of world’s powerful Government. He promised to vaccinate 100M Americans during the first 100 days of his presidency – a planned and rational optimism for change and to restore normalcy for the future. Destiny and future-making are always timeless and constantly moving phenomenon as we look beyond the obvious critical horizon of human anxiety and sufferings to come.

Could America under Joe Bidden Presidency Rejoin the Global Community as an Equal Partner for Peace and Harmony?

World affairs are a complex discipline and often require serious and impartial mindset to see the issues objectively, rationally and dispassionately. America is in desperate need of a navigational change. Past is not dead, but living to transform events and developments into new shape and form for the good of the people. Past is a living force to carve out a formidable and sustainable future. America needs a new message of democratic principles, racial equality and justice, and values which are observed and honored across the board. “We, the People” – the voice of Reason and People enshrined in the American Constitution suggest the following Agenda to Joe Bidden – President Elect for Action:

  1. Be the leader who is open to listening and learning and with a spirit to engage with the masses across America and the world as you claim to be and listen to voices of REASON, even to the dull and ignorant – they all have a story to tell.
  2. Plan, organize and set your strategic priorities in writing – like the statement of top objectives and monitor and achieve success by doing the best. The WHO, Global Warming ( a time bomb in waiting) Climate Summit and Global mankind is waiting for you and so are the neglected people targeted victims of colors, ethnicity and creed- all leading to more man-made disasters.
  3. The COVID-19 Pandemic is a critical issue and a priority to be dealt with cautiously and scientifically for the good of the masses.
  4. Mankind looks for Hope, Unity, Peace and co-existence amongst the divergent cultures and nations of the world. You take initiatives to bridge gaps between cultures and civilizations, including Russia, China, the Muslim world and others abhorred and hated by Trump presidency. If Immanuel Kant’s ‘Perpetual Peace’ was taken seriously, today’s America and Europe would have been at peace, not wars within themselves and with the global community.
  5. Trump lacked imagination and visionary foresight and neglected advice and reasoning in all official endeavors. He opted for transgressors, killers and morally corrupt dictators, kings and princesses across the globe. You Mr. President (elect) will have the opportunity and time to take corrective actions to enhance human equality, human rights – be it in America’s Black Life Matter, Kashmir, Palestine, Myanmar-Burma, China or elsewhere and take initiative to legislate changes to ensure participation of the indigenous, black and people of colors as equal citizens in American political systems.
  6. Your Chief Justice will administer your oath in the name of God –The Beneficent – The Merciful – the Creator of the World – Who created the human being from a living sperm and sustained life on Earth – and you will perform the art of leading mankind as being part of mankind on a living Universe and Earth as we are accountable for all of our commitments and pursuits.
  7. Be a peacemaker, not a warmonger as there is much evil and much good in the creed of human optimism. True leaders create new leaders and always listen and accept readily intelligent advice from people of knowledge and wisdom. Every beginning has its end as America is at the conclusion of an unpredictable age, not the end of world. Your vision and leadership initiatives will reframe the historic time for a progressive and changing America for the best of people and humanity.

 

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UK-India relations tense as Dominic Raab under pressure to raise farmers protests and Jagtar Singh Johal case

Baba Guru Nanak University

University in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan

Description

Baba Guru Nanak University is under construction international university that is located in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan, the birthplace of Guru Nanak. On 28 October 2019, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the University. Wikipedia

AddressNankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan

FoundedJanuary 2020
Campus107 acres

 

UK-India relations tense as Dominic Raab under pressure to raise farmers protests and Jagtar Singh Johal case

 

London – 15 December 2020

 

Over 100 Conservative MPs, including Ministers have been contacted since Boris’s gaffe in PMQs last week on the mistreatment of peaceful farmers protesting in India.

 

All Conservative MPs who have responded have indicated they were disappointed with Boris Johnson’s lack of awareness and response with the totally inappropriate reference to Pakistan.

 

It is understood Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary also met with Conservative MPs before he left for his 4-day trip to India and human rights violations in India, the violent reaction of police to the farmers peaceful protest and the case of Jagtar Singh Johal are understood to have been raised.

Boris Johnson is also believed to be under pressure to apologise for the farmer gaffe to Pakistan PM, Imran Khan for inappropriately mentioning Pakistan in his reply to Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi at PMQs.

 

Liberal Democrat party leader, Ed Davey also raised concerns before Dominic Raab left for India by describing the farmers legislation as controversial, the use of “militarised police” against protesters and the need to respect human rights. 

 

He urged Dominic Raab to raise these with the Indian government and make representations on the human rights situation for farmers.

 

Dominic Raab was expected to raise the farmer protests and Jagtar Singh Johal with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today.

 

Boris Johnson is expected to come under intense pressure to call off his visit to India in January for the 26 January Republic Day celebrations given the famers protests and domestic issues.

 

 

ENDS

Harnek Singh
National Press Secretary
Sikh Federation (UK)

 

The Sikh Federation (UK) is by far the largest, most prominent and influential campaigning Sikh organisation in the UK that leads on political engagement for the British Sikh community.  The organisation is often referred to as the first and only Sikh political party.  The Sikh community in the UK and throughout the diaspora look to the organisation for leadership and direction.

www.sikhfeduk.com |sikhfederationuk@yahoo.co.uk | facebook.com/Sikh Federation UK | twitter @Sikhfeduk

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America at Crossroads: Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy

America at Crossroads: Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy

  Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

 

 

President Trump’s domestic spoilers are few and those 106 GOP House Republican supporting the Texas Lawsuit to nullify the results of four US states elections brought a slap to their expectations being rejected today by the Supreme Court. President Trump failed miserably to understand the vitality of an effective leader to console the masses in situation of unusual crises, to know his own strengths and weaknesses and to analyze the wisdom of people around him conducting the governing circle. Intelligent and conscientious leaders unite masses in crisis but Trump is focused on dividing and driving the American people to violence and unpredictable political chaos.

 

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