Edhi the Great Human and Politician

Much has been written about Abdul Sattar Edhi, the tireless philanthropist who against some extremely daunting odds, managed to construct a most effective, loved and trusted charitable empire in Pakistan. Edhi Sahib’s overwhelming humanitarian impulse which often throbbed for the needy without exhibiting any religious or social bias, is brilliantly captured in Tehmina Durrani’s 1996 book, Mirror to the Blind. However, surprisingly, there is one aspect of Edhi Sahib’s celebrated life that has only scarcely been documented. That of Edhi, the politician. At least for the first 25 years of his career as a restless philanthropist, Edhi was not repulsed by politics. His disdain for politicians and members of the clergy started to became more apparent from the late 1980s onward. Durrani’s book suggests that certain obstacles which he faced in conducting his charity work in Karachi’s impoverished Kharadar area in the early 1960s, saw him making an attempt to enter politics through Ayub Khan’s ‘basic democracies’ framework. But instead of allying himself with Ayub’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Convention, Edhi instead approached the Combined Opposition Parties (COP) during the 1965 Presidential election. In the election, over 80,000 ‘basic democrats’ were to be elected by the people across West and East Pakistan. The elected candidates in turn were to elect the President. Ayub had come to power through a military coup in 1958. He became president at the height of his largely liberal regime in 1962. But by 1965, the regime had begun to lose its sheen when the economic gaps between a new business and military elite and other sections of the society began to widen. COP was a mixture of various left and right parties. For example, it had the time’s largest left-wing outfit in Pakistan, the National Awami Party (NAP), as well as the conservative religious party, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). These two, along with some smaller parties, had convinced Fatima Jinnah to be their presidential candidate. Ms. Jinnah was the sister of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (d.1948). She had become vocal against the Ayub regime, accusing it of being undemocratic and tilted towards benefiting only a handful of ‘cronies’. Durrani, in her book, alludes that Edhi Sahib’s decision to become a basic democrat candidate for COP was also influenced by the fact that he became perturbed by the accelerating rate of poverty in Karachi’s many impoverished areas. Though Karachi voted heavily in favour of Ms. Jinnah, Edhi lost from the area he was contesting from i.e. his beloved Kharadar. Ayub was reelected as President. Not much is known what position Edhi took during the countrywide movement against the Ayub regime in 1968. But he again registered as a contestant, this time for the historical 1970 general election — the country’s first based on adult franchise. Z.A. Bhutto’s populist Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in West Pakistan, and the Bengali nationalist outfit, the Awami League in East Pakistan, were emerging as the time’s two strongest parties. But the staunch individualist in Edhi saw him registering as an independent candidate from Karachi’s working-class area of Lyari. Due to his charity activities, he had become a much loved figure here. Nevertheless, by 1970, Lyari had already begun to emerge as a boisterous bastion of the PPP. It is not known why Edhi did not associate with the PPP which was promising to radically uplift the economic status of the poor. A few years ago, in an interview to a local news channel, his wife, Bilquis Edhi mentioned that Edhi Sahib refused to spend any money on his campaign and would even refuse to treat potential voters with a cup of tea! More interesting is the fact that it was the conservative Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), which came forth to support his candidature. So much so, that the hefty and rather excellent compilation, Elections in Pakistan, by researcher, Tahir Mehdi, places Edhi as a JI candidate. The election was won by PPP’s A. Sattar Gabol, who received 48,444 votes. Edhi managed to bag 10,425 votes, despite the fact that he hardly spent any money on his campaign and the JI had very few voters in Lyari. But some sources maintain that Edhi withdrew his candidature and actually made speeches in favour of the PPP; and that the JI candidate was ‘some other Abdus Sattar.’ Whatever the case may be, Edhi’s affair with politics was not dented. Though the government of Z.A. Bhutto began to support his charitable cause, Edhi was disappointed by the slow pace of Bhutto’s reforms. In 1975, he was back as a candidate, this time during a by-election in the Karachi 7 district which today comes under the large NA250 constituency. The constituency had been won in 1970 by Shah Ahmad Noorani, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP). He had vacated the seat in 1975 to become a senator. Once again Edhi registered as an independent. In his book, A Journey to Disillusionment, veteran progressive politician, Sherbaz Khan Mazari, wrote that the combined opposition alliance, the United Democratic Front (UDF), botched the election when two of its religious outfits could not agree upon a consensual candidate. UDF was formed in 1974. It was made up of the right-wing/religious JUP, JUI and JI; the centrist PML factions; and the left-wing NAP. Mazari wrote that JI wanted its candidate to be backed by the UDF in Karachi 7. JUP, which had won the constituency in 1970, refused, and instead put up its own man. The JI in turn decided to back Edhi. The commotion gave PPP’s Noorul Afrin an opening and he won by bagging 27,623 votes. The JUP candidate came second with 24,224 votes. Edhi could bag only 7,611. Ms. Durrani’s book suggests that Edhi developed a lasting soft spot for Z.A. Bhutto when the latter was hanged by the Gen Zia dictatorship in 1979. Edhi’s relations with the reactionary Zia dictatorship were not cordial. But he refrained from taking any political stand during this period. With the rise of ‘welfare’ organisations associated with militant religious outfits during the Zia regime, Edhi frequently found himself being challenged by the more aggressive tactics of these organisations. This is also when he began to be accused of being a communist and a ‘bad Muslim.’ Edhi responded by suggesting that he found nothing wrong in the philosophy of Karl Marx. According to his wife, once when they were performing the Haj, Edhi Sahib refused to pelt the pillars symbolising the devil. Instead, he kept the pebbles in his pocket, saying that there were bigger devils in Pakistan and he will pelt them instead! He would also attract the wrath of the clerics by regularly praying alongside his wife, daughters and female orphans at the Edhi-run orphanages. In 1985 Edhi once again decided to contest an election. This was during the year’s ‘partyless polls’. Political parties were debarred by the Zia regime from contesting. But many parties, including those who were boycotting these elections (such as the PPP), did support individual candidates. Edhi volunteered as a candidate from a constituency in Karachi. The PPP decided to support him. Edhi accepted the backing, but eventually dropped out of the race for unknown reasons. After this, Edhi quit politics altogether, even though he was offered party tickets by the PPP in 1990 and 1993; and, according to some, by the Musharraf-backed PML-Q in 2002. But by then Edhi was convinced that politics had become an anathema for those willing to resign their lives doing selfless deeds of charity.

The Folk Music Of Chakwal

Wah wah jhulara bhochhanr da tur gaya

tay wat nahi aaya

Mahiay da bhuawaan bhulli aan

Main thamm klaaway laya

Mahi nahi aaya.

(Once gone the swing of youth does not return/ I embraced the pillar thinking as it was my lover/ But my lover did not return).

The audience applauds as Idrees Khokar leads the group singing this song, the writer of which is unknown, accompanied by light dhol beats played by Ashig Hussein.

Singing in chorus is one of the four major cultural traditions of Chakwal other than karah or the bull competition, Chhat or weight lif ting and kabaddi, a form of wrestling. These traditions are as old as Chakwal itself.

A concert or a karah match is hosted at least once a week throughout the year, though the other two activities are not that popular anymore.

Dhol geet are sung on various occasions in Chakwal, the lyrics to which are written by local poets. The singers do not sing into a mic nor is there any use of musical instruments other than a dhol.

Dhol geet are sung in groups of 10 or 12 men, divided into two teams and accompanied by a dhol beater. The first team, which situates itself in front of the other team of men, starts singing the song while the other groups repeats so that the first group can readyitselfand take a breathbefore singing the next couplet.A few decades ago, there was only one genre of the dhol geet, the himri which is much like classical music. It requires lots of practice to sing and is only performed by experienced singers accompanied by professional and experienced dhol beaters. The songs are sung in a high pitch and takes time for an audience member to understand the lyrics.

The more famous of himri singers are the late Baba Daraz of Khairpur village, Ghulam Ali and Nawab Ali of Chak Khushi village, Ustad Aziz Lohar of Dalailpur village and Raisham Batt of Pinwal village.

The more popular himri songs include Kandayari, Jhulara, Shamaan and Akhian da Diwana.

The writers of the two most famous folk songs of Chakwal, Jhulara and Kandiari, are not known. These two songs are sung in a chorus, a tradition which is not practiced in many places anymore. The lyrics of both songs are metaphorical, yet simple with the metaphors picked up from the daily, rural life in Chakwal.

`I first heard Kandayari, along with a few other old, famous songs, from the late Deen Mohammad of the Pahar Khan village and his friend Noor Deen of the Dharukna village,` said Ustad Aziz Lohar, who was wrongly introduced as the creator of the Kandayari song in Coke Studio.

The word Kandayari literally means a thorny weed, but is implies the opposite in the song. According to Ustad Lohar, the word means `beloved` in the song.

The word Jhulara, which is the title of the other famous song of Chakwal, means `wave`.

The song is about a woman pinning after her lover and singing about his indifference and the sorrow and pain that causes her andabout how youth never comes back.

Of the two more famous himri groups, the first is led by Idrees Khokar and the second by Sufi Mohammad Ali of the Moreed village.

A new type of dhol geet, the chabola, has gained popularity over the last couple of decades. Chabori songs are simple, common songs which are sung by villagers. All folk singers in Punjab sing chabola songs.

A group of led by Ashig Hussein and another led by Mohammad Shafique are more popular in the chabola genre. Ashique Hussein of Wahali is regarded the best dhol beater in the district while his brothers Shahbaz and Jabar Ali are also one of the best dhol beaters.

Music from Chal(wal became popular nationwide a few years ago after a group of local singers performed at the Coke Studio.

Jabbar Ali`s team, which performs chabola songs, attempted to sing the two more famous himri songs, which they had never performed before.

`They sung both the songs so badly,` said Ustad Lohar.

The third song which they sung in the Coke Studio set was Ishq aap bee awala, which is a chabola song and though the team`s performance of this song was better, locals say it was not sung as beautifully as Bhapu Lohar, who first introduced the song.

Singers from Chakwal have never really become famous and live in poverty.

`We do not want to be famous. Our talent is our identity in Chakwal and parts of the Khushab and Jhelum districts,` said Idrees Khokar, who is regarded as one of the best himri singers in the region.

`The government should at least provide free treatment to folk singers,` said BhapuLohar, another popular singer of Chakwal.

He said the late chabola singer Jahangir Shah of Pail died because he could not get proper treatment on time.

A clerk at a local coal mine, 67-year-old Ustad Aziz Lohar is one of the most popular himri singers.

Ustad Lohar visits various coal mines during the day and writes himri songs by night and has written the lyrics for more than a hundred himri songs.

Not having received a formal education past the seventh grade, Ustad Lohar uses metaphors from the rural life in Punjab. His lyrics are very relatable and are picked up by local singers.

`Ustad Lohar has no parallel. His songs are unique and deep in meaning,` said Idrees Khokar.

Ustad Lohar also trains singers and rehearsals for one performance usually go on for a month.

Pakistan Mental Health

REFERENCE Muhammad Amir Rana`s `Through the looking glass` (July 3). The writer, giving several examples in support, has painted the Pakistanis as narcissists, who are angry at their bad image, .

He says our society has `social decay, where people behave as strangers; this can cause depression, also reflected in our lower standing (113th) in the Social Progress Index than India (98th) and Bangladesh (101st). He laments the intolerance, discrimination and extremism; ending by pointing out our bad relations with three neighbors.

Mr Rana has apparently considered only the last 15 or 20 years to derive his hypothesis. If begun 40 or 50 years back, his conclusions could be different.

First, rather than being narcissistic, we tend to have a bad self-image. A Western tourist had once said he`d traveled to most countries but never found people as critical of their country as Pakistanis.

Second, several credible Pakistani psychologists have for long put the number of depressed Pakistanis at between 50 and 70 per cent. Aaron Beck, father of Cognitive Psychology, showed that 80pc of depressed patients have a poor self-image (rather than being narcissistic).

Several years ago, a study by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) had put the number of Pakistanis with psychological problems higher than other South Asian nations. The cause was the much greater stress levels beyond control faced for long.

The turning point was reached by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 after which began the militancy and proxy wars promoted by outside powers. The moderate Muslims also started feeling under siege by various atheistic, secular and sectarian forces, leading to intolerance and extremism.

Peter Preston had written in the Guardian that: 1) if it had not been for Bush`s 9/11 folly, Pakistan could have joined India and China today at world economic forums and, 2) `For three decades of Afghan tumult, Pakistan has been blown hither and yon by outside imbecilities ... (and) is the heaviest casualty of them all.

Pakistan`s relations with India and Afghanistan have been bad since independence for well-known reasons but had been excellent with Iran until the post-1979 falling out over Afghanistan. Our writers should empathize like BMJ and Mr Preston with the Pakistanis.

Madina Attack

Sham slogan of bringing peace and stability to the Middle East and the rest of the world have played havoc with the millions of lives.

The Chilcot report lays bare the barbarity and callousness of Americans and British imperialism. In order to make the world a peaceful place to live, the world community needs ot revisit outdated policies.

Social Media Celebrity Qandeel kILLED BY BROTHER

Multan: Model, actress and social media celebrity Qandeel Bloch was strangled to death in her house in the Karmabad area in the early hours of Saturday morning. Her father claimed that she was killed by her younger brother, Waseem in the name of honor.
A late night report said that Waseem hsad been pricked up by ht police in Dara Ghazi Khan.
According to an FIR lodged by Qandeel' s father Mohammad Azeem, his daughter came to Multan from Karachi to celebrate Eid with the family, He said Thea Waseem, 25, also came to meet them on July 14.
He said the at he along with his wife went to sleep on the rooftop while Qandeel slept in a room where Waseem strangled her to death as he was against her working in showbiz.He alleged that Waseem had taken this extreme step at the behest of his brother Mohammad Aslam Shaheen.
" Qandeel took the single story small house on rent about on e and a half years ago,? a neighbor told Dawn.

He said that earlier she lived in a house in the same local it for more than two years but left it after its owner sold his property. He said Qandeel' s parents were living in her hometown of Shah Saddardin in Dera Ghazi Khan District,
"She came to Multan from Karachi rarly for a few days and called her parents to come and live with her,? the neighbor said, adding that her parents had been living in Multan for a couple of months because her father broken his leg in a road accident and they had to stay here for his treatment.
He said the rent of the house and expenditures of her parents were being by Qandeel.
A women neighbour said Qandeel was looking for a bride for Waseem these days. She said she had visited the model last night and her brother was watching tv while she was in another room and everything was fine. "it is unbelievable. Qandeel was very nice girl," she added.
City police chief Azhar Akram told journalists that she head probably been strangled to dead as there was no sign of bleeding.
Regional Police officer Sultan Azam Temouri said it appeared to be an incident of honor killing.
Born in March 1985, Qandeel's real name was Fauzia Azeem.
Nishtar Hospital's Medical Superintendent Dr Ashiq Malid said that samples, including stomach with contents, interstine and liver, had been taken and sent to hte Punjab Forensic Science Agency for a chemical examination,
"initially, but the actual cause of death will be determined in the light of forensic reports," he aded.
At a press conference on June 28 in Lahore,
Qandeel had said she had been receiving threats from unknown people and demanded security She said she had also written to the interior ministry, informing about the threats,
Qandeel' s controversial selfie with Mufti Abdul Qavi hit the headlines last month. She had thousands of followers on social media.
Recently a moan from kot adju claimed that Qandeel was his wife and they had a som.
Arrangements were being made to send Qandeel' s body to her hometown of Shah SAddardin in Dera Ghazi Khan for burial when this report was filed.

How can I reduce a data usage on my Nokia Lumia phone?

if your network service provider does not charge you a fixed fee for data transfer, there are a few things you can do to reduce your data usage .

Set mail download to manual if your phone syncs mail frequently, it uses more data. You can choose how often your phone automatically syncs mail.

• Tap the mail account whose settings you want to change.
• Tap the 3 dots (...) at the bottom right of the screen.
  
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Stop data roaming: Connecting to the internet when roaming, especially when abroad, can raise data costs substantially. Data roaming means using your phone to receive data over networks that your network service provider does not own or operate. To make sure you are not using your phone to roam, on the start screen, swipe left, tap Settings > Mobile network (cellular), and switch Data roaming options to don’t roam.

Switch your mobile data connection off: If you want to make sure you’re not using data at all, you can switch your data connection off altogether. Tap Settings > Mobile network (cellular), and switch Data connection to Off.

How many participants are allowed in a conference call on my nokia phone?

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