A Note About Saudi Women and Their Positive Contribution to the Development of Saudi Arabia

By SIRAJ WAHAB

Published in Arab News on Thursday, September 23, 2010



As Saudi Arabia celebrates its National Day today, there is a significant section of the population that has reasons to cheer more than others. Not that the women of Saudi Arabia were marginalized in the past, but in recent times they have been given the honor, credit and the space that they richly deserve. Saudi society has been a little more welcoming of their pursuits and initiatives. Government institutions have grown more responsive to their needs, and the media have become more vocal, both in reporting their successes and failures. The leadership at the top provided the incentive by appointing a woman as minister. The private sector hasn’t been far behind — opening the doors of their establishments to these women who have achievements that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.



Not a day goes by where you don’t see talented Saudi women making important contributions in almost all fields of endeavor. Their faces, beaming with pride, adorn the pages and covers of prestigious publications. Foreign journalists visiting the Kingdom, with preconceived notions about Saudi women, have not hidden their appreciation and admiration of Saudi women after meeting them in person. Many have described them as second to none. And yes, they are second to none.



To the Western world all these changes may sound insignificant, but for those who have been watching the Kingdom’s development over the last few years these are no proverbial mirages in the desert. To those in the West, the barometer for women’s emancipation is the ability to drive on Saudi roads. However, that is not the most pressing issue for Saudi women. There are other more important things, and they have learned to work within the system to get things done their way. For a Western observer the image of a Saudi woman is that of an abaya-clad prisoner who can do nothing on her own and is completely subservient to the whims of her male masters. That is certainly not the case, and newspapers here and abroad and social networking sites such as Facebook are proof that Saudi women are making slow yet continuous progress.



Only last month, the newspapers were filled with the success of equestrienne Dalma Rushdi Malhas who rode her way to fame with a medal-winning performance at the recent Singapore Youth Olympics.



Among the first people to reach flood-hit Pakistan with relief was Muna Abu-Sulayman. She was among those coordinating the massive relief efforts undertaken by Kingdom Holding Co. Chairman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.



Hayat Sindi is breaking new grounds in the field of science; Huda Ghosun and Hiba Dialdin of Saudi Aramco have assumed key leadership positions; Asya Al-Ashaikh has given a new and positive direction to the concept of corporate social responsibility. Nora Alturki and Fatin Bundagji are engaged in pioneering research on the needs and aspirations of Saudi businesswomen; Samia El-Edrissi has launched her own business; Amina Al-Jassim’s couture has become the cynosure of all eyes in the world of fashion; Lina Almaeena has created quite a buzz with her passion for bringing women into the world of sports; Hatoon Al-Fassi, the historian, and Samar Fatany, the columnist and radio commentator, have become the most-quoted people for their insightful comments; Lama Sulaiman, Hana Al-Zuhair and Sameera Al-Suwaigh are part of key decision-making within the Kingdom’s chambers of commerce. The list is endless, and it only goes to prove that they are taking the lead and conquering new territories.



All this would not have been possible without the critical push from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He brought them into the mainstream. He lent them a patient ear and understood the challenges they faced. Once the direction from the top was clear, there were other segments of society which saw the need to engage and harness this great potential.



“It is important for us to remember that the Saudi girl has been struggling for years to redefine her role in society — not only in the workplace and at school but, most important of all, in our collective consciousness and our collective perceptions of what she is and what paths are open to her and what paths should be open to her,” said a prominent Saudi journalist. “What these women sought and what they wanted was not ‘liberation’ in the Western sense of the word. They were seeking — and they attained — the right to do and be what they wanted to do and be; they wanted the same doors open to them as were open to their brothers and other Saudi men.”



There is an interesting joke that all of us hear during free-wheeling conversations here in Saudi Arabia. For the first 25 years of their life, a Saudi man is controlled by his mother; the next 25 years he is firmly in the grip of his wife. And then he becomes harmless!



That may be a joke, but Saudi women have come a long way and so widespread with their success that they will become common and no longer merit front-page treatment.

Makkah Summit 2012: OIC Set to Expel Murderous Syria

OIC Foreign Ministers Meet in Jeddah on Monday, Aug. 13

By SIRAJ WAHAB
Published in Arab News on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012

The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is all set to expel Syria. This is to express the pan-Islamic body’s displeasure at President Bashar Assad regime’s failure to end the bloodshed in his country.

The decision is being described as one of the key outcomes of the two-day Islamic solidarity summit beginning in Makkah on Aug. 14.

The recommendation to suspend Syria was taken at a preparatory meeting of senior diplomats of OIC member countries at the Conference Palace in Jeddah yesterday. The highly significant recommendation will now be presented to the OIC foreign ministers at their meeting in Jeddah today (Monday). Their decision will be final.

Syria’s expulsion from the OIC will complete Assad’s total isolation in the Muslim world. The 22-member Arab League expelled Syria in November last year during its emergency session in Cairo.

The preparatory meeting, chaired by Muhammad bin Ahmed Tayeb, director general of the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s office in Makkah Province, lasted nearly 12 hours. It included Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia and its permanent representative to the OIC.

Syrian officials were not invited to the meeting. This led the Iranian envoys to raise objections. “The Syrians are still part of the OIC, and, therefore, they should have been invited to the preparatory meeting,” one of the diplomats quoted the Iranians as saying. However, there were few takers for the Iranian view.

With Iran continuing to support the tottering Assad regime, it found itself totally isolated. The recommendation to expel Syria found instant favor from an overwhelming majority of OIC countries, including hosts Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.

“Iran has refused to see the writing on the wall and continues to support a regime that has lost the moral ground to continue in power,” said an Arab diplomat. “This was a good opportunity for Iran to go along with the sentiments of the majority of the Muslim world.”

However, the diplomats attending the marathon meeting, reiterated that the session was not acrimonious. On the contrary, there was a lot of camaraderie among all the member states. Other than its expected stand on Syria, Iran demonstrated willingness to cooperate fully with fellow Muslim states on almost all issues, including Palestine, and repeatedly stated that the OIC should remain the bedrock of Muslim solidarity.

Some nations, notably Kazakhstan, Iraq and Pakistan, suggested that efforts should not be given up to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

There were divergent opinions among the member countries on the issue of the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. One section called for a strong condemnation and rapid reaction, while the other, that included Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Bangladesh, suggested a policy of engagement with Myanmar.

“The Asian nations felt that since the Myanmar government had indicated full cooperation with the Muslim world body, it should be given a chance to come good on its promise of delivering justice and bringing the murderers to book,” said an Asian diplomat.

Mali was not supposed to be on the agenda, but almost all African member states vociferously raised the issue of the unprecedented political crisis in the landlocked west African country. And so finally it was decided to include it in the deliberations.

The meeting recommended that the territorial integrity of the country be respected by all parties and that those who are flying the flag of rebellion against the central government should be stopped and condemned.

At the preparatory meeting, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu’s message was read out by Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Abdullah Alem.

Besides political issues, the meeting discussed cultural and economic issues, interfaith dialogue initiatives and the rising tide of Islamophobia in Europe and other parts of the world. All these issues will find mention in the final communique.

-- sirajwahab@arabnews.com

Ensuring Justice for Myanmar Muslims Tops Makkah Summit Agenda

Pressure Tells on Military Junta in Myanmar

By SIRAJ WAHAB

Published in Arab News on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012


The ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar is one of the key issues to be discussed at the Islamic solidarity summit convened by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in Makkah on Aug. 14-15.

With just two days to go for the conclave of the world’s most important Muslim leaders in the most holy city, pressure is mounting on Myanmar’s military junta to allow international and Islamic relief agencies access to the besieged Muslim population of the Arakan province.

Two important delegations to Myanmar — one led by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the other by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation — this week have revealed signs of panic and desperation among the junta’s top leadership.

“They have been caught out and have now realized that what they have done to Rohingya Muslims constitutes a war crime,” one of the diplomats at the Jeddah-based OIC told Arab News.

“There is no doubt that the state was and possibly still is involved in the planned pogrom of Arakan Muslims, and they are now trying to reach out to the Muslim world to lessen the impact of the expected robust and unified Muslim response at the Makkah summit,” he said.

Besides Davutoglu, the Turkish delegation included Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s wife Emine and daughter Sumeyye. The delegation called on Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and visited the Banduba refugee camp where more than 8,500 Rohingya Muslims have taken shelter.

The delegates received a first-hand account of what exactly happened to the Rohingya Muslims in the last few weeks. They talked to a number of victims and, at one point, according to reports in the Turkish media, the prime minister’s wife was reduced to tears while listening to a harrowing account of a Rohingya Muslim woman.

Davutoglu later told journalists that he would present his findings to the Muslim leaders at the Makkah summit. His findings will hold the key to the future course of action from the Muslim world at the summit.

According to a top Jeddah-based diplomat, there are a number of measures that the Muslim world can think of against Myanmar.

“We can haul the country’s top military leadership, including President Thein Sein and the Arakan provincial head, to the International Court of Justice in The Hague and try them like Slobodan Milosevic and other Serbian leadership,” he said. “Among the other viable options are that of approaching the UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council.”

The diplomat also hinted at pressurizing and persuading the world’s leading powers to constitute an international peace-keeping force to save the Rohingya Muslims from being obliterated and uprooted from their historic homeland.

The OIC delegation to Myanmar was headed by former Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Among others, it included OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Atta Manan Bakhiet and presidents of the Qatari Red Crescent and Kuwaiti International Humanitarian Commission.

The OIC delegates apprised President Thein Sein of the outrage in the Muslim world at the deplorable humanitarian conditions in the Arakan province of Myanmar.

The delegation asked for access to Muslim humanitarian organizations to provide emergency aid to inhabitants of the worst-hit Arakan province “without any religious discrimination.”

According to a press-note issued by the OIC yesterday, Myanmar president welcomed the OIC delegation and stated that that what had happened was not a direct result of religious differences. Instead, he blamed the massacre on what he called as “social problems between various ethnicities in the province.”

Thein Sein pointed out to the OIC delegates that the international media distorted the events and presented wrong information and exaggerated the killings.

“President Thein Sein stressed his eagerness for the Muslim world in particular to know the truth about what occurred in Arakan, and he mentioned that he had sent an invitation to OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu recently to visit Myanmar to observe the real situation in the affected province,” said the OIC press note.

The president welcomed the OIC humanitarian delegation to Arakan and agreed to allow the OIC and its partner organizations to provide humanitarian aid to the province in an urgent manner and to open an office in the region in coordination with the central government in Yangon and the local authorities in the province. He instructed the relevant ministries to sign an agreement with the OIC to complete the arrangements.

Makkah 2012 -- the Heart of Islam

Talmiz Ahmad's Book Counters Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilization Theory

"Children of Abraham at War"

By SIRAJ WAHAB | RIYADH

Published in The Sunday Guardian and Arab News on Dec. 12, 2010

The new book Children of Abraham at War by Indian ambassador Talmiz Ahmad was hailed as an unbiased counterpoint to Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations, at its launch in the Saudi capital this week. Ahmad worked on the book for more than five years. “Its origins lay in the concern that, after 9/11, Western, particularly US, discourse was increasingly demonising Islam — the religion, and Muslims — the people,” he said during his presentation.

“Bernard Lewis’ two books, What Went Wrong? and The Crisis of Islam, were readily seized upon by the American public and had considerable impact in solidifying the prejudices and animosities of Western readers with regard to Islam and Muslims,” Ahmad said. “Such a broad-brush approach denied all political context or legitimacy to Muslim grievances and did not attempt to take into account the complexity of Islamic history and contemporary politics and culture.”

Veteran Indian regional expert Ranjit Gupta praised the book for its perspective. “The title of this book reminds one of another book, much celebrated when it first hit the stands, Samuel Huntington’s The Clash of Civilizations. To me it appears that the author of that book had already decided his conclusions before commencing writing and then worked backwards to offer rationalisations,” Gupta told an audience of Indian, Saudi and foreign nationals gathered at the Indian embassy in Riyadh. “It reeked of arrogance, the tendency to see all right on one’s own side and all wrong on the other, the self-assured, conviction that “my civilisation is superior to yours, yours is narrow minded, bigoted and doomed to be defeated in the looming and inevitable clash of civilizations’.”

Gupta said Ahmad’s work presented a more accurate view of events absent of Western tendencies to vilify Islam and the Arab people. “Due to the Western domination of the world during the past two centuries, Western parameters and narratives of discourse have set the standard of what is right and what is wrong. Since the West essentially controls the media and the flow and interpretation of information it becomes extremely difficult for a more balanced viewpoint to get traction,” Gupta said. “In Ahmad’s scholarly and impeccably researched effort, which for additional credibility is based overwhelmingly on Western sources, we see the beginnings of the breaching of these bastions.”

He likened Ahmad to a walking encyclopaedia on the Middle East and its many issues. “This is manifested in his learned articles, in books and journals, his speeches and presentations at umpteen professional forums,” Gupta said. “He is among India’s top two or three experts on the Gulf region.”

Amid the commendations for the five years of research for the 476-page book was one lament about the duration of the project “I hope it won’t take him five years for another book,” Ahmad’s wife, Sunita Ahmad, said to a smiling audience. “This book kept him away from me for quite awhile.”

May Allah Have Mercy on Crown Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud

Glimpses of Arab News Haj Coverage 2010

Arab News 2010 Haj Front Page

Top Pakistani Poets Regale Jeddah Expatriates at Aalami Urdu Markaz Mushaira

Pakistani Consul General Abdul Salik Khan, center, with visiting Pakistani poets and Aalami Urdu Markaz executives in Jeddah on Thursday, March 31, 2011.

By Siraj Wahab
Published in Arab News on April 2, 2011

JEDDAH: A range of poets from Pakistan, including some of the most famous names in the Urdu world, regaled hundreds of expatriates at a mushaira (poetry recitation evening) organized by the Aalami Urdu Markaz at the Pakistan International School in Jeddah's Aziziya district on Thursday, March 31, 2011.

Such was the interest and enthusiasm among the listeners that they remained glued to their seats in the packed school auditorium throughout the five-hour event, cheering the poets and egging them on to recite more through a chorus of wah-wahs (appreciations).

This was the fourth annual mushaira conducted by a dedicated team of Pakistani expatriates in Jeddah led by Ather Nafees Abbasi and supported fully by the Pakistani Consulate.

In attendance were more than a dozen poets. It was nothing short of a treat listening to all of them but the elderly Sarshar Siddiqui, the erudite Sahar Ansari, the genius Iftekhar Arif, the romantic Peerzada Qasim, the refreshing Saleem Kausar and the soul-stirring Dr. Khurshid Rizvi were the pick of the day. Each one of them lent their magic to making the evening one of the most memorable ones. The fact that these six poets were sharing the same stage was eminently gratifying.

They weaved their delicate thoughts in words with such precision that the listeners were left astounded at the poets’ craft. Since poets have their fingers on the pulse of society and since they are the first ones to hear the beat of bruised humanity, every listener was eagerly waiting for them to translate the trials and tribulations and the fears and frustrations through their couplets. The poets did not disappoint them.

Iftekhar Arif struck the right chord among the audience. In what can be surmised as an oblique reference to the series of drone attacks along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, he told of the helplessness of his countrymen through his lines: "Muqqadar Ho Gaya Hai Be-Dar-o-Deewar Rehna/Kaheen Tai Paa Chuka Hai Shehr Ka Mismar Rehna; Tamasha Karne Waale Aa Rahen Hain Jokh Dar Jokh/Gir-o-He Pa Ba-Jawlan Raqs Par Tayaar Rehna."

Master wordsmith that he is, Iftekhar Arif then went on about the emptiness and rootlessness that one experiences in one's own city: "Teri Shorida Mizaaji Ke Sabab Tere Nahi/Aye Mere Shehr Tere Log Bhi Ab Tere Nahi; Maine Ek Aur Bhi Mehfil Me Unhe Dekha Hai/Ye Jo Tere Nazar Aate Hain Ye Sab Tere Nahi."

Sahar Ansari is considered to be an authority in different genres of Urdu literature. Be it poetry or literary criticism, he enjoys a unique status. A highly decorated poet, he was chairman of Karachi University's Urdu Department for many decades. His couplets demonstrated why he is revered, respected and adored with such intensity by Urdu lovers. The pick being: "Sada Apni Rawish Ahl-e-Zamana Yaad Rakhte Hain/Haqeeqat Bhool Jaate Hain Fasana Yaad Rakhte Hain; Hame Andaza Rehta Hai Hamesha Dost Dushman Ka/Nishaani Yaad Rakhte Hain Nishana Yaad Rakhte Hain."

Even at 85, Sarshar Siddiqui was at his delightful best, rendering his meaningful poems in a refreshing idiom. “Doston Se Ye Mili Daad Wafadaari Ki/Tohmaten Sar Pe Liye Phirte Hain Ghaddari Ki; Sirf Ek Shaksh Tha Jisne Mera Dil Toda Tha/Maine Kyun Saare Zamaane Ki Dil Azaari Ki; Kuchh Munafiq Bhi Mere Halqa-e-Ahbaab Me The/So Maine Bhi Unse Mohabbat Ki Adakari Ki.”

Dr. Khurshid Rizvi's couplets reflected his deep insight into the human psyche and the complexities of a multilayered life. His phraseology, his idiom, his medium and his diction were all very impressive and had an air of authority. His flawless creativity was unparalleled. "Ham Ahl-e-Junu Hain Hamen Faaregh Na Samajhna/Kar Jayenge Wo Jiska Iraada Nahi Hoga; Ab Umr Ka Anjaam Hai Ab Kaaheka Dar Hai/Jo Kuch Ke Huwa Usse Ziyada Nahi Hoga."

It was very difficult to decide to whom the evening actually belonged. However, many would agree that it was Karachi University Vice Chancellor Peerzada Qasim who was the crowning glory. He kept the listeners spellbound. His mellifluous rendering of highly lyrical couplets added to the beauty of his craft. Every single couplet that he recited was worth quoting. No wonder everyone was swooning and crooning after him. And why not? "Ab Harf-e-Tammana Ko Samaa'at Na Milegi/Bechonge Agar Khwab To Qeemat Na Milegi; Lamhon Ke Taa'aqub Me Guzar Jaayengi Sadiyan/Haan Waqt To Mil Jayega Mohlat Na Milegi; Aye Aayina Sifat Waqt Tera Husn Hai Hum Log/Kal Aayine Tarsenge To Surat Na Milegi."

Peerzada Qasim also referred to the pain and pathos of his countrymen in the current state of affairs. "Duwa Yehi Hai Ke Ab Dil Shikasta Logon Ko/Dawa-e-Dil Na Sahi Dard Aashna Koyee De; Ye Log Jaagti Ankhon Se Khwab Dekhte Hain/Ab Aise Khwabon Ki Taabeer Bhi Bata Koyee De; Koyee To Doobti Kashti Ko Laaye Sahil Par/Ye Mojeza Hi Sahi Mojeza Dikha Koyee De."

Saleem Kausar, whose fame knows no limits, was an instantaneous hit as well. He recited a number of well-crafted couplets, but the ones that the audience wanted to hear were the verses that made him a household name in the Urdu world more than two decades ago. "Main Khayaal Hun Kisi Aur Ka Mujhe Sochata Koyee Aur Hai/Sar-e-Aayina Mera Aks Hai Pas-e-Aayina Koyee Aur Hai; Kabhi Laut Aaye To Poochna Nahin Dekhna Unhe Ghaur Se/Jinhen Raaste Me Khabar Huwi Ki Ye Raasta Koyee Aur Hai."

Other poets who recited at the mushaira included Professor Inayat Ali Khan, Ajmal Siraj, Salman Gailani, Sajjad Babar, Aziz Jabran Ansari and Qamar Warsi. There were local poets, and Naeem Bazidpuri was extremely popular. So was Aalami Urdu Markaz President Ather Abbasi. Other local poets included Mohsin Alwi, Zammarud Khan Saifi and Farooq Moonis.

No poetry recitation evening can succeed without a stellar anchor. In Amir Khurshid, the organizers found the perfect choice. He anchored the evening with poise and aplomb. He introduced the poets through a selection of delectable couplets that simply whetted the literary appetite of the listeners.

Earlier, Pakistani Consul General Abdul Salik Khan congratulated Aalami Urdu Markaz President Athar Abbasi, Yasin Haider Rizvi, Syed Mahtab Ahmad, Hamid Islam Khan and other team members for organizing a successful mushaira. "The markaz has done a great job in promoting Urdu and they are carrying out a national duty. We will support them in every way," he said.

AMU Injected Into Its Students a Sense of Belonging & Brotherhood, Which Has Remained With Us for a Lifetime, Says Islam Habib Khan

Islam Habib Khan is a 1951 commerce graduate of AMU. A senior financial adviser at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Riyadh, he has been in Saudi Arabia since 1973 and worked for Petromin before joining the ministry. He was the chief guest at the 2009 Sir Syed Day celebrations at Dhahran International Hotel in Alkhobar.

From left to right: Dr. Jamil A. Qureshy, Iftikhar Alam, Islam Habib Khan, Parvez Askari and Mukarram Ali Khan. One of the key organizers of the 2009 Sir Syed Day event was M. Rahat Sultan, seen here first from right.

From left to right: Dr. Jamil A. Qureshy, Islam Habib Khan, Iftikhar Alam and Mukarram Ali Khan.

A group picture of prominent alumni in the Eastern Province such as M. Rahat Sultan, Parvez Askari, Anis Bakhsh, Dr. Wajahat Farooqui of Royal Saudi Naval Forces, Dr. Javed Hafeez, Nafis Tarin, Syed Zulfiquar of Tasnee, Saquib Jaunpuri and S.M. Javaid Zaidi of KFUPM.

Mukarram Ali Khan gestures while delivering his speech at the event.

Mukarram Ali Khan, the most respected and elderly AMU alumni in Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Jamil A. Qureshy is one of the most distinguished AMU alumni in Saudi Arabia.

Iftikhar Alam worked for more than two decades with UP Irrigation Department before moving to Saudi Arabia.

Another group picture of prominent alumni with the keynote speaker Islam Habib Khan.

The tarana team in full flow with Sabir Imam, 3rd from left.

A section of the audience at the 2009 event.

By Siraj Wahab

Published in Arab News on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009

Prominent alumni of India’s historic Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have called for concerted efforts to promote the mission and ideals of the university’s founder, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.

They were speaking at Sir Syed Day celebrations over the weekend organized by the Eastern Province AMU community at Dhahran International Hotel. The event brought together hundreds of AMU alumni in various Saudi government institutions and private sector firms in Dammam, Alkhobar, Jubail, Ras Tanura and Khafji.

Islam Habib Khan, a 1951 commerce graduate of AMU, delivered the keynote speech. A British national, Khan is a senior financial adviser at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in Riyadh. Khan has been in the Kingdom since 1973 and worked for Petromin before joining the ministry.

Khan said Sir Syed was a visionary who set about to halt the degeneration of a nation by initiating a series of constructive steps that led to the beginnings of the university.

Khan, who attended the university from 1942-1951, said the institution was not just a place for classroom education. “It injected into its students a sense of belonging and brotherhood, which has remained with us for a lifetime. This is what created the spirit of Aligarh which still exists today,” he said.

Khan said there was an even more-senior AMU alumna in the Eastern Province. “She is my elder sister, Salma Zuberi, who graduated from Girls College in 1948 and lives here in the Eastern Province with her son,” he said.

Dr. Jamil A. Qureshy, director of libraries at Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University, noted the efforts of the AMU community in organizing the event but said more steps should be taken to carry forward the cause of Sir Syed.

“Just one program a year is not enough to promote the message of Sir Syed. His was a mission that needs to be reinforced,” he said and called on the initiators of the program to form an AMU alumni chapter in the Eastern Province.

M. Rahat Sultan, a very senior and respected Indian executive and one of the key organizers, said the overwhelming response from the local AMU community was delightful. “We never expected so many people to turn up. A lot of us owe our jobs in Saudi Arabia to our education at AMU. This was one small way of acknowledging our gratitude to the university.”

Another guest was Iftikhar Alam who worked for 22 years in the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department. He is now a technical director at the Eastern Province-based Al-Khodari and Sons Group. “The university played a significant role in the life of the nation and also in the lives of a huge number of students who studied there,” he said.

Mukarram Ali Khan, a veteran at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, recalled the events that led to the creation of the university. Interspersing his speech with interesting Urdu couplets, he drove home the point that Sir Syed’s idea was to inculcate a spirit of knowledge and scientific inquiry.

Senior alumnus Parvez Askari said the program was the first step to bring the AMU community together, and that an Eastern Province alumni directory is planned.

Arab News Exclusive Interview With Mani Shankar Aiyar: ‘India and Pakistan Can Live Together as Good Neighbors’

Mani Shankar Aiyar was in Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the alumni of Aligarh Muslim University in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.

By Siraj Wahab

Published in Arab News on March 2, 2012

Mani Shankar Aiyar, 71, is India’s former minister of petroleum. A powerful and learned diplomat, he went into politics during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Always a Gandhi family loyalist, he drafted some of Rajiv Gandhi’s famous speeches. He is currently the member of India’s upper house of Parliament.

A staunch secularist, Aiyar has always fought for the rights of minorities, especially Muslims, and is a big supporter of peace between India and Pakistan. He was six when India and Pakistan became two independent sovereign nations. His father had a thriving practice as a chartered accountant in Pakistan at the time of partition and Aiyar was born in Lahore.

Aiyar’s television program, Politically Incorrect on NDTV, has a huge following in India and abroad. He was in Saudi Arabia last week at the invitation of the alumni of India’s historic Aligarh Muslim University. In this interview with Arab News, he answers questions on Rahul Gandhi, Congress Party’s electoral prospects in Uttar Pradesh and his views on partition and Indo-Pak ties.

Following is the interview:

Q: How is India balancing its relationships with Riyadh and Tehran? Managing all those contradictions must be difficult.

A: We do not see Riyadh and Tehran as mutually exclusive. If there are differences between Riyadh and Tehran, they are to be resolved by Riyadh and Tehran. If anybody wants our assistance in this regard — and I don’t think anybody does — we are prepared to offer ourselves. Saudi Arabia is the single biggest Arab country and the single richest Arab country and Iran is the inheritor of a major civilization. They are entirely capable of resolving their issues between themselves. I don’t think anybody in Riyadh is demanding that we break off our relations with Tehran, and I don’t think anybody in Tehran is asking us to break our relations with Riyadh. The problem is neither Riyadh nor Tehran. The problem is Washington. I think Washington is right in worrying about Iranian nuclear weapons but why aren’t the Americans also worrying about Israeli nuclear weapons? Israeli nuclear weapons exist. The Iranian nuclear weapon, if anybody is making it, lies in the future.

Q: So India’s role should be to defuse tensions rather than promote them?

A: We should be promoting a cooperative atmosphere in West Asia (the Middle East) rather than becoming a party to internal disputes within the continent. We must be consistent in championing the Palestinian cause because, after all, it is the Palestinian cause that is at the heart of all problems in West Asia. If there were peace in Palestine there would be peace in West Asia as a whole. But you cannot have peace in Palestine without justice in Palestine. And I don’t see that the Americans are able to persuade the Israelis to give justice to the Palestinian people.

Q: You have seen Rajiv Gandhi’s family from a close quarter. What is your assessment of Rahul Gandhi?

A: Rahul Gandhi has decided to become a probationer in Indian politics. He comes from such a distinguished political lineage that he could have easily done what North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has done — “Since my father was the boss, so I am the boss.” Rahul Gandhi has definitely said no. He said, “First I want to go into the most difficult state for the Congress Party which is Uttar Pradesh.” In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress was the dominant party till 1989. For the last 20 years, we haven’t had any presence there. In the elections of 2002, the Congress Party got four seats. We succeeded in getting more in 2007 after Rahul Gandhi went in. Now we are an accepted and acknowledged political presence in Uttar Pradesh largely because of Rahul Gandhi. We know that the Congress Party’s votes are going to increase considerably, but we don’t know by how many seats. What I think is commendable is that Rahul Gandhi has said that he is not obsessed with becoming prime minister; that he is in Uttar Pradesh for the long run; that the Congress is not going to align with any political party after the elections; and that the Congress will either pull itself up by its own bootstraps or fail, but we are not going to rise by catching somebody else’s coattails. Rahul Gandhi wants to rebuild the Congress in Uttar Pradesh because he knows that without capturing Uttar Pradesh the Congress will not be able to capture Delhi on its own. All this indicates a humble but mature young man.

Q: What are Congress’ chances in the ongoing elections in Uttar Pradesh? The results are going to be out next week.

A: I am not an astrologer and I do not make predictions. It seems to me that the vote of the Congress Party is definitely going up, that the vote of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is definitely going down, and that the Samajwadi Party remains an important political force in Uttar Pradesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), because of its agitation over the Babri Mosque, has completely destroyed itself in Uttar Pradesh for which I thank Allah. It is a nonentity. So the one result I will predict is that the BJP will come fourth. I think all these spoilers such as the Peace Party and others will only remain spoilers. They are not going to become major political elements.

Q: You are a great supporter of peace between India and Pakistan and have served as India’s high commissioner in Pakistan. What is happening vis-à-vis the peace process?

A: We are at a very encouraging milestone. I think we should seize this opportunity. Having known Pakistan very well, I think the velocity of change in the mindset in Pakistan vis-à-vis India is faster than the velocity of change in the mindset in India vis-à-vis Pakistan.

Q: And why is this?

A: Pakistan has reached a stage where it does not need to define itself negatively in terms of India. Fortunately, that generation is gone. I think 95 percent of the population of Pakistan never knew what it is to be an Indian. Similarly in India, 95 percent of our people have not known an India of which Pakistan was an integral part. We have reached a stage where we can easily look at each other as neighbors and not as dissidents and not as separatists. Pakistan is a separate sovereign entity as is India. The pull of West Asia on the Pakistani mind is very strong. In West Asia, or what they say here is the Middle East, uniformity is the basis of unity. In South Asia diversity is the basis of unity. Therefore, the attempt to put Pakistan in the West Asian framework has resulted in confusion over the nature of their nationhood. You have to respect diversity, not only of language and culture but much more importantly of religion. In South Asia, Islam has always coexisted with other religions. We in South Asia live with the most amazing linguistic diversity. Here in West Asia, from Muscat to Mauritania, they all speak one language. There may be variations in pronunciation or accents but otherwise it is one language. So Pakistan, essentially being a South Asian country, has to define its nationhood in a manner that places Pakistani nationhood in the South Asian context of unity in diversity.

Q: And what about the concept of nationhood on the Indian side?

A: On the Indian side, our nationhood will never be complete until and unless we have complete secularism. Secularism is the bonding adhesive of our nationhood. Pakistan can more easily affirm its diversity if it has a good relationship with India. And India will not be able to consolidate its nationhood until we resolve our relationship with Pakistan so that no Indian is left looking with suspicion and the Muslims of India don’t feel under siege that they have to prove to their non-Muslim brethren that they are not Pakistanis. India will never acquire the status that it deserves in the international world so long as the Pakistan albatross is around our neck. By quarreling with Pakistan we diminish ourselves. As for Pakistan, it has spent 65 years being the frontline state in somebody else’s interest. It is time Pakistan became a frontline state in its own interest. There is recognition in Pakistan that a good relationship with India is in its interest. The only way we can successfully move forward is to initiate an uninterrupted and uninterruptible dialogue.

Q: Sometimes you sound like an idealist?

A: I don’t think you can ever, ever get anywhere by only being pragmatic. It is having a larger vision that enables you to get somewhere. If you don’t reach for the stars will you ever get onto your roof?

Q: Were you a witness to the horrors of Partition?

A: What happened in those two weeks in August 1947 destroyed the 1,000 years that Hindus and Muslims have lived together. Rivers of blood flowed and our hands are still stained with that blood. Unless and until we wash away the stain and unless and until we don’t see tomorrow in a new light and in a new way without the baggage of the past, we will continue to remain trapped in those weeks of bloodletting in August 1947. When the country was partitioned, my mother and the four of us children stayed in Simla. So, on Aug. 14, 1947, we found ourselves Indians and because my father was in Lahore, he found himself a Pakistani. Let me narrate one incident from my childhood. I remember I was a six-year-old and the house in which we lived in Simla was known as Three Bridges. There were very few buildings in the area which had three floors. In Three Bridges there were three floors. On the ground floor, there was a Muslim family. All members of the family had come to this place for safety. There were little ones. I remember one night, about 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., there was a knock at the door and a large group of Sikhs with bloodshot eyes was waiting outside. They asked my mother: “Where are the Muslims?” My mother said, “They have all gone to Pakistan.” At that moment I wanted to say, “No, no, they are on the ground floor.” I was about to say that when I saw something in the eyes of my mother that told me to keep my mouth shut. I did and the group left.

Q: And what was your father’s experience on the other side?

A: As I told you, my father was in Lahore at the time of Partition. His chartered accountancy and income tax advisory practice spread from Lahore to Rawalpindi and Peshawar and down to Karachi. I was born in Lahore on April 10, 1941. When my father was asked where he would go, he said, “My entire practice is here so I will become Pakistani. What do I have to do with India?” My father’s grocer of Beadan Street suggested that he place a big lock on his door, and if somebody were to ask about him, then the grocer would say that Shankar Sahab had gone back to India. “When this madness is over in a couple of weeks, things will be all right,” he said. Three days later the same man pulled a knife and attacked my father but my father survived. To this day, I wonder whether he pulled the knife to actually kill my father or to convey a message to those who were baying for his blood. I don’t know. We were consumed by madness. That era is over. We can now all live together as good neighbors.

At AMU Alumni Event in Saudi Arabia, Mani Shankar Aiyar Calls for 'Uninterrupted and Uninterruptible' Dialogue With Pakistan

Senior Indian business executive Shariq Jamal Shamsi, 2nd left, with Mani Shankar Aiyar, 2nd right.

From left to right, Nadeem Tarin, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Anis Bakhsh and Parvez Askari.

Mukkaram Ali Khan, the most respected AMU alumnus in Saudi Arabia.

Businessman Nadeem Tarin thanked the government for opening AMU centers countrywide.

Mani Shankar Aiyar with Shoaib A. Quraishi, Sabir Imam, Baqar Naqvi, Dr. Ahsan and others.

Jamil A. Qureshy of Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University was the chief guest.

Azeem Warsi won applause for his balanced and admirable anchoring.

A long shot of those who made the event memorable with their presence.

Mani Shankar Aiyar with Jamil A. Qureshy, center, and E.K.M. Shaffe, left.

Aiyar Lauds Role of AMU Alumni in Saudi Arabia

By Siraj Wahab

sirajwahab@arabnews.com

Published in Arab News on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012

A senior member of India’s ruling Congress party and a former minister and high-ranking diplomat made a passionate plea for turning a new chapter in India’s relationship with Pakistan.

Addressing the illustrious alumni of India’s historic Aligarh Muslim University at a well-organized event in Dhahran on Thursday, Mani Shankar Aiyar said it was important for the two nations to bury the ghosts of the past.

“What happened in those two weeks in August 1947 needs to be forgotten,” he said speaking of the unspeakable bloodletting that took place on both sides of the border. “Those two weeks destroyed the excellent relationship that existed between Hindus and Muslims for centuries.”

The event, known as Sir Syed Day, is organized every year in all parts of the world in order to remember and acknowledge the sacrifices made by the university’s founder in the 1860s. Aiyar lauded the positive role being played by AMU alumni in Saudi Arabia.

Turning the pages of history and quoting from his best-selling books, Aiyar said those who hate Pakistan distort history and project Muslim rulers of the past as invaders and bigots. “It was not the sword that won a place for Islam in India, it was the simple message of equality for all (‘masawat’) that attracted large members of the caste-based Hindu society of that era,” he said.

For the Indo-Pak peace dialogue to succeed, Aiyar said it has to be uninterrupted and uninterruptible. “Every time a peace process is initiated we reach instant conclusions and then the whole exercise is aborted in the middle. We need to ask a simple question: Why is it that we can make friends with all nations of the world and not Pakistan?”

Aiyar said there is a dire need to change the anti-Pakistan mindset that prevails in India. “We can neither change geography nor history; we cannot throw Pakistan into the Atlantic Ocean; it will remain where it is,” he said. “And if we were to nuke the Pakistani city of Lahore, yes, it will be finished in two seconds, but do remember that eight seconds later its radiation will envelop the Indian city of Amritsar.”

Having spent three years as India’s high commissioner in Pakistan and having visited the country 30 times in the last 30 years, Aiyar admitted that there was a positive change in the Pakistani mindset.

“I have so many friends in Pakistan that they outnumber my enemies in India, and the generation that experienced the horrors of Partition is thinning out leading to positive change in mindset, but the same is not happening in India … The degree of positive change in the Indian mindset is far less.”

He said peace with Pakistan will help India attain the status it deserves. “We have to go around and tell the world that we have no issues with Pakistan and only then will we attain the status that we rightly deserve.”

To Pakistan, Aiyar said: “It should stop fighting somebody else’s war. It should stop renting it land to foreign powers. The Pakistanis should stop the Americans from using their land to fight their dirty war. Let us join hands.”

He said AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was right when he described Hindus and Muslims as two eyes of the nation. “Together they make the face beautiful and bewitching,” Aiyar said.

The Indian community in general and the AMU alumni in particular expressed heartfelt gratitude to senior Indian business executive Shariq Jamal Shamsi for getting Aiyar to the Eastern Province.

“We are extremely happy with the way the whole event was conducted, and the entire organizing team deserves credit for its success,” Shamsi told Arab News. Aiyar thanked Shamsi and the entire community for playing the perfect hosts.

Among the prominent AMU alumni who spoke at the event were Mukkaram Ali Khan, Jamil A. Qureshy, Nadeem Tarin, Sabir Imam, Ajmi Khan and Syed Baqar Naqvi.

Azeem Warsi won applause for his balanced and admirable anchoring.

Six prominent Indians in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province were honored for their selfless services to the community; they were:

1. International Indian School’s popular headmistress Dhanalaxmi Ramanujam;

2. Parveen Rasheed of Dammam University;

3. Mukkaram Ali Khan of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals;

4. Community activist Parvez Askari;

5. Qur’an expert Abdul Aziz Abdul Raheem and

6. Well-known pediatrician Nafis-ul-Hasan.