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August 18, 2013 I 35
Interview
Nadia Rehan
Work of
art By Sumeha Khalid
36 I August 18, 2013
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enowned designer Nadia Rehan believes in perfection which is quite evident in all that she does be it her brilliant creations or her beautiful surroundings you will not find a single element out of place. Her home is also her working quarters. Hence it was only natural that when we went to interview this most sought-after designer we ended up not just writing about her apparel but also her home interior. On entering the Shamsi’s home you feel a pull towards the garden which is intensely green with lots of foliage and plants creeping up the walls lending it a complete greenhouse effect. Just looking at the greens instills a feeling of calm in the observer. The front door leads you to the foyer which is a cosy and compact space. A red and copper chandelier becomes the focal point of the foyer as it throws a soft red glow on the surroundings. The house is divided into two levels; the ground and first floor. While the ground houses the sitting room, dining area, guest room, kitchen and most importantly Nadia Rehan’s design studio; its is the first floor that has the living quarters. “My studio is also my favourite hide-out,” shared Nadia, further adding that” I’m extremely possessive about my workplace – my studio. I do not like any intrusion here. This is where all the creativity takes place, where I sit and dwell on ideas before executing them,” which result in chic and classy creations for all occasions. Nadia Rehan is a seasoned designer who took the leap 16 years ago to cater to the fashion industry designing and producing a line of clothes that are not only smart and elegant but extremely affordable at the same time. Nadia is hailed for her beautiful ensembles… Fusion separates as well as complete suits, dresses, gowns, jumpsuits, threadworks, casuals… You name it and she’s done it. Nadia is blessed with foresight. She has always been sculpting designs much ahead of time. Time and again her designs have been shared and reproduced by designers; however, this phenomenon has always been a source of inner satisfaction and happiness for her as she feels that her work has the calibre that many a designer would like to share. It is this very foresight that has resulted in a beautiful abode for Nadia and her beautiful family. Nadia’s house is a true reflection of her contained and sobre personality. Talking about the colour scheme of the place, she said, “The whole house is done up in earthy tones of white, beige and black.” You will rarely see much colour around, not even in the form of colourful cushions or throws. Rather, everything is either beige or white. “Each and every room has been decorated by me and my husband. We both share
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the same interests and like almost the same things. Decorating the house was an act of passion for both of us,” she shared. The furniture too is classic and traditional like most of the artifacts tastefully scattered all over the place. “None of the things you see in my house have been purchased overnight. Each and every piece is very old and classic. I only buy things that I really like and will enjoy for the rest of my life,” and
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that explains the timeless appeal one feels for each and every item. And it is this regal nature of Nadia Rehan that is strongly reflected in her creations as well, which are extremely modern nevertheless retain an element of timelessness. Nadia recently exhibited her all-new Eid collection which was a massive success. Hailed for her pret line, this time too Nadia wowed all with her breathtaking ensembles. The success of her exhibitions lies in the fact
that she offers classy fabric, stylishly sculpted and at extremely affordable rates. Her recent exhibition catered to women of varied tastes. There was something for everyone – from the young and feisty to the graceful and mellow. Here’s one designer who is perpetually innovating her creations. No wonder then that she is the choice of all those who crave style!
Restaurant & Buffet Dinner Review
Shezan Regale
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Definitely worth it O ne of the best in the city – from variety to quality, they have covered it all for the food lovers coming to rejoice their love for food Lahorites may not be food connoisseurs but the experience of dining out is more than just a recreation for them. They indulge, not eat. However, food quality alone is not enough to make the experience memorable for them.
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Fashionable presentation of food, impressionable ambience, portions of food servings, efficiency of the service, and the crowd together make dining at any restaurant special. A customer is bound to notice even if a single element is missing from the equation. There are only a number of food outlets that fulfil all the requirements to live up to their clients’ expectations. A dinner buffet at Shezan Regale in Lahore defence was a similar
experience. Formerly a chain of sweets and bakers has now extended their business to restaurants in all over Pakistan. The first thing that catches your eye before you even enter the place is the hip frontage of the building. A heavy wooden door lets you inside the building and you’re welcomed by the polite staff with warm smiles on their faces, making you feel important. There is a separate waiting area as soon as you enter at the left and
the seating area is segregated by a door on the right. This prevents you from all the fuss as you wait for your turn and the diners from feeling awkward by the eyeing of those waiting. To one’s pleasure the splendour of the insides is also maintained with the chic use of wood complemented by the intelligent use of dim lights and medium range shades of paint on walls. Something about their decor that catches one’s eye instantly is the water goblets hanging downwards from the wooden panels just above the counters. It gives the restaurant a very trendy look. The scrubbed wooden tables and other fine furniture add up to the whole presentation. One’s expectations of the food quality after witnessing such beautiful decor of a place automatically rise above that of an average place. For a usual buffet dinner the menu at Shezan Regale was very enticing. Not only was it massive but everything looked good too and one has to appreciate the effort the chef had put in making the food presentable. A buffet is considered ‘worth-it’ if there is a wide range of cuisines on the menu because when it’s allyou-can-eat, you’re catering to a very wide range of customers with different tastes. Variety did not seem to be an issue at Shezan. It started with the usual appetizers i.e. Soups, which included Hot & Sour and Mulligatawny soup. Hot & Sour soup might be a commonplace
in restaurants but very few do the justice to this simple yet most served dish. Chef at Shezan had added the perfect mix of spices making the good old Hot and Sour a special treat for the taste buds. Since the menu was so massive it was not possible to taste each and every dish but out of the few that I tasted, “Baked Chicken (in white sauce)” was finger-licking good. The thick chunks of molten cheese in the chef at Shezan had outdone the desi cuisine. Chicken karahi, chicken boti were the usual but Mutton Kunna and Batair Masalla were a surprise. The firm texture of mutton was a delight and my biggest concern with beef and mutton is the peculiar smell of meat, which
was pleasantly not an issue with this Mutton Kunna. Then came my favourite part: desserts! Chocolate Mousse, served at restaurants, is usually either too spongy or too wobbly but this divine creation at Shezan had the proper firm yet spongy texture that most restaurants fail to achieve. With just the right proportions of ingredients, the Orange custard Cream was my second most favourite dessert of the evening. Gulab jaman was the hit of the evening. Just the right amount of sweet, perfect texture, slightly warm and half dipped in syrup; these Gulab Jamans were like heaven in your mouth. There were a few dishes that needed improvement such as cashew nut chicken that tasted more like lemon grass than cashew nuts. But the overall experience compensated for these little setbacks pretty well. It is safe to say that buffet dinner at Shezan is one of the best in the city. Starting from variety to quality, they have covered it all for the food lovers coming to rejoice their love for food. It is also a perfect place to visit with your family because of the homely environment, and polite and efficient staff who know how important ambience and environment is to make experience worth it.
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Why Should You Choose Argan Oil? By Zahra Ashtar
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n any endeavourer, if you want spectacular results, you purchase the best. Whether you are looking to colorcoordinate your bedsheets to match with those embroidered pillows of yours or you are revitalizing your body, you are more than willing to pay for the price tag behind your desires – it is time to invest in Argan oil, better known as Moroccan Oil, that rejuvenates your skin, hair, and nails.Argan Oil is produced from the kernels of Argan tree fruit. These trees only grow in a few regions, like Morocco – hence the name. Argan oil is one of the rarest in the world; due to the small supply and the geographical limitations, the price of and the hype around the oil are extremely high. The question is: Is the expense/hype really worth all the
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investment? Your every day moisturizer won’t cut it in the approaching fall, but Argan Oil will. The combination of low temperatures and the decreased humidity damage your skin by extracting moisture, leaving the skin dry. By applying Argan oil onto your skin after a cold shower, the skin ultimately starts to feel softer, but tighter too, indicating that the oil does aid in anti-aging, preventing wrinkles. As the oil is a greasy substance, it works best in harsh weathers (and which harsher weather than Pakistan’s?), as it has the ability to create a protective seal over the skin thus guaranteeing the skin from chapping and cracking. Argan oil is full of necessary fatty acids such as linoleic acid, which is an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. The sole properties of the linoleic acid are: anti-aging, inflammationreducing, moisturizing, and antioxidant attributes. It is claimed that Argan oil can, per say, ‘correct’ age-related skin conditions that cause dehydration and loss of skin elasticity. An increasing number
of salons are making use of Argan oil shampoos instead of regular shampoos as the products provide beneficial advantages to the clients as well as the stylists, making it easier to adjust and handle hair with care. The oil restores luster and shine to your hair and helps in mending split ends. It moisturizes your scalp, repairs dry damaged hair, and calms frizziness.The oil is so efficient; one would not need more than a few drops to achieve soft, luminous locks. To achieve quick results, while your hair is still wet from the shower, add a few drops of Argan oil to your ends and scalp to hydrate and moisturize, but if you are interested an overnight hair treatment feel free to massage a generous amount and leave it overnight to receive a worry-free week of yielding, touchworthy tresses. To soften your cuticles, in order to fortify your nails, and to give them radiance what better option than Argan oil? The oil leaves your nails looking far from brittle. If you worry about the cracking of skin around the edges of your nails, worry no more,
because the oil will leave your nails strong and groomed. Not only does Argan oil benefit the skin, hair, and nails; the oil contains high levels of Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that could have strong cancerfighting effects. Also, symptoms of arthritic joint pains and rheumatism could potentially be improved by the anti-inflammatory properties found in the Argan oil. The anti-inflammatory properties additionally contribute to improved skin revival from chicken pox and burns.The only disadvantage of using Argan oil in cosmetics, besides the lack of supply and high cost, is the fact that it contains a lot of oleic acid, which conceivably indicates that it could clog pores and cause provocative acne to prone skin types. Nonetheless Argan oil is a great way to treat your skin, hair, and nails. It also provides some other advantages which may or may not aid you, however, due of the scarcity of the product, it is expensive, but if you are not prone to acne – it is worth the buck!
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Film
Chennai Express
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ike the southbound train of the title, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s romantic actioncomedy-musical Chennai Express barrels forward with barely a stop to rest. Capturing the innocent joy of old Technicolor Hollywood, it finds Khan—playing a 40-year-old candy-store clerk who gets sidetracked (so to speak) with a mobster’s daughter while headed to a beach vacation with friends— channeling no less than Danny Kaye. And he goes even further: Despite the slight surrealism that musicals entail, the talented Khan easily switches to drama when the stakes are high and our hero gets a beating more Martin Scorsese than Vincente Minnelli. Chennai Express is also the latest Indian film to try to bridge the gap between culturally traditional South India—which has its own Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam-language cinema— and more worldly Mumbai, the seat of Bollywood. One early comic sequence involves our hero Rahul (Khan) and daddy’s-girl runaway Meenamma (Deepika Padukone, his co-star in 2007’s reincarnation-romance hit Om Shanti Om) singing an escape plot in Hindi since daddy’s goons, who are retrieving her, only speak Tamil. (Without giving a spoiler, there’s a very funny twist to this later.) Rahul—who winds up with her in an insular, Cosa Nostra-style community where blood feuds abound and local don Dugeshwara (the singlename Sathyaraj, née Rangaraj Subbaiah) owns every cop for kilometers around—may as well be in another world. Sicily, for instance. India being India, Rahul’s predicament seems karmic payback: The callow sweets-seller had misled his trusting grandmother by taking the first southbound train he saw in order to meet up with his buddies, double back, and dump Grandpa’s ashes in a river near Goa rather than into the ocean off out-of-the-way Rameshwaram. Like, who wants to go to the state of Tamil Nadu anyway? Would a New Yorker really want to dump Grandpa’s ashes off Mobile, Alabama? The language barrier also gets played for laughs when Meenamma—who ran away to escape an arranged marriage with Tangaballi (Nikitin Dheer), the thuggish crime-lord of another village—tells Rahul to just nod his head at whatever
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she tells her irate father. To Rahul’s dismay, that basically translates to “Dad, meet my fiancé.” And so like Kaye in The Court Jester, similarly forced to duel the blackhearted Sir Griswold, Rahul must face off against the giant Tangaballi. And this being a Bollywood adventure, that means he has to do it not once, not twice, but three times—the first two comedic, the third deadly serious, with an emphasis on “deadly.” Director Shetty, who made his mark with the 2006-2010 trio of Golmaal comedy hits, plays things broadly, even for Bollywood, but with a heartfelt hand and genuine suspense. Rahul darts from one misadventure, misimpression and mistaken identity to the next, involving everything from a darkened storeroom occupied by too many romantic couples to an idyllic village where he and Meenamma, stuck with each other during one of their escapes, wind up having to complete a religious physical challenge. And hey, if Rahul suddenly finds himself getting shot at from a police helicopter while on a Sri Lankan gunrunning boat in international waters? Well, who hasn’t had that happen to them? The filmmakers makes conscious use of postcard locales— you’ll want to go live in that village where they find refuge— including the Tea Gardens of Munnar, where one musical sequence is set, and the dreamlike Pamban Bridge in the ocean connecting Rameswaram with the mainland. They also craft visually inventive transitions, including one that hilariously mimics the Walt Disney Pictures opening logo, with an evening train running through marshlands as the camera swirls right to the point where the Enchanted Kingdom’s castle should appear. (Disney bought a controlling stake of the Mumbai-based media conglomerate UTV, the film’s distributor, early last year.) The exotic beauty of the countryside helps give Chennai Express a hook for American audiences, just as lovingly photographed Europe helped foreign movies gain a foothold here in the 1950s. And of course, its Old Hollywood comedic romance knows no language. (Neither, unfortunately, do the non-subtitled big musical sequences—it’s always a crapshoot whether the songs are subtitled or not, and always an annoyance.)
Books
Kafka translated and retol By Syed Afsar Sajid Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who was born and lived most of his life in Prague, a Czech (formerly Bohemian) city, was a German language writer of Jewish origin. He is said to be ‘one of the most important contributors to European modernist prose’. Albert Camus (1913-1960) remarked that “the whole of Kafka’s art consists in compelling the reader to re-read him”. And for that matter a good or active reader is often a re-reader for whom Kafka’s work, if he addressed himself to it, would turn out to be ‘among the most valuable of literary treasures’. Curiously enough Kafka was ‘an unusual and unhappy man who believed life to be quite fruitless and unfulfilling’. Kafka’s creative work in general and his short stories in particular emanate from his variegated but rich experience of a complicated personal life. He was a habitual procrastinator, spending years of his time writing novels that he left unfinished, and while dying he asked his best mate and compatriot Max Brod (1884-1968) to burn them which he (Max Brod) would not and instead would have them published (to the infinite benefit of the world of literature) as his ‘literary executor’. Erich Heller (1911-1990), a Bohemian émigré turned a British essayist, found Kafka “the creator of the most obscure lucidity in the history of literature, a phenomenon that, like a word one has on the tip of one’s tongue,
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perpetually attracts and at the same time repels the search for what it is and means”. Some of the characteristic traits of Kafka’s fiction have been denominated as “a sedulous, unadorned writing style; narrative momentum; sudden tonal shifts; the complex meshing of everyday reality and nightmare; cruel, arbitrary punishments; and a world that looks like the one inhabited by you and me, but in which the inner turmoil of the psyche is on the loose”. Kafka’s modernism as evinced in his ‘ahistorical’ stories is deemed to be broadcast from the fringes of a great German cultural tradition that he identified himself with albeit his trilateral geo-lingual ethnicity (German in language and culture, Jewish by ethnicity, and living in Prague). However some of his detractors would contend that there does not seem any local flavour or accent in the style of much of his work which might assure his prose, with all its ‘nakedness and precision’, a place in the ‘modernist canon’. The book in hand is purported to be the second edition of Kafka’s short stories (first published by the National Book Foundation, Islamabad) having been translated by Muhammad Asim Butt – himself a noted translator, poet, and fiction writer. It carries a detailed biographical account of Franz Kafka preceded by a brief foreword by the translator and followed by as many as eightyfive of his representative short stories collected under six different sub-heads viz., KahaniyaN (39), Aik Dehati Mua’lij (18), Faqakash Funkar (04),Moshahidaat (12), Duniyaha-e-Khawab (11), and Natak (01). Some facsimiles of 46 I August 18, 2013
Kafka’s family photographs have also been pasted on the book. The collection includes, among others, translated version of Kafka’s masterpieces like The Judgement, The Metamorphosis, Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk, A Hunger Artist as well as stories like Unmasking a Confidence Trickster, The Tradesman, The Way Home,
Kafka KahaniaN – Franz Kafka Translator: Muhammad Asim Butt Publisher: National Book Foundation, Islamabad Pages: 390; Price: Rs.600/-
The Street Window, On The Tram, Rejection, Absent-minded Window Gazing, Resolutions and Clothes. Kafka, according to MichelAndre Bossy, ‘created a rigidly inflexible and sterile bureaucratic universe’. He wrote in a secluded manner and employed a multitude of legal and scientific terms. But his serious universe was also suffused with ‘insightful humour’
highlighting the “irrationality at the roots of a supposedly rational world”. His characters are ‘trapped, confused, full of guilt, frustrated, and lacking understanding of their surreal world’. George Orwell (1903-1950) and Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) seem to be inspired by this aspect of Kafka’s fiction. The dominant themes of Kafka’s stories are ‘alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent-child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations’ which have a conspicuous bearing on the precept and theory of existentialism as espoused by Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980). Kafka’s translator Michael Hofmann (b.1957) suggests that his story The Judgement was an offshoot of a ‘creative frenzy’ (1912) that polished and perfected him (Kafka) as a literary artist. Similarly his classic The Metamorphosis – the story of a man (Gregor Samsa) who is transformed into an insect, a cockroach – reveals Kafka’s fictive art in its copious diversity in terms of its theme and characterization. Whereas Asim Butt’s translation of Kafka’s stories into Urdu displays his conversance with the mechanics of the process (translation), it also serves to project the latent qualities of Kafka’s art as a ‘modernistic’ writer of fiction. Thus it will adequately cater for the casual readers of fiction as well as the specialists compiling and collating data on the subject.
Books
Muslim League, from its inception to Independence Fascinating story of the political party that created Pakistan By Aziz ud Din Ahmad
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he first part of the book deals with the causes behind the formation of the All India Muslim League (AIML) and the initial period of the organization stretching up to 1934. Major reasons behind the move were “the general disillusionment of the educated Muslim youth with the docile politics of their leaders, the inability to get due share in government jobs, the ambition of the politically conscious Muslims to participate in active politics, the unrest caused by the official moves against Urdu and the Bengali Hindu militant agitation against the partition of Bengal (1905) that had benefitted the Bengali Muslims”. Economic and social deprivation of the Muslim community brought
into existence the party which was to create Pakistan 41 years later. The Muslims also wanted meaningful political representation. There was no mention of an Islamic system or Islamic ideology at all. A similar feeling of deprivation was subsequently to lead to the breakup of Pakistan in 1972. The All India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka in 1906 where the Muslim community had accumulated a number of grievances. Similar grievances had already prepared the ground in a number of other Indian provinces for the formation of the AIML. Two parties calling themselves Punjab Muslim League had been formed months ahead of the AIML, one led by Mian Mohammad Shafi and the other by Fazle Husain. The Muslim League in Bihar had also come into existence before the AIML. The circumstances which gave birth to the AIML also stood in the way of its spread. As Afzal puts it, “It was primarily the socio
economic and political underdevelopment of the Muslims that prevented the League to emerge as a cohesive political force.” The party’s vacillation “often pushed it into short intervals of inactivity”. A look at the list of the members of the first central committee would indicate the type of leadership the party had. How could a party that was led by Nawabs and British title holders, and perennially engaged in inner party rivalries lead the masses or challenge the status quo? Unlike the Hindus, the Muslim community was dominated by the landed elite and had only a miniscule middle class. Under the Indian Councils Act of 1892 the Muslims could not get representation on the Councils in proportion to their population. The AIML leadership wanted separate electorates which it got in 1909. The 1909 Act also enlarged the Legislative Councils and gave them a substantial elected element. This ensured the representation of the Muslim elite in the Legislative August 18, 2013 I 47
understanding Councils. between the Afzal summarises Congress and the the achievement of League which the first 15 years Jinnah had so of the AIML’s life painstakingly thus. “It provided helped to a platform for construct.” The the promotion of creation of a modern education, separate Muslim sectarian harmony, League by Mian and social Mohamad Shafi interaction and who wanted actively campaigned to cooperate to defend the A History of All-India Muslim League 1906-1947 with the Simon Urdu language, By M. Rafique Afzal Commission and Muslim waqfs Publisher: Oxford University Press 2013 the dominance of (endowments) Pages: 781; Price: Rs1595/Sir Fazl-i-Hussain and mosques. presumably did not It extended all leave much room possible assistance to the Muslims outside India, Muslim League to settle the Hindu- for Jinnah to manoeuvre. sometimes even ignoring their own Muslim dispute which was to lead Sir Fazl-i-Hussain had assumed to the Partition as the Congress popularity on account of his servitude.” It was not until 1913, some seven leadership failed to recognize is landmark reforms in Punjab where 40 per cent quota was introduced years after its foundation that importance. . Jinnah formally enrolled as a Jinnah left for England before the by him for Muslim students in member of the AIML. As Ayesha end of his third tenure. According key government colleges besides Jalal puts it, Jinnah never showed to the writer, “Like his predecessors, ensuring that the Muslims got much enthusiasm for the principle he did not take much interest in seats in Municipal Committees in of separate electorate. Jinnah who the party affairs during his tenure accordance with their population was hailed as the ambassador of as permanent president” As Ayesha percentage and were entitled to 40 Hindu-Muslim unity was elected Jalal puts it: “After 1919, the Khilafat pc jobs in government service. AIML President in 1919, a post movement had overwhelmed the The early 1930s constitutional he retained for three tenures. League and, despite the fanfare of negotiations required the sounding Jinnah wanted an understanding Hindu-Muslim unity, eventually of the Indian Muslims thinking. between the Congress and the broke the fragile constitutional Fazl-i-Hussain put conditions
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for Muslim cooperation at the Round Table Conference. These included the retention of separate electorates, clear majorities for Punjabi and Bengali Muslims, the separation of Sindh from Bombay, provincial status for the NWFP and full autonomy for all the provinces. Without these Fazl-i-Hussain was against any advance towards a responsible center. When Jinnah finally returned from England in April 1934 he still pursued the ideal of an alliance between the Hindus and Muslims which according to him were represented by the Congress and the AIML. They could then work together for the liberation of India through constitutional means. For this it was necessary to first unite the Muslims divided by sectarian and ethnic differences. Jinnah vainly thought that appeal in the name of Islam could get them together. “He steered the party clear of the Shia-Sunni conflict that raged in the United Provinces, particularly in Lucknow in the 1930s. Similarly his policy to keep All India Muslim League scrupulously aloof from sectarianism persuaded him not to commit himself either way on the Ahmadi issue”. According to Ali Mohammad Rashdi suspicions were growing meanwhile in Sindh regarding the Punjabi domination in the new country. This too was ignored. The differences were conveniently papered over but failed to disappear. While preparing for 1937 elections, the AIML announced the formation of a central parliamentary board which clearly reflected the divisions within the Muslims. It comprised Jamiatul Ulama-i-Hind leaders like Hussain Amad Madani, Majlis- i-Ahrar leaders like Ch. Afzal Haq, future Sindhi nationalists like Abdul Majeed Sindhi, mavericks like Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, topped by some of the Nawabs from the UP. Jinnah asked all Muslim political parties working in the provinces under any name to contest from the platform of AIML. Jinnah meanwhile tried to convince the Congress that the
issue of the rights of the Muslims in an independent India with an absolute and unalterable Hindu majority needed to be resolved. The Congress however refused to recognize the AIML as a representative of the Muslim community. Nehru insisted that Congress was the sole representative of the entire Indian population across the religious divide. The results of the 1937 elections contradicted the Congress claim. The Congress won the elections only in Hindu majority provinces. Out of the 496 Muslim seats, the Congress won only 27 (15 in NWFP alone) while the AIML bagged 110. Even after the 1937 elections there was no change in the attitude of the Congress. Nehru continued to maintain that the Congress provided the Indians a national forum within which political parties like the AIML , Jamiat-e Ulema e Hind, All India Hindu Mahasabha and others should function as social and religious groups. As Afzal puts it, “Conversely Jinnah on his assumption of the League presidency and in the election campaign had repeatedly offered to cooperate with the Congress or any other party which had objectives similar to those of the AIML. After the elections he reiterated the offer of forming coalitions/alliances ‘if the basic principles are determined by common consent”. The Congress refused to make an alliance with the Muslim League in the provinces under its rule. It demanded that anyone keen to work with the Congress government must resign from his party and join the Congress. The attitude combined with the excesses committed by the Congress in the provinces under its control led to widespread protests by the Muslim community. This brought most Muslim political parties in different provinces under the AIML influence. The AIML failed to work out details of the polity of the new country it wanted to carve out of India. No discussion was allowed on the various plans presented
by different persons for fear of provoking divisions in the League. Everyone was free to have his own interpretation of the type of country Pakistan was going to be. Pushed under the rug were questions like sectarian harmony, attitude towards minorities, guarantees of the rights of the provinces, the question of national language, economic system, and whether Pakistan was to be a Muslim or an Islamic state. One is forced to conclude that Jinnah promoted superficial alliances allowing everyone to maintain whatever view he had about the polity of the future state. “Pakistan ka matlab kya, la ilaha Illallah” was one such slogan. This looked odd on account of Jinnah’s earlier condemnation of Gandhi for fusion of religion and politics by embracing the Khilafat movement. The issues continue to rage even today. It was soon forgotten after the creation of Pakistan that the Muslim majority provinces had supported provincial autonomy as it secured them from the onslaughts of a permanent and unalterable Hindu majority dominating the center. The sense of deprivation was partly redressed by special measures in Punjab. In Sindh, the acceptance of the longstanding demand of separation from Bombay partially did the job. Maximum provincial autonomy and equal opportunities for all provinces were the key to unity in the new country. It was wrongly assumed that Urdu language and reiteration of Islam could alone act as a bond between the provinces. Insistence on keeping Urdu as the national language planted the seeds of secession in East Pakistan. Subsequent failure of the state to provide equal economic, social and political rights for the population in the Eastern wing broke the country apart proving the fragility of the religious bond.
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