The Makh-Dooms of Pakistan

Post Information
Print & pdf

By Anwaar Hussain

jaljal.jpgAccording to a little heard news, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani has reportedly decided to drop the family prefix of Makhdoom from his name saying he wants to serve people and not be served by them. Gillani said the honorific “Makhdoom”, which means “one who is served” is no longer appropriate as he believes in serving the people.

Though the apparent unconditional sincerity in the Prime Minister’s resolve to ‘serve’ the Pakistani people is heart warming, yet a leopard can not change his spots. The scribe begs to explain the Makh-Doom phenomenon to the gullible Pakistani masses first. By the end of this piece, the readers would know why the scribe spells Makhdoom as Makh-Doom.

A little review of history is in order first.

Jallianwala Bagh is a garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar. On April 13, 1919, British Indian Army soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer opened fire on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children. The firing lasted for about 10 minutes. Shots were fired at the rate of 33 rounds per soldier. Official British Raj sources placed the fatalities at 379. According to private sources, however, there were over 1000 deaths, with more than 2000 wounded. Civil Surgeon Dr. Smith indicated that there were over 1800 casualties.

Back in his headquarters, Dyer reported to his superiors that he had been “confronted by a revolutionary army,” and had been obliged “to teach a moral lesson to the Punjab.” In a telegram sent to Dyer, the then British Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, the author of the said massacre, Sir Michael O’Dwyer wrote: “Your action is correct. Lieutenant Governor approves.”

Nigel Collett, the writer of a new biography of Reginald Dyer, The Butcher of Amritsar said of Dyer: “As an Englishman, I cannot help but feel sorrow and shame at what he did…The massacre was the worst atrocity by a British officer ever recorded”.

Such was the sentiment of a British author about the gory crime carried out by the British soldiers. Given below is an old document to refresh the memories of the readers regarding the sentiments of the sons of the soil of Punjab, the Makh-Dooms. Taken from an Urdu column written by one Khalid Masood Khan, the referred document belongs to the beginning of the previous century.

The translation of this flowery text from Urdu language, marked by elaborate rhetoric and decorative details as it is, was a difficult task. The omissions and commissions, therefore, can safely be attributed to the scribe. More or less, though, this is how the text of the supplication goes;

Read more



Comments



Anwaar’s articles appear simultaneously here at Truth Spring and at Soul Vibes in The Pakistan Tribune.


US loses its status as economic world power
DAVOS, Switzerland, 2008
.: ARTICLE BLOCKED :.
ON MARCH 2008
Who links to my website?