It has been said that we Indians, as a nation, lack a sense of history. Well going by the “candle burned out long before the legend ever will” Benazir hysteria that was unleashed in Indian news channels and media outlets in the last week, I would say we have no sense of current affairs either.
I don’t blame the Irish for giving Benazir Bhutto a posthumous peace prize with the citation “fought all her battles through dialogue and political debate and was an example to all those who do not use or surrender to terrorism”. [They should have just added “financial probity” in the citation while they were at it and we could at least have a good laugh] After all why should they remember Ms. Bhutto’s legacy of hate and violence when we in India,who were at the receiving end of her “political debate” and her “peaceful dialogue” , have forgotten everything?
Such is our amnesia that our “perennially-bent-at-the-waist” Prime Minister calls Benazir “one of the outstanding leaders of our sub-continent, who always looked for reconciliation between India and Pakistan”.
Yeah right.
From her frothing exhortations for “azaadi” (a barely disguised cry to kill Kashmiri Hindus) to her aggressive support of a pogrom of ethnic cleansing against Kashmiri Pandits, there have been very few Pakistani political figures who have escalated cross-border terrorism and hatred as much as Benazir has done. It’s something that the West pretends not to know (because they don’t really care how many Indians Benazir kills as long as she vows to eradicate the enemy of the West) and the appeasers on this side of the border want you to forget.
Instead what they would like you to accept at face value is Benazir Bhutto’s rhetoric of cleaning Pakistan of terrorism, of ushering in true democracy and modern values. Well I would have been inclined to buy into this myself had I not heard the exact same lines from Ms. Bhutto in the late 80s when, in the euphoria of a return to democracy in Pakistan and in Benazir becoming the first woman premier in an Islamic state, many of us had thought that a new era of peace and tolerance would begin in South Asia.
I was fooled then. I will not be fooled again.
Whether Benazir Bhutto’s policy of publicly supporting and privately funding Jihad in India was guided by her father’s dream to avenge the ass-whopping of 1971 or whether it was merely a populist measure to get public approbation and attention while her husband picked the nation’s pockets, one cannot say for certain. But the fact remains that Benazir’s enlightened moderation, values she ironically used to realize only when out of power, was never anything more than a facade to get the support of the West by speaking their language in an accent they understood—-a support the West was keen on giving her this time since President Mush’s game of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds has been seen through and because they thought that Benazir would have been able to gift-wrap the high-value scalps the General was unwilling to hand over.
Whether Benazir would have done the West’s bidding or become another Mushy we will never know, though I am inclined to believe it would have been the latter. What I am positive about is that not only would there have been no “peaceful dialogue” with India, a possible escalation in the shadow-war would have taken place with her in power if only because in a democratic Pakistan, any head of government would have to amp up the anti-India rhetoric in order to stay popular.
Lest I sound hard-hearted in my less-than-eulogistic post about a recently-deceased , I would like to state for the record that I have nothing but the deepest sympathies for Ms. Bhutto’s family for their loss. However kindly do allow me to stand apart from this crowd of deluded folk, having in their ranks many Indians with ridiculously short memories, who are whitewashing her bloody legacy and painting a halo of martyrdom and heroism around her head while staying blind to the misery of those Indians who have suffered grievously because of her.
The Greatbong Blog & Podcast 
Well..Well.. Well..Where do we begin on Pakistan? They have fallen into their own pit that they have dug themselves. To a certain extent I had a bit of respect for Benazir as she was “educated” than most politicians Pakistan has produced so far. Pakistan has always succumbed to the mob and various politicians tried various tricks to get hold of it, primary of them being the ” Hate India ” campaign during the later half of the last millenium which has now ( Thankfully ) shifted base to the U.S. of A.
I dont know if if ever went through “Dawn” and one of their columnists called Javed Naqvi, I suggest you to read them and you can find the gist of what an average pakistani thinks…
My deepest sympathies to the Bhutto family
“The evil that men do lives after them” is certainly not what we Indians believe in. Not content merely turning the other cheek, we do offer everyone our backsides.
Finally, something that’s not a eulogy for Benazir! She is not a martyr and shouldn’t be made one. As for the PPP, I don’t think even the Congress would be insane enough to make a 19 year old its party president. Honestly, dictatorship is a better bet as far as the interests of Pakistani stability is concerned.
I also wonder what Navaz Sharif must be going through.
I truly agree, It’s a shame to watch Indian news channels glorifying such a shrewd and deceitful woman. Although I feel abd for her family I can’t help but think of the adage, ” As you sow, so shall you reap”
P.S. Betala I got here first … heehaw !
*Although I feel bad about her family ….
the media has already announced that the people on the web find her successor bilawal bhutto hawt!(hehe … the bhutto was added after her death to cash on the family name). his facebook profile was analysed (he describes himself as liberal … joy to the world).
the assassination of ms. bhutto came at a very opportune time for the media, since they were able to escape an investigation into their role in the campaign against modi. hopefully 2008 will be a year when indian media reported in a balanced manner, but I guess its wishful thinking.
Death evokes eulogy and eulogy forgets the past and proclaims ‘Long live the martyr’! I think this would be applicable not only in Benazir’s case but in every other Pakistan premier or former premier’s case.
Kill them, Proclaim them as martyrs and declare a 3 day mourning!
What I do fail to understand is not the time Indian channels allocate to this subject but the very fact that we have been glorifying a 2 bit leader without 1 bit integrity. With all due respects to the dead, I think she was more of a moron wrapped around in an idiot handling things the way she did – in the past as well as the present.
Einstein’s quote regarding human stupidity – I guess should now specifically mention Indian news channels and politicians!
Well Said!
Calling Benazir a friend of India reminds me of the famous rhetoric ” hindi- chini bhai bhai.”
She was no friend of India and does not deserve any sympathies.
Arnab forget her true intentions but at least she said she wants to have ‘peaceful dialogue with India’, yes maybe latter when she was out of power or to appease west but don’t you agree that very few leaders in Pakistan talk about with peace without “preconditions” read Kashmir. Talking of peace puts her in bad position in Pakistan ?
Our politician are being practical here, what do you expect from them, when the whole world is mourning her death India keeps mum ? Here we want to seat in security concil. Maybe by showing ‘respect’ we( leaders and media ) are showing respect to Pakistanis/PPP/Future Prime Minister Bilawal . You don’t even want that ?
Why should west even consider plight of Kashmirs are they guardian angels of India infact people in India are capable of solving their issues. We don’t want sympathy from west.
My well of sympathy is pretty shallow. I prefer to reserve it for the hundreds and thousands of Kashmiri pandits who lost their homes and lives thanks to this “martyr” and also for the poor innocent souls who lost their lives as a result of the riots after her assasination.
Great article!!
What I don’t get though is, why did she go back? And why be so dumb as to stick your head out of an “armoured” vehicle. What good is all the millions spent on the car if you are going to stick your head out. And that too, in the midst of people you trained to kill!
Couldn’t agree more. Condone the realpolitik, Arnab, and go easy on our PM. He’d been jockeyed around enough to be Madam’s pony, but he seems to be emerging out of some shadows.
As for Benazir (or her father) or any other Pakistani political bigwig, I’ve just got one thing in my rather gullible mind – distrust. Utter misgivings for anything they ever mouth or pretend to convey.
The war against terrorism is really getting thicker, IMHO. For whatever it’s worth, let’s still mourn. And pray for speedy recovery for a nation that hasn’t found its elements in the 60 years and counting.
Public opinion surely could be antipodal or at least divergent, but how many revolutions has the scoreboard recorded?
Happy New Year, Arnab, and a trifle belated Happy Birthday. May tbe Pointer in you always pinpoint the Pole Star.
True.
Good riddance. Nothing else.
As an aside, her vitriolic speeches promoting kashmiri jihad were available in youtube or google video, but I am not able to locate those. Any of you guys have those links?
Hear Hear!!
And this one too:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eCRFWStxV_4&feature=related
This is Part 1 of the video “And The World Remained Silent”… Thanks to Dipanjan for posting Part 2 of the video.
Hujur
Yeah BB the great secular democratic hope of the West – because she only wanted to kill hindus!! I guess a fundamentalist paki is one who wants to kill americans, brits, jews and hindus.
Great posting GB,
Khushwant Singh debunked this lady’s memoirs last year, where she described herself as some sort of Paki Prince Diana-cum-Mother Theresa. He mentioned the same things you did – her veneer concealing fantastic corruption and her bending to jihadis when talking of the peace process. It really is bizarre to see the way people are deifying her – Karan Thapar went and put in this gooey thing about the good old days back in Oxford or something and how she was a good friend and what not. What BS
Yeah, this was pointed out on the very day of her murder by some bloggers
http://drisyadrisya.blogspot.com/2007/12/myth-of-pro-india-benazir.html
but as expected the media and politicians of India went ahead glorifying her
finally a balanced post on her. i was sick of the praised showered on her. her crimes against indians and hindus is quite well documented (and for that matter, her own countrymen). her grandfather force converted and married a rajput woman in junagarh. her father threatened india with 1000 year war and referred to indians as hindu dogs. she carried on the legacy. in kashmir and elsewhere in india. not to mention creation of terrorist monsters that finally killed her. i am sorry, but certain people don’t get any respect even on death. H K L Bhagat was one. she is another.
My initial reaction when I heard the news was, “oh good, she’s now a martyr!” And the news channel proved me right. They are too concerned with what’s going on to look at what’s happened some years back. In the long run, I don’t think this’ll change anything in Pakistan. They’ll continue to be ruled by dictators.
don’t know much about intellectual ideas on Indian news channels glorifying her.
she was my fantasy girl… man so many pretty pics of hers me and my friends have pulled from the web… am pretty sad we may not get to see a good Pakistani MILF again.
would have loved to post a few pics (esp the one in the bikini) here.
Glad I am not the only one who was rolling his eyes on all the peace prizes and the martyrdom speeches.
I wish someone, atleast in the Indian media, had the balls to call her for what she was. An India-hater to the core, an opportunistic and corrupt politician and no better than any other “leader” pakistan has seen till date.
Thanks GB. Muchos appreciated.
picking the nation’s pocket is SO LUCRATIVE that benazir’s son is ready to risk his life to don the mantle of the leader of PPP.
nah, no sympathies for her family.
Benazir described hijacking as ‘successful’
http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jan/09ben.htm
Perhaps the most shocking of all hijack-related news-
Maulana Masood Azhar’s speeches did rounds of Kanpur
http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jan/11up2.htm
GB,
Damn fine article.
LOL ….man @Vivek ..thats so funny but true, the only reason Benazir would be missed is cos some folks will lose their favourite MILF..
She had to die at the hands of islamic terrorists, now or later, as will most of the Paki pollies…now heres a country that does not muck around..
a true land of the pure fanatics….or is that lunatics
“perennially-bent-at-the-waist” !!!! I beg your pardon… But for this man people like us would have been working as a clerk for some Marwari Businessman…
Have some decency for gossssake
@GB: What’s your view on Mahesh Bhatt, not just as a film maker, but as a political opinioniste? Similarly, your view on Kuldip Nayar? An article would be great but a note would be fine. Thanks.
Hey Divya,
“her grandfather force converted and married a rajput woman in junagarh. her father threatened india with 1000 year war and referred to indians as hindu dogs.”
OMG. Is that true? Then Rishi Khujur and Hujur also are SO VERY TRUE.
The love for Benazir shown by the media is nothing new. Even in 1989 when she came close to the Gandhi family and a “gal pal” of madam Sonia, Doordarshan (or as you put it RajivDarshan)used to potray her as this Mother Teresa prototype who was the lone friendly force in Pakistan.
Helps when some of the media superstars (like Karan Thapar) were chums with you when you were in Oxford.
Fact was that she was in power when the Kashmir issue escalated. She was in power when the Pandit genocide happened (if Godhra can be called a genocide, one might as well call Pandit cleansing as one). Why cannot our media and politicians add two and two? Or they do but do not say so?
Cousin Debika… don’t want this discussion to get sidetracked… but all of this pretty well documented all over…
http://blai.newsvine.com/_news/2007/12/30/1193585-shah-nawaz-the-legacy-of-the-bhuttos
“Now grown immensely wealthy, heaven knows how, (how money does seem to adhere to some men!), Shahnawaz took a lowly Hindu dancing girl named Lakhi Bai to wife. Lakhi was forcibly converted to Islam, renamed Khursheed Begum and gave Shahnawaz two children, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and a daughter, Mumtaz.”
OK, the author calls the woman “lowly”, whatever that means. But the facts are not altered by that aspersion.
You know that the sub-continet Politics is a lucrative business, when you see the Bhuttos. All of them killed gruesomely, yet they don’t waste time in naming another heir. Its probably the Mughal legacy or something else, I really wonder..
Hi Arnab
This is a very important post .Its essential that influential blogsphere voices like yours convey the truth to the readers given that the MSM is playing a dubious role by building Benzair as a martyr-through their unbalanced blanket coverage
The farcical attempt of MSM, lead by Barkha Dutt and spurred on by bleeding heart ‘liberals’ and candle kissers, to convert Benzair’s death as ‘South Asian’ tragedy was ridiculous.The studio theatrics and melodramatics was sickening to say the least.Of course it gave a great opportunity for the family loyalist in MSM to build on the legend of Nehru-Gandhee
Looks like India MSM is waiting for tragedies like Samjauhta /POK earthquake to happen so that they can mouth those Bhai Bhai inanities and platitudes .Barkha Dutt suddenly springs to life in these situation and she is all over the place with her passionate pleas and ‘fearless’ journalism
The predictable events in terroristan provided an excellent opportunity for MSM to divert the attention of the public from their shameful role in Gujarat ELECTIONS
Well written, GreatBong !
Spot on GreatBong. As usual….
Ref to the Rediff article below:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/dec/31guru.htm
I draw everyone’s attention to this particular snippet:
She was also the prime minister who gave the ISI the go-ahead to wage jihad on India. She was the one who exhorted the Pakistan trained and financed terrorists to ‘jag-jag mo-mo han-han’ Jagmohan the then governor of Jammu and Kashmir [Images], with an explicit chopping motion of the right hand across the open left palm. She was the one who shrieked ‘Azadi-azadi’ from across the LOC and extended Zia-ul-Haq’s doctrine of death by a thousand cuts to Kashmir. Only, she wanted to greatly reduce the number of cuts. And lastly, we must not forget that she was the one who personally delivered the CDs bearing AQ Khan’s nuclear bomb design to the North Koreans who in turn gave her country the medium range missiles which they now flaunt as Ghazni and Ghori, both Afghan towns whose sole contributions to history was two particularly rapacious and cruel raiders by the name Muhammad.
Well, would you agree that she finally got her cherished & much deserved Azadi? At the hands of her own countrymen?
@ Divya and Cousin Debika
As mentioned before, Benazir admits the fact that her Hindu grandmother was a (forcibly) converted to Islam in her own book too.
@ Vamsi
First Zia-ul-Haq, the ISI and then Benazir had a very low opinion of the Kashmiri Muslims, in terms of their qualitative ability to carry a Jihad.
I think it was Zia who even went on record saying that Muslims from Punjab and Pashtoon areas have to help the Kashmiri Muslims in their jihad because they(the native Kashmiri Jihadis) are mostly converted from the Hindu Brahmin caste and hence non-martial by nature.
Amazing… how the thought process works.
And the missiles are named not after the towns but after the raiders (Ghazni and Ghori) themselves.
Ironically, Ghazni and Ghori actually ravaged, raped, murdered and eventually converted the forefathers of the present day Pakistanis more than anybody else.
@ Vamsi
Its Zia or Hamid Gul…I am not sure.
Very well said.
Without saying that I’m very grieved at the death of Bhutto, I think I won’t be lying if I say that I am saddened– not for Bhutto’s death, but the consequence it’ll have on Pakistan.. I mean– when will the country ever see a proper democratic government…? As far as my knowledge goes, Pakistan has rarely been efectively ruled by a democracy– there were vague pretensions of the like at one point (1947-1957), and next we saw a series of military coups and dictatorships! It’s ironical and darkly funny that a pathetic political failure of a nation is named a ‘democracy’!
GB, I am not sure of Bhutto family’s loss. Dalrymple says “Within her party, she declared herself the lifetime president of the PPP and refused to let her brother Murtaza challenge her. When he persisted in doing so, he ended up shot dead in highly suspicious circumstances outside the family home. Murtaza’s wife Ghinwa and his daughter Fatima, as well as Benazir’s mother, all firmly believed that Benazir gave the order to have him killed.” (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2233261,00.html)
Isn’t it really ironic that a nation which supposedly started out as an entity meant to give the muslims their true right is in such a state that their muslim counterparts in India are now happy that they decided to stay back in the country– of course, India is far from perfect, but ain’t it still better than our twin? Mr. Jinnah must be turning in his grave right now! And Gandhiji must be sadly repeating, “I said that it’d be a disaster to cut the child in two halves in the mother’s womb!”
@GB You are spot on.
My question is –> How Barakha Dutt and the likes get away with this kind of reporting.
Also, can we put some steel in our PM’s spine?
a good (rare) TOI article along the same lines as this one…a subtle jab at india’s misguided flattery towards the merchants of death…
“During her two spells as prime minister, the regime she presided over was so corrupt that her husband, Zardari, earned the nickname of ‘Mr Five Per Cent’, that allegedly being his cut on every major deal in the country. The same Zardari is currently keeping the seat warm for their son, Bilawal, as head of the PPP.
Her assassination — and the clumsy cover-up attempted by the Pakistani government — immediately absolved her of all sins of omission and commission and elevated her to the status of sacrificial victim, a saintling if not quite a saint as yet. Providing that one has not been a spectacularly hideous monster like Hitler, or Stalin, or Mao, death confers an instant amnesty for one’s misdeeds. In life, Princess Diana was — at least latterly — a media-exploitative adventureress, but her premature death iconised her overnight.
JFK had his presidency bought for him by his wealthy father, was a notorious womaniser (who may or may not have been tangentially involved with the suicide of Marilyn Monroe, another death-created deity), and suffered from a chronic medical condition that seriously impaired his decision-making abilities at the time of the Cuban missile crisis, a face-off which could have triggered a nuclear Armageddon. But death turned him into a latter-day Arthur presiding over a born-again Camelot.”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Death_turns_Benazir_into_a_saintly_star/rssarticleshow/2670503.cms
SORRY FOR THE LONG REPLY…
@rishi_khujur
Interesting you bring him up as I was reading about this Hamid Gul character on wikipedia yesterday.He seems the embodiment of the virulent jihadi.It was in the context of the liberation of Bangladesh that I was researching the role of the Bhuttos.Zulfi’s walkout and fiery speeches to the Security Council do not invoke the vision of a secular and visionary statesman.
On a related topic, YouTube has a plethora of videos on the plight of the Biharis stranded in Bangladesh,living in ghettos since 1971, whom Pakistan does not want to take back.The Bangladeshi’s view them as Pak collaborators during the liberation war.It may be wrong to taint a huge mass of people with a broad brush but some of these allegations may truly apply to a few of them.
I am not a right winger (in fact a moderate & very secular Hindu) but a minority of these people were responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Bengali intellectuals esp Hindus (yes, Hindus..a few thousands of innocent Hindus )during Operation Searchlight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Liberation_War#Operation_Searchlight:_25_March_1971
How come we never hear discussion of this back home? Alright for Pak to spill innocent Hindu blood every two decades?
Finally, I draw everyone’s attention to the below article in the NY Times magazine section today about the next gen Taliban taking root in Pakistan.
Seems the Frankenstein monster is now reality..
Well expressed, GB. Indian memories have always been short as regards “leaders”, and most of us, anyways, defer to emotion at times of stress.
@vamsi
how do you define a secular and moderate Hindu ?
Thomas Jefferson once wrote,
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable.”
If he was alive in today’s day and age and if he was educated about the realpolitiks of the Indian subcontinent, he would have gladly replaced the word newspaper with RTDM. Such was the immaculateness of this post.
@Vivek-
“she was my fantasy girl… man so many pretty pics of hers me and my friends have pulled from the web”
Are you serious man, or is the world facing a dearth of internet porn! I always thought that she was what we in Bangla called as a “Rosh chepa rosogolla”. Well..To each his own. Also if people can fantasize about Hillary, then why not Ben ben a a zir zir.
@anonymous coward
I donot know if you wish to debate sociological issues…
1.Secular (from wiki):
It refers to a belief that human activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be based on evidence and fact rather than religious influence – of any kind.
Interpretation: All citizens of India are equal..no matter what their religious beliefs are and should be treated as such.Separation of church and state.
2.http://www.punjabilok.com/faith/islam/seculindia.htm
Interpretation: Stand for the unique & lovely cultural mosaic that united India is.
it’s evident from this comment thread that the media didn’t fool anyone.
in their defence it may have been in poor taste to say that ‘the bitch is dead. good riddance.’
some people above seem to be shocked to find out that zulfikar ali bhutto was not an enlightened leader. he along with ayotollah khomeini are the fathers of modern islamic fundamentalism. he added ‘islamic’ to the constitution of pakistan.
ive said this before but if anyone is interesting in pakistan ..please..please read salman rushdie’s shame.
i think its better than midnight’s children and maybe even 100 years of solitude.
@NPS
Was not Zardari known as Mr. Ten percent?
We should have a plebicite in the Kashmir valley immediately. I am very keen to see how many kashmiri muslims are dying to become a part of Pakistan today!
@vamsi
no offence meant :). whenever someone calls themselves “secular” I always wonder if its the world wide accepted meaning or the perverted Indian meaning.
@ Vamsi
Some very pertinent observations, you make.
Vamsi wrote:
How come we never hear discussion of this back home? Alright for Pak to spill innocent Hindu blood every two decades?
Rishi’s response:
It is unfortunate that people in India dont discuss the slaughter of 3,00,000 Bengali Hindus before, during and after “Operation Searchlight”. But then again someone has to begin.
A friend of mine, who lives in my city, has been trying to create awareness about this back home. Very brief, but effective walk down the history of present day Bangladesh.
http://www.factusa.org/bdesh exhibit complete show01.pdf
arnab…apologise..for some reason the link I am trying to give is not copying right. Please delete the links that I gave previously.
Nice post!!
You are ‘on the money’ when you say, “However kindly do allow me to stand apart from this crowd of deluded folk, having in their ranks many Indians with ridiculously short memories, who are whitewashing her bloody legacy and painting a halo of martyrdom and heroism around her head while staying blind to the misery of those Indians who have suffered grievously because of her.”
I am with you on the point of public memory being short in general and much shorter in India in particular. But, here, I think, the timing of your post is of the essence.
Yes, Benazir Bhutto called for “azaadi” in Kashmir and lent tacit support to jihadis. But, then what do you expect from a national leader of the very highest rank of a country whose politics hinges on ‘neighbor bashing’ for electoral benefits. Yes, she laundered public money, bought from Harrod’s, was sold on Lafayette. So does every scion of political dynasties the world over. And she was no exception.
I am of the opinion that though death cannot cleanse one of crimes committed yet, it should be viewed as a customary cease-fire between the living and the deceased. One feels sorry for the plight of her children at the aftermath of her gruesome assassination.
As an Indian I feel we should follow a policy of ‘dignified silence’ on this issue.
Let our silence be their shame, rather than digging skeletons which are far too many to be counted anyway.
I think too many people in the Indian media have read “If I am Assasinated” by Zulfi. They are reeling under a sympathy wave number II and refusing to reason.
Wow. This is the first rational, logical, well thought out Benazir obituary i’ve seen.
While the rest of the world beats their chests about
faux-democracy, talks about her as a cure for terrorism and any other BS its nice to see a beacon of sense in a sea of maudlin drivel about the incident.
Kudos.
I cant beleive this!!!
I was waiting for you to write this…trust me or not…I even thought the exact words youve used in many places.
Being a Kashmiri Pandit who grew up in the valley during the days when Benazir broke her vocal chords with her “azadi” cries, I cant be more sure that the terrorism which finally caught up to her was once the child that she nourished. She dreamt that the this child would fight for her wishes but underestimated the fight in the grown unruly offspring.
It is always sad to see someone get killed in a brutal fashion but Im not sure if the world just lost their only hope for peace.
Thanks for saying the way it is.
I am patriot (one can say mad about India). I reserve no words in showing my anger towards this country of filth called PAKISTAN. This country has no right to exist in the world. Coming back to the subject, if the sin that one had done in the past is forgotten so easily just because the person is no longer alive, then why don’t Hitler be declared a hero of the human race. Bhutto like any other Pakistani leader led a double standard life calling herself moderate but supported terrorism against India. She deserves no sympathy. She received what she deserved. This breeding ground should be terminated if the world really believes in peace. Pakistan should disintegrate for the world to remain peaceful. Every country which like India to be hold back supports Pakistan. USA was doing, now China. With all our might we should grow stronger to teach these countries a lesson. We need leaders in our country and not these spineless politicians.
Arise India. Be a leader and take India to the place that deserves.
Jai Hind.
How True..
Those who live by the Gun,Die by it..
(Except Prabhuji….& Rajnikanth)
GB, Yes she did initiate the process how death wipes it all.
Well said.
But for her lineage & sheer physical charisma which was lapped up by the brain dead sub-continent media , her contribution has been counter productive & total zilch
She was no diffrent from the usual brand of useless politicians – Pakistan is better off without her
Fantastic post and an even more interesting comment thread.
‘As you sow so shall you reap’
Francoise Gautier published similar sentiments within a few days of her death.
Good Read:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/dec/31gautier.htm
well said!!!! finally some sensible writing….
Fortunately not everyone is turning a blind eye to history.
See this from today’s New York Times.
NeoIndian sounds like a fanatical douchebag. he equates being patriotic with being hateful. I”m sure Gandhiji would be proud of his brand of “patriotism”….
with that said, Pakistan is not ready for democracy so it’s not a big deal about Bhutto plus her family history is suspect at best. Unfortunately, in order to get into power in Pakistan you have to be a ruthless wolf. One might say this applies to all politicians in every country but at least in other countries there are some “good guys” amidst the cesspool of politicians.
the act of hers smuggling plans out to the North Koreans speaks volumes of her intentions..
zardari is “mr ten percent”…
Very very well-written, Arnab.
PS. Dunno about you, but I find NeoIndian-The Patriot’s comment frighteningly frothy at the mouth!
Chanakya said, “Those who forget their history, their geography changes”. Might have been said thousands of years ago, but true even in current context. We Indians are very forgetful and hence tend to be forgive-fool. “outstanding leader of sub-continent”.. baah!!!
it never ceases to amaze me how we view a dead politician thru rose tinted glasses, especially an assasinated one. It has happened with Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv…so why not with Benazir?
I guess what shocked me was that a mother , a sister and a wife was killed.
sorry, forgot to fill the details…the above comment was mine..
Thank you Dipanjan and Hujur. I dont understand much of Urdu, can one of you guys translate her speech for me. Thanks in advance.
A true n insightful article indeed GB.Lage raho..
The comment thread is real good though i would like GB to post some of his opinions on the views n links posted.
William Darlymple has a fine op-ed piece in the NYT pointing out the same inconvenient truths about Bhutto. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04dalrymple.html?em&ex=1199682000&en=0c971afe389cd9c5&ei=5087
quite a wrong aseertion Dalrymple makes right in the beginning.
LTTE is NOT a Hindu extremist group. Its charter doesnt even talk about Hinduism and most of its leaders have been awoved communists.
The rest of his article is OK.
Its better to clarify this right away because tomorrow we will see Shabana Azmi quoting this all over the world.
@ rishi:
please read ‘age of kali’ before you question dalrymple’s knowledge of the LTTE. he documents the only western journalist’s travel into an LTTE camp at that point.
i glad you raised this because the reason why i distrust the hindu movement is that while who are only too happy to shout from rooftops about no one caring about pandits, bangladeshi hindus and indonesian hindus, you are more than willing to overlook atrocities by buddhist sinhalas on tamil hindus.
religion is an important identity marker for the crisis in sri lanka almost as much as language.
your ignorance of this leads me to believe your cause not to be as much as pro-hindu movement as much as it is a north indian anti-muslim one.
@ WTF
Ethnic identity (Sinhala vs Tamil) is the biggest identity marker in the Sri Lankan conflict.
Inspite of the conflict getting religious overtones, especially from the Mahayana Sihalese side, the LTTE has steadfastly stuck to a very leftist identity (something very akin to the Naxalite movement).
I think part of that can be blamed on the ideologues who guided the LTTE, because they were heavily influenced and supported by the Leftist agencies including the ones from Rajiv Gandhi’s era.
Your sudden jumping to conclusion as my cause being a “North Indian” cause apalls me, in fact saddens me, especially after the year long conversation we have had (recently after my conversation with Sriyanto vis-a-vis Indonesia) and my extremely global approach towards Hinduism.
Time and again, I see you confusing language and regional identities, often leading me to believe that sometimes, you deliberately use that to diverge away from the topic.
The Sri Lankan Hindus not only face hatred from many Mahayana sects but also from Christian missioneries who are rapciously pretying upon oth sides in this horrible conflict.
correction to the last line *rapaciously preying upon both sides*
@ WTF
You may want to research more about the LTTE here
http://www.tamilnet.com/
Also, read this article that came in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.
http://www.dawn.com/2002/04/15/int2.htm
Swani Vigyananand, who I have had the honor to meet and speak to once, told me a lot about the situation in Sri Lanka, where he runs a VHP supported ashram.
Because of its ultra-leftist approach, LTTE is lukewarm to the Hindutva movement, inspite of the fact that the Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka are suffering.
@ WTF
You may want to research more about the LTTE here
www(DOT)tamilnet(DOT)com/
Also, read this article that came in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.
http://www.dawn.com/2002/04/15/int2.htm
Swani Vigyananand, who I have had the honor to meet and speak to once, told me a lot about the situation in Sri Lanka, where he runs a VHP supported ashram.
Because of its ultra-leftist approach, LTTE is lukewarm to the Hindutva movement, inspite of the fact that the Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka are suffering.
@ rishi:
selective quote from your article:
“I made it clear to them (LTTE) that we have nothing for or against their struggle,” the graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, said in an interview. “I said we have a problem with Islam and Christianity and are trying to build up Hindu unity.”
how the fuck isnt this man citing buddhists? they’re the majority doing the repression!
that’s what im trying to say is my problem with your movement. im sorry if that hurts you, but i do not mean anything personally.
the suppression of hindus in sri lanka has been as brutal as pakistan or bangladesh. i learnt this not from your organizations or people who support your views but william darymple.
or else why do you have to cite a pakistani newspaper? isn’t factusa covering it?
i think the reason you do not mention this as it makes your whole theory that scripture goads people into wiping out minorities and proves that it is actually a natural political instinct in human society. i mean they’re buddhists for crying out loud!
yet, you interpret the civility of India to fight this base instinct and hold ourselves to the highest standards of modern humanity (though we slip up many times) as a weakness. that is a sadder thing than your selective interpretation of facts and half truths to suit your theory about Islam.
p.s. it’s appropriate for this page but in ‘age of kali’ darymple records how benazir butto’s house was stacked with mills and boons and she read vogue while travelling.
mayawati needs to read some vogue.. you know what im saying?
@ WTF
thats exactly the point I am trying to make…The Sinhalese-Tamil struggle is a purely ethnic struggle.
The Buddhists are not doing it in Thailand or Indonesia. Nor are they doing it in the Cittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh or Ladakh.
Even though the Hindus of Sri Lanka are struggling to survive, LTTLE doesnt really care about the Hindus.
Do you consider the ultra-left Naxalites to be Hindu extemists, even though most of their cadres and leaders come from Hindu parents?? Or for that matter the ULFA?
None of these groups r fighting for the “sake of Hinduism”.
That is very different from lets say what the SIMI or Hizbul or Jaish is doing. I have explained this to you SOOOOO MANY times before.
It will be wrong for Darymple to call the LTTE a Hindu extremist group. His ignorance shows through.
Our job, is to provide relief and support to the Hindus of Sri Lanka, which is what Swami Vigyananand of the VHP is doing.
I have personally not worked with Sri Lanka, maybe
our good friend Hujur can shed more light on it.
My personal areas of ground level interaction is limited to Trinidad, Guyana, Kashmir (India) and Bengal and a little bit
the North East.
I have no control on what projects http://www.factusa.org takes. I just know ppl who work with it. But you can send them a mail with suggestions on what projects they take up next.
At last I am reading something that is different from the normal obituaries, which hailed Benazir a ray of democratic hope for Pakistan (thereby bringing peace to the sub-continent). They all talked about the grief of her family and how similar it was to our so called “First Family”.
Dieing a heroic death is the best gift any political entity can give themselves and their future generations. Your post should atleast open eyes of a few hundred Indians.
Truth and nothing else.Exceptional.
Vivek mian,
Is this the Benazir MILF photograph you were referring to?
———
Sriram mian,
Since no one offered to translate, I take the liberty pf doing so. The Urdu translation of Benazir’s speech (in the videos posted above) is:
“The people of Kashmir do not fear death, because they are Muslim. The Kashmiris have the blood of the Mujahids [Jihadists] and Ghazis [murderers of non-Muslims].
The Kashmiris have the blood of Mujahideens, because Kashmiris are the heir of Allah’s Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Umar.”
In inciting even the women of Kashmir to Jihad, she said:
“And the brave women of Kashmir ? they know how to fight and also to live. And when they live, they do so with dignity.”
She incited the children too:
“From every village [of Kashmir] only one voice will emerge, “Freedom.” From every school, only one voice will merge, “Freedom.” Every child will shout: Freedom, freedom, freedom.”
P.S: Check out the “Comic Book” link to my name “Murtad Mama” above. You will enjoy it !!
Murtad Mama
Miniskirt wearing, Vogue reading Benazir Bhutto and 3 piece suite clad, whiskey drinking Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah. Both with Western education and the apparent facade of what the unsuspecting will call “modern”, “moderate” face of Islam.
Both surpassed the salwaar-lungi Maulanas in their hatred for Hindus.
This article by Abul Kasem, a Bengali ex-Muslim who has currently reverted, might interest you.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=2297E37D-87C3-492E-8E5D-1808AF77F703
Wow Rishi,
From the link that you gave: “He also taught us that Muslims are the only inheritors of the earth, that we must never mix with the non-Muslims, we must hate them, humiliate them verbally, and if possible, physically.”
And the excerpts. What a disturbing interview!
Benazir explicitly incited the expulsion of all Kafirs, who happen to be Indian citizens, from Kashmir, which happens to be within India.
To accomplish that holy task, she demanded that the soldiers of Islam – men, women and children, not rest until every un-believer, like yours truly, is either on the other side of the banihal tunnel [connects kashmir to jammu] or is sipping tea with the devil. As most of you know her soldiers were spectacularly successful in causing the largest internal displacement of Indian citizenry post-1947. Not to mention the murder of nearly one thousand kafirs, over a period of one year.
An entire culture, which had lived in that cursed valley for three thousand years, more then two of those before Prophet Muhammad was even a gleam in his poppy’s eyes, was eradicated at that vile woman and her army’s behest. [note – this is the second exodus of Kashmir’s hindus since the advent of islam in kashmir]
Now, how am I supposed to react and feel when my Prime Minister calls her “an outstanding leader”, and her death a tragedy?
Thanks GB, for showing us the other side. I quite swallowed the newspaper version. Silly me. 🙂
Thanks GB, for showing us the other side. I quite swallowed the newspaper version. Silly me. 🙂
Harkat-al-Ansar, a primary Islamic group active in Kashmir was funded and promoted by Benazir Bhutto in her stronghold of Karachi. During a fund raising campaign in Karachi (5 February 1995), eleven Harkat men were shot dead by “unidentified” gunmen.
Benazir Bhutto publicly condemned the killings and praised the Harkat-al-Ansar for helping the Kashmir Jihad.
For those in the West who are bestowing awards on Benazir Bhutto, it was the same Harkat-al-Ansar who abducted 5 Western tourists (killed 4) under the name of Al-Farhan (named after a sacred Hill in Prophet Mohammed’s land).
Maulana Masood Azhar, the infamous Indian Airlines hijack releasee, who later founded the Jaish-e-Mohammed (doesnt need much explaining about the Quranic connection), was also one of the founding members of Harkat-al-Ansar.
Benazir Bhutto knew what she was doing.
presciently written GB… check out this story:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20080922/884/twl-zardari-could-pocket-3-mn-pounds-fro.html