Moon sighting controversy in Pakistan is nothing new

Published in Morning News on January 22, 1967

It was not surprising that your esteem newspaper reported the sighting of the moon in Karachi by five persons one of them being a retired army doctor. This writer knows at least three persons in my neighbourhood who claimed they did see it at the time. And the fact that it is supposed to have been on the horizon for nine minutes only (was calculated beforehand by astronomers) explains why only a few could perceive it that Wednesday evening. In any event, the extraordinary amount of time in which the moon was visible on Thursday evening should settle all doubts. It set after ninety-one minutes, whereas a first moon could occupy, at the most, eighty-three.

And what now? Surely there must be some way out of this dilemma. Perhaps the Egyptian calendar could be adopted. It is already in use in the UAR...Turkey and the countries of North Africa. Or perhaps some of the Ulema could be persuaded to learn the science of astronomy and be convinced that it is possible to predict accurately the appearance of the moon at any place. 

Indeed, it is the inflexible attitude of some of our Ulema which is responsible for the confusion. At the Friday prayers in a local mosque, one Mullah made the astonishing remark that the Red moon should be sighted by the naked eye alone, and such "scientific and technological" instruments as the telescope and binoculars should not be made use of. Using the same line of argument, one may easily claim that guns, planes and bombs should not be used in war, as these also are products of science and technology.

It is precisely this sort of intransigence which is bound to make the Ulema unpopular, at least with the intelligentsia, if not with the masses.

This is enough. We have already made ourselves ridiculous in the eyes of the world and other non-Muslim communities. Let us hope that this fact, if no other, influences our religious leaders and convince them of the need to reach an agreement with the Ruet-e-Eilal committee in future.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Propagation of Urdu

 Published in Morning News on February 6, 1965

Mr. Mubarak Ali Siddiqi, an urdu author, who recently migrated to Pakistan, as per news report dated 20-1-1965, has pointed out that Urdu is being banished from India and it has a dark future over there. I think Mr. Siddiqui should have compared the conditions of Urdu prevailing in India with that in Pakistan before making his statement. I would invite the attention of your readers towards the proceedings of Anjaman-I-Taraqqi-Urdu (Hind) recently held at Jaipur under the Presidentship of a retired Hindu Judge Pandit Anand Narain Mulla Saahib who vehemently took up the case of Urdu with the Indian Government. At the same meeting Mr. Sukhadia, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, declared in clear words that all important laws of his Government will be published in Urdu also and the replies to representations and other communications received in Urdu will be replied to in the same language.

May I give a brief history of the events held in the recent past in Pakistan. Mr. Akhtar Husain, a former Information Minister of Pakistan, speaking on the death anniversary of baba-i-Urdu, declared that the late Molvi Sahib had chosen the advancement of Urdu as his contribution to the struggle for Muslim renaissance, and that, according to Molvi Sahib, Urdu was a foundation on which the CULTURAL EDIFICE of the nation could be built. Our President has also pointed out that Urdu has fully safeguarded so far as our Constitution was concerned, I would also refer to the expression made by Altaf Gauhar, the present Information Secretary, who, while speaking on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of  "Afkhar", was of the firm view that "Urdu was responsible for the establishment of Pakistan and, that all efforts should be made to adopt Urdu in every walk of life."

But it is an irony of fate that Radio Pakistan (working under the Information Secretary himself) is still victimising Urdu to the greatest possible extent. Its stations at Hyderabad, Peshawar and Quetta are allotting the lion's share to the respective regional languages and Urdu has been relegated to an insignificant position. Recently, the last two stations have introduced an extra channel, but there too, the overall planning is in the regional language.

I would appeal to the Information Secretary  to very kindly look into this deplorable state of affairs and at least by fulfilling his own commitment referred to above to ensure that Urdu which has been declared as one of the national languages get the rightful place in radio broadcasting. Will those concerned kindly clarify?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Offensive Carcass

Published in Morning News on January 3, 1968

Between the localities of Gora Qabrastan and Nursery on the main Drigh Road, is situation a vast depression on either side of the road, which serves the community as a Nullah. 

A few yards away from the road, making a modest contribution to the general stink prevailing in the area, lies the carcass of a horse. It has been there for quite a few days now; and by some mysterious process, has managed to shift itself away from the central region of the Nullah, where it was first spotted, to its present position. I am not quite sure, but if the present state of indifference is maintained by the authorities for a few days, Mr. Ghauri's philosophical horse at Gora Qabrastan might come to hear of it, and decide to choose it for its final resting place. If that happens, it will not be long before the site gets popular with other four legged creatures, and the Nullah becomes a living hell for the residents in the vicinity, and a haven for evolutionists a million years hence.

Not being an evolutionist, but being a resident around the place, and also possessing a tremendous faith in the power of the printed word, I appeal to the proper authorities through your columns to remove the offensive dead animals and earn our deepest gratitude.

SHAKIR LAKHANI,

Karachi.

Languages

 Published in the Morning News on February 6, 1967

The protagonists of Arabic have advanced a host of reasons in favour of the proposal. One of them has suggested that it will bring the two wings of the country closer to each other. Another argues that as it is the language of the Quran, it will enable us to become better Muslims. A third claims that it will promote friendlier relations with the Arab states. All of them are agreed that it can be done easily and smoothly.

The amazing thing about it all is that in spite of these self-evident facts, there are some who propose the step. These well-meaning souls have underrated the genius of our people. By all means, let us all learn Arabic. 

And while we are at it, I propose that we adopt Chinese as one of our State languages as well. The enormous benefits that will accrue from such a step should be obvious to anyone who reads newspapers. For one thing, our country will make tremendous serides in technology in no time at all. Just think of what happened to all those workers who read Mr. Mao's thoughts. And those students who were so inspired they marched hundreds of miles into Peking!

Of course, a few hardened skeptics will say that Mr. Mao's thoughts have been translated, and will serve the purpose equally well. Nothing could be more fallacious than this misleading argument. Everyone knows that a great deal is lost in translation. All that it caused this writer to do, for instance,  was to sit down at once to compose this letter. And if there are still some incredulous beings who claim  that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to learn such an alien language, we can learn Arabic without any difficulty, why not Chinese?

Indeed, we could go further and learn Russian as well. With our stupendous capacity for mastering foreign language speedily, it should pose no problem. Besides, it would enable us to understand how the Russians managed to become one of the strongest nations in such a short time. 

As a matter of fact, since we have so much time at our disposal, let the masses learn French as well. President de Gaulle will be delighted. And after we have become a truly strong nation, both culturally and technologically, we could turn our attention to a very minor problem -- learning Urdu. 

For it is an awkward philological fact that very few of our citizens speak Urdu as it should be spoken. This is not surprising, since it is the mother tongue of only a small percentage of the population. But our educationists, specially those who advocate the cause of Arabic as a state language cannot be bothered by such trifles. And rightly so. Our masses must first become adept at foreign languages before learning to speak one of the national tongues. 

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

LPG on car fuel

Published in "Morning News" 1975

This refers to the article "New fuel, old cars" (30th April). Much has been said about the advantages of using LPG in automobiles. But is it as good as it sounds? At first sight, yes. But a closer look reveals that the only people who benefit are the importers of conversion kits. Consider the following facts:

The cheapest conversation kit in the market is priced at Rs 6,000, with a running life of 40,000 miles. For an average motorist, who drives 20 miles daily, the kit will require replacement after 6 years.

The interest on Rs 6,000 compounded annually at 9% over a period of 6 years amounts to approximately Rs 3,500. The total effective investment which the motorist makes over the period of  6 years is therefore Rs 9,500.

The petrol bill for the average car will amount to Rs 13,500 assuming that it gives 35 miles to the gallon. With LPG, the fuel cost will be Rs 3,500 over the same period of 6 years. The motorist therefore saves Rs 8,000 in 6 years, after switching over to LPG. But he initially has to invest Rs 9,500. He therefore loses Rs 1,500 (equivalent to Rs 250 per year).

Shakir Lakhani

A-Won Estates Lilly Rd.,

Frere Town, 

Karachi

The Fate of a Girl

Published in "Morning News" 1962??

The fate of Rosy, as described by Saira Begum in her letter under the caption 'The fate of a Girl.' is an everyday occurrence in Pakistan, many talented girls are married off at early ages by their parents and in my opinion these parents are a menace to our country, which is in dire need of doctors, teachers, nurses etc. 

It is very strange that in this enlightened age of ours there are people who are very much against their sons and daughters receiving good education,  for reasons known only to themselves. They are under the mistaken impression that higher education is very harmful, and against religion. 

In the Bantwa Memon community the bridegroom's parents receive a large amount of cash from the bride's parents, which usually runs into tens of thousands of rupees. It is not surprising therefore, that the girls are married off whenever their parents can arrange a marriage in which the amount demanded by the bridegroom's parents is not large.The result is that the girls do not get any education at all.

The only possible remedy for this is that education should be compulsory for all, and when the girls realize that they can earn their own living, their parents will be reluctant to marry them off at an early age, and perhaps the groom's parents will be equally reluctant to demand such huge amounts of money. 

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi