हाय क्यों कर बैठे जेहाद, पूरा मुल्क ही हो गया बर्बाद, बस चीन ही बचा है ऐसा देश, जो सुनता है हमारी फरयाद। झूठ हमारी आदत बनी है, चाहे कितने आएं एबोटाबाद।
हाय क्यों कर बैठे जेहाद, पूरा मुल्क ही हो गया बर्बाद, १९४७ में हिंदुस्तान और पाकिस्तान, दो मुल्क हुए थे आजाद। हम फिरते हैं मारे मारे, और वह फिरते हैं होके आबाद।
हाय क्यों कर बैठे जेहाद, पूरा मुल्क ही हो गया बर्बाद, उनकी जीडीपी उछाले मारती, यहां देहशत है हमारी जायदाद। उनकी ख्वाहिश चांद को छूना, कशमीर उजाड़ना है हमारी मुराद।
हाय क्यों कर बैठे जेहाद, पूरा मुल्क ही हो गया बर्बाद, वह करते हैं इंसानियत की पूजा, खून खराबे का हमें है स्वाद। फिर भी मद मस्ती में घूम रहे हैं। शायद होश आए तबाही के बाद।
When I look around I see people wealthier than me, Also, there is no doubt that some are healthier than me. Many are more intelligent, cleverer and smarter, Many have reached places whilst I’ve been a non-starter. And yet, I know, God has given me better than the rest. The overall blessing of Him to me has been by far the best.
God makes each one of us with specific purpose or aim, And hence He can’t be giving to everyone abilities same. It is for us to quickly discover what we’re meant to be, And then to accept the matching abilities proudly. We should be content with what we’ve been given, And make the best of it, like a man who’s driven.
God, thank you for giving me the best in your store, With it, honestly, I can never ask for more. Just make me worthy of your gifts to me, From jealousy and envy always keep me free. Let me not find grass greener on the other side, Let me take everything good or bad in my stride.
Thank you for making me happy and content. Rather than living my life in useless lament. The others have been equipped with what they need, I too have been given, in my task, to succeed. I don’t ever rue what they have or possess, I thank you for your blessings and kindness.
“War is a terrible business” said Herman Wouk in his celebrated work ‘The Caine Mutiny’, “In which people get killed and you’re damn glad you ain’t one of them.”
(Pic courtesy: Hindustan Times)
Listening to the Indian public debate after the incidents in the aftermath of Pulwama attacks, it would appear that despite our jingoism and consequent lion-hearted pronouncements, we’re damn glad we ain’t one of those who have to take action and decisions and risk their lives to protect the sovereignty and security of India, that is, Bharat.
Pakistan, having lost all wars against India, discovered that there is one tool that it has that not just brings India to its knees but successfully deters India from the military option to protect its interests. That tool is the tool of terrorism.
Lets first understand as to what do we require armed forces for. In the modern world, the primary task of the armed forces is to deter war by putting the fear of consequences in the enemy’s psyche. In our case we spend about two percent of our GDP every year to keep one of the largest armed forces in the world to drive this fear in the hearts and minds of the Pakistanis and the Chinese. Why do we require this deterrence? Simple, because its failure would interfere with our economic growth that would ensure planned good and secure life for our people.
Has this deterrence worked? It has worked largely with China. One of the reasons is that China itself has the desire to deter war for its own growth. Additionally, as far as conventional war is concerned, it has worked with Pakistan too. But, then, Pakistan, tasted success in bringing a superpower (Russia) to its heels in Afghanistan through war by other means (Please read the book: ‘Afghanistan the Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower’ by Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin. Mohammad Yousaf was the Pakistani Brigadier General who masterminded the equipping and training of the Afghan mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviets in the 1980s. Mark Adkin was a Major in the British Army who polished the writing (memoirs) of the Pak Brigadier General. At that time, the United States, Britain and other allies were on the side of the mujahideen (terrorists engaged in proxy war). Incidentally, a free download of this book is available on the net.
The Mujahideen War in Afghanistan lasted from Dec 1979 to Feb 1989 with covert and not so covert support by the United States, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
As soon as its Western border was secured through the success of its proxy war, Pakistan turned to its Eastern neighbour India to apply the same formula to it. And that’s the beginning of the proxy war in Kashmir that we have faced for the last thirty years. The Western powers largely were unconcerned about the cross-border terrorism that India faced from Pakistan until the genie that they had helped unleash in Afghanistan turned to them (somewhat similar to how Indira Gandhi provided tacit support to splinter groups to weaken the Akalis in Punjab and they turned against her only and eventually killed her). After twelve years of Indians facing the brunt of proxy war alone, on 11th Sep 2001, the Americans themselves became the target of proxy war emanating from Al Qaeda (at that time in Afghanistan).
The United States had tough time telling its ex students in Afghanistan and Pakistan that the lessons of Bear Trap were not to be applied to the teacher itself. That was the beginning of the GWOT or the Global War on Terror. As was to be expected from the events (that I have given you a brief on) Pakistan became the hub of Global Terrorism. Terrorists became its strategic assets to bring the next superpower, India, to its heels by the honed and successful policy of “bleed by a thousand cuts.”
This means that as far as Indian security forces are concerned they have been fighting this war for the last thirty years. Then how is this that our people are largely unconcerned about it that their country has been in a state of war for three decades? It is simply because for most Indians, War is not something that affects them unless there are flagrant manifestations of it in, say, Parliament Attack, Mumbai Blasts, Pathankot, and Pulwama. This unconcern is so complete that many among our intelligentsia speak the same language as that of the terrorists, want the powers of the armed forces curtailed (eg AFSPA), and professional business as usual with Pakistan with the exchange of cultural programmes and sporting (especially cricket) events.
The present government tried to change the equation by attempting to increase the costs for Pakistan for waging the proxy war, by such punitive actions as Surgical Strikes and Air Strikes on Terror Camps (Please read: ‘Cross – LOC Surgical Counter – Terrorism Strikes, A New Indian Psyche And Resolve‘). However, our national debates (particularly on the electronic media) have invariably played into the hands of the Pakistanis. One day after the success of our air strikes, as soon as Pak retaliated, our public debate has veered to “dialogue”, “deescalation” and other such conciliatory moves.
When the deterrence of our massive armed forces hasn’t worked against Pakistan in the last thirty years of its waging a proxy war against us, our readiness to increase its costs for it should be seen as a very high priority by our countrymen. How can we play into the hands of the enemy that our recent action has resulted in escalation? Escalation is what Pakistan has done since 1989, not us. We only want to take punitive action against it so that it would stop this escalation, exactly what the armed forces are meant for.
On a debate in the electronic media, yesterday, it was suggested that if we don’t deescalate now countries that are supporting us now would withdraw support. I haven’t heard of anything more ludicrous. We do not take decisions in the interest of other countries and the enemy; we take decisions in the interest of India.
For this, we require, not just the armed forces but also the will of our people who are not deterred by small setbacks like MiG 21 having been brought down by Pakis, or by the sacrifices that they themselves have to make to bring an enemy to its senses.
We need to show this resolve and not prevaricate every now and then. The PM has given a “free-hand to the armed forces” to protect national interests (simply because other options such as dialogue haven’t worked with Pakistan). Let’s trust them since they have been trained to tackle such situations. They have never failed India in the past.
We are fighting a war. We need to defeat the enemy within before defeating the enemy across the border.
Let’s today list some rare things on earth, One of these is surely a ‘normal human being’, There is around us an almost total dearth, Even on the definition of it we keep disagreeing. What does, in effect, this teach us? That for something this basic there isn’t a consensus.
Like all other virtues and emotions that exist, Even this is subject to individual interpretation. When, for example, we find “a normal man” in our midst, Can he be used for the concept’s confirmation? We can, therefore, easily conclude, That even “Good” and “Bad” have no certitude.
We should thus cut out all pretensions, And don’t ascribe virtues in absolute; Every virtue and concept has myriads of dimensions, And therefore even basics lead to dispute. We don’t have universal definition of “wrong” and “right”, No one has displayed that kind of foresight.
“God, let me not knowingly do something wrong”, “Unknowingly, I don’t have the requisite control”, “I shall learn the difference as I go along”, “I have no way to see truth as a whole.” “Forgive me for my innate ignorance, When I err, give me another chance.”
….are not absolute but subject to interpretations.
God, with His people maintains a bond, To their prayers He’d always respond. They may not get the way they desire, For He knows best what they most require, Hence, He listens to prayers and goes beyond.
Have trust and let Him decide the way, How He would provide for what we pray. Many times to make us stronger, Our prayers, to realise, may take longer, You may not have it delivered the same day.
There is a difference between prayer and demand, He is a Master and not a servant at our command. We should bow our head in gratitude, And don’t erroneously conclude, That He has rejected our prayer out of hand.
Beware of the fury of a silent man,
Is something learnt recently by Imran.
Whilst facing the Indian spin,
He had often shuddered within,
And now he’s regretting how it all began.
Terror has been Pakistan’s biggest export,
His people have always loved this sport,
They extinguish innocent lives,
And then exchange high fives,
And eventually look for Chinese and Islamic support.
But suddenly the rules of the game changed,
For those who from their birth were deranged.
They should look for another pastime,
That’s sans violence and crime,
Before they are, in world community, totally estranged.
Guess what, Imran, it has just begun,
You’ve bowled too long with the bomb and the gun.
This is just our second boundary,
And you’re already in a quandary,
You thought your game no one had ever won.
Many of us tend to do something extreme, We ask of God to be part of our scheme. Our life, we forget, is already a gift from God, But, we expect our every effort He’d reward. We keep record of our every good and right, And demand that we should be made knight.
Our system, we feel, is best suited for Him, He shouldn’t follow His own fancy and whim. How dare He favour whom we know to be bad, Whilst the “righteous” are hungry and unclad? “Something is wrong with His system of recompense, Many a times His gifts are at someone’s expense.”
‘Let’s stop playing God’ is my humble suggestion, At every step of life, let’s not crib and question. Do we have, than Him, better inputs and sense? Isn’t that the most arrogant and egotist pretence? How do we know what He gave to whom and why? None of us can ever get over self, ego, I and my.
So, accept with humility whatever He has given, Whilst rewarding us many sins He has forgiven. “God, let me be worthy of whatever you give, Let me be grateful to you for as long as I live. Let me never question your judgment or plan, For you are my Master, I am just a small Man.”
Of all the methods God gave us to cope, The most promising is something called Hope. You don’t have to frown, When the chips are down, Or when you are actually walking a tightrope.
If it hadn’t been for Hope, we’d be dejected, When in our lives we feel sad and rejected. The silver lining on dark cloud, Doesn’t make us feel cowed; We look forward to be pepped up by the unexpected.
Hope gives the impossible too a chance, When we’re down and out it makes us dance. Like a promise of God, That we often applaud, Our chances of success appear to enhance.
So, don’t abandon hope in any situation, You and Hope are indeed a strong combination. In God always have trust, He never lets Hope catch rust, Hope should be next to Love in your calculation.
Since each one of us has unique point of view, Each one finds others as ungrateful and unfair; It is similar to what drivers on Indian roads do, “Of the othermad drivers on road just beware.” It is human nature never to be worthy of blame, “We are different but the others are all the same.”
Look within and we shall find all the wrongs, That we are forever trying to find in others; Each one of us to the same family belongs, Though we’ve different fathers and mothers. If we want our own view points to be respected, How come of the others are always suspected?
It’d be boring if we were identical in all respects, Variety indeed adds colour to everyday life, Yes, it appears to make life a little more complex, And it looks like we’re always headed for strife. The solution is not with others but with us: Just stop making, over others, all the fuss.
Let’s just remove our glasses and clean the dust, And consider that others too have a right to be. Let’s not forget that savouries with hard crust, Often have soft cores that we don’t ever see. People are as good or as bad as we care to think, Forget others let’s in our armour look for chink.
Someone, to you, has done some wrong, And a feeling of revenge is overwhelming. You can’t get over it, it feels very strong, Inside your body, like a fire, it is burning. The act by your bete noire did little harm, But your hatred is indeed cause for alarm.
Hatred is just the opposite of the feeling of Love, Its aim is only to cause immense destruction. Whilst the elements support you as a dove, When you are a hawk, they cause obstruction. I don’t suppose about it there is an argument, That Hatred is like self-imposed punishment.
But how can you make his for his sins pay? Surely, he needs to be told right from wrong; He should have done better than to go astray, And plunge into his despicable action headlong. So be it if you are to be the agent of God, But, the feeling of Hatred is still flawed.
Love unfailingly achieves more than Hatred, There are really no limits to its amazing powers; It is blessed by God, it is divine and sacred, Your way is not thorny but paved with flowers. Try to assimilate Love in everyday life, And see how gradually you cut out strife.
If someone were to put you in a Time-Machine, At what point in Eternity you’d make your scene? Would you like to be there in some unknown future, Or in the distant past where Man has already been?
Most dream of the past with the capability of today, Or have some future skills and live in yesterday. If being elsewhere in Time makes you so excited, Why not love the present before it goes away?
Present Time is actually a present, God’s gift, There is no requirement to give it a face-lift. If we live it well, it would become golden past, And simultaneously our future won’t be adrift.
We don’t need the Time-Machine for times ahead, We don’t need to access what’s gone and even dead. Just live your present the way it ought to be lived, Your past and future you would never never dread.
If you were to get yourself a pet, What kind of life for it you’d set? And if you’re the parent of a child, What all would you care to provide? You’d worry about your own control, Whilst selecting for it an aim or role.
Just a few of these and you’d be tired, Especially when things ain’t as desired. You guard your home and protect them, And you always worry about the outcome. You sleep at nights and rest when needed, And yet there are times you feel defeated.
Now imagine looking after the universe, Trillions of beings He is required to nurse, Continuously, without beginning or end. And to each single one an ear He has to lend. And all this without ever having a break, Many go to sleep but He is always awake.
And yet He doesn’t seek to exercise control, You are largely left free to choose your role. He provides even when you don’t believe, Or no thanks or gratitude he would receive. This must be Love beyond our imagination. Our Creator is the Guardian of His Creation.
Mind is one of the greatest gifts from God, It really has powers beyond imagination. One has to bow one’s head and applaud, With a leap it can cover God’s total Creation. We are connected to God through our mind, Our Maker through its powers we can find.
But for that it needs to be properly trained, Or at least kept under complete control. Experiment how long it can be maintained, Without wandering from its singular goal. Try to have a clear and focused mind, And see if all the while it stays aligned.
Remind it that it is a slave and you are master, See to it that it follows your every command; Make it slow down when it goes much faster, Than concentrating on the given task at hand. Don’t give in to its desire to wander, Don’t let it its own powers squander.
The one who has really learnt to control it, Has the most powerful tool given to Man; His path even through darkness is totally lit, What other can’t accomplish he easily can. Enjoy going places with your mind, And see, under your control, what it can find.
Whenever we ask God for more and more, We never never try to keep a score; That we haven’t used what He gave, At our birth in a single wave, And it kept lying idly in our store.
We, on the average, use just five percent, Of the faculties that to us God had sent; We lay waste our powers, And deny what is ours, And never try to gauge their full extent.
The past knowledge of the world holds us back, We are afraid to be labelled as maniac*, If we want to go beyond the mould, Or explore beyond what we were told, So the courage to break these bonds we lack.
We should be inspired by those who try, To make it possible for them to fly; The world gains by their resolve, Whilst a new way they evolve, And peg their aims really very high.
….we should consider what He gave and is lying wasted.
Pakistan, having lost all wars against India, discovered that there is one tool that it has that not just brings India to its knees but successfully deters India from the military option to protect its interests. That tool is the tool of terrorism.
Has this deterrence worked? It has worked largely with China. One of the reasons is that China itself has the desire to deter war for its own growth. Additionally, as far as conventional war is concerned, it has worked with Pakistan too. But, then, Pakistan, tasted success in bringing a superpower (Russia) to its heels in Afghanistan through war by other means (Please read the book: ‘Afghanistan the Bear Trap: The Defeat of a Superpower’ by Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin. Mohammad Yousaf was the Pakistani Brigadier General who masterminded the equipping and training of the Afghan mujahideen in their struggle against the Soviets in the 1980s. Mark Adkin was a Major in the British Army who polished the writing (memoirs) of the Pak Brigadier General. At that time, the United States, Britain and other allies were on the side of the mujahideen (terrorists engaged in proxy war). Incidentally, a free download of this book is available on the net.
