The Emperor has no Clothes… or is it the CJ?

Article sent for this blog by Justice Markandey Katju, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of India.

The Emperor has no Clothes

Now the Chief Justice had to be given oath by the President of Wonderland, but before that could be done the Chief Justice grabbed a golden crown from somewhere and crowned himself… then declared himself the Emperor of Wonderland, a post above the President or Prime Minister…

By Justice Markandey Katju

Once upon a time a little girl called Alice was dozing one summer afternoon on a meadow when she saw a strange sight. A white rabbit dressed in a coat and wearing a wristwatch was running while saying, ‘I am late’. Continue reading

Inspiring musical video tribute to Ahmed Faraz from his son Sarmad

The late great poet Ahmed Faraz’s son Sarmad Faraz pays tribute to his father, by releasing a music video titled “Shayar”, which features the poet reciting his verses in his inimitable manner.

Sarmad is a musician and is best-known for being in the band Corduroy. He chose this particular poem of his late father because it espouses resilience, individuality and change.

The poem “Shayar” is part of Ahmed Faraz’s first-ever published book Tanha Tanha (1954). (Read more below).

Continue reading

Photos from Karachi protest in support of Rimsha Masih

People of all ages and from all faiths came out in Karachi in support of Rimsha Masih, the young girl accused of blasphemy. For more photos see the Christians in Pakistan facebook page. Photo Copyright © Sunny Gill Photography.

Support Rimsha Masih: Pls join demo in Lahore, Aug 25, 4 pm

Posted by :  LAHORE protest against blasphemy charges and detention of Rimsha Masih: Join us in solidarity on 25 August 2012; Time: 4 pm.  Venue: Youhanabad, Ferozepur Road, Lahore from: Life for All Pakistan and Masihi Foundation Pakistan.

In my view, it doesn’t matter how old she is or whether she’s got Downs Syndrome or not. There must be a stop to charging & demanding death for anyone accused of ‘blasphemy’.

Demo in Karachi, Aug 25, 3.30 pm, in support of ‘blasphemy’ accused Rimsha Masih

 

Demonstration in Karachi in support of Rimsha Masih, the girl (aged between 11 and 16 years who is reported to have Downs Syndrome) who has been accused of blasphemy in a blatant misuse of religion as a political tool, at Press Club TOMORROW, August 25, at 3.30 pm. This peaceful protest has been organised by All Pakistan Christian League, Action Committee for Human Rights, Peace and Development Organization, The Saviour’s Trust, Minority Rights Forum and Mass International, supported by various human rights organisations. Do join with friends if you are in town. Cross-posted from the blog Citizens for Democracy, Pakistan.

NOTE: I’ve removed the visual originally used with this post after learning that the photo that was used is fake and misleading on several counts.

Fragments of thoughts beyond pain – My post in the World Shia Forum blog

Poem in Zehra Nigah’s handwriting posted at the Dr Sarwar blog – http://drsarwar.wordpress.com/

I wrote this for the World Shia Forum blog yesterday

Fragments of thoughts beyond pain – by Beena Sarwar

In January 1953, Zehra Nigah, then a high school student in Karachi, wrote the following lines in response to police firing that killed several students and passers-by, during the students’ peaceful protests for their rights:

Aaj unn toofaN badoshoN ka kinara kaun hai
Jin ke piyare mar chukey unn ka piyara kaun hai Continue reading

Dr. Ghalib Khan Lodhi: A personal memoir, by Eric Rahim

Former journalist Eric Rahim’s thoughtful obituary of Dr Ghalib Khan Lodhi (1930-2012), one of the founding members of DSF, who passed away in Karachi recently… Solas Educational Trust, supporting schools in Chitral, remains Ghalib’s most important legacy

“Goodbye, generous friend, earnest and upright, seeker of knowledge”

Dr Ghalib Lodhi, London, 2001. Still from video footage by Beena Sarwar

Ghalib, who has recently died of cancer, was a founding member of the Democratic Students Federation and, along with Mohammad Sarwar, Hashmi, Haroon, Ayub Mirza, Yousaf Ali, SM Naseem and others, a leading activist in the early 1950s student movement in Karachi. I remember him as one of the most serious minded among his cohort. While a medical student, in his early twenties, he was trying to grapple with Das Kapital.

Along with so many others – students, journalists, writers, and trade unionists – he was arrested in the general round-up that took place in West Pakistan in the wake of the triumph of the United Front in East Pakistan elections of 1954 and Pakistan government’s decision to sign military pacts with the United States. Before his arrest he was acting as general manager of the organ of the Democratic Student Federation, the Students’ Herald. Naseem, who was the editor of the Herald, in a recent communication described to me the occasion of the arrest in the following words..

Read more at: Dr. Ghalib Khan Lodhi (1930-2012) – A personal memoir by Eric Rahim.

65 years on… Reviving Jagannath Azad’s poem for Pakistan

Reviving Jagannath Azad’s tribute to his beloved homeland, Pakistan…

An exciting update to the story of Jagannath Azad’s tarana for Pakistan is that the talented young Shahvaar Ali Khan in Lahore has composed and sung it. Shahvaar released the song, that he has titled ‘Azad ki dua‘, on Aug 14 on Youtube. It is also exciting that Radio Pakistan agreed to broadcast it, every three hours on its nine FM 101 channels. Here’s a link to my essay, Pakistan’s ‘lost’ anthem, published in Fountain Ink a few days ago; it begins: Continue reading

Former DSF activist Dr Ghalib Lodhi makes a quiet exit

Dr Ghalib Lodhi (left) with Dr M. Sarwar, London, 2001.

Karachi, Aug 3, 2012: Tahir Wasti in London emailed recently that Dr Ghalib Lodhi expired in Karachi. I contacted some of Dr Ghalib’s old comrades. None of them had heard of his demise…

Former DSF activist Dr Ghalib Lodhi makes a quiet exit.

Biased judges ‘should excuse themselves from hearing such cases’ – Justice Katju

In his article ‘A judge’s armour‘ (The Friday Times, July 20-26, 2012), advocate Chaudhry Faisal Hussain discusses the issue of contempt of court in the context of the current political system in Pakistan. “The best shield or armour of a judge, he writes, is his reputation of integrity, impartiality and learning. An upright judge will hardly ever need to use the contempt of court power in his judicial career,” he writes, quoting Justice Markandey Katju, the retired Indian Supreme Court judge who currently heads the Press Council of India. Continue reading

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