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RELIVING HISTORY WITH TARIQ ALI
Coming to Bangladesh, for Tareq Ali, is to relive one of the most incendiary moments in history. A university student from West Pakistan, he became a strong voice for East Pakistan, advocating the idea of independence during the political movements of 1969 and 1970. Born in Lahore 1943, in undivided India, to leftist parents -journalist Mazhar Ali Khan and activist Tahira Mazhar Ali Khan Tariq Ali - it was natural that he would become quite the firebrand whether at home or abroad. A British Pakistani writer, journalist, and filmmaker Ali has authored several books, including “Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power” (1970). He is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and regularly contributes to The Guardian, Counter Punch, and the London Review of Books.
At the inauguration of Hay Festival, Dhaka 2013. Photo: Prabir Das
Tareq Ali recently visited Dhaka to attend this year’s Hay Festival. "I do not go to the Hay festivals in England," he says. "I don't like them. I only came here because it's Dhaka and I have come after a long time. In England the Hay Festival is corporatarised. I think this should have been called the Dhaka Literature Fest, like we have in Lahore and other places." Talking about the Ekushey Book Fair, a national event which happens every February in Bangladesh, attended by thousands at a time, he says that the idea appeals to him much more. Cultural exchange on such a platform would be unique, he adds. "The Ekushay Boi Mela is fantastic. Maybe the authorities can think about bringing in visitors from abroad – of course it would be mainly for Bengalis and the Bengali language." Nevertheless, the Hay Festival started off on November 14 with Tariq Ali, Syed Manzoorul Islam and Ahdaf Soueif in a panel discussion at the Bangla Academy.
Also known as a global thinker, Ali says that what bothers him most right now of the world, is the great disorder we live in: "In the 90s people thought that with the cold war over there would be peace; instead we have had endless and continuous wars. At least 4-5 million people have died in the Congo. We have seen what's happening in Afganishtan. There is a rise of religion everywhere – not only in the Muslim world; in the USA and Europe as well. The notion that anything that is not Islamic is secular – is rubbish. It's a European notion. These issues preoccupy me and what I write about one way or the other."
What inspires him, however, is the sudden upsurge of revolutionary movements across the world in present times. He talks generally about the Arab Spring and the Shahbagh movement that have created a huge impact on the youth. For a moment the Arab world was filled with hope, says Ali, referring to the Arab Spring. "For the first time, we all had hopes. However, spring is after all, a short season. One cannot organise huge uprises to topple the government and assuming that politics will be kept away, is not believable."
Ali went through some blazing times indeed protests and rallies organised to support the Liberation of Bangladesh. Photo: Prabir Das
Speaking of movements initiated by the youth in current times, Ali remembers the time when he had met Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, on a long ago evening. "It was right after I spoke to a large number of students in Dhaka University," he says. He reminisces the last time he was in Dhaka where he spoke to students under a mango tree, advocating for independence and not autonomy. “There were gasps everywhere! It was probably in 1969 or 1970,” he says. “I remember asking them if I should speak in Urdu or English. Everyone chanted together — 'ENGLISH!"
"I remember saying to them that this army is going to crush you. I can see it at work already. Have no illusions. Go for the whole cake, not just autonomy. That evening I got a message from one of the EPSU leaders. I was staying at Eskaton Garden with friends. The leader came to me and said Sheikh Mujib would like to see you. I went to see him and said 'I am glad we are meeting because I am writing a book on Pakistan. Before we start talking, can I take some photographs?' I asked him. He was wearing a lungi. He said 'No, let me change in to a Pajama frist!' And then we talked. He came straight to the point. 'The students have reported that at the university you actually said that we should go for independence. Why did you say that?' I said 'because they (the Pakistan army) will wipe you out. I know the mentality of these generals. They are not going to tolerate any struggle for autonomy. If you win they, will just crush and repress you.' He got very thoughtful. He knew all these people. He worked with them."
Earlier days of challenging the status quo.
Tariq Ali remembers organising huge protests in London, when the atrocities started in East Pakistan, in March 1971. "There were many West Pakistanis who would join me in the protests and a large number of Bengalis as well who would help organise," he reminisces. "My meetings would often be broken up by 'gundas' and thugs, hired by the Pakistan High Commission! They hated me for the fact that I was a Punjabi and I would speak for Bengal."
Ali did go through some blazing times indeed – taking part of protests and rallies organised to support the Liberation of Bangladesh. Moreover, he would often be victimised by his own people. However, during that period, living in London, he does remember particular moments. "Back then, none of the Bengali restaurants would charge me!" he remembers. "Except for the ones run by the Jamaat e Islami supporters, of course. I remember once, I had gone to buy some sweets at the Ambala, a sweet shop run by Jamaat supporters. They made wonderful sweets! While I was paying for the sweets, the shopkeeper asked, 'are you just returning from the Indian Embassy after collecting your salary?' I usually don't answer back, but that day, I remember saying something equally tasteless to the man!"
The question of building a one nation South Asia seems to be one of Ali's favourite research topics. "I have been arguing for some time, that we need a South Asian union like the European Union, but better. I think it would be more compact. There is no single language in South Asia however, which is why literature is not easy to share. The divide between north and south India is huge. Had the British not occupied India, I have no doubt that after the collapse of the Mughals, we would have ended up with two big states. So, you see, ours is a very diverse and lively subcontinent. I do remember arguing in the 70s for a united Bengal, however. As for the rest of the countries in the subcontinent, we share culture, geography and we do trade, I believe we can make the subcontinent 'open' so that people from one country can travel to another country without problems and of course, while maintaining borders. Just to be clear, I am not suggesting one country. I am suggesting working together and cutting down on military spending."
Dhaka holds important memories for Tareq Ali. At the Hay Festival, Dhaka, this November. Photo: Prabir Das
Ali believes that literature inspires us to have aspirations and be the best versions of ourselves. But one should not depend on it alone for 'change'. “There were songs and poetry that would inspire us,” he says. “For instance, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and later Habib Jalib and a few others did that. You can be inspired by them, but on their own they do not change the world." Ali in his younger days would attend 'Mushaira' — a poetic symposium. It's a term in Urdu used to describe an event where poets gather to perform and recite poetry. “I remember, once, soon after the Ayub military dictatorship, we had gone to a Mushaira,” he says. “All our good poets were in prison. There was this one Punjabi poet — Ustad Daman, a very good poet. He came to the platform and we cheered for him. We hoped he would say something political because he always did. Instead he said things like — the birds go 'phar-phar', the nightingale sings etc. After six such poems, we shouted — say something else! At one point, he lost his temper — not at us, but the world. And he delivered a beautiful Punjabi couplet extempore, which roughly meant, 'now each day, sweet and balmy; wherever you look, the army.' We cheered him on that night. The next morning, he was picked up by the army!"
Talking about literature, Ali feels that studying different cultures should be a norm, especially amongst the youth. "Exposure is useful for the young generation," he says. "If you grow up with just one culture, you really have not seen or learnt much. There was a huge debate in Pakistan after partition. What is Pakistan? What is its culture? Who are we? Well, the truth is, we are a part of India. But, we had to invent things like, been here for 2000 years and so on – rubbish! However, East Pakistan was better because it was much more diverse and West Pakistan was envious. A large Hindu population still existed in East Pakistan. Our cities, however, in West Pakistan, were ethnically cleansed cities. Punjab had so many wounds, Hindus and Sikhs left Lahore, Hindus left Karachi. No matter where you went 10 years later, you would find places and homes where Hindus and Sikhs lived. Many have come back to see their homes and they get so emotional even today. That wound went very deep and then Bangladesh suffered another wound. The notion of creating a state based on religion did not help anyone, and it did not help the growth of religion in any way either. This is not sufficient to build a country."
Sixty-six years after partition, many still ask if it was all worth it. If throwing people out of their homes and expecting them to find new homes in new land was not the greatest injustice to millions of people. "To be totally frank, most leaders of the Muslim League were not convinced that it would happen," says Tariq Ali. "They basically used the Pakistan demand to get more concessions from the Congress. Had the Congress been more intelligent, I think we could have had a confederate structure for the whole of India. In 1946, however, Jinnah was prepared to compromise. It was Nehru and Patel who refused to back anything of this sort at that stage saying stupidly that Congress represented the Indian Muslims as well – which was blatantly not the case and for good reason. The partition was of course an obscenity – this huge subcontinent divide! The British did it hurriedly and left because they could not deal with the huge uprising that took place in 1946. The Indian naval mutiny in Bombay in 1946 united Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. The Indian navy was taken over by the British Indian navy – and they had never suffered such a blow. They had a common slogan – Inquilaab Zindabad – long live the revolution. They were prepared to go a long way. The British panicked and so did the Indian leaders. Jinnah and Gandhi told them to come to their senses. Soon they would be a free India. The result of all this is that we were left with a divided subcontinent – and it didn't help anyone. It certainly did not help the large numbers of Mulisms who were left in India. And this did not help the new states either, that became petty, narrow minded, chauvinistic. And then the Pakistani ruling elite, the landlords, the military, civilian bureaucracy, began to treat Bengal like they were treated by the British. Then, what happened had to happen."
Asked about the Assassination Quartet, a set of four short films that he plans to make on the four leaders killed in the subcontinent, Ali says that he is still working on the idea, "I wanted to create fictionised drama on the assassinations of Bandaranaike from Sri Lanka, Bhutto from Pakistan, Indira Gandhi from India and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Bangladesh," he says. "Bhutto was judicially killed on the orders of the army, green lighted by the Americans, Sheikh Mujib and Indira Gandhi were clearly killed on American instructions and Mr Bandaranaike was killed by religious fanatics who were Buddhists monks. I wrote scripts for both Bhutto and Gandhi, but Channel 4 would not fund them. Just a few weeks ago, a production company in Pakistan has been negotiating to buy my script on Bhutto. Channel 4 did ask if the people in the respective countries would co-fund these scripts. I tried, but I believe people are frightened. I would after all show the truth."
A photo taken by Rashid Talukdar of a little boy leading a procession during the mass upsurge of '69.
In 1970, Tariq Ali's bestseller "Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power" had created ripples in the subcontinent. Ali had predicted that Pakistan would break up into pieces eventually. "The book was banned in Pakistan. But, no, Pakistan will not break up now," he says." It's a nuclear state. The foundation of Pakistan is not Islam (but) its nuclear weapons. There is nothing now that unites Pakistan except for cricket! In the old days we used to say that one thing that keeps Pakistan united is Pakistan International Airlines and maybe the English language. And now it's probably cricket!"
He ponders on about cricket, and mostly talks and smiles to himself at this point. "One good thing about the partition is that we have some good cricket teams in the subcontinent," he says. "This is the only basis I think partition was good! I have been a cricket fan from a young age, though now I am a depressed cricket fan seeing what's happening to world cricket; the corporatisation of world cricket, the money, the scandals etc."
Tareq Ali is also a big fan of Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot at by the Taleban for going to school and who has become an international hero for her brave crusade to promote education for girls. "And to her credit, she had said that 'I am too young to receive it,'," says Ali. "She is a very bright young person. Malala is very courageous. She has been made into a poster girl in the west, but this has not affected her as much as I had worried. She is very independent. And the global media tends not to mention this a lot. For instance, it's a well known fact and it's known in Pakistan that Malala is a sympathiser of the far left groups. This is not mentioned because it doesn't keep up with her image. And when she met President Obama, he asked what she would like most for her country. Malala replied, 'I would like you to stop sending drones to my country.' This was hardly mentioned anywhere! I really like her very much."
Asked if he is perturbed by the fact that his short visit to Dhaka might be disrupted because of the hartals, Ali says, “I am used to hartals in this part of the world.”
“The last time I left East Pakistan, I was flying from Dhaka to China. There was a hartal and no traffic allowed. The left wing student leaders negotiated with the trade unions saying that I was their comrade and to let me through. After a while, they agreed to let me go to the airport on a rickshaw. The rickshaw puller was a thin man and I was quite burly and also had a large suitcase with me. I remember telling myself that I would miss my wretched flight! At one point I asked the rickshaw puller to sit while I cycled to the airport. He would not hear of it but that's what I did. I cycled the rickshaw to the airport; otherwise I would have missed my flight!”
With a mind feverishly at work, Tariq Ali speaks on about so much more – global policies, literature, languages and history. At one point, Ali's face lights up when he learns that Eskaton Garden, where he had housed about 44 years ago, is just around the corner, near his hotel– Ruposhi Bangla. "I would love to meet many of the old chaps," he says. "Some of them have died, of course," he adds sadly. The time spent probing into Ali's mind is a rare treat. At the age of 70, Ali has retained the passion of his youth, boldly speaking his mind against injustice and ready to spark up a revolution, in whatever form possible.
Photo: Prabir Das
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