Another Lesson in History
By C. M. Naim, New Age Islam
19. September 2013
Mr. Javed Chaudhry is a
fairly experienced Urdu columnist in Pakistan. Presently he writes a
column titled ‘Zero Point’ in the Daily Express. For all I know, he may
also be anchoring some T.V. talk show owned by the Express Group. He has
however published several volumes of his evidently very popular
columns. A few days back he decided to write on the present abysmal
state of governance in Pakistan and the proposed talks with the Taliban.
A noble and timely task. But then he decided to open his column with a
reminder of the fate of the last Mughal Emperor—to underscore his
argument that when a state’s writ disappears the state itself soon
disappears ignominiously. The column, sub-titled ‘Mazākarāt se Pahle’
‘Before the Talks,’ appeared in the Daily Express of September 17, 2013.
Here is my translation of its ‘Historical’ prelude, a tour de force by
any measure of rhetoric and fantasy.
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