Pakistan-Americans: Possessed by power?

Daily Times
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
WASHINGTON DIARY: Possessed by power —Dr Manzur Ejaz

Most Pakistani-Americans are part of the ‘Midnight’s Children generation’. They are still dominated by religious ideology and respect and fear state power as their forefathers used to dread thanedars and patwaris. The Pakistani state cannot harm or benefit most Pakistani Americans, yet they are fascinated by it

Recently some Pakistani-American political activists and lobbyists got together. Most of them were from central Punjab, a few were Urdu speaking and a couple Sindhis. There was no Baloch. The group reminded me of the TV serial Bewitched. My mother’s endless conversations with Masi Barktay (Aunt Barkat Bibi) about supernatural creatures also came to mind.

Listening to the Pakistani-Americans’ qasida-khwani for embassy officials and witnessing the depth of their infatuation with the Pakistan government; I thought to myself that if people like Qudratullah Shahab could believe in supernatural beings why couldn’t the Pakistani-Americans be ‘bewitched’ by state power, equally mysterious but more real.

The unprecedented gathering of almost all notable Pakistani-American organisations took place to jointly lobby the US Congress for earthquake assistance. At the end of the long lobbying day in the Congress, the Pakistan Embassy had arranged a dinner meeting where participants were invited to comment and make suggestions for the future. It was an interesting exercise.

Most commentators were of the opinion that the community could not do much without the embassy’s help. And, a sizable number was sure that deputy chief of mission (DCM), Mohammad Sadiq, was the sole force behind all successful community ventures. The boundless praise, I am sure, must have been embarrassing for Mr Sadiq. Ambassador General Jahangir Karamat showed his discomfort while delivering his concluding remarks.

Mr Sadiq has been proactive and hence controversial. His supporters contend that he has taken new initiatives by bringing younger Pakistani-Americans into the political process under the banner of ‘emerging leaders’ and by establishing a Pakistan caucus in the US Congress.

His critics claim that he has usurped the entire space of Pakistani American politics. He has killed the community’s private initiatives and imposed the embassy’s will on every Pakistani organisation. While his contribution to the Pakistani-American community is debatable, he has done an excellent job for his government.

I have heard similar praises for Dr Maleeha Lodhi and her predecessors. The only difference is that, in the past, qasida khwani was aimed at ambassadors and not their deputies. We knew ‘who was the boss’. Nevertheless, I have always been mesmerised by the way Pakistani-Americans are possessed by the embassy.

Most of these qasida khwan activists and lobbyists are sincere and successful in their respective professions. It is difficult to understand their infatuation with Pakistan’s symbols of state power.

Perhaps most people find state power mysterious but it is more so for those who come from a rural-feudal culture. After all, modern state power is an extension of the feudal era when the emperor was addressed as ‘Zille Elahi’ (God’s shadow). Being possessed by perceived supernatural powers is not out of the ordinary.

According to my mother and Masi Barktay, the paranormal was real and all around us. They could talk about witches, ghosts, fairies and jinns for hours. Every village corner and field had its own jinns or ghosts; every mysterious illness, depression, mental derangement and hysteria was caused by ‘casting of she-outsider’s shadow’ (superhuman were referred as ‘she-outsiders’).

She-outsiders — interestingly, the dangerous ‘outsiders’ who were feminine — were said to be keen to possess beautiful and perfumed bodies. Mothers got scared if their children used perfumes because that was an open invitation to the she-outsiders.

Qudratullah Shahab has provided details about such super-natural creatures in his book, Shahab Nama. I too have heard of ‘she-outsiders’ dancing on the treetops and playgrounds during the scary dark nights. No one in our village doubted the existence of street corner ghosts under the aak tree. However, TV/radio and other instruments of modernity shattered this worldview. Now no one believes in that supernatural world. Shahab Sahib, of course, was too old when the change came.

Such a worldview persisted in Pakistan because of the rural-feudal culture. In a way, the worldview of my mother’s generation lurked behind the complicated state structure and power. Symptomatically, Ayub Khan, the most secular ruler, followed Pir Sahib of Dewal Sharif, who used to stand dutifully at the roadside to direct the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) carriage. Shahab Sahib, a powerful and enlightened bureaucrat, believed no differently from my unschooled mother.

Whether there was democracy or martial law, the rural-feudal culture did not facilitate a rational foundation and comprehension of the state and its institutions. Ideology and distortion of historical facts further complicated matters.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some efforts were made to break the feudal stranglehold but regressive forces came back, with darker shades than before. Most Pakistani Americans are from the generation that was affected by these historical conditions.

Most Pakistani-Americans are part of the ‘Midnight’s Children generation’. They are still dominated by religious ideology and respect and fear state power as their forefathers used to dread thanedars and patwaris.

The Pakistani state cannot harm or benefit most Pakistani-Americans, yet they are fascinated and possessed by its power. Their infatuation with the Pakistani state is as rational as mother, Masi and Shahab Sahib’s belief in the ‘she-outsiders’.

Random musings: I asked Sawar Hussain, a successful New Yorker businessman from my village, to do something for the folks back home. He promptly replied that we should reconstruct the mosque. I reminded him of our plight when going to middle and high schools, travelling 6-10 miles daily. The village elders were not ready to add one room to the primary school, as required by the Education Department. However, they spent money on the village mosque which had the best building in the entire area. Back in the 1950s, it was equipped with loudspeakers. Sarwar Hussain reminded me of our village elders.