Repeating Awadh?

The royal dynasty of Awadh emerged when the Mughal Empire collapsed. The early days were prosperous. The rulers (Nawab Wazir) had immense power and authority. Awadh flourished with its fertile land and sufficient financial resources.....until the British came.

In 1763, the Battle of Buxer resulted in the British supervising the affairs of the state and thereby reducing the authority of the Nawab. This suited the Nawabs just fine, who relished in the never-ending luxury they afforded with the allowances doled out to them by the British Resident. In return, the Nawabs conceded their power to the British, transforming themselves into weak rulers who were assured by the devious British that the state was still under the control of the Nawabs. This deceit comforted the Nawabs, who couldn't care less to know the truth, and instead were more preoccupied with maintaining their harems and living lavishly.

An exorbitant amount of money was spent on coronation ceremonies, weddings, and irrelevant festivals and worthless pursuits. The Nawabs spent their entire time in the company of women and eunuchs. Shuja'uddola had almost 2000 women from whom he had 25 sons and 22 daughters. Wajid Ali Shah, the last ruler, had 40 sons and 34 daughters. Thus, the growing size of the royal family consequently burdened the economy further. As a result, the British flooded the Nawabs with more allowances, and most of the state's income went directly to the royal family to meet their opulent and extravagant demands. This corruption of mind and morals led to corruption in power and authority. In addition to the allowances they received, the Nawabs heavily taxed the common man in order to grab more money and add to their wealth and fuel their luxurious desires. This, ultimately, forced the majority of society into poverty. But, sadly, the Nawabs were least bothered about the common man and happily lived in the utopia that had been created for them by the British.

The abyss between the rich and the poor created by the economic disparity generated the downfall of Awadh. The common man felt discriminated and collectively the society weakened. The rulers were worthless---mere puppets serving the British interests. So, when the British finally decided to take over completely, nobody rose to defend the state. Wajid Ali Shah simply surrendered and accepted exile. And Awadh along with its pompous and self-absorbed leaders disintegrated and became part of the British territory.

Is this not a mirror image of what is happening in present day Pakistan? Aren't our leaders also serving the interests of external powers? History has constantly shown that whenever leaders of a nation attempt to succeed with assistance from external elements, major concessions are given in exchange---and this transaction always takes place at the cost of the country's interests. This is the reality that we are faced with now. The question is, unlike the people of Awadh, will we rise?

Living Made Easy by Maxim

Not So Sweet

ARY is into the 5th day of its 7-day boycott of sugar.Their promotion ad for the boycott is long and, to a certain extent, convincing. I give them credit for DOING SOMETHING about the problem, instead of churning the issue through discussions and analyses. The way they are encouraging others to join them is also admirable. But I have just one question. Perhaps, I'm playing a devil's advocate when I say this: is this the REAL solution? So, every time they create a shortage of any food item, does that mean we hurl ourselves into a knee-jerk reaction of boycotting that particular item? Then what are we gonna eat?? So, gradually we just stop EATING?? ARY's tagline is: we don't really need that much of sugar to begin with. We can do without it. Really??! I mean I'm with you if you're talking about the 10 cups of tea every Pakistani loves to have with 3 teaspoons of sugar every day.....yeah we can cut back from a health point of view....but jokes aside, what are we really achieving through this boycott?? It's not bringing into light the fact of the matter: sugar is being kept locked up in these mills and withheld intentionally.

Boycotting to me translates into compelling us to live with the problem. "You don't want to give us the sugar, then fine...we don't want it actually to begin with." I just can't accept this logic. This solution, for me, has some major pitfalls. Why should we live with the problems that our supposed ''leaders'' are throwing our way? We've adopted this stance for the last 60+ years. Now's the time to say enough is enough. Why aren't these problems being addressed? Substantial steps need to be taken to address the core of the issue. Simply sitting by and rationalizing that we can do without basic necessities is a solution that is pacifying at best, and misleading at worst. It's a solution that diverts attention from the root cause of the issue. While we sit back and boycott, the ''geniuses'' who created this sugar crisis, remain unaffected. They're not being held accountable for this hoarding. That's what's needed!

These avaricious behemoths, who live on the principles of gluttony and iniquity, should be castigated. The public should demand the release of the hoarded sugar by staging a peaceful protest. Go and engulf one of the thousands of mills and demand the doors be opened. Demand accountability! Will it work? I hope so. Will it get violent? I hope not. But, in my opinion, asserting that you don't need sugar to begin with and showing you suddenly don't care that it's not available, only puts a smile on the faces of these gluttons.

Show us the faces of these mill-owners who aren't even blinking an eye at what they're doing! Rehman Malik and "Khadim-e-Punjab" blabbed 2 months ago about taking strict action against these mill-owners within 24 hours? It's been 2 months and 1440 hours later----where's the strict action?!!

The bigwigs all know who is behind this....so if anyone with the authority of law enforcement has an iota of a conscience, they'd march over there right now, seize the mills, and arrest and imprison these mill-owners. Lack of accountability of actions and consequent punishment is the crux of every crisis that faces us. There's a gross ineptness in both departments. Of course, once upon a time, the CJ had sworn and pledged something to the effect of being there for the people and ensuring their concerns will be addressed. Somehow, it seems, either the CJ is suffering from a bad case of amnesia or he's too preoccupied polishing and shining his medals and awards that have been bestowed upon him by a group of people who probably can't even say his name correctly.

Amidst the bitter, fetid, and vile events unfolding these days.......sugar was the one sweet thing we had left.

Civics 101

I'm not ashamed to admit that in this day and age, I'm a morning person. Yup, you got it! I like to be in bed by 10:30 and I'm up bright and early at 6. Most people reading this, would consider me a bore, a hermit, old-fashioned, and perhaps even go so far as to say that I've got no life. To those of you who do think this---I DON'T NEED TO PROVE ANYTHING!! My life and what I do with it, is my business. And naturally, being one for fairness and equality---your life is YOUR business.

But, things start getting nasty and irritating when you shove your business into mine. Case in point? This very moment: 12:47 am, sitting in the sanctuary of my room, I'm being subjected to listen to the Bombay Rockers, Nadia Ali's "Rapture", and a plethora of those vexing Bollywood songs as they blare thru the speakers the DJ has set up in the house across from mine. The guy across the street is getting married next week, and so, as it has become customary these days, the festivities start a week in advance. And if you happen to be in close proximity to these mentally deranged idiots, who lack complete sense of civility, then you will inevitably be forced to endure their idiocy.

You wanna play songs and dance? Fine by me. Go right ahead! But, at 1 in the morning, please don't turn this into a block party and ruin everyone else's peace and quiet.

They've shut up....may be now I can finally get some shut eye.

Where The Devil Lives

**2 year old girl thrown into a vat of boiling water dies.

Crime: Her father scolded a 10 yr. old boy for hitting him with a cricket ball when he was playing with his friends. The boy ran to his house and told his father, who threatened the girl's father saying he would get back at him for reprimanding his son. The boy's father was arrested and now is out on bail.

**3 year old girl molested and thrown in a gutter.

Crime: Two on-duty cops patrolling a neighborhood, saw some children playing outside and spotted this girl and kidnapped her. Took turns molesting her and when she died, threw her body in a gutter. Parents and neighbors searched for the girl but never found her. The cops returned the next day to patrol the same neighborhood, and the other children, who the girl had been playing with, recognized them and told their parents. Cops were arrested, and led authorities to the gutter where they had dumped the girl's body. The court's ruling: death sentence. The cops are alive, and appealing the verdict.

Is this what this country has come to? The fear of life is ever-present.....lurking and thriving, perhaps, just next door?? How do you begin to rationalize any of this? How do you allow 2 savages to roam freely, while the parents mourn the horrendous and barbaric death of their daughter? A wound deeply gashed into thier lives from which they will never recover. Is this the justice system from which Iftikhar Chaudhry said, that if re-instated, he would bring justice to all and ensure the system fails no one?? The man who rallied thousands behind him to march for him on the streets of this country just so that he could get back on that pedestal of the Supreme Court, now seems the least bothered and could care less. Is it because his interests are now taken care of? So what if the poor and the weak are bulldozed by the mighty and the powerful?