The Mohajir (MQM) mindset: a fundamental departure

[niazikhan2]

Yak soo randa-o-digar soo deramanda’(Expelled from one place. Exhausted on the other.) The Persian aphorism aptly sums up the Mohajir mindset and dilemma. Driven out from their ancestral homeland by force of a cataclysmic circumstance mohajirs, particularly those from the ‘Urdu-speaking’ Ganga-Jummna belt, found themselves as aliens in the Promised Land - emotionally and mentally.
Physically, the term mohajirism (state of refugehood) would be little more than an anachronism after over sixty years of refugee naturalisation, rehabilitation and resettlement. Yet the pain of uprooting remains.
In practical terms, Mohajirs have done pretty well in all spheres of life - economic, political and societal as bona fide Pakistanis. They should (and do) have little to complain for want of fair play or justice as citizens of Pakistan.
Politically, the full flowering of the Mohajir-turned-Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) can be cited as the authentication of the Mohajir factor as a force to reckon with. The calculus of the MQM solid vote bank and the absolute loyalty of its rank and file to their leader ‘Altaf Bhai’ (initially Peer Sahib one with a divine halo) remains a unique phenomenon in the annals of democratic narrative.
A London-based double Mohajir, Altaf Hussain wields his power via press statements, long distance telephone calls and is heard in pin drop, almost devotional silence. Regardless of one’s views for and against, MQM and its chief Altaf Hussain, their status as a dynamic political factor cannot be denied.
Mr. Altaf Hussain has the rare uncanny gift of adjusting his sights to a volatile circumstance to the advantage of his party. He moves subtly from one end of the spectrum to the other without upsetting his party’s monolithic character.
His latest statement (22 August, 2010) in support of the Army, more pointedly in support of ‘patriotic generals’ marked a fundamental departure form his known stand as a bitter critic of the Army, especially of its high command. He declared support for the ‘patriotic generals’ if they take any ‘martial law-type actions’ against corrupt politicians and feudal lords.
His party’s Karachi-based spokesman hastened to explain that, viewed in the correct context, the Quaid-e-Tehrik’s use of ‘martial law- type action’ was in no way an invitation to ‘patriotic generals’ to proclaim martial law. It was only in the nature of an expedient corrective action against the corrupt political elements.
However, a statement supposed to have been supporting the army is most extraordinary. He and his party is alleged to have suffered deeply through Operation Clean-Up (Blue Fox?) under (the late) General Asif Nawaz in 1992. The late General Nawaz and his DG ISI Lt-Gen Javed Nasir made no secret of their disapproval of the MQM as a terrorist group. Gen. Nawaz went on record in a BBC interview that if there could be more than one Muslim League, there could also be more than one MQM. The rival MQM (Haqiqi) of Messrs Amir and Afaque emerged from the ashes of the real MQM with the support of Army’s operation cleanup and the crackdown on the MQM offices (torture cells) forced Altaf Hussain into prolonged, almost permanent, exile in London under the ‘advice’ of his senior party colleagues.
Now what exactly is the Mohajir mindset in the context of refugees from India, particularly those emigrating from the Ganga-Jummna belt? They are basically hero-worshippers - from Ataturk to Ali brothers to the Quaid down to Altaf Hussain. They are the true followers of the Quaid’s adage: ‘One Book, One Prophet, one God and One Country.
It needs to be noted that soliders, from Jawans to generals, are members of a close-knit family. A general or a commander at any level of command, from a battalion to the Army, is only like a paterfamilias or the ‘Buzurg of his family.
Altaf Hussain’s use of ‘patriotic generals’ for ‘martial law - type action’ was hardly appropriate, however it drew a dividing line between ‘patriotic’ and unpatriotic’ generals - an unwarranted comment and damaging reflection on the institutional unity of the Army.
All generals are immaculately patriotic and professional without exception. Now a brief analysis of the Mohajir mindset:
The Urdu-speaking mohajirs from the Ganga-Yumna belt show a strong preference, or a tragic weakness, for a strongman, and a dedication to an essentially romantic idea rather than to an achievable, practical goal; hence their absolute commitment to the idea of Pakistan and their active participation in the struggle for its creation under the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The MQM draws its inspiration from the same mohajir mindset of absolute loyalty and devotion to one man, in this case Altaf Hussain who, even as an exile in London, controls and wields the party apparatus any way he chooses, practically unopposed and undisputed. The writer is the author of the book ‘Partition and the Making of the Mohajir Mindset’ (Oxford, 2008).

http://thenews.com.pk/27-08-2010/ethenews/e-1515.htm