Shahab nama: 183-189
Zartaj Majeed
(Translation of Qudratullah Shahab's "Shahab nama" pp. 183-189)
BHAGALPUR AND HINDU-MUSLIM RIOTS (cont.)
--------------------------------
After all this persistent effort, I now had collected enough
circumstantial evidence. Therefore, I diligently wrote a comprehensive and
reasoned report for the Collector in which I said that there is extreme danger
of Hindu-Muslim riots soon in Nathnagar. The plan for the riots appears to be
the result of a methodical conspiracy whose ringleader is Kumar Inderdev
Singh's secretary Sat Narayan Panday. Towards this end, seth Badri Prashad
Jhanjhania has provided some financial assistance to Kumar Inderdev Singh as
well. On the face of it, the purpose of this riot appears to be to shift the
direction of the current agitation of Hindu peasants from seth Jhanjhania's
silk factory to the pillaging of Muslims. Nathnagar's Muslims are reading the
writing on the wall with great helplessness. The majority of them is scared to
death. With these dangers in mind, some Muslims have sent their women and
children to other safe locations. A crowd of dangerous goondas has suddenly
appeared in Nathnagar for no apparent reason. Some of their bands have taken to
banging drums and raising hell while intoxicated near a few mosques during
taraweeh prayers. Nathnagar's Hindu license-holders are missing seven guns and
two revolvers. Of those, two guns were recovered from suspicious characters who
were quickly going somewhere led by Sat Narayan Panday. This makes one wonder
if the rest of the missing arms also has not been distributed among mischievous
elements through Sat Narayan Panday. The local police inspector and his staff
are ignorant of and unaffected by this situation in Nathnagar to an amazing
degree. This could not be due to their ineptitude and insensitivity because
they are all very smart and attentive workers. But at the moment it is hard to
accuse them of being in cahoots in any way with the conspiracy elements. In
light of this state of affairs, I requested the Collector to immediately
implement the following steps.
1. Section 144 be enforced in Nathnagar.
2. Arms belonging to every license-holder of Nathnagar be deposited at the
police station.
3. The entry of Kumar Inderdev Singh and Sat Narayan Panday into Nathnagar be
denied for some time.
4. The gangs of lathi-men from Darbhanga, Bardwan and Moonghir be disbanded and
sent out of Nathnagar.
5. A unit of the mounted military police be posted immediately at Nathnagar's
police station to assist the local police.
It was my fancy that as soon as he received my report, the Collector
would praise my grasp of the situation and, accepting my recommendations in
their entirety, would immediately initiate proceedings on them. But the whole
day passed by and there were no signs of a reaction from anyone. Late in the
evening a peon came to me and gave me a message that the Commissioner sends his
salaam from his bungalow.
In the bureaucracy, when higher-ups need to summon one of their
subordinates, peons are sent with their salaam.
When I arrived at the Commissioner's to return his salaam, the
Collector, D.I.G. and S.P. were also present there. All four of them looked
somewhat miffed.
As soon as he saw me, the Commissioner slammed the papers of my report
on the table and angrily said, "We had entrusted you with a trivial and a small
inquiry. But there's no telling what kind of fantasy you are living that you
have made a mountain of a molehill in this report."
The D.I.G. made use of more honest words and said that this report is
the product of a diseased mind. The person whose mind is full of communal bias
sees Muslims everywhere surrounded at all times by many perils.
The S.P. remarked that by expressing distrust of Nathnagar's police I
had insulted him for which I should apologize to him.
However the Collector Mr. Prideaux sat in silence.
"Sir," I addressed the Commissioner, "I have laid in front of you an
accurate picture of the true situation of Nathnagar. Considering it seriously
is now your job."
This made the Commissioner go out of his mind with anger and he roared,
"Do you mean that we are just a bunch of clowns and don't have the ability to
seriously consider the good or the bad of your impractical report?"
The Commissioner threw my report towards me and said, "Better that this
precious document remain in your possession. I don't want to file this and
allow you to become the butt of jokes throughout the office."
With that he relieved me of Nathnagar's charge.
As I started to get up after the meeting was over, the Commissioner
called out to me, "And yes ... there is no need to tangle unnecessarily with
Kumar Inderdev Singh. Neither is there any reason to scare Rai Bahadur Badri
Prashad Jhanjhania. It would be appropriate to maintain normal relations with
them."
I quietly put my report in my pocket and like a whipped dog with its
tail between its legs, went outside of the Commissioner's house. By the time I
reached the club, all the bubbles of self-confidence in my existence had been
burst. Especially, the Commissioner and Collector were very civilized,
knowledgeable, experienced and fair officers. In light of their reaction, I
started to repeatedly feel shame at the error of my observations, the flaw in
my understanding, and my extreme ineptitude concerning formal procedure. Inside
of me, wave after wave of humiliation made me suffer from such a sense of
inferiority that for a couple of days, I did not have the nerve to look anyone
in the eye at the club.
Bhagalpur Club was situated in a very wide and long open meadow.
Various kinds of activity would start taking place there even before sunrise.
In one part, city youths performed acts of physical exercise. In another part,
heavyset lalas and lalis strove to reduce weight and increase appetite. A
statuette of Shivaji maharaj was set in the hollow trunk of an age-old poplar.
Early in the morning, devotees would place copious offerings of saindoor,
butter, flowers and halwa-puri on it. A matted-haired mahant would gather these
offerings with great regularity, sit in front of the idol and pray. Along with
him, a group of women, children, and young and old would close their eyes and
be absorbed in pooja. Then, from somewhere far behind, the sound of horse
hooves would start to come. As the sound came closer, the spell of this
devotional atmosphere would begin to break. Besides the matted-haired mahant,
the concentration of many other worshippers would begin to be intensely
disturbed by the sounds of the horse-steps.The mahant would be observing,
through the corner of his eye, the horses and their riders coming from afar.
When the sound arrived right next to the poplar, he would suddenly chant "hari
om, hari om", would open his eyes and changing his posture would sit up. Many
other worshippers would also crane their necks and fulfill the obligations of
worship. Wide-eyed, they would start to view the Arabian horses which Rano and
Tono would daily take out on their morning ride. Rano would be wearing red
corduroy pants and a yellow jumper. Tono used to wear breeches and a chequered
riding coat. On her head would be a round blue velvet cap under which her
rebellious locks of hair would keep lunging at her cheeks like little snakes.
Their horses would gallop together with a proud gait, and with the rising and
falling rhythm of their steps, various kinds of colorful clouds would form and
disperse through the air. When they used to pass the poplar tree, the
matted-haired mahant would again sit with his eyes closed and the other
worshippers, with heads bowed, would also occupy themselves anew in meditation.
Rano and Tono would stop near the window of my room at the club after
producing refulgence in the eyes and exhilaration in the hearts of the
worshippers. After chatting for a few moments, they would spur their horses and
go to the Commissioner's house at the other end of the meadow. The old
Commissioner, probably expecting them too, would emerge into the lawn wearing
his yellow dressing gown and would spend time doing some gardening along with
his gardener. He was the region's highest officer, so Rano and Tono, too, would
talk to him for a longer time.
One morning a few days after I was reprimanded for the Nathnagar
report, when I opened the window of my room to catch a glimpse of Rano and
Tono, the meadow in front was totally empty. Neither was there the assembly of
worshippers under the poplar nor the crowd of exercising youths nor the row of
heavyset lalas and gasping lalis. Nor could there be seen a yellow dressing
gown bent over the roses in the Commissioner's lawn. The sun rose but Rano and
Tono's horses did not appear from any direction. I got ready and when I reached
my office there was no particular rush of litigants in the kutcheri. There was
only the occasional lawyer to be seen as well. My legal clerk was absent too.
After a while, my court inspector brought a few documents. He told me that
there was a Hindu-Muslim riot last night in Nathnagar and Section 144 is being
enforced in Bhagalpur. There is no activity in the kutcheri because of that.
My heart received the news of the Nathnagar riots like the most
dedicated fast-keeper of Ramadan welcomes the Eid moon. The entire meanness of
my spirit, buffeted by waves of joy, covered my existence like the ocean's
sweet foam. A nameless puppy of bureaucracy that was being nurtured deep inside
me suddenly woke up to adulthood. It stiffened its tail, puffed up its breast,
lifted its muzzle and like a dog gone mad began to bark incessantly, "You see
now? I told you so ..."
It was the blood of defenceless Muslims that had been spilled on the
streets of Nathnagr, but my ego was adamant on placing the laurels of victory
solely on its head. It was the armed and intoxicated lathi-men who had attacked
the worshippers praying taraweeh at the mosque but my inflated ego was giving
itself airs as if all this was child's play for it. According to official
reports, four Muslims were martyred and one girl was kidnapped in the riot. I
was slightly let down by this news. I required much more bloodshed for me to
see the proud heads of the Commissioner, Collector, D.I.G. and S.P. bowed in
disgrace.
Through this one incident of Nathnagar, my self had been tested in the
furnace of official prestige and then formally fitted into the traditional
machine of the bureaucracy which is fueled by envy, rivalry and antagonism, and
in which harm to life, property and reputation is not measured by feelings.
Instead, four murders, one kidnapping, twelve knifings and eight torchings are
added together and shaped into a table of statistics.
I had greatly expected that when the Commissioner, Collector, D.I.G.
and S.P. come to the club, they would avoid me and be ashamed to look me in the
eye. But this hope was quickly dashed. These gentlemen came to the club as
usual, played tennis, billiards and rummy, and ordered whisky and gin with
shouts of "Anyone?", "Anyone?" As usual they got together and laughed loudly
and at dinnertime departed for their respective homes.
Also during one of those days, the Commissioner laid the foundation
stone of Nathnagar's controversial silk factory. Rai Bahadur seth Badri Prashad
Jhanjhania generously donated 100,000 Rupees to the War Fund and construction
on the factory began with suitable preparations and under police protection.
ztm
Zartaj Majeed
In article <1991Jun13....@math.utexas.edu> you write:
>
> I had greatly expected that when the Commissioner, Collector, D.I.G.
>and S.P. come to the club, they would avoid me and be ashamed to look me in the
>eye. But this hope was quickly dashed. These gentlemen came to the club as
>usual, played tennis, billiards and rummy, and ordered whisky and gin with
>shouts of "Anyone?", "Anyone?" As usual they got together and laughed loudly
>and at dinnertime departed for their respective homes.
>
>ztm
Would just like to point out that "Anyone?" above should probably not be trans-
lated. I have seen it being written in English as Koihai. And it is consider-
ed a noun meaning waiter/bearer, as far as I know. It is not a question being
asked. It is a call to a waiter. If you want to translate then perhaps "Waiter,
waiter!" might do.
Wassalaam,
Jamal
Jawahar Tembulkar
The postings under Shahabnama have been interesting reading indeed.
There have been some similar books ( expose's ) by senior function-
aries, on the Indian side of the border, but most of them can be
said to have been tinged with bitterness. Shahabnama's bitter-sweet
humor is welcome fare.
I have been reading the accounts regarding Shahab's tenure at
Bhagalpur. His accounts of the degree to which the administrative
elite ( British and Indian ) is isolated from the common man is
striking indeed. Given this isolation, it is no wonder that communal
conflagration abounds. The same pattern can be still observed in todays
independent India and Pakistan. I do however sense an undercurrent
of mistrust and hostility in Shahab's portrayal of Hindus in general.
They all seem to owe implicit/explicit allegiance to the Rashtriya
Swayamsewak Sangh. The Congress Party which had a much broader
communal appeal, appears nowhere in sight. This is surprising given
the fact that the Congress had an unrivalled grass roots organisation,
and fared very well at the hustings......
Incidentally, Bhagalpur gained considerable notoreity in the mid `80's
because the police force carried out "blindings" of a number of "criminals.
The story goes that the police were exasperated by the repeated crimes
committed by those who were let off lightly under the criminal code.
Under pressure from an outraged section of the population ( elite ? ),
they decided to mete out justice by blinding these criminals. After
this outrage gained national attention, a judicial inquiry was under-
taken. I do not recall the findings of the commission, and whether
the police officials received any sentences. Bihar ( the state in
which Bhagalpur is located ) continues to be a frequent site of commu-
nal and caste violence......
Regards,
Jawahar
--
* Statutory Disclaimer : These are merely my views. *
* Jawahar M. Tembulkar, Computervision, R & D, *
* 9805 Scranton Road, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA. *
* UUCP : uunet!calmasd!jxt voice : (619) 587-3078 *
Zartaj Majeed
> The postings under Shahabnama have been interesting reading indeed.
> There have been some similar books ( expose's ) by senior function-
> aries, on the Indian side of the border, but most of them can be
> said to have been tinged with bitterness. Shahabnama's bitter-sweet
> humor is welcome fare.
Unfortunately, we have have not had many other books of this nature
published in Pakistan. So, Shahab's is one the few in this respect. But, it is
really Shahab's style that would make this book unique even if we had
bureaucrats publishing right and left. Pakistanis, especially those over 40,
know him through his short stories full of his distinctive sense of humor.
> I have been reading the accounts regarding Shahab's tenure at
> Bhagalpur. His accounts of the degree to which the administrative
> elite ( British and Indian ) is isolated from the common man is
> striking indeed. Given this isolation, it is no wonder that communal
> conflagration abounds. The same pattern can be still observed in todays
> independent India and Pakistan. I do however sense an undercurrent
> of mistrust and hostility in Shahab's portrayal of Hindus in general.
> They all seem to owe implicit/explicit allegiance to the Rashtriya
> Swayamsewak Sangh. The Congress Party which had a much broader
> communal appeal, appears nowhere in sight. This is surprising given
> the fact that the Congress had an unrivalled grass roots organisation,
> and fared very well at the hustings......
Well, let me just say that his book has 1200+ pages so to judge his
whole attitude towards Congress from a few pages and those too of my choosing
is a little unfair. He does talk about Congress and "Gandhiji" elsewhere. I
might get to those parts later. However, you are right, most of the Hindu and
Sikh personalities in his book are not noble ones. One does need to remember
that everything in this book is supposedly true. So, there are two ways of
looking at this. Either, the characters he has described really were
unadmirable or that he is biased against Hindus and Sikhs. It is hard to say
which reason holds without knowing about the characters from other sources. In
coming posts about Ayub's foreign policy, Nehru is described by Shahab in very
unfavorable terms.
On the other hand, there is a chapter, which I will not translate
because it's quite long, about his relationship with a Hindu girl when he was
in college. It is one of the most poignant parts of the book. The girl dies of
T.B. at the end and Shahab says that made him write his first short story which
began,
"When I realized that I was in love with Chandar Auti, she had been
dead for three days ..."
> Incidentally, Bhagalpur gained considerable notoreity in the mid `80's
> because the police force carried out "blindings" of a number of "criminals.
> The story goes that the police were exasperated by the repeated crimes
> committed by those who were let off lightly under the criminal code.
> Under pressure from an outraged section of the population ( elite ? ),
> they decided to mete out justice by blinding these criminals. After
> this outrage gained national attention, a judicial inquiry was under-
> taken. I do not recall the findings of the commission, and whether
> the police officials received any sentences. Bihar ( the state in
> which Bhagalpur is located ) continues to be a frequent site of commu-
> nal and caste violence......
I guess you know about the 1987 bloodbath of Muslims in Bhagalpur.
> Regards,
> Jawahar
ztm