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anniversary MOOD STREET TOWN
TALK training ...in
a name
Cycling for a cause By Ammara Ahmad Critical Mass Lahore is celebrating its second anniversary today. TNS decided to review this movement and appreciate its achievements. Critical Mass is a group of cyclists that originated in
Lahore, Pakistan. However, the idea has been prevalent in some 200 countries
abroad where cycle rides take place on the last Friday of the month. In
Lahore, it is organised on Sundays, and sometimes, special riding events take
place. The participants belonging to diverse backgrounds gather at Zakir
Tikka restaurant. Sometimes the rides include foreigners too and take about 3
to 5 hours time, depending on the route. The mass is perceived as a "protest activity" and is one of the most successful examples of non-violent direct actions. Critical Mass, which originated in San Francisco in 1992, lacks a leadership hierarchy. It is a spontaneous group of cyclists, who show up every Sunday. Either someone distributes the route guideline or else someone suggests a route verbally. This disorganised character of the group prevents government backlash, unnecessary police involvement or legal clampdown. There are several reasons to cycle through the city. The foremost being that cycle rides are environmentally friendly. Automobiles are the largest source of air pollution and global warming. Plus developing countries spend a huge chunk of their GDP purchasing oil to run these vehicles. Cycling is a good alternative to escape from this economic dependence on oil. "Everyone cycles for his own reason," says Aysha
Raja, a regular Critical Mass participant. "Some do it for fitness or
environmental activism but I do it because I want more women to cycle. And
their number is increasing slowly." She believes that cycling is a good
alternative to public transport for women. Aysha adds that cycling for daily
errands gives one a chance to interact with one’s neighbours and bond as a
community. Since cycling is quicker than walking, she skips harassment too.
Before people realise there is a woman on a bicycle, she is several paces
ahead. She regrets that people still reach the Critical Mass events on
automobiles and hopes this will improve. However, she doesn’t want to make
the rides too taxing or difficult by barring people from using their
vehicles. The movement has a colour of socialism in it. "Critical Mass is about showing that a man or a woman on a cycle is the same as one in a ten lakh car," says the Critical Mass website. Naeem Bajwa, a geologist and green activist says that he wants to win his streets back from the cars. "Cyclists have no rights here, despite the fact that Pakistan is a poor country and most people cannot afford cars. We want to challenge the class segregation against cyclists, who are perceived as poor. There is an increasing awareness in the society that cycles are not just cheap transport, but also healthy and green." Internationally, the chief criticism against Critical Mass
is that it breaks the traffic laws. However, when the road infrastructure is
provided by the Government of Pakistan, they don’t consider cyclists,
cycles or pedestrians. However, there is a ray of hope, because many cities
like Bogotá, Columbia have developed these policies and infrastructural
changes after the arrival of civic pressure groups and public awareness. As a
result, crime and accident rate has decreased there and the air quality has
improved. Naeem Iqbal, the spokesperson for Critical Mass states that there are 30 plus weekly participants but the number can increase to a hundred plus in special events. TNS inquired him about medical emergencies. "Although we have been around for two years, no civic society organisation has offered us medical aid in case of accidents." He adds, "We have never had a serious accident, people occasionally fall and have a few scratches, nothing serious." Ramis Jamal, an 8th grader who joins the ride every week, finds the ride physically strenuous but useful. "There is hardly an interesting place in the city we have not visited. May it be the Landa Bazaar, Miani Sahib or outskirts of Lahore." Naeem Iqbal said that on the last Sunday of the year, Critical Mass will survey the old city of Lahore and savour its architectural and historical sights. Naeem added that "starting from Nila Gumbad, we will enter walled city, going through Said Mitha Bazar, Paniwala Talab, Rang Mahal, Kashmiri Bazar going all the way to Chohata Mufti Baqar a neighbourhood known for ‘Gurdwara Guru Nanak,’ later a momentous Mughal monument of ‘Mariam Zamani Mosque’ and ‘Qila Lachhman Singh’. Critical Mass is also a virtual success story in Pakistan because it utilizes Facebook invites to organise the events. The online tool is free and influential. It is very rare in Pakistan that activism is done without much cash rolling in from foreign donors. Critical Mass is a local and public initiative. People bike together but with a different reason in mind. Plus each member can take an initiative and be heard. Hopefully, the events will remain persistent and the membership will grow in size, like it has in the west. caption Young and old promoting good practices alike.
The English mania By Sidra Mehmood Talking to his brother, who is settled abroad for the last
fifty years or so, my father – with hardly suppressed pride – said,
"Oh yes... My daughter has a Masters degree in English Literature."
Nothing really sounds wrong in this assertion except for the tone of pride
that haunts our tones of discussion when it comes to ‘English.’ It is an old and rather outdated point of analysis that we the ex-colonised nation are still slave to the language which conquered us, and it is almost clichéd to hear people being termed ‘more English than the English.’ What is really interesting is that all these clichés are correct, essentially. We are in a love-hate relationship with this foreign language: when we can speak it – fluently or not – we like to flaunt it. When we cannot, we hate the people who can, and hence give birth to the condescending truism. It is known to all and sundry that English is a social yardstick in our country. If you know English, you have transcended the lowest rungs of the social ladder. Now the next thing to decide is to see if one fits in the higher most rungs or not. For that purpose, again the same yardstick is slightly modified to check the level of one’s fluency. Now under fluency, a further check is made of the accent one is employing: American, British or Punjabi. There is hardly a fourth accent. Another thing that is extremely confusing is how to pronounce the words? The words which I had learnt according to their British pronunciation in my childhood – not more than twelve years ago have become totally obsolete in the contemporary scenario, for example, the silent ‘t’ in ‘often’ is not so silent anymore. Not only the pronunciations have altered overtime, the meaning of previously innocent and harmless words have undergone a drastic change. Whenever my younger sister is learning genders, it’s embarrassing to hear her rote learning the masculine of ‘hen.’ Then another treat to the ears are the wannabes – especially women, and in some instances, men – who mispronounce words to the degree that they force the listener to the point of being impolitely jovial. The only thing that keeps many faces straight in such situation is the idea that any offence given might be returned with a bonus of unexpected harshness; after all how much time does it take to shift from English mispronunciation to mother-tongue abuses? Another interesting fact is that once out for shopping, people like to speak in English among family members, assuming that the shop-keeper wouldn’t understand their interest on any high-priced item. Whether he understands the on-going conversation or not he is easily impressed. Not only then he gives a more respectful attention, he also tries his luck by getting in ‘English-speaking’ people’s good books by lowering the tower high prices by a notch. According to a friend’s research, such a privilege is sometimes gender-biased too. English-speaking women get a discount; English-speaking men are hardly ever treated with such reverence. The common denominator in our country is English, somehow. This language has a tendency to turn many heads, open many opportunities and bamboozle equal numbers. But what is really saddening to note is that it has created a steady rift in the already divided society. Not just that, on a lighter note, it has become so common now, it is losing its charm. The clichés against it are turning redundant, and criticism on the speakers has become absolutely insignificant. Since we always need something to crib about and now with English becoming trivial, what shall we do?
Tour de Walled City today. Time: 10:30am-1:00pm. Location:
Fountain Square Nila Gumbad. Organised by: Critical Mass, Lahore *Origami presents Cheapmunks at Ali Auditorium, Ferozepur Road on Dec 28 from 8:00pm-11:00pm. Tickets: Rs. 500 (Available at Maria B. Gulberg & Defence outlets) Tickets will not be available at the venue. The event will be featuring: Quadrum The Percussionists. Official Radio Media Partner: Radio1 FM91 *Red Bull Music Academy radio content syndication on Radio 1 FM 91 official launch event, being held at the Sukh Chan pool side today. *’Sher Ki Baat’ is a series of fortnightly lectures given by Dr. Arfa Syeda on Wednesdays on Faiz’s poetry at Faiz Ghar. Timings: 5:00pm to 6:00pm. *‘Story hour’ for children 5 years and above at Faiz Ghar on Fridays from 3:45pm to 5:00pm.
Taming the cops By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed The lack of friendly contact between the police and the law-abiding citizens is a perennial problem which results in myriad problems. These including escalation in crime rate, tacit support for criminals and estrangement between the state and its citizens. You will hardly find a common man willing to visit a
police station, even to file a genuine complaint or register theft or loss of
his motor vehicle registration papers etc. The reason behind this reluctance
is nothing else than the unbecoming attitude of policemen, starting from the
foot constable who stands at the main gate to the moharrar (clerk), beat
officer and the Station House Officer (SHO). Use of abusive language by thana staff, lack of interest in complainants’ narratives and trivialisation of serious issues confronting visitors are the minimum one can expect there. These issues were recently highlighted by Member National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Interior, Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk. He said on the floor of the house that police considered murders, kidnappings and sexual assaults normal and due to this behaviour, people refrained from registering their complaints at police stations. Bringing attitudinal change in this behaviour of police was the theme of a consultation held in the city earlier this week. Organised under the banner of Rozan, a non-government organisation based in Islamabad, the event was attended by instructors from Police Training Centers (PTCs) situated in Sihala, Multan, Sargodha, Farooqabad, Rawat. The purpose was to monitor and evaluate the progress of the initiative called Rabta, a police training programme run by the organisation in collaboration with police academies. Chief Law Instructor of PTS Rawat, Khalid Jameel Paracha,
tells TNS the programme was launched in 1999 when the then Islamabad SSP
Nasir Khan Durrani and several senior instructors of the Police College
Sihala met Rozan officials. They discussed the possibilities of working
together to bring about a positive attitudinal and behavioural change in the
police force, he adds. He says though police schools have their own modules on behavioural change, a special module was drafted under this initiative. The module comprises components on interpersonal communication skills, attitudes and behaviours, stress management, anger management, self-awareness, identity, personality and self-esteem. He says so far 4,000 police officials have been trained under the initiative. Paracha adds the emphasis is also on training of the trainers so that the impact can be far reaching and maximum number of people benefit from the programme. On a large number of complaints against abusive behaviour of thana staff, he agrees it prevails on a large scale but hopes change will come slowly. However, an observation made at the event was that participants were wary of some issues which were beyond their control. For example, they shared they could practice what they learnt during the sessions for some time but unfortunately after a certain period of time they found it difficult to sustain these changes. High stress conditions of work, little appreciation by
colleagues and superiors, minimal contact and reinforcement from trainers and
isolation among the participants of the programme were the main causes that
affected their work, they add. A participant who did not want his name to be made public, tells TNS such initiatives cannot bear fruit till political influence is weeded out from the system. He says how can all the people be treated fairly if appointments from top to bottom are made on the basis of political affiliations? The officers in charge have to oblige certain people and victimise on behest of the people who have say in the affairs of the state. He says even human rights activists pressurise us to use third-degree tactics against suspects in case of theft etc at their house. "If we don’t do that, they issue statements that police is giving VIP treatment to criminals." Babar Bashir, Managing Director of Rozan, says there’s a need to train police officials at regular intervals "in different stages of their career to continuously remind them of their responsibilities." He says it’s imperative to remind them that they should not infringe upon the basic values of human dignity and freedom. Babar says the present day police is over-worked, underpaid, alienated from family and often supposed to work under conditions where life is under threat. As a result, often the police force does not carry the respect and confidence of the very people and society whom it is meant to work for, he adds. He agrees there is no accurate system to evaluate the results of the programme. However, he says the follow-up visits have shown there’s a marked change in the behaviour of the personnel trained under the programme. The reason why the organisation was taken on board was because it had many psychiatrists on its panel. caption Police has yet to learn to behave humanely.
Most of the old areas in Lahore have interesting histories and character By Minahil Zafar Lahore, the city I can proudly claim to have defined me, never fails to amuse me. Every ‘Mohalla’, every street and every corner of this city has a story to tell. Some stories have made it to the pages of history books, but some are un-told, un-heard of secrets. Having lived in DHA for twenty-one years of my life, I
have tried not to restrict myself to the boundaries of Cantonment. Lahore,
for me is not confined to my comfort zone, where all amenities are available
to me. It goes much beyond. I love to explore this city. ‘Miani Sahib’, ‘Harbanspura’, ‘Mughalpura’, ‘Lakhi Muhalla’, ‘Tailpura’, ‘Mohallla Darashikoh’, ‘Gulberg’, ‘Peeron ka Mohalla’, ‘Fatehgarh’, ‘Model Town’ etc are settlements that describe Lahore the best. And what I find absolutely amusing, are the stories behind how these places were populated, developed and later given names. While some still remain, others have been abandoned. Only time will reveal the fate of DHA. S.M. Naz’s ‘Lahore nama’ helped me explore the history of some of these mohallas in Lahore. ‘Mohalla Miani Sahab’ known to me because my grandfather is buried in a graveyard here, is perhaps one of the most renowned settlements in Lahore. Hazrat Sheikh Tahir Bandagi Qadri Naqshbandi, laid the foundations of this ‘Mohalla’ in Emperor Jehangir’s era. He was a Sufi saint and had a lot of followers. ‘Miana’ which is a Punjabi word for ‘maulvi’ was used for the pious people in the area. Miana was distorted to Miani and the area came to be known as Miani Sahab from thereon. It stretched from Chauburji to Mozang but now it is divided into smaller segments. Sikhs pillaged and looted this region and burnt the books of Maulana Qadir. The town was abandoned and Muslims started burying their dead here. "Lakhi Mohalla" existed on the outskirts of Lahore. It was occupied by mansions of industrialists and as S.M. Naz puts it "jis tarah aaj kal k roasa Gulberg mein kothiaan bunatay hain’ this town was an emulation of a similar trend where the richest of the rich built their mansions; hence it got its name ‘lakhi’. Eventually the Sikhs plundered all the adorned havelis in this town and it was abandoned. "Peeron ka Mohalla" was inhabited by Shah Khairuddin Abul Maali Kirmani Qadri during the time of Emperor Jehangir. When his kingdom was plundered, Shah Abul’s progeny settled in the confines of the inner city. The town was abandoned but the shrine remained. Today it is marked by a large green gateway through which steps lead up to the large enclosure, consisting of the sepulcher and the mosque. ‘Tailpura’ as the name suggests, had a majority of ‘Taili’ population inhabiting the town. It had a huge oil bazaar which was eventually abandoned because traders feared being marauded and looted. Mian Muhammad Ismail Suharwardy, commonly known as Mian Wadda, an Islamic scholar of the Suharwardy order, resided in this town in a Madrassa or religious school. The Madrassa still exists. ‘Mughalpura’, an elitist town, had renowned and eminent personalities dwelling in it in huge mansions. Ahmad Shah Durrani was the first to plunder this town. The entire regiment responsible for plundering it became so rich after one day of looting, that they did not move on to loot the entire city. Today, this area is called "Begumpura" comprising of two segments. The inner one has female while the outer one has male graves which were once laden will white marble worth millions of rupees. It also has a mosque in it and a building which could not be demolished by Ranjit Singh or anyone to-date. ‘Mahal Pir Aziz Mozang’ can be called a city in itself. Today it has a population of over forty thousand people. Buzurg Pir Aziz, an eminent Sufi from the Mughal era, is said to have resided in this town which was then named after him. Eminent Baloch namely, Bholey Khan, Bahadur Khan, Shahadat Khan, and Qasim Khan were called ‘Sardars’ here as they held notable positions in the Sikh regime. A Sufi saint, Abdullah Shah living in this era, is responsible for bringing the light of Islam into the region. Today ‘Arain’ have a majority in this town and the most spectacular aspect of it is that it marks the boundary between the old and new Lahore. Its not just in Lahore, there are various towns throughout Pakistan that have been shaped after historically significant events. They have been named after eminent personalities or the names have developed or perhaps distorted over a course of time. One particular incident I find worth sharing is what a friend working for flood relief in Multan narrates. He was actively involved in the relief work at a town called Sheikh Omar near Kot Addu but he wasn’t too amused when he was later told that contrary to what he believed, the town was not named after a saint, scholar, or eminent personality. It is the hometown of Sheikh Omer, named by the people dwelling there after the murderer of the American journalist, Daniel Pearl. Welcome to Pakistan. caption No one knows how Miana became Miani Saheb.
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