Comments for Mosharraf Zaidi http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com Official Web site for Mosharraf Zaidi Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:43:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 Comment on Urdu kay aakhree lamhay by Bilal Mansoor http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/2008/12/23/urdu-kay-aakhree-lamhay/#comment-139 Bilal Mansoor Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:13:51 +0000 http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/?p=149#comment-139 Mr. Ansari, I am unclear about how Mosharraf Zaidi is coming across as anti-Urdu in this article. The focus of his argument was that not enough people of our younger generations speak and write urdu with the familiarity that it deserves given its status as the national language. You argued that it is incumbent upon people to learn their mother tongues themselves. While I agree with that completely, I believe that it is also critical that the state places importance on continuing the Urdu tradition. I think that Zaidi also feels that way. Our best schools, colleges and univeristies need to stress the importance of Urdu as should our workplaces. I dont mean to say that we should ditch English as a medium of instruction or of doing business, just that Urdu needs more attention than it currently gets. Rather than calling Mosharraf a WOG or a nincompoop, you should look on him as an ally, someone who laments the state of Urdu in the country, someone who also wishes that he could read/write/speak Urdu with the same familiarity as his grandfather. Best, Bilal Mr. Ansari,

I am unclear about how Mosharraf Zaidi is coming across as anti-Urdu in this article. The focus of his argument was that not enough people of our younger generations speak and write urdu with the familiarity that it deserves given its status as the national language.
You argued that it is incumbent upon people to learn their mother tongues themselves. While I agree with that completely, I believe that it is also critical that the state places importance on continuing the Urdu tradition. I think that Zaidi also feels that way. Our best schools, colleges and univeristies need to stress the importance of Urdu as should our workplaces. I dont mean to say that we should ditch English as a medium of instruction or of doing business, just that Urdu needs more attention than it currently gets.
Rather than calling Mosharraf a WOG or a nincompoop, you should look on him as an ally, someone who laments the state of Urdu in the country, someone who also wishes that he could read/write/speak Urdu with the same familiarity as his grandfather.
Best,
Bilal

]]> Comment on Asinine and Anodyne in ‘09? by Rabia http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/2008/12/31/asinine-and-anodyne-in-09/#comment-135 Rabia Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:56:21 +0000 http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/?p=156#comment-135 Mr. Zaidi, while it's quite obvious that there is far too much blame of RAW/MOSSAD/CIA for every one of our problems, I think you are giving the right wing far too much credit by also including the liberals who blame the ISI as part of the same consipiracy mindset. There is a very big difference between blaming farfetched international conspiracies for every suicide blast and calling for an honest discussion about the role of our intelligence agencies and military establishment in creating organizations like Lashkar. In fact I am really surprised and disappointed that you took the "Lashkar would not exist if there wasn't any poverty" line. Mr. Zaidi, while it’s quite obvious that there is far too much blame of RAW/MOSSAD/CIA for every one of our problems, I think you are giving the right wing far too much credit by also including the liberals who blame the ISI as part of the same consipiracy mindset. There is a very big difference between blaming farfetched international conspiracies for every suicide blast and calling for an honest discussion about the role of our intelligence agencies and military establishment in creating organizations like Lashkar. In fact I am really surprised and disappointed that you took the “Lashkar would not exist if there wasn’t any poverty” line.

]]> Comment on Asinine and Anodyne in ‘09? by Saad http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/2008/12/31/asinine-and-anodyne-in-09/#comment-134 Saad Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:12:02 +0000 http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/?p=156#comment-134 So you want to take away one of the very few opportunities available to the general public to have fun? You are also taking away the livelihood from countless "analysts" adorning the cable news networks, "seasoned" journalists and politicians, and the politico-religious propagandists who will be reciting astagfirulah and naoozobilah after any call to reason and rationality is made. It will be crucial however to continue the calls to reason. It will be worthwhile also to look into the causes for this mental decay. So you want to take away one of the very few opportunities available to the general public to have fun? You are also taking away the livelihood from countless “analysts” adorning the cable news networks, “seasoned” journalists and politicians, and the politico-religious propagandists who will be reciting astagfirulah and naoozobilah after any call to reason and rationality is made. It will be crucial however to continue the calls to reason. It will be worthwhile also to look into the causes for this mental decay.

]]> Comment on Urdu kay aakhree lamhay by Moin Ansari http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/2008/12/23/urdu-kay-aakhree-lamhay/#comment-133 Moin Ansari Sun, 28 Dec 2008 04:08:39 +0000 http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/?p=149#comment-133 This is with reference to Mosharraf Zaidi's diatribe (Urdu kay akree lamhay) against Urdu. It is disgusting to see someone proud of a language not spoken by his forefathers. The British created the "Convents" to create these "Western Orientalized Gentlemen" (WOGs) who would speak and think like the English but would be local in color and ethnicity. It seems that "goras' did a good job, if they produced nincompoops like Mr. Zaidi now writing for the newspapers like The News (which usually prints anti-Urdu diatribes on a periodic basis). Languages are learned by individuals. If one cannot learn or be proud of the national language, one might as well not be proud of the mother. No wonder it is called the "mother tongue". Mr. Zaidi's inability to learn Urdu can only be rectified by Mr. Zaidi. No national or government NGO or department can help him with his own weaknesses. If Mr. Zaidi's competence can be judged by his skills in writing 4th grade English with a 3rd grade vocabulary, Mr. Zaidi has little to be proud of. His English skills leave much to be desired also. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.It was disgusting to read the claptrap of the self-described WOGs (Westernized Oriental Gentleman) half baked version of urban legends disguised as history. If the word Urdu was replaced with say Punjabi or Sindhi the same article could have been written about Punjabi. Actually very similar laments have been written about French, Flemish, Hindi, Russian, Hebrew etc. The rhetorical attack on the national language of Pakistan has huge errors in it. The example of am illiterate president taking the oath on Urdu is no great surprise to Pakistanis. Mr. Zatdari's lack of knowledge of written English was self evident on the remarks he posted on the Quaid's mazaar. The story about Bengal is hollow. By 1970 Pakistan was pretty much bilingual. This not withstanding the fact that the official language of Bemgal 'till 1873 was Urdu and Farsi. It was Clive and company that drove Urdu out of Dhaka. In 1940 the Devanagri script was imposed on the Subcontinent rendering all Muslims illiterate overnight. The claptrap about the script is just pure hogwash. In English these are simply fonts. For example the preferred font in the US is Times Roman. However in Europe it may be Verdhana etc etc It is true that the inefficiency of the Government of Pakistan is also apparent in the implementation of Urdu. However India has similar issues with Hindi, and Malaysia with Javee and Kenya with Swaheeli. Urdu is a unifying factor. There is no doubt about it. Just like Punjabi is a unifying factor as is Sindhi etc. The snide remarks against the father of the nation and Liaqat Ali Khan gives us reason to pause and analyze the depth of hatred imbedded in this article against everything Pakistani. If Mr. Zaidi can read, he should read http://rupeenews.com/2007/11/27/the-language-systems-of-the-subcontinent-urdu-punjabi-sindhi-hindi-saraiki-potohari-hindko-bengali-etc/ Once again we request the Editors of The News to stop publishing articles against Urdu. http://rupeenews.com/pakistan-and-america-what-is-not-known-and-what-they-wont-tell-you/pakistan-the-new-pressler-amendment-should-be-countered-with-request-for-a-marshall-plan-for-pakistan/urdu-words-on-geo-ptv-and-ary/ Editor Rupee News http://www.rupeenews.com This is with reference to Mosharraf Zaidi’s diatribe (Urdu kay akree lamhay) against Urdu. It is disgusting to see someone proud of a language not spoken by his forefathers. The British created the “Convents” to create these “Western Orientalized Gentlemen” (WOGs) who would speak and think like the English but would be local in color and ethnicity. It seems that “goras’ did a good job, if they produced nincompoops like Mr. Zaidi now writing for the newspapers like The News (which usually prints anti-Urdu diatribes on a periodic basis). Languages are learned by individuals. If one cannot learn or be proud of the national language, one might as well not be proud of the mother. No wonder it is called the “mother tongue”. Mr. Zaidi’s inability to learn Urdu can only be rectified by Mr. Zaidi. No national or government NGO or department can help him with his own weaknesses.

If Mr. Zaidi’s competence can be judged by his skills in writing 4th grade English with a 3rd grade vocabulary, Mr. Zaidi has little to be proud of. His English skills leave much to be desired also.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.It was disgusting to read the claptrap of the self-described WOGs (Westernized Oriental Gentleman) half baked version of urban legends disguised as history.

If the word Urdu was replaced with say Punjabi or Sindhi the same article could have been written about Punjabi.

Actually very similar laments have been written about French, Flemish, Hindi, Russian, Hebrew etc.

The rhetorical attack on the national language of Pakistan has huge errors in it. The example of am illiterate president taking the oath on Urdu is no great surprise to Pakistanis. Mr. Zatdari’s lack of knowledge of written English was self evident on the remarks he posted on the Quaid’s mazaar.

The story about Bengal is hollow. By 1970 Pakistan was pretty much bilingual. This not withstanding the fact that the official language of Bemgal ’till 1873 was Urdu and Farsi. It was Clive and company that drove Urdu out of Dhaka. In 1940 the Devanagri script was imposed on the Subcontinent rendering all Muslims illiterate overnight.

The claptrap about the script is just pure hogwash. In English these are simply fonts. For example the preferred font in the US is Times Roman. However in Europe it may be Verdhana etc etc

It is true that the inefficiency of the Government of Pakistan is also apparent in the implementation of Urdu. However India has similar issues with Hindi, and Malaysia with Javee and Kenya with Swaheeli.

Urdu is a unifying factor. There is no doubt about it. Just like Punjabi is a unifying factor as is Sindhi etc.

The snide remarks against the father of the nation and Liaqat Ali Khan gives us reason to pause and analyze the depth of hatred imbedded in this article against everything Pakistani.

If Mr. Zaidi can read, he should read http://rupeenews.com/2007/11/27/the-language-systems-of-the-subcontinent-urdu-punjabi-sindhi-hindi-saraiki-potohari-hindko-bengali-etc/

Once again we request the Editors of The News to stop publishing articles against Urdu.

http://rupeenews.com/pakistan-and-america-what-is-not-known-and-what-they-wont-tell-you/pakistan-the-new-pressler-amendment-should-be-countered-with-request-for-a-marshall-plan-for-pakistan/urdu-words-on-geo-ptv-and-ary/

Editor Rupee News
http://www.rupeenews.com

]]> Comment on The New Platonic US-Pakistan Dialogue by amber http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/2008/12/24/the-new-platonic-us-pakistan-dialogue/#comment-132 amber Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:55:23 +0000 http://www.mosharrafzaidi.com/?p=154#comment-132 Here's my spontaneous response to your piece: what did Ambassador Haqqani say to you after reading it? Surely, his must be the first email or phone call (if he has your number) to you. For your readers you must share the ambassador's comments. It's only fair and balanced. I admire your ingenuity in nailing him. I would love to see him refute the quotes that you have so artfully reproduced from his past articles and interviews to the US media. Can he deny having said and written them? Neither the printed nor the spoken word are known to lie. Amber Here’s my spontaneous response to your piece: what did Ambassador Haqqani say to you after reading it? Surely, his must be the first email or phone call (if he has your number) to you. For your readers you must share the ambassador’s comments. It’s only fair and balanced. I admire your ingenuity in nailing him. I would love to see him refute the quotes that you have so artfully reproduced from his past articles and interviews to the US media. Can he deny having said and written them? Neither the printed nor the spoken word are known to lie.

Amber

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