The Black Rainbow

by Hussain Zaidi

  “If you don’t cooperate with us, you may land yourself and your family into trouble,” the spy sounded a note of warning. “And for your kind information, many of your colleagues are cooperating with us.”

  “Thanks for your warning”, Mr Naqvi said. “As for my colleagues, they are responsible for what they do. If we have nothing else to talk then I shall take your leave.”

  Mr Naqvi left the scene in indignation. When he returned home, Mrs Naqvi red his face and realized that something bad had happened,

  Mr Naqvi, who would never conceal anything from his wife, told her about his encounter with the spy Jamshed.

  “You should,” she said, “not be afraid of such threats. Just concentrate on your work.

  “I’m concerned about you and Ali.”

  “God willing, nothing will happen to us.

  “Thanks, your words have lightened me.”

  “The meeting has been called,” began the prime minister glancing at the participants, “to take stock of the current situation. Terrorism is on the rise and as per our policy we need to step up fight against terror. Reports are that the militants will retaliate by targeting key government figures and installations. So what are our plans?” he looked at the interior minister sitting on his right.

  “Well, prime minister,” said the interior minister, “we are beefing up security and I have already instructed the agencies to take special care of VVIPs and important diplomatic missions. My ministry has prepared a presentation on the security plan, which with your kind permission will follow shortly.”

  “Increased security is important but not sufficient,” the prime minister’s special advisor, a veteran politician, observed. “We need to enlist the support of the people at large and this will not be coming through unless they feel themselves threatened by the terrorists. People should understand that militancy is a threat not only to the government but to the whole society.”

  “We are already putting across that message to the people through mass media,” interrupted the young Harvard educated information minister, who had recently entered into politics after the death of his father.

  “My younger colleague,” returned the old advisor, “propaganda alone will not accomplish that. Much more will have to be done by acts of omission and commission.” He uttered the last three words with a meaningful smile.

  “Jehangir sahib,” said the prime minister, “we hold your experience in the highest esteem and I’m sure you have something important to tell us.”

  “Prime minister,” the advisor said bluntly, “we should let ordinary people be hit by the militants. And if they do not do so, our agencies should provide them an opportunity to so and then shift the blame on the militants.”

  For a few seconds there was complete silence in the conference room and then a number of ministers began to speak together.

  “Order please,” the PM intervened. “Don’t turn this meeting into a session of parliament. I already had too much of that earlier in the day.”

  “But how come such a proposal be made!” exclaimed the information minister.

  “Letting our people be killed will be detestable,” remarked the defense minister.

  “We might be put under UN sanctions for that,” warned the foreign minister, who had retuned only a day before after attending the meeting of the Human Rights Commission in New York.

  All along, the advisor kept smiling. “My younger colleagues have probably misunderstood me,” he said with the calmness of a stoic. “You know how much the people hate our government, and this is despite your forceful media campaign,” he said sarcastically looking deeply into the information minister. “A large number of people think we are fighting the war of the West. We need to dispel that impression. We are already being condemned for failure to stop drone attacks.”

  “But is it not our own war?” asked a young woman minister better known for her charms.

  “Yes it’s,” replied the advisor, “but many think it’s otherwise. If it’s my war, I shall be the target of militants. While I may forgive them for killing my neighbor, I’ll never forgive them for killing my son.”

  “But aren’t the people already being killed?” asked another minister.

  “Yes they are but not in that large number.”

  “But how will our western allies react to that?” asked the foreign minister.

  “They are not interested in the safety of our people but theirs. You know since the 9/11 not a single terrorist incident has taken place in America but hundreds have occurred on our soil. If we want to win this war, we need to make more sacrifices. And of course when I say more sacrifices I mean the people, not the govt.”

  The PM, winding up the discussion said, “Let me think over this intriguing proposal. For the moment, we take the interior ministry’s presentation.”

  Maulvi Zia cut the ribbon, which was followed by loud applause. “This occasion,” he started, “calls for celebration as our new seminary has been completed in record time courtesy generous grants by our well wishers, friends and patrons. These days propaganda against madaris has been stepped up. Our opponents allege that the madaris are the breeding ground of terrorism. Nothing can be farther from the truth. The madaris are a place of learning and provide totally free education as well as free lodging. The education and training imparted in the madaris fully caters to the moral development of the students. They also cater to the needs of poor students who cannot afford education in mainstream institutions. Religious seminaries exist in the western Christian world as well, but no one points a finger at them. Why then our madaris are targeted? The critics of madaris are the enemies of Islam. My message to you is to keep aloft the values of Islam and be prepared to render any sacrifice.” With this he concluded his sermon.

  After the inaugural ceremony was over and cameras removed, Zia went to his office along with the management of the seminary. Speaking to them he said, “I want this seminary to be developed into a centre of excellence for religious education and militancy. Make the students the real soldiers of Islam. Don’t bother about resources; we have plenty of them.”

  “Zia sahib,” said the principal of the seminary, “the government will be closely watching the activities of the madaris, so we need to be tremendously careful about what we do.”

  “Oh, the government!” Zia said contemptuously, “they have been claiming all along to regulate the madaris. Have they been able to do so? The government itself is not serious in its resolve and is doing this merely as a political stunt. The authorities know well what’s happening in the madaris but they only wink at it. The government in fact is afraid of us because they know nothing is easier than to incite the people in the name of religion. As for the present government, religious parties are their allies and they need our support to remain in the saddle. Besides, our patrons will safeguard our interest come what may.”

  “Zia sahib your political wisdom is unquestionable. Whatever doubts we had have been removed. We’ll continue our activities with the same force,” assured the principal.

  “Thanks. I’m afraid I have to appear in a TV talk show on inter-faith harmony. In case you have any problems do let me know. “Allah hafiz,” Zia said and surrounded by guards made his way to the four-wheeler.

  “What is the basic problem in our society?” asked Prof. Ghani at the start of the seminar on social relevance of philosophy.

  “It’s lack of rule of law,” began Naila. “Lawlessness is the cancer of body politic; if left untreated, it plays havoc with that. It’s not stern laws that destroy a society but their discriminatory application. In our country, the law exists but it doesn’t reign supreme. The high and mighty, the rich and wealthy get away with most blatant violation of law, while the ordinary people are penalized for even minor, harmless offences.”

  “You’re right Ms Naila, said Prof Ghani. “Lack of rule of law is a major malaise of our society. But it may not be the major one.”

  “Sir, to me the basic problem of our
society is illiteracy,” Zahid opined. “Nearly half of the population is illiterate and nearly half of those who are literate can only read or write their name. Naila talked about lack of rule of law. This can also be attributed to illiteracy, as only educated people are aware of their rights. Knowledge is power and only with this power we can make our society a better one.”

  “I appreciate the views of Zahid,” Riaz said. “Few of us will deny the importance of education. But I wonder why we are disregarding religion. Departure from religion is the basic problem of ours. Religion is the source of all morality, all virtue and all goodness. It’s also the most powerful source of social control. Consciousness of sin is stronger and more compelling than sense of wrong. Under the impact of western media and education, we have disregarded our religious values with the result that we have degenerated into a chaotic lawless people. Fear of God is the strongest reason to be virtuous.”

  Sharif taking part in the debate said, “I agree that religion is a powerful source of morality and social control. However, in several societies where religion is not more than a private affair of the individual and confined to Sunday prayers, justice and morality prevail. So departure from religion with all its importance is not our basic problem. In my view, the basic social problem is the one which underlies most others. In our case, it’s not that we are not religious; nor is it that we are an illiterate society. In fact we are a highly religious people. Education we are deficient in undeniably but look what our educated people have given us: massive corruption and blatant abuse of power. To me our fundamental problem is to be found in economics.

  “Less than 5 per cent of the population commands more than 95 per cent of the resources. Top politicians, bureaucrats, generals, business and media tycoons and NGOs executives come of this elite class. Poverty and morality cannot co-exist. Who are the Taliban? In most cases, the poor, landless, jobless and penniless people. Where is religious militancy strong? In backward, underdeveloped, impoverished and poorer regions of the country. Though poverty can never be a justification for crime, it is in our case at least the most plausible explanation. Create economic justice, give people jobs and bread and terrorism will wither away.”

  “The economic argument is strong but political argument is even stronger,” Javed maintained. Who will remove economic injustices? Only a popularly elected government responsible to the people. Who will ensure the rule of law? Only a legitimate, constitutional government. Our essential problem is that we haven’t allowed democracy to take root. Most of the time, usurpers have governed us, who used and abused religion. Terrorism both in its birth and growth is the gift of dictators. Our salvation, survival and progress are linked to democracy.”

  At that point Sara remarked, “Excuse me, but we are discussing and prioritizing social problems without defining them. Moreover, we also need to define social good as a social problem is what hinders social good. Do we equate social good with mere material progress? Does social good mean mere absence of social injustice or does it include some affirmative action as well? Is a good society a crime free society? Besides, categorizing social problems into basic, secondary, or tertiary, is a question of priorities. In a society characterized by abject poverty, environmental pollution is hardly a significant social problem. In a society where daily bomb blasts have put bare survival at premium, even endemic poverty is a secondary problem.”

  Wrapping up the discussion, Prof Ghani said, “As students of philosophy we should look at all dimensions of a problem. We must beware of the fallacy of over simplification. It’s always convenient to pinpoint one problem as the basic problem. It’s not necessary that one problem is the basic problem. There may be multiple problems of equal importance and priority, which combine to produce an effect. Terrorism for instance may be ascribed to a combination of economic, religious and political factors. Sometimes, conflicting factors may combine to produce an effect. Again, terrorism may be due to too little of religion. Alternately, it may be due to too much of religion. Finally, I agree with Sara that we need to define our terms at the outset. But remember definitions are the starting point of knowledge; they are not the end of it.”

  It was 11 p.m. Leaders of several militant outfits had gathered in a seminary in South Waziristan in the northwestern part of the country bordering Afghanistan. They were waiting for one person, whom they called the ameer. They did not have to wait long as a man of middle height in mid thirties wearing a thick black beard entered the room. He was surrounded by fearsome guards.

  After customary greetings, the ameer began, “The army has stepped up its campaign against us. The reports are that an operation will soon be launched here. Besides, the drone attacks continue and will be intensified in the days to come. We have the option to surrender or retaliate, to die a martyr or to live in slavery. If any one among you is in favor of laying down arms, he can slink away. I guarantee his life and that of his family.”

  There was pin drop silence. The ameer looked around him and then with a smile said, “Thank God. There’s no coward among us. Since we are to retaliate, the retaliation has to be strong. We should turn this country into a hell so that its flames burn everything. We should create total chaos and anarchy. Remember our war is not only against the state but also the people who have deviated from Islam. Every war is essentially a war of nerves so we must keep our nerves. Many in the state machinery are in sympathy with us. On top of that, the people have faith in our cause. Our enemies say that the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka lost so we are also doomed to failure. But our comparison with the Tamils is a false analogy, because they fought for a worldly cause but we are fighting for a divine cause. Therefore, final victory will be ours,” the ameer concluded his monologue.

  “But what are we going to do and how?” queried one militant leader.

  “First of all we must forge unity in our ranks. Since our cause is the same and the enemy is common, there’s no reason we shouldn’t constitute a single force. Secondly, we should hit important targets. Nothing frightens a government more than high profile killings. The people who have ruled this country past and present are drawn from an elite class, which is coward and addicted to luxuries. Such people have no feet to stand on and will crumble when faced with the slightest of challenges.

  “We should shake and eliminate the trust of the people in the government’s ability to protect them. But widespread havoc can’t be wrought until people in large numbers are killed. Yes, they are innocent but they have committed the sin of letting an un-Islamic government rule themselves. Death, I’m sure, will wash away their sins. The so-called ulema who are giving fatwas against us have also to be eliminated. They have sold their soul to the devil and therefore hell is their final abode. We need to make an example of them. Finally, a lot of support for our cause exists in political and religious circles. Such support has to be used to our advantage,” the ameer explained.

  As the ameer finished, all present there held their hands and vowed to fight the holy war till their victory. The vows were followed by gunshots.

  Chapter 3

  Farzana was tall and fair in complexion. She had an aura of sensuality about her. Had she been ambitious and more intelligent, she would have brought many men to their knees. But she was simple and straightforward for whom happiness in life was more important than achievement.

  It was ironic that Farzana had fallen in love with a person for whom life was neither a matter of happiness nor of achievement, who was interested more in the meaning of life than in life itself. She knew they were persons of different worlds. “But if matches are made in heavens then what appears to be a mismatch can become a perfect match,” she would often console herself with such thoughts.

  Her father, Babu Javed, was a low-ranking official in a high profile intelligence agency. His position offered a lot of opportunities to make money. He was a distant relation of Mr Naqvi and the two families being neighbours as well were on proximate terms. Babu Javed’s only goal is life was to earn heaps and
heaps of money. Both he and Mr Naqvi disapproved of each other’s way of life. Mr Naqvi thought Babu Javed to be too unscrupulous. Babu Javed believed Mr Naqvi was too scrupulous a person, who was also stupid enough not to benefit from his position. The two would often debate on who was right and who was wrong without one convincing the other.