W h i t e w a s h i n g h i s t o r y

acter as disagreeable The corpulent John Reed in Charlotte Brontë s Jane eyre and a similar Mrs Van hopper in Daphne du Maurier ss wicked Pudgy and victimized, Piggy in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is sympathetic but also weak and pitiful So the prejudice goes way back And it continues with for example J K Rowling s Dudley Dursley, Aunt Marge, in harry Potter who are loathsome, their bellies an outward manifestation of interior defects

And let s not forget Umbridge, Crabbe and Goyle ideals and values even if a book is changed to delete one value and depict another it would be variously acceptable or not, to different people in society

Changing what Dickens or Wilder said is tantamount to attempting to white-wash history The new edition is not the way Dicken s spoke or the way Wilder presented her stories

R

IT is impossible to adapt the world to a single set of values There will always be a wide variety of opinions One must take that or leave it like it or not The options are to block our eyes and ears, or live in a cave

And yet the act of trying to force everyone onto a uniform platform is familiar for us here But what about this current attempt in some Western countries to force the literature of the past to confirm to the opinions of the present?

As it happens this practice is nothing new Roald Dahl and his books might have come more intensely under the public eye recently because of their publisher ’s attempt to sanitize his language but there were other similar cases which seem to have escaped the uproar the changes to Dahl s books have caused

Six books by Dr Seuss are no longer published because they contain images said to be racist and insensitive Cat in the hat seems to have escaped the ire of the literary mullahs enid Blyton s popular The Magic Faraway Tree series has been edited to cut out the kids having adventures on their own without adult supervision

The children s name in that book have also been changed, Bessie and Fanny to Beth and Frannie, and

Jo the boy to the more valid spelling in current days

Joe for a boy As for Rick he was known as Dick in the original text; his name has been changed for obvious but unnecessary reasons even though Dick Cheney still retains his name and fails to attract the giggles his name is apparently supposed to

And then, as Lionel Shriver in The Cut points out that in literature ‘fat has persistently marked a char-

There was Jabba the hutt, the bad guy in the Star Wars anthology And ‘Fatty’ the leader of the Five Find Outers by enid Blyton who was a very good guy, and The Fat Controller in Thomas the Tank engine who was not a bad guy at all his real name was Sir Topham hatt The presence of those particular other names has been criticized however for fat shaming, because both of them were corpulent Other books have faced that ire, for example the Babar the elephant series and Laura Ingalls Wilder ’s Little house on the Prairie series, the first because they were said to be a celebration of colonialism, and the second for a stereotyping of Native Americans

In the C S Monitor Gay Andrew Dillin reminds us that in the 1980s, Judy Blume, a best-selling writer of children’s books wrote about several subjects that tend to get various reactions such as homosexuality the female body menstruation racial prejudice cruelty among peers etc And there was her most popular book: ‘Are you there, God? Its me, Margaret ’

The very name suggests an “Uh-Oh! Be careful!”

Blume s books have come under repeated attack, to which Judy Blume s response was worth thinking about She said ‘“You don’t teach values Values are there You absorb them One doesn t say I m going to teach you these values Children absorb them by watching their parents’ behavior If your parents say one thing and do another the values they are teaching their children is by doing not by saying

And that is a most important point

Once a book is published, it comes into the public domain and ought to be out of the publisher ’s hands; he/she should no longer have the right to edit it

Over the ages, we have had different values, and different ways of expressing ourselves Words that were once considered acceptable are no longer so generally with valid reason But to pass on these values to our children is the job of parents and teachers, not the job of Penguin house or Simon and Schuster Because we and our children belong to a varied group with different d n o l o n g e r h av e t h e r i g h t t o e d i t i t .

Mian Rauf

Th e constitution of a country is meant to be a permanent document or a lasting charter and the judicial organ of the government is entrusted with the powers to uphold and safeguard its sanctity Alexander hamilton one of the authors of the Federalist Papers described the judiciary as the least dangerous branch of the government he meant that it cannot significantly damage the rights of the citizens If there is no independent judiciary, there will be arbitrary government Obedience to the Constitution under Article 5 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan is an inviolable obligation of every citizen and organ of the government A conscious or deliberate disregard of a constitutional mandate or requirement is nothing short of subversion of the Constitution which amounts to high Treason” under Article 6 of the Constitution In contemporary Pakistan the judiciary is playing its parts to preserve the constitution, democracy and the security of the state when faith in country s all institutions except judiciary has evaporated

There is so much political turmoil in the country and nothing is being done by our political leaders and other powerful players to address the situation If democracy has not flourished in this country as was expected then part of the blame of this malady lies upon the chosen representatives who sit in the parliament The common man has suffered and continues to suffer on account of the institutions in the country not discharging their responsibilities in accordance with their Constitutional and legal mandate

With the early dissolution of the Punjab and KP assemblies, a debate has started in Pakistan over the issue of appointing the date for holding of general elections to the two Provincial Assemblies The election Commission of Pakistan and Punjab governor have shirked their constitutional responsibilities by throwing ball in each other ’s court Article 218 entrust the election commission with the following duty: it shall be the duty of the election Commission constituted in relation to an election to organize and conduct and to make arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted, honestly, fairly, and in accordance with law, and that the corrupt practices are guarded” The constitutional provisions on holding of general elections and the election Act, 2017 are very clear and unambiguous but the matter was made complicated unnecessarily The election Commission was written a letter by the President of Pakistan and the former was reminded its constitutional and statutory duty to announce poll date after consultation with the latter but the eCP did not act accordingly Consequently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had to intervened under its suo motu powers and settled the matter with the ruling that it is the President, in consultation of the election Commission, will appoint the date for the general elections to the Punjab Assembly if the governor chooses not to dissolve the assembly In case of KP, it is the governor who would announce the date in consultation with the eCP

The judiciary being the ultimate custodian of the constitution has to encounter onslaughts on the constitution as the solutions to the constitutional chaos lies to the Supreme Court and high Courts

The constitution was violated during the time of vote of no-confidence against the then Prime Minister Imran Khan when the DeputySpeaker National Assembly rejected the motion which prompted the former prime minister to dissolve the National assembly The August Court took the suo motu and declared the deputy speaker ruling not only unconstitutional but also restored the National assembly Now Sharif s regime is playing with the constitution by employing absurd constitutional interpretation to justify unconstitutional acts The PML-N is hell-bent on avoiding elections, for fears of being pommelled by PTI as it fails to curb inflation

Though the supreme court of Pakistan has settled that the elections to the provincial assemblies of Punjab and KPK are to be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies, the government is making excuses like shortage of funds and unavailability of personnel As ruled by the August Court that parliamentary democracy is the basic feature of the constitution and there can be no parliamentary democracy without Parliament and Provincial Assemblies And there can be neither parliament nor provincial assembly without the holding of elections as envisaged under the constitution Any deviation from the Supreme Court’s ruling will tantamount to the contempt of court which will have consequences for the present fledgling coalition government The constitution does not allow the care taker set up to continue for than 90 days time limit set by the constitution Therefore, it is the responsibility of every relevant institution to ensure that the elections to the provincial assemblies are held within the constitutionally prescribed time period

The reluctance of the PML-N led coalition government of not going into the elections will not bring it victory, given its worst economic performance The current political uncertainty can come to an end if early elections are held throughout the country because a government with fresh public mandate can take tough political and economic decisions to steer the country out of multiple crises

The writer is columnist and legal practitioner He holds an LLM from Punjab University He can be reached at mianrauf2172@gmail com

It is also important to see the struggles mankind has faced to reach the point it is at now When the struggle is successful it is useful to know how that success was achieved, to study the methods and analyse them for application to other such issues When the struggle is ongoing or has failed then too it is useful to be able to study the process This is how man learns, starting in childhood

The treatment and language used by plantation owners when dealing with their slaves the treatment and language meted out to their workers by feudal lords and rich persons in general in Pakistan is enlightening We can study it and know how not to behave As it is enlightening and important to know what the North American States went through to achieve what racial freedom they possess today and where it still falls short It helps to know about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King And about the people in Pakistan who have fought injustice, Akhtar hameed Khan, Parveen Rahman, Asma Jehangir Faiz Ahmad Faiz The option is to remain in the dark and for the new generation to imagine that every person in the past grew up exactly as they do now, and had the same values as we are taught in this day which is how it will be if publishers continue editing books

This is as important as it is to know the struggles our religious figures went through to push through the various reforms they did in their ancient societies

Words that we disagree with can either be left out when we read out these books to our children Or which is better they can provide a ground for discussion on how it is not right to use such words or hold those values and the fact that until people fought against them those words and attitudes were once used and considered acceptable Children do not live in a sterilized world and it is to their detriment if we force them to think they do They need to learn the meaning of progress, and the different between right and wrong and also to live with what they cannot change such as different points of view around them

The writer is a freelance columnist Read more by her at http://rabia-ahmed blogspot com/

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

Celebrating IYOM

T h e growing global population owing to the need for more affordable and nutritious food options has challenged the prevailing agriculture, horticulture, and food and drink processing technologies experts suggest using millets as one possible solution to address such concerns

Millets are a group of plants cultivated for their tiny edible seeds widely grown worldwide as cereal crops or grain for food These are highly nutritious as well as resistant to pests and drought, and thus possess immense environmental sustainability Moreover the non-glutinous nature of millets makes them safe for people with allergies and long-term autoimmune disorders Despite these salient features, millets have yet to be utilised to address issues relevant to food and nutrition security

To create awareness regarding the production and consumption of millets, the United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYOM) endorsing the use of millets may provide unswerving backing to accomplish a number of the UN’s sustainable development goals including zero hunger good health and wellbeing responsible consumption and production, life on land, etc The IYOM is aimed at providing a unique opportunity to promote millets as a critical component of the food basket This will be significant especially in regions with poor soil or areas affected by climate change and severe weather events The public and private sectors, including academics, research organisations, media, food industry, agricultural segment and the relevant ministries, must pay attention to the task of making arrangements to commemorate IYOM in its true spirit

With all the climatic hazards that are part of life today, our agricultural land and production is under stress, catalysing the economic turmoil In these worst circumstances it is indeed a national duty to play our part in utilising the support available from the UN to elevate awareness of the contribution of millets to motivate the stakeholders on improving sustainable production and quality of millets IYOM is a wonderful opportunity to boost ventures in research and development (R&D) and extension services to achieve the sustainable development goals DR INTIKHAB ULFAT KARACHI

Robber y in Punjab

I recently visited Chak Jhumra, a tehsil of Faisalabad district During the journey by car from Chiniot to Chak Jhumra I and my two cousins experienced a horrible incident of robbery on the road leading to Chak Jhumra which was in an extremely dilapidated condition with potholes and cracks aplenty

Taking advantage of the uneven and badly damaged road on which one could drive only at a certain speed a bunch of robbers armed with automatic weapons appeared suddenly in front of our car as soon as the person on the driving seat slowed down the vehicle to negotiate a pothole

The robbers dragged us out of the car and made us stand with our hands raised above our shoulders They pushed us inside a graveyard and harshly asked us to hand over all our belongings to them We quietly obeyed their orders Thereafter they immediately powered off our cellphones and took all our belongings in their custody thoroughly searched us physically and made us sit aside In the meantime, another illfated traveller became their victim, and the robbers took away Rs35,000 from his pocket after they had already deprived us of Rs24 000 After spending about two hours in their custody we were allowed to leave

The provincial administration is least bothered about giving protection to travellers in remote areas/villages especially after sunset The damaged road connecting Chiniot and Chak Jhumra should be repaired without any delay, and at least two police checkposts should be setup at an appropriate distance on the 15km stretch of road Besides, police patrolling at regular intervals should be ensured to avoid untoward incidents

PA K I S TA N enjoys very brotherly, warm and friendly relations with all members of the Islamic Ummah particularly with Saudi Arabia United Arab emirates (UAe) and Qatar besides as a peace loving country it also has cordial, friendly relations with other countries around the globe Pakistan also maintains peaceful cordial and friendly relations with all its neighboring countries with India being a singular exception with which friendly neighborly relations continue to be marred mainly due to unresolved lingering dispute of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir ever since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has come into power in power in April 2022 he has frequently been undertaking foreign tours for varying reasons for boosting Pakistan s relations with these countries, attending international conferences and forums and in a concentrated attempt to pull the motherland out of the extraordinarily prevailing economic crisis apparently for providing relief to all segments of the society as much as possible It is also worth mentioning that while attending international conferences and forums the Prime Minister has been interacting with world leaders, heads of international financial institutions and organizations

PM Shehbaz Sharif has undertaken 19 foreign visits mostly official with a couple of private visits to 11 countries which include Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two visits each, three each to the United Kingdom (private), UAe and Turkey and one each to Kazakhstan Uzbekistan USA egypt Switzerland and China

Wi t h r e g a r d s t o Q a t a r, P a k i s t a n h a s a l w a y s e nj o y e d e x c e l l e n t r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h i s f r a t e r n a l l y b r o t he r l y c o u n t r y o n a c o m m o n a l i t y o f r e l i g i o n c u l t u r e values and traditions

These relations were duly highlighted during the prime minister ’s two visits both of two days duration each at the appropriate highest level of the two brotherly countries The first visit to Qatar was undertaken in