Men like Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri are Desi Baboos in my reckoning. Baboo was an epithet used for an Englishman in the times of the British Raj. That Raj ended in 1947, but a new breed of Baboos took over— the Desi Baboos— the indigenous local Farangis. Most of them found their home in bureaucracy but some spread out in other areas too. Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri is a thoroughbred Desi Baboo— quite a contrast from his illustrious father whom I knew quite well as a co-member of the National Working Committee of Tehrik-i-Istaqalal of Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan in the late 1970s. Khurshid Qasuri too was on the working committee. Incidentally he was also on the board that Air Marshal Asghar Khan had constituted to run Daily Azad— a newspaper he had acquired for the party. Among other members were Mian Nawaz Sharif, Faseehuddin Wardak and the writer of this comment. In later years I happened to work with Khurshid Qasuri on the platform of the PDA (Pakistan Democratic Alliance) that had been formed in 1990 to contest the IJI in the notoriously stolen elections of the same year.
Subsequently too we crossed ways on many occasions. He had joined the PML (N) in 1993, and I happened to meet him in December 2000 at the Islamabad Airport. He was keen to know which way the wind was blowing.
The wind finally landed him in the lap of General Pervez Musharraf.
There as Pakistan’s foreign minister he had an opportunity to further polish his Desi Baboo ways.
The reason I am compelled to write all this is a comment he made on the night of the 18th January in Rauf Klasra’s programme on the issue of Seminaries (Madarassas).
“Not till we take steps to reform the curriculum and standardise it, will we be able to defeat terrorism”.
Well, Khurshid Mahmood Qasuri happens to be the founder-owner of Beaconhouse, a fabulously successful and prosperous chain of schools. Does he believe he is presiding over an ideal curriculum? Does he think his schools are churning out great Pakistanis and proud Muslims? Has he ever thought that Arabic is not the language of the seminaries— It is the language of Allah? Has he ever taken the trouble of flirting with the idea that the language of Allah, if taught in his school would go a long way in brining a whole generation in direct contact with Allah’s message?
And all these questions, I am putting to Rauf Klasra and my friend Amir Mateen too. Also another key question that came to my mind when Klasra remarked. “Let each one practice and preach one’s own faith. Let us not interfere in the faith of others.”
A noble idea. Apparently so convincing one can’t think of refuting it.
But then let us remember what the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said to the Sardaran-i-Makkah when as a reconciliatory move they offered: “You worship your God. We will worship our gods. You don’t interfere in our faith. We will not interfere in yours.”
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) replied: “I am here to deliver the message of Allah, not to make peace with the worshippers of false gods.”
What was right for our Prophet (PBUH) to say, is right for us too. Islam cannot be re-written for the convenience of Desi Baboos and misguided liberals.
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