Z.A. Bhutto had the dynamite idea of getting the Pakistani Army to go to war twice- in 1965 and 1971- so that, by getting defeated, it would be forced to let go of East Bengal and let the the Civilians take over in the West Wing. However, since 1965 was a draw, Ayub got rid of Bhutto while remaining in power.
It is said that Jalaludin Abdur Rahim- a senior Pakistani diplomat who was secretly a Communist- persuaded Bhutto to return to Pakistani politics from exile in London. J.A Rahim was compared to P.N. Haksar, an Indian diplomat who had helped Indira Gandhi move to the Left and thus outflank her rivals.
Dawn newspaper reports- Bhutto was more a populist pragmatist than a socialist. From 1974 onwards, he moved slightly to the right and sidelined the party’s left ideologues. Some of them were even ousted. Rahim was asked to become Pakistan’s Ambassador to France.
'But in 1975, Rahim was back and sitting in the drawing room of 70 Clifton with some other ministers. Bhutto often invited his ministers and party leaders for dinner but would not meet them till very late in the night.
Philip Jones explains how Rahim, now in his 70s, got agitated and complained, ‘I am not waiting for the Maharaja of Larkana anymore!’ He then stood up and left. The very next day an armed party of Bhutto’s special security force raided Rahim’s house, dragged him out, punched and kicked him, and then threw him in jail.
Bhutto accused Rahim of insulting his (Bhutto’s) ethnicity. However, Bhutto soon released him, apologised and asked him to return to France. Rahim passed away in 1977, the year Bhutto’s regime fell in a reactionary coup orchestrated by General Ziaul Haq. Rahim’s son welcomed the fall.
Interestingly, the father of J.A Rahim was Sir Abdur Rahim, a Bengali Judge and senior politician who said in 1926 at the Muslim League Conference-
The Hindus and Muslims are not two religious sects like the Protestants and Catholics of England, but form two distinct communities of peoples,
Muslims like Bhutto get their own Ambassador to France beaten and thrown in jail. Hindus like Indira didn't do any such thing to Hindus like Haksar.
The Pakistani Army, which is Muslim, committed genocide in Bangladesh. The Indian army, which is Hindu, does not kill Hindus. There is a good reason Hindus, or Christians in lands ruled by Turks or Arabs, sought to preserve their own culture and religion and way of life. Dynasties, where the usual method of inheritance is by the killing of a parent or a sibling, may be powerful and wealthy. But they are not a good role model for the rest of society.
Sir Abdur Rahim was right about the difference between Hindus and Muslims. But it is also the difference between Muslims and Christians or Muslims and Buddhists.
and so they regard themselves... the fact that they have lived in the same country for nearly 1,000 years has contributed hardly anything to their fusion into a nation...
Abdur Rahman ended up contributing nothing to his native Bengal. Neither did his son. The latter was happily cuddling with Zulfi while his own people were being slaughtered. Then Zulfi had him beaten and chucked in jail. Who would avenge him? Sheikh Mujib?
Any of us Indian Muslims travelling in Afghanistan, Persia, Central Asia, among Chinese Muslims, Arabs, and Turks would at once be made at home
Saudi Arabia was trying to get Britain to take back the Indian beggars who kept getting to the Holy Cities. The Afghans had told the 'Hijrat' caravans to kindly fuck off back to India.
and would not find anything to which we are not accustomed. On the contrary in India we find ourselves in all social matters aliens when we cross the street and enter that part of the town where our fellow townsmen live.[5][17]
Unless you are known to be a decent person in which case people will invite you into their home. Equally, if a person is of bad character, it is unwise to seek hospitality in their house. Still, I'm sure Sir Abdur would have been very happy to hear of the treatment his son received in the Karachi home of a fellow Muslim lawyer.
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