At the SOCMM 2012
I was at the Pakistan-India Social Media Mela in Karachi last week where I had a blast. I was so overwhelmed to see so many of the people I had always wanted to meet in my life that I couldn’t find time to check things on the internet, or even take calls from my close friends and family. Guilt always accompanies sins of commission and omission of this sort and this failing on my part was no exception. Therefore it was with a heavy heart that I got back to Lahore on Saturday night. By Sunday morning, however, I had found out that all the people desperately trying to reach me on the phone weren’t calling me because of unconditional love on their part whose object happened to be yours truly, or because they were missing me (whichever comes first); instead, the motive behind their trying to get in touch with me was something entirely different. Baat to sach hai magar baat hai ruswayee ki.
I did a quick piece of investigative journalism and I am in a position to tell you what actually happened. A provocative statement attributed to me has appeared on an international news network and a local English newspaper, and that seems to have been the reason for so many people trying to contact me. The statement was this: “If the army cannot tolerate a song, how can they go fight a war!” Everybody seemed to be cross with me for two reasons: one, what made me give this statement on a session on viral videos; and two, how had I reached the conclusion that the army can’t tolerate a song, when according to my own previous interviews all the institutions of this country had taken Aloo Anday very positively, and that we didn’t receive any threat from any quarters worth mentioning.
It is a classic case of being quoted out of context. While neither report bothered to chronicle the conversation that was going on in the first place, or my contribution to it (and what a comprehensive and eloquent contribution too, if I might say so myself). And yet, this particular bit mysteriously cropped up in both reports, which gives a distinct impression that I was accusing the military. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth. Now, had this been done by any regional language newspaper I wouldn’t have bothered with clarifications; but since this was done by an English newspaper and an international news network, it is serious business because it internationally scandalises our army when it has absolutely nothing to do with it. I stick to what I have always said in my interviews, namely, we have received absolutely no threat from any institution or any person in particular apart from the regular threats we get on the internet (who doesn’t!), which we don’t really take seriously. Speaking of the army, all the army men that I have met (admittedly a smallish sample) have appreciated the song – at least that’s what they told me). One officer on a senior post even told me that he loved the song so much that he had saved it on his cell phone. True, in one of my articles I mentioned one unsavoury incident that occurred right after the KLF; however that neither has anything to do with Aloo Anday, nor am I sure who was behind it.
Coming to the statement attributed to me, this is what actually happened: the audience was bombarding Ali Gul Pir with accusations that Waderay ka Beta had racist/ethnic undertones. Pir made it clear that he had used the word Sayeen as a symbol for the behavior of the feudal class, Punjabi, Baloch, or of any other ethnicity. He had used the particular word because he was more familiar with the term on account of being a Sindhi himself. The nature of the questions changed as now some members of the audience took exception to the use of the word because according to them it was not just the feudal lords that were called by this name; Sufi mentors were also addressed with this name out of respect, and therefore the use of the word was not kosher in this context. I couldn’t refrain from observing that while listening to Waderay ka Beta I couldn’t imagine anybody taking the Sayeen for a Sufi pir, but even if somebody was hell-bent on taking it this way, it couldn’t possibly mar the saints’ reputation in any way. I have always believed that in these matters there is always a danger of being a bit too ‘sensitive’, more loyal than the king, if you like, about a certain institution. I gave them an example: I said that some people (not from the army) similarly tell us that we shouldn’t use the word army in our songs because the army is at war and that might demoralise them. I told the audience that I reply to such comments by asking: “How can the army be expected to win wars if a song is too much for it to take?” I hope the quote makes better sense in its context.
The video of the session should soon be available online, and it is hoped that things will only become clearer once that happens. All those who know me well and were expecting a prompt reply, I hope this column will do. This clarification is also aimed at those (outside the army) who frequently criticise us on what we do and don’t do. It’s not for the military men, who not only took our song in a positive sense but who I am sure also don’t really measure their battling capabilities based on what I think.
The writer is a member of the band Beygairat Brigade.