The vision of Qurratulain Hyder

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QQurratulain Hyder wrote Aag ka Darya, which by any measure remains one of the greatest novels in world literature, between August 1956 and December 1997 at Mauripur, Karachi, where she was then living. It is a monumental work, taking in its stride the sweep of history, the rise and fall of civilisations, the eternal human quest for enlightenment, the mystery of life’s transience and the ultimately futile search for happiness.

She was just 28 years old when she wrote the novel’s great ending: “‘Blessed be those who are awake; blessed be those who advocate the law’s supremacy; blessed be peace in the land, blessed be the tribulations of those whose souls found calm; thus spake Shakiamani.’ He stepped down from the parapet, took a long breath and taking slow steps returned to the settlement where people lived.”

In my mourning for Qurratulain Hyder, I returned to her great work, and savouring every word, took two weeks to read through its 638 incandescent pages. It is breathlessly beautiful writing. One feels staggered by her profound understanding of history, of religion, of human love and kinship, of the sadness of drifting apart from what one feels drawn to, of the transitoriness of human life, of the passing of empires, of the futility of it all at the end of days.

But what I found stunning was the precision with which she was able to sum up Pakistani society. Each word of what she wrote when Pakistan was just ten years old is true today. Her brilliant and prophetic summing up comes near the end of the book. Given the turmoil in which we find ourselves today, there could be no better time to reproduce here what Qurratulain Hyder wrote half a century ago. Had I had access to her own English translation of her novel, I would have used her words rather than mine; but that not being the case, here is what she wrote, and I am sure she will forgive yet another one of my trespasses if I do not do an adequate job. She is, you see, not easy to translate.

Qurratulain Hyder writes: “Here’s Karachi, the God-given state of Pakistan, the world’s largest Islamic country and the capital of the world’s fifth largest country, whose slums and refugee shelters can be counted among the world’s marvels, especially those horrifying and filthy makeshift refuges that lie all around the resting place of the Quaid i Azam. There is a large population of white foreigners, especially Americans, in this city. In the Housing Society, some extremely beautiful bungalows have been built, which leads one to the conclusion that the Muslim middle class has never had it so good in its entire history. Here the new rich rule, with their new social order and their new principles.

“Karachi is an ultra modern city. Every night its swank hotels and clubs bring to life a world of resplendent lights. Sociologists ought to investigate the quite fascinating birth, in just nine years, of this new class and its culture. The basis of this class is money: how to make it, how to get rich. While the river flows, leap in and swim because who knows, tomorrow it may run dry or it may start flowing in another direction.

“The third element to note is the prevalent feeling of intense frustration. The black marketer is frustrated because he cannot put any more stuff on the black market. The left-wing intellectual bewails the fact that there appears to be no possibility any longer of a revolution. The Jamaat e Islami follower is screaming because he sees Muslim women going about unveiled and dancing in the ballroom. The middle class has a million things to worry about. Employment without a recommendation is not to be had, nor can children find admission in school or college without a word from someone in authority. Then there are those Bengali and Punjabi refugees who are tense because of their conflict with the locals. This struggle is as intense as the one between Hindu and Muslim in undivided India. Some people say that the last hope lies in a military revolution. There is one party, that is the party of the refugees. This by far is the strangest of creatures in this country. It has come from India and is to be found in every city, town and village of the country, with Karachi serving as its headquarters. The special racket of this class is called culture.”

Kamal Raza, Muslim refugee from Lucknow, now in Karachi, soliloquises: “This one has learnt only after Partition. The Hindu says when your culture and your beliefs are different, then you should go to Pakistan. What are you doing here? So these people came to Pakistan as ‘ mohajirs ,’ but once here they learnt that while they had got rid of the Hindu, there was a different problem facing them. The mohajir felt frustrated both at Lahore, where there was the Punjabi, and Dhaka where there was the Bengali. Therefore, the mohajir made a beeline for Karachi. So Karachi is the mohajir centre. It is astonishing how well those from Uttar Pradesh have transplanted themselves here. Their colonies are everywhere.”

Qurratulain Hyder on Islam in Pakistan: “Islam! Islam has had a rough ride here. If the Pakistani team begins to lose at cricket, Islam falls into danger. Every problem in the world is ultimately reduced to this word Islam. Other Muslim countries resent the fact that the sole contractors of Islam are these people from Pakistan. Everything is being upholstered with narrow-mindedness. Music, art, civilisation, learning and literature, they are all being viewed from the perspective of the Mullah . Islam, which was like a rising river whose majestic flow had been augmented by so many tributaries to turn it into a cascading force, has been reduced to a muddy stream which is being enclosed from all four sides with high walls.

The joke is that those who raise the slogan of Islam in the loudest voices have nothing to do with the philosophy of this religion. The only thing they know is that the Muslims ruled Spain for 800 years, that they ruled Bharat for a thousand years, that the Ottomans kept East Europe subjugated for centuries. Apart from imperialism, no mention is ever made of Islam’s great humanism, nor is it considered necessary to speak about the open-heartedness of Arab seers, Iranian poets and Indian Sufis. There is no interest in the philosophy of Ali and Hussain. Islam is being presented as a violent religion and a violent way of life.”

50 years ago, Qurratulain Hyder, whom a friend of mine always calls Hazrat Rabia Hindi, saw us for what we were. And she left us. Had she stayed, she would have been crucified in the name of the glory of Islam and the “ideology” of Pakistan.

– This is a regular column by TFT’s Washington correspondent. He can be reached at khasan2@cox.net

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