Some of the many Pakistanis that Indians admire

I feel like puking when I read news reports and social media updates that peddle jingoism. One comes across these in Indian as well as Pakistani publications. Especially when cross-border tensions escalate due to firings across the Line of Control, one can get the impression that both countries are just vying for each other’s blood. It is rare to come across articles where Indians speak of their love for the people of Pakistan, and Pakistanis talk about their warmth and affection for Indians.

Instead of feeling helpless, I wanted to put some positivity out there. I thought of inviting friends and friends of friends on Facebook to help me put together a blog post as part of the Friendships Across Borders: Aao Dosti Karein initiative. Here is the prompt I asked them to respond to:

“Friends in India: Name one Pakistani whose work you really admire. Friends in Pakistan: Name one Indian whose work you really admire. These Indians or Pakistanis could be from any field. A few examples include cinema, literature, human rights work, law, education, science, sports, journalism, peacebuilding, etc. Please mention what these people do, and why you admire their work.”

Most people could not stop at just one name :-)

Here are the responses from India. The ones from Pakistan will be shared in another blog post, very soon!

Raakhee Suryaprakash: “I know the lady or should I say Pakistani of the hour is Malala, but I love Osman Khalid Butt the star of the Pakistani serial Aunn Zara. His acting in it made me relate completely with that kind of family life. Plus, he is cute!”

Ramanuj Ghosh: “Abdul Sattar Edhi, for his social entrepreneurship.”

Prashant Gautam: “There’s this veteran journalist called Zahida Hina. She used to write for Dainik Bhaskar, from across the border, and would always be full of these delightful details about India & Pakistan’s cultural ties and how it’s very important for the two countries to open up and let their people mingle. Do look her up if you’re not familiar with her work. I used to read her work almost a decade back. In middle school. Now that we’re talking about her, there are two of her pieces that stand out vividly. One where she talks about the post-partition migrants who made Karachi their home, opened several celebrated eateries, and gave the city a very North Indian character. And the other where she talked about Alam Lohar, an ancestor of Arif Lohar of Coke studio fame, getting invited to perform at the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II, indicative of the British empire’s long-standing relationship with Sufism, as it exists in the subcontinent. They were all printed editions. Dainik Bhaskar may have put them up on the web. I am not sure. Some things just stay with you.

Srimoyee T. Phukan: “Fatima Bhutto — for her book Songs of Blood and Sword, and for being so political in her writing; also Sanam Saeed, the popular Pakistani actress, for her acting skills. Sorry, I couldn’t pick just one!”

Divyushii Sinha: “One of the many Pakistanis I look up to is Iqbal Massiah, a young spirited peace activist who fought against [the exploitation of] children in bonded labour in Pakistan. He was himself sold into bonded labour at the age of four, and he used to weave carpets. He fought against child labour with so much courage. He was killed by the carpet mafia at the young age of 13, and he was so determined and he had so much of will power to free not only all his newly made friends in the carpet factory but also all those children who were suffering the same way Iqbal was. These carpet factories were all illegal establishments, and the young kids were given very little food so that their fingers would remain thin and they would be able to weave the carpets precisely. There is a book on him today, and I have read that book myself. It is truly inspiring.”

Anshul Kumar Pandey: “I draw inspiration from the work Nighat Daad and Sana Saleem are doing at Digital Rights Foundation and Bolo Bhi.”

Angeline Bhavya: “Bapsi Sidhwa, the writer. I like her because she makes her stories so real, and one can’t help but feel they know these characters she brings to life. It is always a delight to read her work. Also she gives me perspective to difficult events like the partition.”

Jayshree Venkatesan: “Kamila Shamsie, for her beautiful writing”

Vidushi Chaudhry: “I have always envied the Pakistani pace attack, particularly Wasim Akram. Imran Khan was another cricketer I admired. The Chaudhry household had many a musing about that alternate universe where the Indian and Pakistani teams would meld into one unit. Australia would have had no chance to dominate international cricket.”

Aditi Rao: “My Pakistani heroine will always be Sadiqa Sultan. For her brave journalism documenting the struggles of and working for the rights of the Hazara community, for her passion and commitment to non-violent resistance to whatever provocation arises, for her ability to seamlessly create friends and relatives across ethnic and religious lines even in Balochistan, for her gentle humour and quiet courage in the face of huge personal and professional odds, for the deep love she brings to her work and to everything she does, for her incredibly big heart and ability to forgive. I particularly remember a story she told me about sitting on dharna in the snow with coffins of Hazara people who had been killed, and I’ve never been able to get that image out of my mind.”

Anamika Gupta: “I admire my dear friend Yasir Khan with whom I had the privilege to study. A truly admirable soul!”

Samvartha ‘Sahil’: “There is a sequence in Anand Patwardhan’s film War and Peace at the Lahore Grammar School. There is a debate competition on the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan. It begins with this girl who very passionately supports and defends the nuclear test by Pakistan. Once the debate is over Anand sits with the girls and discusses the matter and the girl says the opposite of what she said in the debate. When Anand questions the shift in her arguments she says, ‘Usually in debate hum wahi baat kartey hai jis mein zyada josh ho zyada dam ho.’ Very calmly, Anand says, ‘Gaur se sochiye iss baarey mein. Hamaare leaders bhi aise hee kartey hai. Wahi josh waali baat kartey hai aur wahi baat kartey hai jis mein zyaada dam ho.’ Feeling ashamed, the girl with great guilt says, ‘Humein aisa nahi karna chaahiye tha, aisa nahi bolna tha. hum maafi chaahtein hai.’ In my entire cinema viewing experience, this was the most humbling experience. It is that unknown girl from Anand’s film who I admire immensely.”

Arsh Mehta: “I really admire the work of Shehnaz Sheikh, especially her role in Parchhaiyan. It was truly amazing to watch. I also really admire Malala Yousafzai for what she has done for the upliftment of the girl child in the Swat valley. It is truly inspiring.”

Vedchetan P. Patil: “Chief justice of Pakistan — [Iftikhar Muhammad] Chaudhary and Raza Rumi : I admire both of them for the tough stands taken by them in strengthening the democracy in Pakistan and standing for the rights of the people fearlessly.”

Priyanca Vaishnav: “The name that first popped in my head, was Shafqat Ali- but then I’ve been crooning Ranjish Hi Sahi- most famously rendered by Mehdi Hasan- and then I see tears of joy at hearing the melody and memory in the eyes of my listener, and that is where the answer to your why lies - they touch us so intimately from so far away in distance and time. There is so much love.”

Amandeep Sandhu: “Intizar Hussain. Novel: Basti. It ranks up there in the stratosphere among books on our shared culture and partition.”

Janki Pandya: “I found Saqlain Mustaq really adorable when I was in my teens. Boom boom Afridi was such a pleasure to watch. Budhaa Ghar Pe Hai was one of the most enjoyed plays in my childhood, thanks to Umer Shareef. And currently, Fawad Khan is a heart stealer.”

Sana Sohoni: “Ahmad Faraz — the reason I fell in love with Urdu poetry. A true genius!”

Harsh Desai: “Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He can put me at ease with his music at any goddamn time of the day; an absolute genius with his singing. Also, one of the first global Asian musicians to be part of the global music scene.”

Jayshree Shukla: “Abu Mohammed and Farid Ayaz for their soul stirring qawwalis, and Sadat Hasan Manto who wrote about the partition in a way that no one could. Of course, the list is endless. You asked for one name, and I am trying to stop at three.”

Jamuna Rangachari: “The Nobel prize winner Malala who is a great inspiration, and her father… In music, there are many like Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hassan and Abida Parveen.”

Nikita Ramachandran Gandhi: “I know only famous people like Abida Parveen, Ghulam Ali, Fariduddin Ayaz. But I would like to talk about a friend I have who helped me change my view of Pakistan. We connected through a chat room in 2000, and are friends till today. He works in the social sector and helped me realize, through his struggles, that life there is not very different from ours. Everytime I see your posts on Friendships Across Borders, I think aboout this friend Ali Hadi. We connected as people wanting change, and people with personal loss and struggles. I admire and remember this friend when I think of Pakistan.”

Tsering Dorjay: “Most of the singers like Rahat, Nusrat Shafqat, Ghulam Ali, Abida Parveen, Reshma.”

Karthik Tmk: “Putting my gut out here, M A Jinnah for his original vision for his country (my views on Partition are different, this is the aftermath!), Sheema Kermani for successfully running an all women’s theatre group in Karachi, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Ghulam Sughra Solangi.”

Vedanth Bharadwaj: “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan! Whole load of independent music happening in Pakistan that I am a big fan of. And the senior Dagar Brothers.”

Mangalam Be: “Saadat Hasan Manto, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Bapsi Sidhwa for their passionate upholding of freedom, secular, liberal humanism.”

Akanksha Thakore Srikrishnan: “It’s the singers from Pakistan that I’ve been enamoured by. Right from Bilaal and Faisal of the band Strings, whose songs have evoked inexplicable sadness and tugged at my heart, to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, Alif Lohar, Atif Aslam with their hauntingly beautiful voices…there’s just something about Pakistani singers that makes its way straight into my heart from miles away.”

Aadarsh Chunkath: “Malala Yousafzai of course, for being this towering figure of courage and strength and someone boldly following the footsteps of Gandhi. Mohsin Hamid, because I enjoyed reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. Sherry Rehman, for being bold in her political views. Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for his wonderful music.”

Shanti Balakrishnan: “I admire Malala Yousafzai for advocating women’s right to education in Pakistan. Though she is unable to be present in her homeland, I am sure very soon she will be able to do so and fulfill her mission.”

Ketki Kanitkar: “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahab, Abida Parveen for giving music a real feel. Food for the soul! They have made my musical experience so much more richer! What great artists! I love and admire and respect them!”

Anand Misra: “Political commentator Ayesha Siddiqa and journalist Najam Sethi. These are two people who I like hearing to. Both of them appear to be fair in their analysis.”

Ankita Diwekar-Kabra: “I really admire Imaan Sheikh. Her Bollywood reviews are hilarious!”