Category: ATDT in Media

WASHINGTON DC/KARACHI: About a year after Aboard the Democracy Train was reprinted by Paramount Books in 2013 and launched across Pakistan, the hard back edition is practically sold out. A recent visit to the homeland revealed that non governmental organizations have been in the forefront of purchasing the book, which also documents the struggles by civil society for tolerance and rule of law.

While the train of current events keeps rushing on, the book is based on the philosophy that in order to understand the future one has to know the past. Hence the Amazon website (which sells the book internationally), has on and off rated the book as a best seller  within the category of `Pakistan history.’

Inside Pakistan, the remaining copies of the book can be ordered individually through the Assistant Manager Sales, Marketing & Administration, Furqan Arbi (Telephone: (021) 34310030/1 ext 213). Alternately, online delivery may be assured  by clicking on the Paramount website: http://www.paramountbooks.com.pk

Outside Pakistan, Aboard the Democracy Train is available in electronic form, including Kindle. The paper back print edition can still be purchased internationally through Anthem Press, London, Anthem Press website and a host of online sellers.

When somebody you have known for 54 years suddenly passes away, it is always a shock. When, however, the person has been in a coma for some considerable time and then pegs down from unnatural causes, it somehow lessens the feeling of distress, for one is forewarned that the worst could happen –– like in the case of Izharul Hasan Burney, popularly referred to as IH Burney. He had had a fall at home and went into a long coma from which he never recovered. Burney was a founding member of the Karachi Press Club. He never won any laurels or honours, but was a ceaseless campaigner for the freedom of the press. He came across as a strict disciplinarian who did his job to the best of his ability. He was a journalist from the old school –– a gentleman, correct, disciplined and hardworking –– a newspaper man to the core who never missed a deadline. He played by the rules –– something that a lot of younger journalists do not do. He knew the difference between news and views and corrected those who didn’t. And above all, he knew the importance of correct English.

Burney was a veteran of the fourth estate with a fierce sense of loyalty. He joined Dawn in 1958, in the hot metal-and-Linotype days when the paper was housed in a ramshackle clutch of barrack-like rooms on the embankment of a drain on south Napier Road –– and moved with the establishment when it was carted lock, stock and barrel to its imposing current location on Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road. In his 54-year career with the paper, he started off as a crime reporter where he came into contact with the seamy side of the underworld. I still remember his account of an interview he conducted with the station house officer of Jacob Lines who had an inordinate fondness for gambling. He described the fellow as a lower order tyrant with a short fuse who always looked as if he was in desperate need of a drink. Later, he covered other areas of interest; and after his retirement from Dawn was rehired on contract as editor of The Star, the evening newspaper of the Group, where his colleagues described him as a hard taskmaster. He also spent some years in Dubai when Mahmoud Haroon was setting up the Khaleej Times, which belonged to Abdul Rahim and Abdul Latif Galadari. His last assignment was as director of the chairman’s secretariat.

Burney was exceptionally fond of cricket, which along with war was the only other thing that united the Pakistani nation. Of course he had his favourites, like everybody else, which usually changed with the seasons. He was also very fond of chess and we often indulged in a Round Robin contest at the Karachi Press Club with Hasin Ahmed, a former employee of the US consulate general in Karachi, Ghazi Salahuddin of Geo, and Nargis Khanum who contributes articles and reviews to the Business Recorder. On one occasion while the telly was crackling in the background during a match between India and Pakistan, and our batsmen were giving their very best shot at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Hasin Ahmed decided to act as commentator. What followed was a highly spirited commentary on the virtue of each of our players in chaste Urdu. When he had finished Burney turned to me and asked who I thought was the greatest batsman that ever lived. I unhesitatingly replied it is Sachin Tendulkar. “Well, now that is settled, can we get on with our chess game?”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2014.

One might have preferred the title “Aboard the Democracy Train Wreck,” or even “The Little Engine That Might (as opposed to, “The Little Engine that Could”) after reading Nafisa Hoodbhoy’s harrowing account of democracy’s travails in her home country.

Nonetheless, it becomes clear, after reading this unique and marvelous little book, that some parts of the planet were not colonized long enough by the West (or escaped altogether) and so have been unable to form lasting democratic institutions and rule of law. In such places we continue to see civil society overwhelmed by sectarian violence, political corruption, and an almost absolute disregard for justice.

Yet set against all this misery is the very real desire and heroic efforts of the best of Pakistani civil society to bring about a workable and democratic country. The problem is: they’re just outnumbered.

As her subtitle suggests, Ms Hoodbhoy charts that struggle with intimate details from her long career as a journalist — details long hidden from view — of a particular time marked by the end of a military dictatorship and the beginning of an extraordinarily untidy civilian rule wracked by civil unrest.

Yet another case, if one were needed, where, in the less favored parts of the world, feudal lords, tribal chiefs, ethnic and language differences make for a toxic brew where central government is weak. And then there are people who simply want to run their own family mafias at the expense of everyone else.

Yet this is not just a ringside seat to Pakistan’s recent and violent history but the story of the first female journalist in a Muslim society dominated by resentful, gender-crazed, patriarchs determined to enforce archaic and medieval customs upon women. Ms Hoodbhoy reveals what it took to walk a journalistic tightrope while all about her women were raped and murdered without recourse to justice, narrowly escaping with her life on several occasions.

This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinarily brave journalist who also happens to be a proud Pakistani woman. A must-read for anyone wanting to know what drives Pakistani history today and the region that surrounds it.

KARACHI, Dec 4: “On the one hand we have schools being destroyed but on the other there are also mothers bringing their children to the book fair to buy them books,” said chairman of the Pakistan Publishers & Booklovers Association central committee, Aziz Khalid, at a press conference ahead of the ninth Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) on Tuesday.

“KIBF has for the past nine years been showing to the world that we are peace lovers, book lovers and that we care about education. It has been creating a soft image of Pakistan for the rest of the world,” he added.

The book fair organised by the Pakistan Publishers & Booklovers Association in collaboration with the National Book Foundation will be held from Dec 5 to 9 in three halls of the Karachi Expo Centre. “The fair will be inaugurated by Sindh Senior Minister for Education and Literacy Nisar Khuhro and will remain open for the general public from 10am to 9pm on all the five days,” briefed the convener of the fair, Owais Mirza Jamil.

“There will be places for new authors to introduce their books to readers while also networking with publishers. There will be several book launches, and activities planned for children, too,” he said, adding that booking for stalls became tight some one month back and they were completely booked some 15 days ago. Textbook boards and educational institutions get complementary stalls, of course.

“There are 300 stalls in the three expo centre halls but next time we will try booking more halls in order to be able to offer more halls. There is also international participation in the fair from the UK, the US, Iran, Thailand, Malaysia and India. And we are expecting over 400,000 visitors this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Khalid returned to the rostrum to inform the media that besides showcasing educational books, the KIBF would also offer books in different regional languages published locally. “There will be Sindhi books published by the Sindhi Adabi Board and Pushto books published by the Pushto Academy along with law books, medical books, children’s books and religious books,” he said.

“Last year the visiting Indian publishers also brought with them several Sindhi books published there, which were sold out almost immediately,” he said.

In reply to a question about visas for the Indian publishers coming to the book fair, he said: “Well, there are supposed to be 20 Indian publishers coming here this time but this works on a reciprocal basis. Last year only two Pakistani publishers got visas to enter the Dehli Book Exhibition, too,” he said.

About the rising cost of books, Mr Khalid said it was due to the high costs of paper. “We produce little paper locally and there is a heavy duty on imported paper. If we cannot fulfil the paper requirement of the country, and education is to be spread here, our government needs to rethink its policy on paper imports,” he said.

Malahat Kaleem of the Library Association of Pakistan, who was also attending the press conference, urged the media to raise the issue of making books printing easy in Pakistan. “There are foreign publishers investing in India. They publish their books there as the paper is cheaper there just like the labour. We in Pakistan are losing out in this area,” she said.

KIBF deputy convener Waqar Matin Khan and Liberty Books director Saleem Hussain were also present.

The UN Women/USNC Gulf Coast Book Club met on Monday, November 4, 2013 to discuss Aboard the Democracy Train:  A Journey through Pakistan’s Last Decade of Democracy, by Nafisa Hoodbhoy.  Hoodbhoy was raised by an educated, prosperous family in Karachi among  Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus.  She studied history in the United States and returned to become the only woman reporter for Pakistan’s leading English language newspaper, Dawn.  Her sixteen-year journalism career began during the Islamic oppressive era of Gen. Zia ul Haq, but her book focuses on “the nation’s whiff of democracy” as she covered Benazir Bhutto’s chaotic campaign to become prime minister as head of the Pakistani People‘s Party.

A photo of Bhutto’s train serves as the book’s cover.  Just looking at the riotous crowds around, on top of, and jammed inside the train gives the reader a hint of the bedlam that surrounded Pakistani politics between 1988-1999, and culminated in Bhutto’s assassination.  Hoodbhoy also explores Pakistani-Afghan politics, observing that the region’s future hinges much on the situation in Afghanistan, and tribal insurgencies in Pakistan .

Hoodbhoy’s perspective on women’s rights is surprisingly optimistic.  She notes the power of social media, organizations such as “War against Rape,” and a Citizens Education Development Foundation that educates girls and boys at home before sending them to regular schools.

Sharon Burde, President of UN Women Gulf Coast Chapter, shared insights of her conversations with Hoodbhoy.  We were fascinated to learn that though strong traditions and customary laws still keep most women indoors, Hoodbhoy visits Pakistan regularly.

Readers found the book very informative, if challenging, with its kaleidoscope of people and events, as complex as Pakistan itself. Many cliff-hanging episodes keep one glued to the page, such as an incident when the author is followed to her house by a would-be assassin who jumps from his car flashing a long knife just as she whisks inside the gate.

Nafisa Hoodbhoy’s harrowing experiences and political insights make her book required reading for understanding her part of the world.

(To learn more about Nafisa Hoodbhoy’s activities, please visit her web site: http://www.aboardthedemocracytrain.com)

Future readings include:

December However Long the Night: Molly Melching’s Journey to Help Millions of African Women and Girls Triumph (The story of TOSTAN Senegal/Africa)

January The Almond Tree, by Michelle Cohen Corasanti (Israel/Palestine)

February Peony, by Pearl S. Buck

March Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Select any or all of this incredible author’s works, e.g.,  Heat and Dust, The Householder, My Nine Lives, A Love Song for India

April    Alesandra Olenka de SasKropiwnicka,  Olenka and/or Love Conquers All, Olenka in     Africa (Polish Holocaust survivor) (available on Kindle,  Amazon)

May    Danticat, Edwidge,  Claire of the Sea Light    (Haiti)

June    Giocanda Belli:  The Country Under My Skin (Nicaragua)

July    Malala Yousafzai:  I Am Malala (Pakistan)

August Jhumpa Lahiri:  The Lowland

September Aminatta Farna:  Ancestor Stones

The Gulf Coast Chapter Book Club will read from Nafisa Hoodbhoy’s book `Aboard the Democracy Train,’ in Sarasota, Florida on Nov. 4, 2013, The book reading will include comments taken from the author, including hopeful signs of change such as greater access to schools and the internet by girls and women in Pakistan.

The Gulf Coast Chapter Book Club focuses on reading books about women in developing countries and also serves as an educational, as well as literary and enjoyable monthly forum. The book club meets every second Monday at the Sarasota North County Library from 2:30-4:00. All members are invited to attend. For further information, please contact Leita Kaldi Davis at lkaldi@hotmail.com

There have been many people throughout history who made the ultimate sacrifice to move us all along the road to enlightenment.   Aboard the Democracy Train:  A Journey through Pakistan’s Last Decade of Democracy is the story of Benazir Bhutto and her efforts to provide “food, shelter and clothing” for those in need.  What makes her endeavor even more difficult is Pakistan’s inequality for women.  The author is not just a journalist who did her homework but, as a woman herself, faced dangers her male peers could only imagine.  Ms. Hoodbhoy did not pay the ultimate price like Benazir Bhutto, who lost her life in the pursuit of democracy, but she came awfully close.

If you are a student of history and or freedom and wonder how recent events will stand the test of time then your ticket is already waiting for you to climb Aboard the Democracy Train:  A Journey through Pakistan’s Last Decade of Democracy by Nafisa Hoodbhoy.  It is an extremely revealing look, not just inside Pakistan, but in human beings and the struggles that affects us all.

D. Lamont Smith, author of Omicron Crisis: Adventures from Alpha Centauri