Every time the month of Ramzan (or Ramadan as the Arabs call it) begins – it is intended for the few apparently pious people to start fasting. For those who do not fast those are considered criminals, if ever they are seen eating and drinking in public, they are immediately arrested. Poor labourers who work hard under the burning sun cannot drink water without living in the constant fear of being thrown in jail, although not fasting is not a crime - it is only a sin. The businesses which suffer are restaurants and tea shops.
These officials most likely would much prefer see a labourer die of dehydration, instead of letting him have a glass of water - religious injunctions are required to be followed with fanatical zeal. Hard labour increases hunger and thirst and it is not possible to continue working without nourishment, but during Ramzan, the existing ‘Islamic laws' have prohibited this - labourers work long hours and have to wait for the sun to set before they can eat and drink properly. When Ramzan eventually shifts to summer, the days will be longer and it would add to the misery of the labourers. In the pagan Arab calendar, a year was 360 days -which later renamed the Islamic Calendar, hence Ramzan is not a seasonal month, because of the shortened number of days, it moves backwards ten days every year.
Secular thinking is presently treated as an abomination. The founder of our nation Mohammed Ali Jinnah had declared that Pakistan is for everyone irrespective of faith and a person should observe ones religion at home and not make a public display of it. But making a public display of religion has become the norm. One has to appear extremely religious and pious - though actually be exactly the extreme opposite in ones private life.
Secular thinking is presently treated as an abomination. The founder of our nation Mohammed Ali Jinnah had declared that Pakistan is for everyone irrespective of faith and a person should observe ones religion at home and not make a public display of it. But making a public display of religion has become the norm. One has to appear extremely religious and pious - though actually be exactly the extreme opposite in ones private life.
Jinnah had seen the massacres and the terrible violence which was the result religious differences; he did not want them repeated in Pakistan. But the present day leadership does not want be reminded of that – it wants to force their version of religion down the throats of the people.
It would be much better if they were divert their energy to other things. Questions of morality and immorality, sin and virtue should be left to individuals without state interference. Those who choose to be religious or not to is entirely their own business and no one should decide that for them.
These same insane officials also want people to get bored out of their minds, they tell licenced TV cable operators (read legal) not to show certain channels (presumably they show things which should not be seen in order to make a public display of piety) - the message to these official, no matter how many times is given to them falls on deaf ears or they have simply have chosen to be stupid. The message is that those who do not want see those channels can always switch to some other channel which suits them those who want to watch the other channels should be free to do so, in any case many people who fast do not watch TV. The acronym of PEMRA should mean Pathologically Evil Military Regime Atrocity. Making the function licenced cable TV providers impossible because they are not allowed to show the channels which people want see, thus turning it into an unprofitable business - the task of providing the desired channels is further pushed underground, the unlicenced and unregistered cable TV operators benefit , can show what their subscribers would really like to see. Such cable TV operators are committing a crime in the eyes of the junta - but it does not mean the junta will crackdown on them any time soon, these unlicenced operators are source large amount of bribes for military and civilian officials . In the centres of power in different parts of the land - PEMRA does not dare interfere. There is one standard for those who are in power and another who are seemingly powerless.
Ramzan is also the month when countless beggars from all over the country to throng the city, which is the greatest dread of all – which is why it is also called the Beggars' Month. These beggars are like flies – if someone ever makes the mistake of giving of any of them money, news travels fairly fast, they swarm around the person who made the mistake of just giving given a few coins to one beggar..
These beggars promise blessings in return, others saying they are starving or need medicines – there is no end to the kind of things they will say, as they are so well rehearsed in making their pitch, others threaten to curse anyone who does not give them alms. These beggars are varied –they are very elderly they are children no more than five or four years old.
Such people become a targets and literally and have to run for their lives. They live regret the rest of life of ever having given alms to these professional beggars. No one likes to be ganged up on, presently there is apparently no law preventing such behaviour and even if there is one – nothing is being done to prevent it from happening. As yet no one has gone so far as to report of such kind of harassment, most probably because they are well aware that these are professional beggars with connections with organised crime – which too has its connections amongst the most powerful and influential in the country. So to report this would to the police would be exercise in futility and can place ones life in danger. Throughout the year there are not that many beggars in the city as there are during Ramzan. There is no denying that religion requires giving of charity – but no one could have predicted (to be precise prophesied) that it would get out of hand and be exploited at such a scale.
Shopkeepers are wrongfully accused of being called profiteers. The only shopkeepers are charging more, are the ones who sell food items. The reason for this is that the people who are fasting are actually doing exactly the opposite – they resort to binge eating and drinking of all those items which they imagine are a must be had during Ramzan( apparently they are very holy things to have) , as a result they stuff themselves to the brim, so that they can survive the day when they fast and after the fasting time is over go back to binge eating and drinking. When people gorge themselves in this way, it results in over-consumption which forces the prices to rise, because supply cannot be expected to increase for just a specific month then drop immediately after. If supply could meet demand, then prices would not shoot up as they do. The other shopkeepers increase prices only because they happen to be fasting and have to buy more food than they normally do.
The same food items the rest of the year are only consumed once in a while. because sometimes not at all. So retaining the same level of supply as is required during Ramzan does not make any business sense - because it would very unprofitable, immediately after Ramzan demand drops drastically. The same shopkeeper who made a bundle during Ramzan would consider himself lucky to have two or three customers during the day.
During this month there is a mad rush of traffic, just when the sun is about to set, people returning from work all want to reach home, or wherever they have to be before the sun sets, the time when the fasting time ends as quickly as they can. They are trying get to the place or their home where apparently a feast is awaiting them. Those in cars and motorcycles violate every known traffic rule just to get where they are required to be. Public transport operators do the same. Suddenly everyone is a frenzy, in this rush – they not only endanger their own lives but lives of everyone else and one thought fasting is about creating a sense of patience and perseverance. All that is obviously lost when the sun is about to set.
Such people become a targets and literally and have to run for their lives. They live regret the rest of life of ever having given alms to these professional beggars. No one likes to be ganged up on, presently there is apparently no law preventing such behaviour and even if there is one – nothing is being done to prevent it from happening. As yet no one has gone so far as to report of such kind of harassment, most probably because they are well aware that these are professional beggars with connections with organised crime – which too has its connections amongst the most powerful and influential in the country. So to report this would to the police would be exercise in futility and can place ones life in danger. Throughout the year there are not that many beggars in the city as there are during Ramzan. There is no denying that religion requires giving of charity – but no one could have predicted (to be precise prophesied) that it would get out of hand and be exploited at such a scale.
Shopkeepers are wrongfully accused of being called profiteers. The only shopkeepers are charging more, are the ones who sell food items. The reason for this is that the people who are fasting are actually doing exactly the opposite – they resort to binge eating and drinking of all those items which they imagine are a must be had during Ramzan( apparently they are very holy things to have) , as a result they stuff themselves to the brim, so that they can survive the day when they fast and after the fasting time is over go back to binge eating and drinking. When people gorge themselves in this way, it results in over-consumption which forces the prices to rise, because supply cannot be expected to increase for just a specific month then drop immediately after. If supply could meet demand, then prices would not shoot up as they do. The other shopkeepers increase prices only because they happen to be fasting and have to buy more food than they normally do.
The same food items the rest of the year are only consumed once in a while. because sometimes not at all. So retaining the same level of supply as is required during Ramzan does not make any business sense - because it would very unprofitable, immediately after Ramzan demand drops drastically. The same shopkeeper who made a bundle during Ramzan would consider himself lucky to have two or three customers during the day.
During this month there is a mad rush of traffic, just when the sun is about to set, people returning from work all want to reach home, or wherever they have to be before the sun sets, the time when the fasting time ends as quickly as they can. They are trying get to the place or their home where apparently a feast is awaiting them. Those in cars and motorcycles violate every known traffic rule just to get where they are required to be. Public transport operators do the same. Suddenly everyone is a frenzy, in this rush – they not only endanger their own lives but lives of everyone else and one thought fasting is about creating a sense of patience and perseverance. All that is obviously lost when the sun is about to set.
It was a long time ago when when some mullah wisely said that loudspeakers in mosques should be banned. This decision was ignored, now every mosque has earbursting loudspeakers - each mosque in the city has different times for making the call for prayers - they are not synchronised, the call for prayer or Azan, goes on for ten minutes at a stretch, as if the sun has sets at different times for each mosque. There is absolutely no regard to the fact that certain very high decibel levels can actually be fatal. During Ramzan, a major misuse of loudspeakers in mosques goes on - hymns and all kinds of recitations go on, throughtout the night, with the least regard for those who are sleeping. In certain places there is greater concentration of mosques, so the combined effect of the noise pollution of each mosque recitations is obscenely disturbing - but nothing can be ever done about this, because the junta has decided to behave like complete morons is a very clever way go about things - what lewd logic.Officials be they civilian or military. however tend to think otherwise, they make all kind of asinine rules and decisions which in no way benefit anyone. They do not realise that the laws they have made and are enforcing very seriously discriminates against non-Muslims.
These are just a few unholy activities going during Ramzan - there are many more but this should suffice.
It is a point to note that when the military regime is unable to anything about providing electricity and water properly - how can it be expected to do anything else right. It is very keen ruling the country - I doubt very much it has the slightest ability to actually defend it - the entire armed forces would most likely surrender and the generals would escape with all the loot they have accumulated over the years.
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