The manner in which the NAPA issue is being dealt with gives us a glimpse of the prevailing narrow mindset, prejudice and apathy that is prevalent in our politicians.
By Amir ZiaNewsline; December 2008
The Sindh government seems on track to have the dubious “honour” of destroying an institution credited by many for reviving the performing arts in Karachi. Going by the present government’s mood, the days of the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) seem numbered. The academy has already been served a notice to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana, which has been its home for more than three-and-a half years. If everything proceeds according to the government’s plan and the matter is not taken to court, December 13 should be NAPA’s last day in the Hindu Gymkhana, which has been transformed from a haunted and depleted building to the hub of drama, dance and music.
Once kicked out of its birthplace, NAPA’s chances of survival appear bleak in this “golden democratic era” which has nothing better to offer to this institution than an unsympathetic, hostile environment. Yes, the former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, gave the people of Karachi NAPA – an institution that would be the pride and joy of any city – but the enlightened democrats are determined to throttle it under the pretext of preserving the provincial heritage. The PPP-led federal government has already slashed NAPA’s annual grant to a meager Rs.17 million this year from the Rs.50 million it used to get under the military-led government. The controversial charges about NAPA building an auditorium on a protected site have been levelled despite the fact that the relevant authorities had given clearance to this UAE government-sponsored state-of-the-art project. Even some of the key bureaucrats, who are currently spearheading the anti-NAPA drive, were part of the process that cleared this new construction, which in no way damaged the historic Gymkhana building. However, the lawful can become unlawful in our Islamic republic with a change of face in the government. Notwithstanding the 35-year lease given to NAPA, the Sindh government seems hell-bent on grabbing possession of the building and has issued marching orders to NAPA without any plans for its relocation. And apart from the vague announcements that the provincial government plans to build an arts and craft centre here and share the premises with the Hindu community, the people of Karachi and the students and faculty of NAPA do not know what will be the future of this prime piece of property.
Indeed, the manner in which this issue is being dealt with gives us a glimpse of the prevailing narrow mindset, prejudice and apathy in the ranks of the army of federal and provincial ministers and advisers who, despite their lip-service to the cause of promoting the performing arts and culture, are wrecking the only such institution we have in Karachi. The PPP has, undoubtedly, taken up a crusade that best suits zealots of Jamaat-e-Islami and its likes, who oppose and abhor all forms of performing arts. This so-called cause is only attracting bad publicity for the PPP and making Karachiites even more skeptical and suspicious about its motives and agenda for their city.
NAPA, inaugurated in February 2005, has filled a huge void in Karachi’s cultural horizons. It attracted the best and most credible names to its faculty. Giants of their respective fields including Zia Mohyeddin, Rahat Kazmi, Arshad Mehmood, Enver Sajjad, Talat Hussain – each an institution in his own right – are NAPA’s faculty members. Had it been some other time and place, these names would have been enough to dissuade any self-respecting government from targeting such an institution. But we are living in bad times in which the worst could happen to the best of the lot.
This country has seen countless ministers, like the Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palejo, walking in and out of the corridors of power since 1947. A vast majority of these so-called high and mighty have been consigned to the garbage bin of history. Nobody knows their names or how many files they signed and which projects they inaugurated. But people do remember those who enrich their lives, add beauty, joy and colour to it. Art and the work of artists become the collective ethos of a society, which can never be forgotten or erased. It remains in our collective memory. NAPA, which restored and renovated the Hindu Gymkhana, built in 1925, is being punished for its good deeds. It is being punished perhaps for taking students belonging to middle and lower income groups under its umbrella, staging plays and organising other events in this otherwise barren cultural scene of Karachi.
The PPP’s Karachi leaders – who like to be portrayed as progressive, liberal and secular democrats – from Taj Haider to Nafees Siddiqui, and Raza Rabbani to Fauzia Wahab and Sherry Rehman – will get the credit of toeing the party line in totality. But surely have failed their city. These PPP leaders should perhaps understand why they fail to win the popular vote from Karachi – simply because of their inability to speak for the people of this city and articulate their aspirations. So far, there has not been a single voice of dissent in the PPP in favour of NAPA and against the myopic policies of the provincial government.
One wonders at the priorities of this government, which has failed to identify any other pressing issue in Karachi that needed immediate corrective measures. For instance, the encroachments of public parks by seminaries, mosques, shops, vendors and other interest groups are conveniently ignored. The mistreatment, degeneration and plunder of other historical sites – from Moenjo Daro to the Makli graves, are not an issue. Even if one takes the case of the original Hindu Gymkhana, one wonders why the government does not want to vacate the 27,000 square yards encroached upon by the police and the 7,200 square yards by the Federal Service Commission and a private party.
Common sense says that one should not destroy an institution to build another. So what prevents the government from building its planned Sindh Arts and Craft Centre elsewhere or providing a bigger building or bigger piece of land to the Hindu community – whose name is being used to grab the disputed building. One would certainly like to get a sensible answer to these questions.
For the record, a couple of decades down the road, Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palejo will be remembered as the person who spearheaded the movement to destroy a worthy institution like NAPA. And, unfortunately, she belongs to a party which professes to be progressive, liberal and secular.-- ENDS
By Amir ZiaNewsline; December 2008
The Sindh government seems on track to have the dubious “honour” of destroying an institution credited by many for reviving the performing arts in Karachi. Going by the present government’s mood, the days of the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) seem numbered. The academy has already been served a notice to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana, which has been its home for more than three-and-a half years. If everything proceeds according to the government’s plan and the matter is not taken to court, December 13 should be NAPA’s last day in the Hindu Gymkhana, which has been transformed from a haunted and depleted building to the hub of drama, dance and music.
Once kicked out of its birthplace, NAPA’s chances of survival appear bleak in this “golden democratic era” which has nothing better to offer to this institution than an unsympathetic, hostile environment. Yes, the former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, gave the people of Karachi NAPA – an institution that would be the pride and joy of any city – but the enlightened democrats are determined to throttle it under the pretext of preserving the provincial heritage. The PPP-led federal government has already slashed NAPA’s annual grant to a meager Rs.17 million this year from the Rs.50 million it used to get under the military-led government. The controversial charges about NAPA building an auditorium on a protected site have been levelled despite the fact that the relevant authorities had given clearance to this UAE government-sponsored state-of-the-art project. Even some of the key bureaucrats, who are currently spearheading the anti-NAPA drive, were part of the process that cleared this new construction, which in no way damaged the historic Gymkhana building. However, the lawful can become unlawful in our Islamic republic with a change of face in the government. Notwithstanding the 35-year lease given to NAPA, the Sindh government seems hell-bent on grabbing possession of the building and has issued marching orders to NAPA without any plans for its relocation. And apart from the vague announcements that the provincial government plans to build an arts and craft centre here and share the premises with the Hindu community, the people of Karachi and the students and faculty of NAPA do not know what will be the future of this prime piece of property.
Indeed, the manner in which this issue is being dealt with gives us a glimpse of the prevailing narrow mindset, prejudice and apathy in the ranks of the army of federal and provincial ministers and advisers who, despite their lip-service to the cause of promoting the performing arts and culture, are wrecking the only such institution we have in Karachi. The PPP has, undoubtedly, taken up a crusade that best suits zealots of Jamaat-e-Islami and its likes, who oppose and abhor all forms of performing arts. This so-called cause is only attracting bad publicity for the PPP and making Karachiites even more skeptical and suspicious about its motives and agenda for their city.
NAPA, inaugurated in February 2005, has filled a huge void in Karachi’s cultural horizons. It attracted the best and most credible names to its faculty. Giants of their respective fields including Zia Mohyeddin, Rahat Kazmi, Arshad Mehmood, Enver Sajjad, Talat Hussain – each an institution in his own right – are NAPA’s faculty members. Had it been some other time and place, these names would have been enough to dissuade any self-respecting government from targeting such an institution. But we are living in bad times in which the worst could happen to the best of the lot.
This country has seen countless ministers, like the Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palejo, walking in and out of the corridors of power since 1947. A vast majority of these so-called high and mighty have been consigned to the garbage bin of history. Nobody knows their names or how many files they signed and which projects they inaugurated. But people do remember those who enrich their lives, add beauty, joy and colour to it. Art and the work of artists become the collective ethos of a society, which can never be forgotten or erased. It remains in our collective memory. NAPA, which restored and renovated the Hindu Gymkhana, built in 1925, is being punished for its good deeds. It is being punished perhaps for taking students belonging to middle and lower income groups under its umbrella, staging plays and organising other events in this otherwise barren cultural scene of Karachi.
The PPP’s Karachi leaders – who like to be portrayed as progressive, liberal and secular democrats – from Taj Haider to Nafees Siddiqui, and Raza Rabbani to Fauzia Wahab and Sherry Rehman – will get the credit of toeing the party line in totality. But surely have failed their city. These PPP leaders should perhaps understand why they fail to win the popular vote from Karachi – simply because of their inability to speak for the people of this city and articulate their aspirations. So far, there has not been a single voice of dissent in the PPP in favour of NAPA and against the myopic policies of the provincial government.
One wonders at the priorities of this government, which has failed to identify any other pressing issue in Karachi that needed immediate corrective measures. For instance, the encroachments of public parks by seminaries, mosques, shops, vendors and other interest groups are conveniently ignored. The mistreatment, degeneration and plunder of other historical sites – from Moenjo Daro to the Makli graves, are not an issue. Even if one takes the case of the original Hindu Gymkhana, one wonders why the government does not want to vacate the 27,000 square yards encroached upon by the police and the 7,200 square yards by the Federal Service Commission and a private party.
Common sense says that one should not destroy an institution to build another. So what prevents the government from building its planned Sindh Arts and Craft Centre elsewhere or providing a bigger building or bigger piece of land to the Hindu community – whose name is being used to grab the disputed building. One would certainly like to get a sensible answer to these questions.
For the record, a couple of decades down the road, Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palejo will be remembered as the person who spearheaded the movement to destroy a worthy institution like NAPA. And, unfortunately, she belongs to a party which professes to be progressive, liberal and secular.-- ENDS
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