Dallas Desi Politics - Mannu Mehta and Indian Member of the Pakistan Society

As an Individual involved in the communities, literally in every community, I am pleased to present my personal point of view on the issue of whether an Indian Mannu Mehta can become a member of the Pakistan Society of North Texas.

The PSNT, PAAT, IANT (India), BANT (Bangladesh), Nepalese and Sri Lankans are all Desi cultural associations. God forbid if India and Pakistan were to go to war, but if that happens,  I will guarantee you that PSNT and IANT will not go to war here in Dallas. 

Indeed, there were three stupid’s among the community here in Dallas, and one of them pushed hard to disqualify Najma (my late wife, and a big time Pakistani) from running for the President of PSNT – he talked with me and her, and was pushing the idea that since I am an Indian, I will influence her… like I would tell her not to declare war on Indians in Dallas, how dumb and stupid can one be! I should have told him to take his rats ass somewhere else other than Dallas, I did not, out of respect for Najma. 

The India Association has many Pakistanis actively participating, in the beginning a few ugly Indians opposed it, but heck, they were the fringe elements, just like there are among Pakistanis and among the Republicans, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jews and others. 

I run this forum Dallas Pakistanis for the last ten years, the only stable forum for the period, and I had lent my office for major planning meetings of PSNT in the late nineties…  every now and then some stupid will cry foul, but apparently some good common sense Pakistani will tell him to shut the eff-up. This is just a service – no remuneration and no advertisement of my business either. There are way too many good people in Dallas who do the good work for nothing back; it is a joy to do that. ( I run Dallas Indians, Dallas Nepalese, Dallas Bangladeshi and Dallas Sri Lankan groups)

The shining examples of be-lous- khidmatgaars are  Dr. Amanualllah Khan and Amir Rupani in Dallas, and I am sure there are others too.... they have funded many events in Dallas - but have never asked or influenced anyone to do things for them or give them the time on the stage or even asked to mention their name... that is the kind of men and women we need; 

The Non-Profit charters cannot prevent any American from becoming a member of any organization; however, individuals choose to be or not to be a member. No one can stop you from becoming a member of American, Canadian, Hispanic, Black or French Chambers of commerce. The only restrictions if you don't feel  in with them. I am a life member of Punjabi Cultural association as well, but rarely do I participate - I understand light Punjabi, but not every word, I am a life member of Hindi and Kannada associations, and I go there when I can, as I speak both the languages. I wish we had a great non-political non-khusur-pusur urdu association, thats is where my heart is. One of these days, it will come alive.

I am glad to see Mannu Mehta as a Member, the more good things we do together, the more examples we can set for others and some day, this example will make people in India and Pakistan think about it.

I tip my hat for PSNT and urge PAAT to bring others, including the Caucasian, African Americans, Bangladeshi, Indian and other Americans into the fold. Fanaticism decreases when diversity increase – diversity is God’s plan. 

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India,interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes his work through many links.

Pakistanis celebrate Pakistan Day in Dallas-Fort Worth region

Dallas Pakistanis Celebrate Pakistan Day

URL - http://redeemingpakistan.blogspot.com/2013/03/pakistanis-celebrate-pakistan-day-in.html

March 23, 2013 - Dallas, Texas

The Pakistan Society of North Texas (PSNT) celebrated the Pakistan Day, the day on which a decision was made in 1940 to create the state, and it is also the day in 1956 when Pakistan adopted her constitution.

I congratulate Mrs. Anjum Anwar, the new President of PSNT and her team for a job well done.

The leadership of the PSNT must also be congratulated for bringing stability and continuance of the policies. In the past, when the new team got elected, they mercilessly dumped the old team, all their good work was rendered useless, and it’s like someone winning the war and taking over the country and pushing the old Badshah aside.

For the last five years, this association has demonstrated stability and continuance, the immediate past President Mr. Barkat Basaria was actively participating in the program to make it successful. Indeed, this has been the case for the past few successions from Dr. Riaz Haider, to Mohammad Yunus, Shan Ali Bhagat, Dr. Rabia Khan, and Mr. Barkat Basaria down to Mrs. Anjum Anwar (Forgive me for the sequence or not remembering all the names). This is a healthy and positive change that the previous Presidents and the teams remain on the honor roll. What a delight it must be to serve. 

It was good to see many of the past presidents participate in the event. The organization is on the right path and I wish them all the success.

Each one of the presidents with no exception in the long past has served the organization and the community well, unfortunately the old system promoted hostile takeovers, and the previous teams were side lined and blamed out of pettiness.  Everyone has served well in the past and deserves to be recognized on occasions and like this, and I am glad Anjum Anwar acknowledged most of them.

The problem was never the individual, it was the system. The new system will fix most of the past ailments, as evidenced by the upbeat positive event on March 23^rd. The new system is good for the Pakistani community.

The team has raised nearly $275,000.00 through individual donations and contributions to house a center for Pakistani people of North Texas. Despite  the problems, the trustees have preserved the money and  will rightfully use the funds for the purpose for which they were collected: to have a Pakistan Center.  A commitment that the Pakistani community will hopefully appreciate it.

Congratulations to Dr. Amer Suleman to start a new Organization called Pakistani American Association of Texas to attend to the un-attended. The North Texas Pakistanis ought to cherish that they will have two organizations and many events to attend. Dallas/ Fort Worth is massive area, and there are at least 40,000 Pakistanis living who will be reached out to.

I urge the community members to put things behind,  and resist the temptation to find faults or bad mouth others. Please don't beat up the Pakistani community for these attitudes, the Indians have done exactly the same thing.  Indeed, you might serve the community well, if you could tell the bad mouthers to hold it within themselves  This is what I have personally said to a few, “If you don’t have anything good to say about others, then don’t say anything. I don’t want to hear and be a party to the ill-will .” Of course, they did not like it, and I am glad, I chose not to be a carrier or their sewage.

When we have two organizations, it becomes entertainment for a few to pit one against the other, we need not fall for those rascals.  I am asking PSNT and PAAT leadership to understand that most of us, including me, will treat everyone as our friends with goodwill towards every one.  Insha Allah, time permitting, I will attend functions and events of both, just as I attend most of the India, Bangladesh and a few Nepalese and Sri Lankan events besides most of the main stream events. 

I request Dr. Amer Suleman and Mrs. Anjum Anwar, presidents of the PAAT and PSNT not to listen to any one who sows the seed of distrust in you about others from this day forward. Take the organizations forward and do a lot of good things the community needs.

My hats off to Amer for arranging the April 7^th event for our kids to evaluate the colleges they may want to consider. Its a good program indeed.  My hats off to Anjum for turning the Pakistan day speeches over to the youth. The young lady’s speech was excellent, we have got to turn over the things to youth and it’s time for us to admire and watch the youth take it over.

It was good to see PSNT pay tribute to Mansur Shah, a dedicated volunteer and past president of PSNT. We have worked together on many of the events including the day of 9/11/2001. He was a great guy and may his soul rest in peace. He was the first person to write a check towards Najma's elections campaign. (Those who are new,  Najma Ghouse was my late wife who served the Pakistani community well - she passed away five years ago to Cancer). We had a misunderstood conflict between us, and I asked Mansur Shah to visit Najma on her death bed, and both forgave each other, that was one of the most beautiful moments of releasing each other from tensions. 

I am glad to see observance of silent duwas for Dr. Muhammad Khalid who is battling with cancer. Dr. Khalid has worked tirelessly on developing the constitution of the society. We have worked together on many things including the first unity day. He understands full well what the community needs to do to go forward. I pray his recovery. Amen!

The speeches were short and precise. A student delivered a perfect speech on the occasion. Dr. Arif Jamal did a fabulous job of interviewing many a members of the community, he sounded like a good TV show host. Mrs. Anjum Anwar went to each table and met with most, if not all the people, nice touch!

Here in Dallas, we have a tradition where Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Nepalese join in each others' celebrations. Perhaps the catalytic event may be the Desi Thanksgiving Celebrations in 1993, where all the Desis came together for the first time. It was beefed up with the Asian News magazine that made its debut in 1993 representing stories from all communities. Then the first commercial radio Asian News was established in 1996 that brought communities together. Its nostalgic to me, when Indians would come on my radio and sing Pakistani Qoumi taranay on the air on august 14th, and the next day, the Pakistanis would sing Indian National songs on the 15th. There was a lot of goodwill established during those formative years and I am proud, John Hammond of FunAsia is carrying the tradition forward with all his heart and mind, thank you John! Together as Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalese and Sri Lankans, we are one of the best communities in the United States.

A few suggestions for the next event:

1. Prepare a full script for the entire program to ensure nothing is missed out. Every word we say at our events including Unity Day, Holocaust and Genocides and thanksgiving celebrations is written up and memorized. You have got to have a script, it lends concrete ideas to become a part of the program.

2. Acknowledge all, if acknowledged at all. It is difficult to acknowledge every one, but put a booklet out, not the expensive kind, but a simple one to acknowledge all. When you have a book, you will remember most if not all. 

3. Bring aboard Christian, Hindu, Sikh and other Muslim Pakistanis. You guys can be a beacon of hope to the world and other Pakistanis around the nation. Set the example, and bring aboard each one and give them a stage presence - no speeches or may be a one minute talk (as we do in the Unity day to bring everyone from Atheist to Zoroastrians and every one in between). 

Dr. Pervaz Rahman had a good idea of issuing a solidarity statement in reference to the communal conflicts in Pakistan. It's a shame how a few Sunni Pakistanis are treating fellow Pakistanis who are Shia, Ahmadi, Christian, Hindu and others. If the Dallas Pakistanis cannot speak up for unity and well being of all Pakistanis, then who will? If ten American Cities can emulate you, imagine what will do to the Pakistanis in Pakistan.  I understand GEO TV covers such events to promote goodwill.

Again, happy Pakistan Day

Mike Ghouse

Pakistan Society of North Texas and Elections

The Dallas Pakistani community has gone through ups and downs and at times has become dysfunctional. Every year for the last twenty years, I have witnessed hyper tensions and conspiratorial politics playing its role. Of course that is human and each one of the Desi communities has gone through the same issues, but most have put their organizations on the right path whether they are nationalistic or religious. It is time for the Pakistani community to take that step. Continued: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/01/pakistan-society-of-north-texas-and_1.html

Good signs are showing up at the local Pakistani community, they have just released a list of 858 life members on line; this is the kind of transparency that must be admired, it is a good step in the right direction. 

As communities, we need to appreciate everyone who has served the respective community in one form or the other, and each one must be acknowledged for his or her contribution towards the growth of their community.

As a Member of the Dallas Desi (pronounced They-see), that is the people of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, I have always considered as one community despite the political differences.

The Pakistani community has gone through ups and downs and at times has become dysfunctional. Every year for the last twenty years, I have witnessed hyper tensions and conspiratorial politics playing its role. Of course that is human and I have witnessed that in each one of the Desi communities, whether they are nationalistic or religious, they have the same issues.

Most Non-profit organizations have a hierarchical system to ensure stability and continuity of its policies. Where a slate of candidates is elected, and as the president completes his term and exits, his VP becomes the President, and VP’s position is filled by the Secretary or the treasurer.  However, Pakistan society follows the other system where a new body gets elected every time, and decides its own agenda. As a result continuity and stability is compromised.

The current administration wanted to bring that change for the better, and it got shot down, without any serious discussion or a committee formed to put a report together, instead, personal attacks have increased.

 I have been a part of most of the organizations in Dallas, and feel the anguish and pain they endure, and appeal to each one of you to seriously think about this: When you write or comment about Dallas Pakistanis, write what they have contributed, instead of tearing each other down, and everyone can be torn down! What's the point?

Those who are smart understand that you don't build a community by tearing the other, but by uplifting each other. Pakistan society is not a country, or a secret service agency, for God’s sake, it is merely a service organization and every one’s service must be appreciated. If each one gets down to discrediting the other, at the end of the day, every one of you becomes a bum per the other. Shouldn’t this change? Are you willing to be the change?

Start thinking in terms of Obama representing 100%, instead of Romney representing just 47%.  Each one of you, whether you are a leader or not, consider representing the entire community, absorbing each other’s flaws, and protecting and covering each other... Each one of you is a bahadur, and you can do it.

I urge the North Texas Pakistani Media leaders like John, Amina, Saeed, Pervaz, Shah, Raja, Sajjad, Mona (in no particular order) and others to pave the way and bring about a positive change.  Let your media become a model of uniting people.

I have nothing to gain from any of this but a few insults, I really don’t care, all I care is all of us, every one of us on the planet to learn to respect the otherness of other and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us. I consider the time spent in building bridges is the right thing to do and not a waste of time.

We have a forum, one of the oldest communication forums for the Dallas Pakistanis, as it is there for Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Nepalese; it has just entered its 20^th year, and is a continuation of the Asian News Magazine that began in 1993 and Asian News Radio which commenced in 1996. 

If you are a Pakistani, you are welcome to join the forum by sending an email to: DallasPakistanis-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com . It is a moderated forum to keep an open discussion and prevent spam, advertisers and non-contributory gossip.

Mike Ghouse

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work and social settings. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a strong presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.