This was to be a very busy day according to my 1994 journal. It begins by commenting on heavy traffic in Rawalpindi then goes on to say we visited the shrine of Shah Bari Latif with the Muree Hills in the background.
We went up into the hills around Pindi and looked down on the internationally famous Shah Faisal Masjid. Earlier on that day we actually visited the site but were unable to get inside the mosque & my camera developed a problem so I have no photos of my own. We then drove around for quite a while searching for food and drink before calling in at Golra Sharif. Now, until I read the journal entry I must admit to having totally forgotten about this place, possibly because it may have been a little rushed. However, I have described it in some detail.
At Golra Sharif
My journal says we arrived and were ushered upstairs into the presence of the Pir. The Pir was praying and there were men standing then sitting cyclically. An elderly Pir was helped uptairs and all in the room stood up. A group of about 15-20 men were ushered into a small room where the Pir was sitting on a setee. The murideen knelt down, touched the Pir's knee and kissed his hand. We were all seated back on the floor in a lower position than the Pir.
My journal says that, outside sat the Pir's brother who was almost an identical twin?
Two honorific names are listed thus:
Pir Sayed Ghulum Moin-ul-Din Uruf lala ji sarkar
Pir Sayed Abdul Haq
My journal then describes how our party of four were then alone and had been offered some food. The room also contained five charpai (low beds). These low beds are for guests from afar. In one sense this reminded me of the langar and hospitality Sikhs provide in their gurdwaras.
Nothing further is written about Golra Sharif in the journal which then switches to talk about a visit to a school we made. It says we were just by the Rawal Dam and there happened to be a school so we went in and introduced ourselves to the head teacher and staff. Photos of this school can be found in the accompanying slide show.
I noted that we were enthusiastically recieved and were shown round the building which was dark, dingy and cramped to say the least. On entering a classroom the orange-clad youngsters stood up. However, my journal goes on to say this was NOT the respectful, disciplined atmosphere I had expected. The children and their teachers were poorly motivated and education in Victorian style conditions was being attempted.
Their entire system of state education is backward-looking, I wrote in the journal. It appeared that the same curriculum left by the British in 1948 was still being taught. The students in any classroom can be of any age, says my notes, since progression is determined by Dickensian-style exams, the answers for which have to be learned parrot-fashion by rote.
I saw, through a far window, corporal punishment being administered with a stick. One teacher told me that, after the summer vacation, the pupil's attendance is poor with many staying at home to work and help their parents. This teacher then said that the pupils actually insist on being punished!!!!!
He told me how low teacher morale was since teachers were not recognised for the work they did. Privately I was of the view that I was witnessing education in a time warp. The journal again makes comparison to the things I had just seen in Malaysia and things there in Pakistan.
A critique of state education in Pakistan.
Shrine Of Shah Bari Latif
The journal then jumps to the next location we visited and speaks of disappointment in that the actual shrine was not as impressive as I was hoping for. I wrote that his mazar was not large or that important. One interesting observation was that women were not permitted to enter the inner sanctum of the shrine though they are allowed to peer in through a window.
The entire role of women in Pakistani society forces itself upon the western visitor for, nothing is so alien to the westerner, as street devoid of females. I'm contrasting Pakistan with both Egypt and Malaysia here where women play a much more significant role in society and on the streets too.
Shah Faisal Mosque
My journal says that this place was a beautiful sight indeed along with the imposing high mountains behind. This ultra modern mosque was paid for in full by Shah Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The structure is faced entirely in marble and the prayer hall and minarets have a sleek, modern design. Sadly the actual prayer hall was closed and there were hardly any people around when we visited that day.
Outside was the mazar of General Zia-ul-Haq. My guides told me they favoured Zia since he tried to introduce a more Islamic society.In my research Zia brought in those aspects of Islam seen as most brutal by westerners namely the Hudood, zina ordinances and blasphemy laws. (1978). In practice, the zina ordinances result in women who have been raped ending up in prison themselves and receiving many lashes whilst the male perpetrators escape justice. I feel passionate about this abuse of basic human rights.
The Quaid, himself would not have felt at ease with these regressive developments since he stated that women would be free to play their part in the new Pakistan.
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