Pakistani communist leader strums a song for peace
He teaches political economy at Lahore university and sings for Pakistani peasants. He batted for Indo-Pak peace at Kolkata’s Town
Hall on Sunday and performed at Someplace Else later that night. On Monday morning, a CPM rally welcomed him on stage. Meet Taimur Rahman, Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party leader and the frontman of Pakistani rock band Laal, who is here for an India-Pakistan peace initiative by Kindle Magazine. Shounak Ghosal caught up with him.
Q: Your songs find place in several rebel blogs, including those of Naxalites. Are you aware of this?
A: I’m aware several groups put up our songs on their websites, but that doesn’t mean I agree or disagree with them. Many hardline groups in Pakistan are extremely hostile to us and yet, they upload our music. We base our activism on the Marxist-Leninist ideology. I won’t put myself as ultra-Left or ultra-Right. But I won’t prohibit anyone from listening to my music.
Q. What is the Pak perception of Communism here?
A: I knew West Bengal has a Left Front government and it has consistently won elections for many decades. But yesterday (Monday) was the first time I saw a CPM rally. CPM leader Rabin Deb asked me to perform and I did. The response was amazing I got emotional and even danced on stage. But let me clarify the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party is not linked to any group here, be it government or reactionary. I’m here to push for peace with Pakistan.
Q. And what about Maoism?
A: It’s not a topic of conversation in Pakistan at all. There is so much disruption in our daily lives that we hardly have time to talk of what’s happening on this side of the border. Among Indian issues, the focus is on Kashmir, not Naxals.
Q. How do you plan to take forward the peace process?
A: I’m willing to talk to anyone who wants peace between the two neighbours. And by that, I don’t mean only Congress or CPM. If ever the RSS, BJP and the right-wing outfits realise that all Pakistanis are not their enemies, I’ll be at their door.
Q. Has Pakistan accepted your way of activism?
A: I’ve been arrested, detained and threatened… I run into trouble regularly (laughs). But we have a considerable following now, and are connected with several other organisations. Our band is getting popular. At our rallies, we inspire people by singing for the oppressed. Musicians in Pakistan have many hurdles, you know, because of the Taliban ban on music…
Q. So you address a political rally with guitar?
A: And percussions, yes. I usually take an acoustic guitar and a tabla to our rallies. I’ve also had the full rock set-up electric guitars, drums but politics dictates our music.
Q. Do you have commercial ambitions for your band?
A: What’s that? (laughs). Nine out of 10 times, we perform for free. But we do intend to make some money with our music for education and development. We are in a life-and-death struggle against terrorism, the violence is breaking our country apart. Our band is driven purely by our political commitment.
Q. What face of Pakistan do you represent?
A: I represent that Pakistan which seeks peace and has called for a war on the war-mongers. Every day is a 26/11 in Pakistan, every city a Mumbai.
Q. And your impressions of Bengal?
A: Here, everything seems new to me, I loved every bit of it. The population is so interested in current affairs, state welfare, it’s astounding. But more than that, the deep intellectual culture prevalent here has bowled me over.
That is an excellent point. When in doubt on a celbbor verse, I like to go back to the original text, which so very often doesn’t lend itself to misinterpretation, misogyny, and other mis-es I don’t much like.
I’m grateful you made the post. It’s cleared the air for me.
This “free sharing” of information seems too good to be true. Like communism.
Stellar work there everyone. I’ll keep on reading.
We’ve arrived at the end of the line and I have what I need!
My friend is also my co-worker:) We've been together through alot of highs and lows in work and in real life, so working together and sharing tales of life's drama has come really natural for us.
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Hallo Katharina,Danke für deinen lieben Kommentar auf meinem Blog…Ich hab dir für deine tollen Tips zu danken, wegen der Fotos *lächel*man lernt doch immer wieder dazu…DANKExxx Sonja
Short, sweet, to the point, FREE-exactly as information should be!