Anita and Me (Book Review)

Anita and Me is a semi-autobiographical novel. It is written by a British-Indian author Meera Syal in 1996. It is an amusing yet poignant coming of age narrative of a precocious nine year old British Indian girl growing up in 1960’s Britain. Syal has also written other renowned works like Life isn’t hahahehe and The House of Hidden Mothers etc. The main themes in her novels are based upon up rootedness, cultural conflict, racism and generation gap. As Syal also grew up in a mining village in Essington in Wolver Hampton, she inevitably understands the pain and frustration of the bicultural progeny of the immigrants and has documented it brilliantly in this masterpiece.

Anita and Me presents a, witty, heartbreaking, empathetic and intriguing picture of village life in the 1960’s British. It is the story of an Indian girl in a white community who was caught between two cultures and suffered racism at the hands of people whom she considered her friends.

The migrant parents of Meena had no issues while negotiating their cultural identity. But in early days they did suffer from ‘culture shock’. They gradually integrated in the host society while maintaining their own distinct cultural identity. Unlike her parents who preferred to stick to their Indian-Punjabi heritage, Meena who grew up in the English society was equally familiar with both the cultures. She had never visited India and even imagined India within the frame of English streets, as she narrates that when she imagines India it is “basically English streets with a few cows lounging around” (Syal, 32).

She had a restricted knowledge of her parent’s histories. She could communicate only in English and knew Punjabi very little. Likewise, Meena found English dresses more sophisticated as compared to the Indian dresses. She liked English food. Meena compared Diwali to Christmas and found Diwali uninteresting and unexciting as she spoke of Diwali as “Dead boring.”(Syal, 99). She felt more at ease while singing English songs as compared to the Punjabi songs.

However, despite her attraction to the English culture Meena was aware that she also had an undeniable affiliation with the Indian culture. Syal has vividly portrayed the misunderstandings and gap between the two cultures. Meena was aware of the Orientalist Gaze of her white neighborhood on her Indian culture. Meena who considered both cultures as part of her identity was caught in this conflict. She desperately struggled to carve out an identity for herself. She narrates that “I knew I was a freak of some kind, too mouthy, clumsy and scabby to be a real Indian girl and too Indian to be a real Tollington wench (…)” (Sya149). So, the war between the two cultures turned this bicultural child into a ‘freak’.

Apart from the baffling cultural conflict, Meena also went through the bitter and frightening experience of racism. The incidents of racism had a significant influence on her approach towards the Indian culture. So she made desperate efforts to fit in the dominant white British culture. Meena was also ashamed of the representation of India in her textbooks and in the media. The British Curriculum and media presented Indians in a caricatured form leading Meena to internalize shame and humiliation for her Indian ancestry. So, she decided to dissociate herself from the lower culture in her longing for acceptance. She started to erase the ‘inferior’ culture out of her life. Meena wanted to become a ‘functioning citizen’ in the English society so she befriended a blonde, beautiful, vivacious, bubbly and playful Anita Rutter. She started wandering in the backyards with Anita Rutter and her gang.

However Anita’s betrayal broke Meena to pieces. She ultimately realized that Anita was also like the rest of the white racist society who looked down upon Meena and her Indian heritage. Meena’s dilemma of shame, indignity and humiliation which she felt because of her Indian heritage was resolved by her Nanima. Her Nanima not only made her proud of her Indian heritage, she also showed through her own behavior that Meena can easily move in this society by taking both cultures hand in hand rather than choosing only one.

Meena who previously developed a sense of shame and hatred for her Indian heritage and abandoned it because of this racism observed that her Nanima still successfully made connections with some English people despite not being able to speak English. She also visited their neighbor’s home unlike her parents who did not socialize with the English people. Apart from Nanima another person who instilled confidence in Meena to embrace her biculturalism was a boy named Robert whom she met during her six week stay at hospital when she broke her arm. His attitude also assured Meena that friendship could be developed on equal terms as he accepted her for who she was. Robert still called her a “Tollington wench” when she had begun to embrace her Indian heritage. After the encounter with these two influential people she decides to heal “both body and mind.

This novel has been rightly compared by some critics to Lee Harper’s “To kill a mockingbird”. Both the novels have splendidly portrayed the havoc of racism and hold a vital position in this domain of literature. However in contrast to the former where three white children are witnessing the racial conflict and ostracization of colored people in racist South, here Meena experiences it firsthand.

Anita and Me is hilarious, bold, stimulating and yet emotional and heart touching. In-between the humor, banter and laugh, we can feel the painful conflict, humiliation, confusion, sadness and fear felt by Meena. The reader closely follows her journey from conflict to resolution. They can experience her pain, her struggle and finally her firmness and perseverance. It depicts Meena’s growth from a selfish, inane and confused girl to a confident, poised and level headed girl who finally knew who she was.

Syal has beautifully woven different themes and diverse characters, symbols and comparisons together to produce a remarkable narrative. Moreover she has skillfully juggled the Black Country dialect with the Punjabi that Meena heard from her parents and relatives. This technique provides the narrative with a more realistic touch.

Though the cultural conflicts and the incidents of racism are vividly and graphically documented with a touch of humor, tenderness , despair and anguish all at once yet the first half of the novel is very tedious, dull and to some extent unappealing. The reader has to be patient and persistent to encounter some spice and drama .The story is pretty hard to read during this half. However gradually the story picks up its pace and the heart touching story of a nine year old Indian girl desperately trying to find her place in racist British society unfolds itself. In the end, the story is proficiently interlaced together and the end product is a magnum opus.

Sare moti jhoote nikle

سارے موتی جھوٹے نکلے ، سارے جادو ٹوٹے 

میری خالی آنکھو ، بولو ، اب کیا خواب دکھاؤں ؟

tujhse mil kar yeh mere dil ko laga hai dharka

تجھ سے مل کر یہ مرے دل کو لگا ہے دھڑکا

راکھ ہو جاؤں گا میں صبح سے پہلے پہلے

Humne chehre pah muskurahaten mal ke

‏ہم نے چہرے پہ مسکراہٹیں مَل کر

‏آئینے کو ہمیشہ 

‏خوش گماں ہی رکھا

تھوڑ دِلا

ممتاز مفتی کہتا ہے کہ رب سے یاری لگا لو۔ رات سونے لگو تو ساری باتیں رب 

 کو سنا کر، دل کا بوجھ ہلکا کر کے سویا کرو۔ میری خوش قسمتی یا بدقسمتی کہ کوئی آٹھ دس برس پہلے مفتی کو پڑھ لیا۔ اور اس کے دئیے گئے اس سبق کو بھی دل پر لے لیا۔ اور اب رب کے بغیر گزارہ نہیں ہوتا۔ رب سے سب کہہ دیتی ہوں۔ سوتے جاگتے، چلتے پھرتے، اٹھتے بیٹھتے، اکیلے یا محفل میں رب جی سے باتیں جاری رہتی ہیں۔

پنجابی میں تھوڑ دِلا کہتے ہیں، ایسا شخص جس کا دِل بہت تھوڑا سا ہو۔ مطلب تو اس کا شاید یہ ہے کہ تھوڑ دِلا دوسروں کے ساتھ کچھ بانٹنے سے بھاگتا ہے۔ شاید کچھ مطلب یہ بھی ہے کہ تھوڑ دِلا زود غم اور زود حس ہوتا ہے۔ ذرا سی بات پر دل دھڑک اٹھتا ہے کہ کچھ ہو گیا۔ اور یہ کچھ اکثر بُرا والا کچھ ہوتا ہے، اچھا والا نہیں۔ تو میں اس قسم کی تھوڑ دِلا ہوں۔ ہر بات پر بِدک جاتی ہوں، ہر آہٹ پر تریہہ جاتی ہوں اور خاموشی بھی کسی طوفان کا پیش خیمہ زیادہ اور سکون کی علامت کم لگتی ہے۔ میرے جیسی تھوڑ دِلا پھر اور کس کے در پر جا سوال کرے گی ؟ بس رب کے آگے دستِ سوال دراز کر کے بیٹھ جاتی ہوں۔

رب کے ساتھ یاری بڑا مشکل کام ہے ۔ میرے جیسے منافقوں کی یاری بھی مطلب کی یاری ہوتی ہے۔ آپ سے کیا چھپانا بس ڈر لگتا ہے، بہت ڈر لگتا ہے، رب کی آزمائشوں سے بہت ڈر لگتا ہے۔ جب بھی کوئی ایسا موقع آتا ہے، یا میرے اندر کا تھوڑ دِلا مجھے خبردار کرتا ہے کہ ایسا کچھ ہونے والا ہے تو میرے روئیں روئیں میں الارم بجنے لگتے ہیں۔ بس پھر ایک ہی اُپائے ہوتا ہے، رب کے حضور درخواست گُذاری۔ رب کے حضور درخواست کرتی ہوں۔ بار بار کرتی ہوں۔ دیکھ لے مولا تُو تو رب ہے ناں، تیرا کیا چلا جائے گا۔ ایک میرے ساتھ اگر رحمت والا معاملہ کر دیا تو تیرے خزانے میں کونسا کمی آ جائے گی۔ میں مانتی ہوں کہ میرے پلّے کچھ نہیں ہے، لیکن تُو تو رب ہے۔ پالنہار ہے، تجھے پُوچھنے والا کون ہے۔ تُو تو آل اِن آل ہے، میرے ساتھ رحمت والا معاملہ کر دے میرے مالک۔ تجھے پتا ہے مجھے تیری آزمائش سے ڈر لگتا ہے، بہت ڈر لگتا ہے۔ مجھے تیرے عذاب سے بھی ڈر لگتا ہے۔ مجھے تیرے مُنصف بن جانے سے بھی ڈر لگتا ہے۔ کہ اگر تُو مُنصف بن گیا تو میرے پاس تو کچھ بھی نہیں پاس ہونے کےلیے۔ تُو رحمت والا معاملہ کر دے ناں، تو میرے لیے اس دنیا میں بھی اپنا کرم کر دے ناں۔ تو مجھ پر اپنی عطاء کر دے گا تو تیرا کیا چلا جائے گا۔ رب سے ایسی ایسی باتیں کہ کوئی اور سُن لے تو مجھے پاگل کہے۔

اور جب کوئی چارہ نہیں رہتا، جب کوئی اور امید نہیں رہتی تو پھر ایک ہی واسطہ ہوتا ہے۔ رب، نبی ﷺ کا صدقہ اپنی عطاء کر دو۔ نبی ﷺ کا نام ایسا ہے کہ بس اس کے بعد کچھ اپنے بس میں نہیں رہتا۔ نبی ﷺ کے نام کے بعد لفظ نہیں صرف آنسو کام کرتے ہیں۔ رب کے دربار میں نبی ﷺ کے واسطے دے کر بھی تھوڑ دِلا کیا مانگتا ہے؟ دنیا ۔ لیکن تھوڑ دِلا کیا کرے، رب کی مہربانی سے اگر اب کچھ ملا ہے، تو تھوڑ دِلا تریہہ جاتا ہے۔ ہر آہٹ اور خاموشی پر بدک اٹھتی ہے۔ رب کی آزمائش کا خوف اسے چین نہیں لینے دیتا۔ تو پھر تھوڑ دِلا اگر رب سے رحمت مانگنے کی ٹیپ نہ چلائے تو اور کیا کرے؟ تھوڑ دِلا تو یہی کر سکتا ہے کہ رب  سے معافی مانگتا رہے، اور رحمت مانگتا رہے اور نبی ﷺ کا واسطہ دیتا رہے۔ اور بھلا تھوڑ دِلا کیا کر سکتا ہے؟

Pakistan, India and Politics of Nuclear Suppliers Group

The last Vienna Plenary meeting of NSG ended without reaching any consensus on the issue of NSG candidature for non-NPT states. India was lately giving the impression that it has won the support of majority of the states including Mexico, Switzerland, Brazil, Russia and New Zealand. But the fact is that New Zealand doesn’t stand a chance against the US pressure. Similarly the countries in Latin American have different interest.

However, three major countries Ireland, China and Austria have not shown any change in their stance against the Indian membership. India on the other hand, wants to send the message out that NSG issue is still alive and India is diligently working for its membership. It’s almost a decade that membership of NSG has become much contested, especially because of India and Pakistan interest its membership.

Three dimensions to the whole issue are significant. First dimension is Commercial lobby; for example commercial purpose was the main idea behind Indo-US nuclear deal in 2005 and later in 2008 when the U.S. granted a waiver to India. Second is the politics of norms. If norms are main factor behind nuclear politics then Indo-US nuclear deal and NSG waiver should strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The third is the “geopolitical” perspective with strategic undertones.

The ground realities illustrate that India’s politics and its membership of NSG has less to do with the economic or norms dimension and more influenced by geopolitics. The Indo-US deal on space technology existed since 2004, long before the Indo-US nuclear deal. Now it is believed that India will be able to enhance the sophistication of its missiles.

Things further gained pace in 2010 and the idea was floated that India should be the member of all the cartels such as Australia Group, MTCR, NSG etc. By then, US had already granted an NSG waiver to India. India now is the strategic partner of the US and enjoys more autonomy than other allies of the US.

India is being mainstreamed by the US and it has maintained that there is no need for new criteria. It claims that India is already complying with a number of commitments and these commitments are sufficient to guarantee India a membership.

Norms’ applicability can be viewed while examining all the treaties regarding non-proliferation. In this regard the UNSC resolution 1540 (2004) could be taken as the finest arrangement within the export control norms. Pakistan is one of the leading states who prepared a legislative law which became a statute in September 2004. Such features provide enough justification for Pakistan’s case as a well-qualified state for the export control regime, while on the other hand India’s export control laws were presented long after Pakistan’s.

Most of the countries were given the impression by the US and India that Pakistan has been brought in by China as a reaction to Indian membership application to spoil the Indian case. Contrary to this, Pakistan had its Export Control Act in 2004. Since then it has been updating its NSG list. Islamabad announced its NSG compliance list in 2005 followed by two subsequent reviews in 2007 and 2012 that ensures the working on this issue long before India had applied for NSG membership.

Hence when India applied, Pakistan had already done its homework and was ready to apply which it did instantly. Also, it wouldn’t have been possible for Pakistan to apply within 6 days of Indian application. Pakistani side gave a detailed dossier spanning over 300 pages within 6 days which shows that the preparations were already there. So Pakistan has to tackle this impression as well.

The right time to insist on a stringent criterion for non-NPT states was in 2008. At that time, NSG countries missed an opportunity where they could have asked both Pakistan and India to simultaneously adhere to strong non-proliferation commitment. This could have injected nuclear restraints in South Asia. But now India has access to all kinds of nuclear technology and has the capability to live without the membership of NSG. For India it is a matter of prestige. For now, it will not be easy for India to meet any new criteria as it can live without it.

Earlier this year, Pakistan’s foreign affairs adviser indicated that Pakistan is willing to enter into a bilateral non-testing agreement with India. Back in 1998 as well, Pakistan proposed simultaneous adherence to CTBT by both Pakistan and India. Later India refused by making it clear that it is not going to join CTBT.

Now Pakistan has found a middle ground i.e. the bilateral agreement which is still better than unilateral moratoriums because unilateral moratoriums are voluntary however India is not willing for such a bilateral agreement as well because it does not comply with its interest.

India is of the view that NSG membership is very significant for her prestige and for this purpose it went openly for an alliance with US. Even after the meeting scheduled on 11-12 November 2016, the trends are not in favor of India. However, Pakistan also needs to maintain its resilience in its policy regarding the issue of NSG membership.

Viewing the increasing number of countries supporting universal criteria for non-NPT states, it can be assumed that Indian membership in NSG doesn’t seem forthcoming which is ultimately good for Pakistan. However, if Pakistan could not win the membership simultaneously with India, it should still not give up on its ambitions as it needs recognition in the long run. Pakistan can gradually and eventually get there by constant efforts. However, it should not rush and must keep the pace of responsible nuclear weapon state.

CPEC: Uniting Regions

“Gwadar Port Operational for Trade Activities” a headline which marked the realization of the long sought dream of President Xi Jinping. It indeed proved that Sino-Pakistan relationship is without a doubt, higher than the mountains and deeper than oceans. CPEC is a channel for the Maritime Silk Route that connects around three billion people in Asia, Africa and Europe. As expressed by President Xi Jinping, “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is so precisely situated that it magically connects Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”

Although there are various dimensions to look at CPEC, the existing narrative explores that CPEC has provided Pakistan with a distinct advantage. However, in China, the project of CEPC is a silk route road channel connecting different regions and countries in one string. For the world, CPEC is known as the game changer for the worldwide trade.

Three major powers, US, Japan and India, appear to be excessively uneasy as they see the venture coming to fruition. The US is taking a uneasy gander at the CPEC which is as an early indication of the start of the end of its worldwide hegemonic rule at the monetary front. Japan is stressed that with the consummation of CPEC, any modest edge that it had over China in world markets, would essentially vanish because the physical distance amongst China and its trading countries would be abbreviated by as much as 9,000 km. Japan’s cost of creating exportable surpluses as an outcome will be deeply impacted.

India, however, is stressed for the security of its oil supplies that can be choked via Gwadar passing Strait of Hormuz. New Delhi fears that, china might set up a naval base at the entrepôt of CPEC. India appears to be additionally worried about the eventual fate of Chahbhar port, that it is working on with the Iranians lying along the Strait of Hormuz and also around 72 km away from Gwadar, for which India is generously contributing $20 billion. India intended to deny Pakistan the big markets of Afghanistan and CARS region via Chabahar. The success and natural location of Gwadar puts all these plans into a dustbin.



Although U.S. and Japan appear to be occupied with the rising China in a power struggle for dominance in South-China sea, India seems to have as of now settled a stratagem, trying to contain the self-professed dangers to its territory exuding from CPEC. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already made his intention clear on August 15, 2016 at Lal Qila, by vowing to incite insurgency in Balochistan, believing that instability in the area would make it unthinkable for the CPEC venture to take off.

New Delhi is likewise questioning the corridor going through Gilgit-Baltistan saying any happening in the disputed area can not take place without its consent. India fears that China would set up its army installation in GB with the help of Pakistan making it twice as dangerous for India to control IOK.

Similarly, New Delhi fears that once CPEC project starts to roll, it would reduce the efficiency of Chabahar port, oil supplies of India coming from Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia would turn out to be reliant on the goodwill of Pakistan and China. Along with these, India’s plans for reaching out to Central Asian markets would be smoke screened as China would have the capacity to make an entrance in the Central Asian states via Gwadar in the shortest possible time, whereas India would be left with its circuitous course experiencing Afghanistan which is still in the grasp of an unending war.

As indicated by Ashfaque H. Khan, the CPEC can possibly change Pakistan into a regional center for trade and give Pakistan a unique chance to strengthen and uplift its strategic and economic position in the world.

The CPEC has aberrant key ramifications as new focuses of monetary cooperation would develop. The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline was commenced in December and CASA-1000 in May. The Iran-Pakistan (IP) is in progress. China has conferred US$ 2.5 billion to Pakistan to finish the IP gas project as soon as sanctions were lifted from Iran.

All these three energy matrices are intense expansion to the energy dealing projects under the CPEC as it gives another shape to Pakistan as a regional energy network supplier between Central Asia and South Asia. Afghanistan being an integral part of these understandings ensures maintainability of these assertion. In these unique circumstances, the CPEC has been accomplishing its desired results and moving ahead with a quick pace.

tune phir se badal diye kirdaar

تو نے پھر سے بدل دیے کردار؟

یا کہانی ہی دوسری لکھی؟

nasihaten hain kartey hain tarke ulfat ki

نصیحتیں ہَمَیں‌کرتے ہیں ترکِ اُلفت کی

یہ خیر خواہ ہمارے کِدھر سے آنکلے

manzilen ab bhi dour hain

منزلیں اب بھی دور ہیں 

اب تو مر جائیں ہم تو بہتر ہے