Leaving the Left Behind
Rebuttal of I A Rehman's review published in book & author
letter to editor Dawn 30 April 2014
The review, honestly, came as a rude shock as it was hard to understand if Rahman was being sarcastic, and, if yes, over what? There were half-formed implications about both the book and Naqvi. The factual inaccuracy committed at the very beginning was itself the most off-putting element in the review.
When Naqvi was having to take the decisions by himself, Nazeer Abbasi was still alive albeit in hiding. They were both arrested on the same day (July 30, 1980; Page 82) where Abbasi died and Naqvi came out several years later. While undergoing almost a year-long solitary confinement, there was no way Naqvi could have been running party affairs, as has been suggested by Rahman (para 5).
Besides, the decisions Rahman has cited relate to Nagvi`s post-release period (1986).
To create a misplaced image in the minds of the readers who have not gone through the book yet can hardly be called fair comment.
Finally, both the text of the review and the technical details listed at the end of it have put the book in the category of `History` which it surely is not. It is a memoir, a subjective view of how the protagonist saw it happening, not a rigorous piece of history or a theoretical criticism of the doctrine.
Rahman, the senior writer and intellectual that he is, could have surely done better than the current effort which often sounds below the belt without letting the readers know the reason behind his uncharacteristic scorn.
Dr Syed Talha Iqbal Karachi.
I A rehman's article can be read at
http://pakedu.net/e-books/leaving-the-left-behind-history-by-syed-jamaluddin-naqvi-with-humair-ishtiaq-pakistan-study-centre-karachi-isbn-978-969-8467-56-2/
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