Pakistan seems to have an uncanny relationship with the Islamic month of Ramazan; though except for the creation of the country itself, in most cases the relationship appears bitter.
Born on the eve of Ramazan 27, 1366 Hijri - a night considered exceptionally blessed under Islamic thought - the country offered hope to the many survivors who escaped the wrath of death during migration.
Some 500,000 lives perished and thousands lost their homes and properties in a fierce ethnic conflict that followed the partition of India. But the country lived on with its ups and downs, struggling to survive in an environment mired with political infighting and military takeovers.
Twenty-three years later, on Ramazan 12, 1390 Hijri, (November 12, 1970) a tropical cyclone named Bhola (which ironically means innocent in Urdu) ravaged East Pakistan. The event, according to critics, significantly contributed to peoples discontent and disaffection, leading to the separation of Pakistan in 1971.
The Victory Day of Bangladesh, that marked the end of 9-month long civil war after General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi surrendered to the commander of Allied Forces General Aurora, fell on Shawwal 28, 1381 Hijri - i.e. less than 30 days after Ramazan.
Failing to learn a lesson from the fall of Dhaka, Pakistan remained in an economic, political and social haywire, experimenting with nationalisation under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (1972-1974), a crash course Islamization under General Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988), followed by a game of musical chair between PPP and PML-N in the 90s until General Pervez Musharraf took over the reigns in 1999.
Then, a few Ramazans later, another tragedy struck Pakistan - an earthquake in the northern areas. On Ramazan 5, 1426 Hijri, the 7.6 Richter scale quake killed nearly 80,000 people and left thousands displaced.
And now the floods of 2010. Though the torrent began a few days before Ramazan, it gathered pace in the holy month starting August 11, 2010.
The floods 2010, which is being viewed as a game changer in Pakistans economic, social and political climate, has killed 1600 people so far and displaced millions in a political-environment rife with regime-changing rumours.
Talks of regime-change could be baseless speculations stemming from a collective Freudian slip; but interestingly, the invitation to patriotic generals and suggestion to remove the allegedly corrupt government has also come in Ramazan.
And oh! If it matters to anyone, here is a bit of extraneous information: President Zardari took oath on Ramazan 9, 1429 Hijri (Sep, 8, 2008). How you read that is your discretion.
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