Two rights make one wrong

Isn't it strange that the extreme rightists in Pakistan and India have so much in common? They are both spoil sports. They don't approve of New Year celebrations, and they hate Valentine's Day. But the most recent proof of their common outlook is their reaction to Jaswant Singh's well-researched book on Mr Jinnah. His contention that Mr Jinnah was a secular person has annoyed the extremists on both sides of the Great Divide. They both insist he was a non-secular Muslim. One condemns him from being so and the other admires him for the same reason.

Wasn't it Fehmida Riaz, who wrote that lovely poem "Tum bhi hum jaise nikle"?

by Asif Noorani

This letter was published in Dawn, dated Dec 26, 2009