Unsung Hero: Baba G

Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. – John. F. Kennedy

“Junoon se aur ishq se milti hai azadi”, the kid was humming the OST of the movie Jinnah which was shown on PTV. His father entered home and asked him lightly whether he knew the meaning of what he was humming? Then he began telling him the details. I was sitting in the corner of the room and was lost in my own thoughts. Today is the 65^th Independence Day of Pakistan. And if one ponders over the ups and downs of these years, one can realize the price of independence. For a nation to excel, and for that matter to destruct, contribution from a large number of people is required. One person alone is not enough to bring a meaningful change, either negative or positive. But one has to do his/her own bit of work. So there are a lot of people who have contributed to the building and prosperity of our nation. Some of them are well known, through books, newspapers and television. But there are countless people who form the backbone of this country but no one knows about them. I knew one such person. Rather I had known him since my childhood. To me, and all other people in my village, he was known as Baba Jee.

His name was Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. He belonged to Haiderabad Deccan. Even though I was unable to understand much of what he was saying but still I saw him and listened to him many times in my childhood. He was our version of Santa Clause. He lived in Lahore but frequently visited our village, which meant we would get all sorts of gifts like story books, pencils, sharpeners, and small cash for which we children would eagerly wait. Although it was alien to our village, he used to dress like Quaid-e-Azam and he looked very graceful and interesting, with Jinnah Cap on his head, he was kindness personified.

Actually he was one of Quaid’s friends who participated in movement for Pakistan. He showed us his pictures with Quaid and also some letters which was written by Allama Muhammad Iqbal to him. He often used to tell us the stories related to the refugees from India to Pakistan. He also told us the the tragic story of that train which was fixed for carrying refugees and he and Quaid with his companions were waiting for the refugees impatiently but when the train reached and the sight they saw, they lost their consciousness because all the passengers were killed; only a child was left alive. With tears in his eyes, he told us that he wanted to write a book about all that. I don’t know whether he wrote it or not. But he never preached hatred. He always talked about helping the needy people and do our best to make the world a better place. Here, I want to share some of his kind deeds for poor needy people which I noticed personally and listened from my parents:

I was astonished when I came to know that after the independence of Pakistan he gave the first salary to Govt. servants from his own pocket. In present day currency, it would amount to some 27 crore rupees. Quaid received that amount as a loan and said to him that he could get it back at any time he wanted but he never did.

As he belonged to the Nawab family of Haidarabad, and had a large property in India, he was given a vast area as compensation upon migrating to Pakistan after independence. He was given many villages in claim for his Indian property. Our village was also part of that property which he distributed amongst poor refugees without any discrimination on the bases of religion or cast. He opened a school for the kids of villagers where they can get free education. He paid the teachers from his own pocket. He also used to provide books and other necessary goods for school and students personally. He also got the services of some doctors who used to visit the village on weekly basis and patients were provided free treatment and medicines.

On the day of Eid he would come to our village and celebrated Eid with poor villagers. I still remember that pleasure which we felt when we received Eidi from Baba G. Now when I think about his love for us I am astonished at him who was celebrating this important occasion with us leaving his own daughters and their children at Lahore or Karachi. Do you know about a person who sacrificed his own pleasures to make others happy?

           

A vary important information that I want to share with you is: He had six Moe Mubarik (sacred hair) of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). On the occasion of 12^th Rabi-ul-Awwal (the birth date of our Prophet (s.a.w) ), he would placed them for zyarat and Muslims from far of places came to our vllage for zyarat. The tradition is being continued now by his daughter.

In the gloom of everything bad, such people are beacons of light. They offer a ray of hope and instill in us the belief that even one person can make a difference. We should follow them and do our work honestly without criticizing others. Try to do something for your nation without any personal interest; this will bring peace to our heart and soul. Just look around you there are many people who need us. Sometimes our kind words can bring smile on the face of a hopeless person. Never think that you can only help others when you have a lot of money, our good behavior can also do much more than spending money.

Happy Independence Day to all Pakistanis around the world

P.S. to all Indians who would be celebrating their independence day tomorrow, wish you a happy independence day in advance.