Daily Times

In 1971-1972, I spent a couple of years in the Washington area working as a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health. It seems so long ago, especially as the demographics and contours of the area have changed so radically. At the time, thenonwhite population was small, and culturalactivitiesof special interest to South Asians were scant to nonexistent. After an interlude of somesixteen years, we returned to the areain 1988, and were pleased to find that its social and cultural landscape had changed for the better.

Entertainment andsocial activities were thriving, consistent with the phenomenal growth of the population drawn from the Indian subcontinent. The weekends witnessed abundant cultural,literary or musical events, mushairas or social get-togethers at private homes.Community and fraternal organizations, such as The Aligarh (AAA) and Karachi University Alumni Associations, as well as the Association of Indian Muslims had expanded their memberships and hosted many gatherings. A yearly literary festival,that was eagerly awaited and organized by Dr. Abdullah of the AAA, was the international Mushaira which attracted a galaxy of invited poets from around the world and brought together a large number of attendees.

When it seemed that life would continue forevermoving along its smooth trajectory, the world was upended by the appearance of the novel corona virus early this year.Starting from West Coast cities, it quickly and relentlesslyspread to allUS populations centers.As of this writing, it has infected over 7.4 million people, with 215 thousand fatalities in the US. To check its merciless proliferation, in March and April, State and County Governments ordered a general lockdown, and schools, colleges, restaurants, shops and movie theaters were closed. Even places of worship, mosques, churches, andsynagogues, shut their doors. All social and personal interactions, community events and societal gatherings ceased. Normally busy, congested roads in the Washington area presented aneerie, desolate look.

To be trapped inside the house is not natural for most people. South Asians,in particular,are excessively sociable people,known for hosting frequent gatherings of family and friends. Soon, a feeling of isolation and gloom overtook many of us and we started looking for some opportunities to lessen the sense of boredom and despondency. A senior member of the Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC, Dr. Razi Raziuddin, a scientist by profession who was also trapped at home as laboratories had closed, came uponan ingenious idea of organizing Zoom meetings, involving no physical presence,to which eminent scholars, academicians and politicians from the US, India and Pakistan could beinvited to speak.These settingsoffered a unique advantage.Unlike in-person meetings, they required no travel, offering the convenience of participationfrom home. The experimenthas been successful beyond expectations.

In collaboration with another scientist, Dr. Rafat Husain, more than fifteen Zoom sessions so far have been hosted, drawing guest speakers from the US and overseas. In the following brief essay, only a fewspeakers and their presentations can be captured. More detailed information can be accessed by clicking on: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzMYsuijG4WLsosy1uj5MCg/featured

Among the first invited speakerswas the eminent Pakistani nuclear physicist, Dr. Parvez Hoodbhoy, Distinguished Professor at Foreman Christian College, Lahore. He is known to be a human rights activist, a proponent of educational reforms and secular, liberalideals in Pakistan. Speaking more in sorrow than in anger, he spotlighted some of the reasons why Pakistan lagsbehind in science and technology, even as compared with India. He attributed this difference to two reasons: in their golden Agein the eighth and ninth centuries, Muslims generated a tolerant, open-mindedsociety, and the AbbasidCaliphswelcomed scholars of all persuasions and backgrounds. We have now lost that spirit. Secondly, the mighty Muslim rulers in India, paid no attention to establishment of centers of learning and scholarship, only on buildingarchitectural marvels. Despite its fabulous wealth, science and technology made no progression in the Moghul Empire.

Another celebritywho had a very successful presentation was Professor Danish Iqbal, associated with JamiaMilliaIslamia, Delhi, a famed stage artist andnarrator of Urdu poetry. He talked about the beauty of the Urdu Nazamand how it inspires even those who do notfully appreciate it. He made a powerful narration, enrichedwithexamples of famous poets- screen writers, Akhtar ul Ayman and Akhtar Sheerani. When he recited Sheerani’sfamed romantic poem, “O Desh Se Aane Wale Bataa’in his inspiring voice, the audience was electrified.

The Zoom sessions have not been limited to political, cultural, and literary subjects. Wisely, they have been spiced and enriched occasionally with light music and entertainment

Professor Irfan Habib, an illustrious historian and intellectual who isnowtheretired chairman of the department of History, Aligarh Muslim University, was another featured speaker. Unfortunately, it was rather late in Aligarh because of the time difference with Washington,andProfessor Habib presented his prerecorded talk. He lamented the current trends in India, powerfully supported by the Modi Government, to reinterpret ancient Indian history to conform with theirnarrow nationalistic, populistic agenda, without regard to its accuracy.

He especially emphasized the current Aryan Fixation, that downplay the fact that Aryans, anIndo-European race, in fact arrived fromCentral Asia. Instead,a false narrative is being promoted that they originated in India itself.To the detriment ofserious historiographical scholarship and in the face of countervailing archaeological evidence, these myths are being incorporated into textbooks currently taught to young minds.At the conclusion of his talk, Professor ShireenMoosvi, an associate of Professor Habib, fielded many wide-ranging questions, some related to the talk, othersabout Indian history, especially about the Mughal period.

Two unusual guests invited by Dr. Raziuddin were human rights activists from India, a vanishing breed these days. Ms. JyotiPulwani and Mr. Harsh Mander have been leaders in the human rights movement in India. Ms. Pulwani is a senior journalist and a writer, while Mr.Mander is a former member of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service who resigned during the Gujrat riots. Since then, he has devoted his energies to supporting the rights of minorities and preservation ofthe secular character of India. They both detailed the abuses indulged by the current Government andlamented its policies of division and discorddirected against minorities, especially Muslims. Mr. Mander, however, cautioned against the notion that Mr. Modi enjoyeduniversal support from Hindus in India. There is much opposition to his agenda, he claimed, but unfortunately, secular parties are too weak and have been unable to mount any effective campaign to defeat the Government and its propaganda machine.

The Zoom sessions havenot been limited to political, cultural, and literary subjects.Wisely, they have been spiced and enriched occasionally with light music and entertainment. A local singer and artist invited to perform was Ms. PreethiGovindraj,a health professional,who pursues singing, musicand dancing as a hobby. She excels in both classical and light music and showcased her superbskills at one of the sessions.

The zoom sessions have filled a pressing need of the expatriate community at a difficult time, bringing some temporary respite from the pandemic worries, besides providing new learning opportunities.

The writer is a Health Scientist Administrator at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland and an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Medical School with a Ph.D from the University of Birmingham, England