About Yussouf

Shaheen

Yussouf Shaheen – highest civilian Award winner in Pakistan – Pride of Performance Award and Sitarae Imtiaz Award (Star of Excellence) in literature, Life Achievement Award from SANA, USA; former Senator of Pakistan; essentially a research scholar, author of over 16 Books in English, Urdu and Sindhi. His area of research encompasses history, religions, mythologies and languages of the world. The below mentioned six books written by him have been published in the United States, India and Pakistan:

Latest books by Yussouf Shaheen

published during 2017, 2018 and

2019 by the Culture Department,

Government of Sindh (Pakistan):

The First Ever

Weapon Free

Civilization

In the ancient Indus Valley, our forefathers laid down the foundations of a "Weapon Free Civilization" and survived peacefully for thousands of years until the 1900 BCE. They firmly believed that the weapons are the source of death and destruction. Once they are developed and used to resolve the issues, it would create a permanent lawless society. Weapons created conquerors; they killed, robbed and enslaved the entire humanity. From the Mahabharata and the Trojan Wars, down to the First and Second World Wars, millions and millions of people were killed and massacred, major settlements were ruined, millions women and young girls were kidnapped, raped and sold into slavery. This is the end result of making and holding the weapons. By manufacturing more weapons, we buy more deaths and more destruction for our people. And now by creating powerful nuclear arsenals and other weapons of mass destruction, we have raised the possibility of "universal death" in an all out war. Around 1,800 nuclear warheads remain on "high alert" status, ready to be launched within minutes. They are enough to annihilate the entire human race. During a speech at Rice University on 12 September 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke of not filling space "with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding." 63 years ago, on 9th July 1955, an appeal to the rulers of the world was made by Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein and other eleven pre-eminent intellectuals and scientists, ten of them Nobel Laureates. They concluded that the powerful Nuclear Weapons have raised the possibility of "universal death". Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war," they asked. "We are speaking on this occasion, not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings, members of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt. They feared that in any future world war nuclear weapons will certainly be employed and that such weapons threaten the continued existence of mankind. They urged the governments of the world to realize, and to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them." The general public, and even many men in positions of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with nuclear bombs. The general public still thinks in terms of the obliteration of cities. It is understood that the new bombs are more powerful than the old, and that, while one A-bomb could obliterate Hiroshima, one H-bomb could obliterate the largest cities, such as London, New York, and Moscow. No one knows how widely such lethal radio-active particles might be diffused, but the top most scientists are unanimous in saying that a war with H- bombs might possibly put an end to the human race. It is feared that if many H- bombs are used there will be universal death. Many warnings have been uttered by eminent men of science and by authorities in military strategy. None of them will say that the worst results are certain. There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. It is a matter of serious concern that the rulers of this world are not prepared to disband the nuclear weapons. However, to avoid universal death, the world may follow the wisdom and knowledge of the Ancient Indus Valley who created Weapon Free Civilization that was carried successfully for thousands of years.

Trial of Yussouf Shaheen by Military Court during the Martial Law regime of General Ziaul Haq for writing against Stoning to Death and Amputation of hand and foot in Pakistan. Yussouf Shaheen was the first journalist and writer of Pakistan who was arrested on July 19, 1977 just two weeks after the military take over in Pakistan on July 5, 1977 headed by the Chief of Army Staff General Ziaul Haq, who imposed Martial Law and him self became Martial Law Administrator. Yussouf Shaheen was tried by the Military Court for his writing against stoning to death for adultery and amputation of the hand and foot for robbery. To legitimize his take over, General Zia on July 13, 1977 moved further to terrorize the whole Pakistani nation by imposing punishments of amputation and whipping was arrested on July 19, 1977 who had demanded that the hand of General Zia should be amputated firstly as he had stolen people’s power from the first elected prime minister of Pakistan Zulifikar Ali Bhutto. These were the days, when thousands of arrests were made throughout Pakistan on grounds of sedition and high treason. Public flogging of political prisoners was carried out by brutal wrestlers; even women were flogged. As a result, there was a general chaos, fear and frustration all over Pakistan; doctors refused to cut hand or foot of the victims. Many leading politicians, journalists and lawyers vehemently condemned the laws of amputation, whipping, and stoning to death. In the meantime, preparation were made to punish Yussouf Shaheen by way of lashes - a severe punishment. Before flogging, medical check up of Yussouf Shaheen was carried. When it was known to his mother, she abruptly fainted and remained in coma for many hours. Surprisingly it was on the same day, when General Zia suddenly withdrew punishment of Amputation and stoning to death; subsequently Yussouf Shaheen was released after a great mental torture; he was kept in C Class jail. As a result, no case of amputation or stoning to death was reported in Pakistan.

Ten more books by

Yussouf Shaheen

Ten more books authored by Yussouf Shaheen are published in Pakistan in English, Sindhi and Urdu languages: (1) The World of Conquerors (Published in Lahore by Daily Frontier Post Publications). It was simaltenously published in Sindhi (Faatehan jee Dunya) and in Urdu (Fateheen Ki Dunya). (2) Truth Untold in English (also published in Urdu and Sinshi with the title - Haq Mojood. (3) The World Confederation of the Peoples (4) Anal-Haq - in Urdu (5) Andar Mey Uhao Thio (Sindhi poetry in four volumes – 13 Sur) (6) Unani Dand Kathaoo (Greek Mythology in Sindhi) (7) Khuda Insan aen Janwar (in Sindhi) (8) Muslimcracy (in Urdu) (9) Shah Latif – Azadea jo Alambardar in Sindhi (10) Fall of Sumerian, Akkadian, Hebrew, Aramaic and Celtic Languages in English - (in final stage).

About the author

by Ali Iqbal

Yussouf Shaheen is perhaps the most eminent Sindhi poet and journalist living today. He has also served as a senator. Not only this, he also happens to be the only writer at least in Pakistan, who has written more then six full-length books featuring the main hurdles that have obstructed the creation of a violence-free world in which humanity would live in peace. He wrote the first book in the series under the title of “Muslimcracy” in Urdu in 1957 when he was only 18 years old. His next book, “Khuda, Insan Aur Janvar” was written in Sindhi. In 1970, he wrote “An’al Haq” in Urdu the launching ceremony of which was attended among others by Syed Mohammad Taqi, Raees Amrohvi, Pir Hismuddin Rashdi and Shamsherul Hydri, none of whom is alive today. Later came, his other book “Haq Maujud” (Truth Untold) which was in Sindhi and Urdu both. In 1986, he wrote “World Confederation of the Peoples” to be followed by, “The World of Conquerors”, Greek Mythology (in Sindhi), “William the Bastard and His Descendants”, Rise and Fall of gods – In Historical Perspective, Rise and Fall of Sanskrit and “Fall of Native Languages of the Americas.” Most of these books have been published outside Pakistan. The central idea and the common thread that runs through all these books, including the present one is the story about ‘man’s inhumanity towards man’ in the form of kingships and mercenary armies that have played havoc in the world since time immemorial. As the world history shows, by now more than 5,000 wars have been fought during the same number of years in which millions and millions of people have been massacred. It is perhaps for this reason that Gibbon has called history, ‘a chronicle of crimes.’ Shaheen in all of his books, not only searches out these crimes but he also points an accusing finger at the perpetrators of these crimes, mentioning their names, their misdeeds, and even their genealogical trees. He firmly refutes the well-known maxim, ‘If a man kills another man he is killer; but if a man kills a million people, he becomes a hero.’ He says without munching words that these so-called conquerors, who setup great empires with the help of their hired armed men, remain killers and murderers and should never be considered as “heroes” as there is noting “great” about them. What he says tantamount to say that these conquerors were, in fact, terrorists, most of whom now enjoy their eternal sleep under great mausoleums, especially built for them. A historical adage says that woman, wealth and land have remained the main causes for which men have killed men. However, most of the bloody wars were fought by kings and generals because of their hunger of land and wealth. The writer of the books under discussion has been burning midnight oil for almost fifty years studying these ferocious wars and at the end of his journey has come to certain conclusions. He firmly believes that all the wars fought in the past were waged only for acquisition of land and wealth and as such these wars created serious problems for mankind. These problems included the existing borders between various states, religions and languages that were imposed on defeated nations. Every new conquest created new borders and forced upon the vanquished and hence “artificial”. Under the circumstances, how any war can be described as a “just” war? Rather no greater injustice could ever be imagined keeping in view the sufferings of the defeated nations. Even todays’ so called ‘modern’ and ‘democratic’ world full of mini dictators’ presents a strong spectacle. The entire humanity still remains divided because of artificial borders imposed by various conquerors long ago. Out of nearly 10,000 existing languages, only seven keep on flourishing because they happen to be the languages of various conquerors. These seven languages are English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) and Chinese. On the religious side, Muslims all over the world believes in One God; Christians have faith in their Trinity, Hindus believe in innumerable gods. Buddhists have their own Supreme Being who forms the major portion of world population today. Although the world has witnessed thousands of wars but now a nuclear war could prove to be the most dangerous as there is every possibility that the entire mankind can be annihilated as a result of such an unprecedented war. United States has already used atom bombs against Japan in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Moreover, there are strong grounds to believe that an atomic war could be triggered at any time due to a misunderstanding. So the writer in one of his books says: “The present day world consists of roughly 198 countries and these countries have come into being as a result of disintegrating empires and powerful dynasties of the past. Thus almost all the present frontiers stand questionable. It is the call of hour that the people should be allowed to exercise their right to self determination in congenial atmosphere in order to accomplish an independent revision of the decisions imposed in the past.” - (The World of Conquerors). Essentially, Shaheen’s books are sort of Utopias wherein he paints a world without kings and armies and without its thorny problems which plague mankind. Utopias have been written in the past also. Some of the most famous include: ‘The Republic’ (Plato); Thomas Spence’s ‘Spenconia’; Edward Bellamy’s ‘Bostan in the year 2000’; H.G. Well’s, ‘A Modern Utopia,’ Aldous Huxley’s ‘The Brave New World’; James Hilton’s ‘Shangrilla’; B.F. Skinners’ ‘Walden Two’ and Ernest Callenbach’s ‘Ecotopia’. However, the major problem with these utopias is that they are invariably anti- reality and hardly realizable. It is quite interesting to know that even Plato could not put into practice his Utopia when offered a chance. Let Will Durant tell us what happened: “In the years 387 BC Plato received an invitation from Dionysius, ruler of the then flourishing and powerful Syracuse, capital city of Sicily, to come and turn his kingdom into Utopia, and the philosopher, thinking like Turgot that if it was easier to educate one man, even though a king - than a whole people consented. But when Dionysius found that the plan required either that he should become a philosopher or cease to be a king, he balked; the upshot was a bitter quarrel. Story has it that Plato was sold into slavery, to be rescued by his friend and pupil Anniceris.” - (Story of Philosophy, page 39). As, the above story demonstrate, putting a utopia in practice is something totally different from visualizing it on paper, because its implementation involves grave and intricate issues of war, violence, territory, language and even religion. Take for instance the problems of territory. The writer we are discussing does not believe at all in the sanctity of territories and even consider them as “artificial’ as the same were imposed by conquerors. On the other hand, territory has been defined politically as ‘a portion of the earth and its atmosphere which is such that it may fall in the jurisdiction of a sovereign state.” War has been defined as a “forcible connection between states with the purpose of overpowering each other by armed forces’, and has been recognized as “the oldest institution’ in the world. Hegel defined war as ‘eternal and moral’. However, Shaheen altogether refuses to acknowledge war as an institution. But then it does not mean that he is the only one who is against war and armies. Carl von Ossietzky who was awarded Nobel Prize in 1935 had established a “No War Society’ and planned a new holiday to be called, “Anti-War Day’. He has said: All soldiers were murderers and there is nothing ‘heroic’ about war. Similarly, the British writer, Dr Martin Bax (1966) said that ‘we need to stop treating soldiers and ex-soldiers as heroes. Medals should be given for cowardice in the field, not valor.’ This discussion about war may remind the reader about the famous letter Albert Einstein wrote to Freud, seeking a way of delivering mankind from the menace of war. However, Freud’s reply was almost curt, to say the least. Freud said that the letter had taken him by surprise by posing such a question and he posed a counter-question to Einstein: ‘how long shall we have to wait before the rest of mankind become pacifists too? “The gist of letter was that war is something endemic to human nature.” Perhaps this is the reason that while so much has been written about various wars that were fought throughout ages, there are only few writings to be found on the topic of abolition of war itself. It is indeed quite a modern topic and of interest only to a small intellectual minority. However, Bertrand Russell seems to be the only major thinker who has written extensively, apart from two full-length books on the topic. They are, ‘Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare’ and “Has Man a Future? However, let us not be pessimistic as all this does not mean that pacifists/peace lovers have lost their case. Their teachings continue to inspire and influence mankind. Buddha and the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton were the earliest pacifists. But who can ever forget the sweet Jesus who did not believe in violence, even for a noble cause and said: “Put up thy Sword. For they that live by the sword shall die by the sword.” - (The New Testament). Leo Tolstoy, the Russian aristocratic landlord who wrote world-famous novel, War and Peace’ also happens to be a great pacifist. Briefly said, Shaheen has adopted quite a new approach towards understanding the historical crimes under the garb of ‘conquests’ by keeping his writings very simple and straight. He is pacifist to the core and has a great regard for Buddha. For half of his life, he was a vegetarian. Moreover, fantasizing about living in a peaceful world is an innocent activity and millions and millions of followers of various religions have nourished such ideas for the past over two thousand years. They still wait for a Messiah who will descend from the Above and establish a Kingdom of God on the Earth. Shaheen also seems to have his own ideas about creating a borderless world. Let us all wish him god speed in achieving his utopian expectations.

Area of research

BORDERS Throughout the ages, millions of men, women and children are killed and massacred in the name of ‘disputed borders’ created artificially time and again by the conquerors. To save the humanity and stop the massacres over the shifting borders, Yussouf Shaheen is the first author who has debated thoroughly on the subject entitled: Artificial Borders of the World. CONQUEST Conquest, throughout the ages is considered as the most ‘sacred job’ for the rulers, kings, emperors, invaders known as conquerors. We find most history books with lengthy chapters written in golden words in praise of such aggressors. During the process of such conquests, millions of people were massacred, cities and towns were destroyed and house wives and young girls were abused and raped. Subsequently great ‘empires’ were built where the defeated nations were kept in chains and their wealth and resources were looted for centuries together. Most of the books of Yussouf Shaheen revolve around such historic tragedies. FALL OF LANGUAGES Today, roughly 6,909 languages are spoken all over the globe, out of them only seven (7) languages which were imposed by the conquerors enjoy the opportunities and space to flourish, such as the Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese. If we revert back to the ancient world, we find the same number - roughly 7,000 spoken by the entire world. Out of these again only seven (7) languages of the conquero rs had emerged as the leading and the most dominating languages in the ancient world, such as: Sumerian, Akkadian, Phoenician, Aramaic, Sanskrit, Greek and Latin. Recently the UNESCO has predicted that half of the world's present languages - more than 3,000 would disappear by the end of this century. Yussouf Shaheen in his two books (Rise and Fall of Sanskrit and Fall of Native Languages of the Americas) debates, “until and unless the dirty game of ‘conquest’ is not brought to an end, the entire world will continue to suffer the decimation of languages on much larger scale. Yussouf Shaheen, in his book ‘Rise and Fall of gods’ has discussed all the gods and goddesses worshiped by our forefathers. He has also debated massacres of millions of people carried during the ‘conversion process’ from one faith to another. He justifies Mythologies as integral part of history as our forefathers virtually worshiped different gods and goddesses. APPREHENSIONS OF THE THIRD WORLD WAR Today, around 50,000 Nuclear weapons are looming over the heads of the entire humanity. Until this day, major parts of the world are still under the control of the conquerors. To defend such forcibly occupied territories, the conquerors have deployed weapons of mass destruction and can kill the entire humanity. Further more, those newly liberated states which emerged during the recent past, inherited extra large territories from the falling empires. That had again accelerated border disputes all over the world. This perilous border situation has forced the rulers for the large scale preparations aiming at the Third World War. The people of the world have already suffered enormously due to the two World Wars fought during the twentieth century. We lost over 100 million lives and a similar number was severely wounded and disabled; hundreds of thousands of women and young girls were kidnapped and raped. Innumerable women committed suicides. Before we are annihilated by the weapons of mass destruction, they must be disbanded. Let us stop culture of hate on religious differences; let us declare conquests and invasions as major offences and heinous crimes. And the conquerors should be compelled to liberate the enslaved nations without further delay; let us stop killings and massacres on forced conversion of faiths and stop the fall of the mother tongues. This is to inform your kind self that the undersigned has officially been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by the government of Pakistan; also endorsed by around 20 Buddhist professors in India and many others around the world. Your co-operation and assistance would be highly appreciated and helpful in the matter. We submit here under the nomination mail that can be filled in and mailed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee by the professors of your esteemed association. Sorry, we are short of time as the last date for nomination is 31st January 2017.

About the author

Bertrand Russell in the Prologue of his classic autobiography said, “Three passions simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” One can safely say that three passions have also governed the life of Yussouf Shaheen and these are, the longing for world peace, the search for the lost languages and an unbearable hatred for violence -the violence of conquerors in the form of so-called ‘conquests’ throughout the ages. Since the time he was almost 15 years of age, he began going through big tomes written mainly on history, mythology, religion and languages in order to find out what has been happening all over the world since times immemorial. Although he is professionally a journalist and a poet, he has by now penned more than one and half dozen books in prose containing his ideas on the above-mentioned subjects. In 1986 he wrote, “World Confederation of the Peoples” to be followed by The World of Conquerors, Greek Mythology (in Sindhi), William the Bastard and his Descendants, The Rise and Fall of Gods, Rise and Fall of Sanskrit, Fall of Native Languages of the Americas and “Artificial Borders of the World throughout the Ages. Most of these books are written in English and printed outside Pakistan. On the whole, ‘the other side of history’ presented by him reads like an endless story of force and fraud which are the integral elements of armed invasions the name of conquests. These books say, what they say, without munching words. Shaheen seems to be heavily influenced by the language and the style of ancient Sufis of Sindh, almost simplistic and down to earth. However, the central idea that runs through all these looks is the story of ‘man’s inhumanity towards man,’ mostly in the garb of kingship and mercenary armies. Shaheen, the poet and journalist is also a retired Senator of Pakistan. Not only this, he also happens to he the only person at least in Pakistan, who has produced more than sixteen full length books on the topics of war, peace and languages. As the world history shows, by now more than 5000 wars have been fought during the same number of years in which millions and millions of people were murdered in order to protect or expand the national borders all over the world. To say the least, Shaheen discards all the histories written in the part on the plea that they are nothing but a bundle of lies and that’s why people have failed to learn any lesson and why wars haven’t stopped. Nor only this, but this is the precise reason why armed men continue to play havoc with the world despite the fact that Globalism is spreading fast and people all over the world are coming nearer to one another very speedily. The advocacy for the abolition of armies is not a new idea as the prophet of internationalism was born some 1358 years before the Christ. He was Pharaoh Ikhnaton who encouraged people, “to see the truth” and put to end all militaristic activities in ancient Egypt. Let me add here that Shaheen dedicated his book “The World of Conquerors” to Ikhnaton. Similarly, the Socrates of the present age, as Bertrand Russell is known, also created history when he on his own achieved, now known famously as the ‘Unarmed Victory’ during the Cuban blockade by the United States. On the basis of his uninterrupted studies in history, Shaheen has reached a conclusion of his own which tells him unequivocally that armies have played the same role throughout the ages and that is ‘carrying out the orders of their masters’. Because of this, Shaheen seems to be unique in that direction, in the sense that he has demanded abolition of all these man-imposed geographical borders all over the world if any meaningful and permanent peace was to be achieved. For Shaheen there is no such thing as a ‘just’ war. He believes that wars are fought to destroy opponents and that is all. Even today, the world is governed mostly by dictators who go to wars without seeking any one’s permission. Moreover for him, the so-called borders are hardly sacred. They are absolutely artificial in the sense that they are the result of force employed by conquerors and are not based on the free-will of masses. Carlvon Ossietzky, a journalist by profession, was awarded Nobel Prize in 1935 for, among other things - establishing a “No War Society.” Shaheen is the traveler of the same path as he has made it a mission of his life to establish a ‘no war society’ before it is too late.