The World of

Conquerors

Published in 1993

by the Frontier Post

(Daily) Lahore

Travelling in past, moving in future by Ahmed Salim “It   is   a   pity   that   British   people   have   failed   to break    the    fetters    of    Norman    subjugation. Again,       they       have       failed       to       abolish monarchy.     The     people     of     France,     Italy, Russia,   Germany,   Albania,   Austria,   Portugal and     many     other     countries     got     rid     of monarchy    with    the    help    of    gallows    and guillotine,     Nevertheless,     the     people     of Britain      are,      on      the      whole,      the      most oppressed    and    pitiable    lot    in    Europe    and deserve world attention.” These   are   the   concluding   lines   of   this   book: a   note   with   a   “dying   fall”   and   here   lies   the resurrection    point    of    a    new    testament    of history.   These   lines   donate   the   redundancy of   the   Old   Testament.   These   lines   have   not dawned    upon    Yussouf    Shaheen,    He    has travelled    bare    feet    upon    the    avenue    of human    history,    passing    every    mile    stone licked    by    flames    and    drenched    in    blood. The     book     opens     with     a     dedication;     “to Mikhail       Gorbachev       –       a       phenomenal personality   whose   thought   and   deeds   shall leave   a   mark   upon   the   world   of   tomorrow   as deep   as   that   of   the   French   Revolution”.   This brief     line,     bordering     on     the     verge     of aphorism,   contains   countless   storms   in   its womb.   1789   -   1989,   a   span   of   two   hundred years,    a    short    interval    from    freedom    to more   freedom.   In   1989,   Eastern   Europe   rose as     France     did     two     centuries     back     and plunged   the   whole   world   in   the   bonfire   of surprise    and    freedom.    Sartre    wrote    about Franz   Fenon,   the   author   of   “The   Wretched   of the    Earth”,    “Fenon    is    the    first    man    after Engels   who   has   bestowed   daylight   upon   the mechanism   of   history.”   It   can   be   applied   to Yussouf    Shaheen    as    well.    Fenon    himself wrote    “The    foremost    problem    of    today’s world     is     the     re-distribution     of     wealth. Mankind   shall   have   to   solve   this   problem or    it    shall    blow    up    the    dream    of    human survival.”    It    was    1961.    Algeria    was    going through      the      Birth      pangs      of      national liberation.   Those   were   the   days   when   Sartre wrote,    “France    used    to    be    the    name    of    a country.    We    should    take    care    or    it    may become      the      name      of      some      neurotic distemper”. Yussouf   Shaheen   is   opening   up,   cautiously but   firmly,   a   new   dimension   to   the   realm   of consciousness   about   freedom   and   slavery. “Almost     all     states     have     derived     their present   frontiers   from   ruthless   vivisection of    nations    and    disintegration    of    empires. Thus    all    national    divisions    and    frontiers stand    questionable.”    It    is    1992.    The    only super    power,    United    States    declares    the plan    to    vanquish    the    world    through    the might   of   Pentagon   and   a   deep   anguish   sits heavy   upon   every   human   being.   One   fears that   United   States   used   to   be   the   name   of   a country.   Now,   it   may   come   to   denote   some neurotic   disorder.   An   ailment   issuing   from obsession     to     achieve     military     victories. United    State    is    a    land    where    people    talk endlessly   about   man   but   the   moment   they catch   sight   of   a   man,   they   do   not   as   much as think twice before killing him. “The     world     of     conquerors”     is     a     brief document.   Its   pages   have   smudge   of   blood and   marks   of   ruthless   flames.   Even   so   its contents    are    legible    and    its    message    is crystal   clear.   While   reading   it,   one   should resist     every     temptation     to     derive     hasty conclusion.   Instead,   it   shall   be   wiser   option to   just   enter   the   ostensibly   pathless   woods of    its    arguments.    The    reader    will    start    in total   darkness.   After   wandering   about   some involved     and     maze-like     paths,     one     is certain   to   accost   a   group   of   people   sitting around   some   sort   of   camp-fire   and   talking passionately   about   freedom.   That   exactly   is the    primary    problem    dealt    with    in    these pages. Mankind       has       inherited       some       basic documents   like   Social   Contract,   Declaration of   American   Independence   and   Communist Manifesto    along    with    religious    scriptures. This   document   written   by   Yussouf   Shaheen is,   in   actually,   an   affidavit   to   these   earlier documents.   It   is   not   just   a   single   book.   It   is a    compendium    of    hefty    volumes,    dealing with    a    dozen    or    so    fundamental    issues, neatly     summarized     in     a     hundred     odd pages.       The       document       presents       the antithesis   to   the   religious,   social,   political and   military   history   of   mankind   –   an   anti- thesis    to    all    existing    notions    of    human history. The    book    sheds    light    upon    the    following facts; 1.    How    did    the    Semitic    migrants    destroy Sumerian language and culture? 2.   The   ancient   history   of   Greece   was   so   far considered     to     be     mainly     a     product     of mythology.   The   present   treatise   establishes the   fact   that   Greek   mythology   was,   in   fact,   a religion   for   at   least   two   thousand   years   and its   roots   can   be   traced   in   India   and   Indus basin. 3.   Thousands   of   volumes   on   Roman   Empire failed    to    transpire    as    to    how    Germanic migrants     conquer     the     great     Empire     of Rome.   These   points   essentially   dilate   upon the phenomenon of migration. In     the     above     lines,     I     have     somewhere mentioned   that   freedom   is   the   main   topic of    this    document.    Now    I    would    say    that Yussouf   Shaheen   has   primarily   discussed the      phenomenon      of      migration      which inherently   entails   the   dialectics   of   freedom and   slavery.   Migration   is   as   old   an   aspect   of human history as history itself. This   phenomenon   began   with   the   quest   for food   and   culminated   in   the   form   of   private property       and       the       sanctity       of       this exploitation.   It   gave   birth   to   philosophy   and religion.    The    conflict    of    philosophy    and religion   result   the   institutions   of   state   and army.      The      phenomenon      of      migration assumed   the   form   of   cultural   dominance. The     local     languages     and     cultures     were annihilated     and     immigrants     propagated colonial      dominance      in      the      name      of “superior”   culture.   This   is   what   happened in   the   past   and   the   said   story   continues. The    situation    of    Sindh    in    our    times    is    a continuation    of    this    ages    old    practice    of cultural    dominance.    In    other    words,    all cultural      heritages      are      essentially      an imposed   heritages   of   conquerors.   Yussouf Shaheen    arrives    at    the    conclusion    that great   migrations   have   done   more   harm   that military aggressions. It   is   not   without   a   tinge   of   pain   that   Yussouf Shaheen    admits    that    ours    is    a    world    of conquerors.    We    shall    have    to    revise    the military    institutions    of    the    world    to    stall further   conquests.   Otherwise   our   cultures, religions    and    languages    will    continue    to live     in     constant     peril.     It     is     a     critical dilemma    and    this    book    is    the    first    effort towards    the    solution    of    the    problem    at conscious    level.    Granted    the    conclusions derived    by    Yussouf    Shaheen,    the    human history   will   require   a   thorough   revision   to establish      facts      abinitio.      This      will      be tantamount   to   re-write   world   history.   Thus, this    document    has    taken    upon    itself    a Herculean   task.   Established   “facts”   (at   least assumption   taken   for   facts)   do   not   change overnight.     However,     the     world     is     in     a cauldron     these     days.     A     new     order     is emerging.       The       conquerors       and       the conquered    are    failing    in    new    alignments. The    ideological    crusades    are    going    under astronomical   changes.   This   is   a   timely   as well as effective document.