Khaak Aur Khoon

I came to know of 'Khak aur Khoon' (loosely meaning Ashes and

Blood). 'Naseem Hijazi' who is famous of writing on Islamic History
in a way which would attract the younger generation of Muslims. A
ploy through which he attracts the Muslim youth to know their rich
culture, history and sacrifices.

'Khaak Aur Khoon' is written in the same way. Some superficies

characters are made and planted in the historic times of Partition of
India and birth of Pakistan. History is not tampered with, but some
fiction is created so as to apprise us of the tremendous sacrifice the
Muslims in that time made for Pakistan. The book is written in such
a way that one is able to separate history and fiction easily.

The book starts off by painting a very beautiful picture of village

life, where everyone lives happily with each other. Grievances are
resolved by elders and people enjoy today more than thinking about
past or worrying about tomorrow.

Trouble starts when the time of partition draws near and the village
in picture starts to realize how the horrors of partition can ruin
their life of happiness and care freeness. Immediately the age old
custom of village elders deciding the way forward comes into play
and the village elders sit together to chalk out the future strategy.

Since the village and neighboring villages had massive Muslim

majority therefore Hindus and Sikhs were seeking protection from
Muslims. Muslims immediately promised them and said that they
would even fight Muslims and would be willing to die before them.

History knows the connivance of Hindus especially of Nehru and

Gandhi in making the British give the Muslim populated area of
Gurdaspur and its neighboring villages to India rather than Pakistan.
While Gandhi kept a very down to earth appearance advocating love
and friendship, he allowed Hindus and Sikhs to freely murder
Muslims at will.

Immediately the village life changed. Now the Hindus and Sikhs had
an upper hand, and the people who just a few days before were
begging Muslims for protection, now had no intention of giving the
same to them. Rather they joined the forces who had been
programmed to kill Muslims.

More importantly some of us who today talk about Hindu and Muslim
friendship and about seeing no reason why we needed Pakistan as a
separate homeland for Muslims, get a very detailed answer from
this book.

The writer was so good in depicting the vows of Muslims that the
reader immediately starts to hate Hindus and Sikhs, but the
responsibility of the writer shows when he controls our emotions
and divert our hatred somewhere else.

After I had finished reading the book I started hating myself more
than I hated Hindus and Sikhs. Very soon they got the fruits of their
evils as most of the Sikhs were murdered when they asked Nehru to
fulfill his promise. Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu. Nehru and his
coming generations were killed. But the reason for which our
country Pakistan was made, and the reason for which millions of
Muslims happily laid down their lives, have been lost somewhere.

The whole idea of having a separate land for Muslims was that
Muslims would be able to follow their religion freely. That we would
be able to go to our mosques without the fear of being threatened.
I feel sad when I see that less than 5% of Muslims ever go to
Mosques. I fear that one day the Shaheeds of 1947 would rise up and
ask us the dreaded question for which we don't have any answer 'Is
this why me and family were happy to be butchered?