Yes There Were Firecrackers in Pakistan, But in Their Newspapers

Front pages in Pakistan’s dailies were bursting with crackers, not sure about the kind with fire.

The front page of the Pakistan Observer. (Screengrab Courtesy: Pakistan Observer)

It is the 138th birth anniversary of one of British India’s most renowned politician, poet and philosopher, Allama Iqbal, a man widely regarded to have inspired the Pakistan Movement.

He was also the man who wrote Tarānah-e-Hindī, the anthem of Hindustan. A song you and I will remember as ‘Saare Jahaan se Accha’.

And one line that stands out from one of India’s most beloved patriotic songs is:

मज़्हब नहीं सिखाता आपस में बैर रखना हिन्दी हैं हम, वतन है हिन्दोसिताँ हमारा||

So on the birth anniversary of such a stalwart, one would expect articles in his honour dominating the front pages of all major dailies. Instead, this morning, splashed across all major newspapers in Pakistan was, in essence, just one word, Bihar.

The front page of Daily Times. (Screengrab Courtesy: Daily Times)

In the sleepy town of Raxhaul, Bihar at a BJP rally, the party President said a few weeks earlier:

Do you want the return of Jungle Raj Two? If by any mistake BJP loses, victory and defeat may be in Bihar but firecrackers will go off in Pakistan. Do you want crackers being burst in Pakistan?

<b>Amit Shah, President, Bhartiya Janata Party</b>

And even though Amit Bhai’s audience had answered his question with a resounding yes, their votes narrated a very different story.

And Pakistan’s dailies went to town.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cow politics were put out to pasture on Sunday as the impoverished state of Bihar gave a resounding verdict against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaign to pit Hindus against Muslims over beef eating. The hefty score of 178 seats in the Bihar 243-member assembly for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s grand alliance demolished virtually all poll predictions, including the highly acclaimed NDTV. The news channel predicted a landslide for the BJP even after the counting of votes had begun.

<b>Dawn</b>

The front page of the Dawn. (Screengrab Courtesy: Dawn)

An early evidence of the sobering impact of the adverse Bihar verdict came when Mr Modi met Lal Kishan Advani, one of the BJP’s old guards, to greet him on his birthday on Sunday. BJP and RSS leaders began to distance themselves from recent poisonous comments made against Muslims and protesting intellectuals by Mr Modi’s supporters.

<b>Dawn</b>

The News International’s front-page headline read ‘Modi’s BJP Bites the Dust in Bihar for its Extremism.’ The report said that Modi had turned the Bihar poll into a test of his popularity.

The front page of The News International. (Screengrab Courtesy: The News International)

The extremism and religious intolerance that was on the rise after Narendra Modi came to power in India received a setback as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered a thumping defeat in the Bihar state assembly elections.

<b>The News International</b>

The front page of The Express Tribune. (Screengrab Courtesy: The Express Tribune)

Modi’s second straight regional election setback will galvanise opposition parties, embolden rivals in his own party and diminish his standing with foreign leaders amid concerns that he may not win a second term as prime minister.

<b>The Express Tribune</b>

The masthead of The Frontier Post. (Screengrab Courtesy: The Frontier Post)

Although a regional poll, the Bihar election turned into a referendum on the Prime Minister after he crisis crossed the state addressing numerous election rallies.Modi was banking on his reputation as a hugely charismatic leader, after securing the largest mandate in national elections in 30 years, he went on to clinch victories in several states last year. But the massive defeat in Bihar has dented that image. It is the second major electoral setback for Modi. Earlier this year the BJP was also routed in elections held in Delhi.

<b>The Frontier Post</b>

The anchor on the front page of The Frontier Post. (Screengrab Courtesy: The Frontier Post)

Kumar, a long-time critic of Modi, has been praised for kick-starting development and attempting to quash corruption during his first two terms in office. Modi, with his one-man leadership style, won over legions of voters at the general election in 2014… Growth is now purring along at seven percent. But complaints have been mounting about his failure to nail down major reforms to boost investment and help create jobs for India’s tens of millions of young people. The BJP needed a win in Bihar after suffering a humiliating defeat in February elections for the Delhi state assembly to a fledgling anti-corruption party.

<b>The Nation</b>

The front page of The Nation. (Screengrab Courtesy: The Nation)

In light of the Bihar elections, particularly in the light of the reports quoted above, it would be remiss to not point out a quote from Allama Iqbal, himself a politician, but also a poet.

Nations are born in the hearts of poets, they prosper and die in the hands of politicians.

<b>Allama Iqbal, Philosopher</b>

All said and done, this writer feels, Pakistan did get back to us for the ‘mauka mauka’ jibe.