The political and religious parties in Pakistan have had a long history to interpret the views of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. The interpretation of his ideology is still continuing. Religious and political personalities find television talk-show and newspapers to voice their views. The target viewers and readers of these media are mostly common people who don’t go through the views expressed by the scholars and historians in the peer-reviewed research journals which are cogently supported and properly referenced. Therefore, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the gist of the views expressed by the founder is misinterpreted by either a political or a religious party or any group.
The research journal covering the themes of Pakistan affairs such as Pakistan Perspectives must enhance its reach to the common people of Pakistan whenever they notice the views of the founder are misinterpreted. The editors of such journals in Pakistan can at least distribute such issues of sensitive nature in gratis among the students. The editors of these journals must bring about their volumes only to unfold the evil agenda behind the misinterpretation of the views of the founder.
I also request the television anchors to invite such scholars, whose scholarships are worthy of citation to their talk shows if they want to present the truth. There are some of the ‘Citation Index Records’ available where they can decide whom to invite and whom to drop. I know it is difficult work for an anchor that has a lot on his plate, but they need to invest time in finding such scholar.
The television anchors can at least invite people who have authored some of the books on the topic — published by a known publishers who has a history of publishing books on scholarly issues — in order to save the audience particularly students from the ‘contaminated views’ where an ordinary interpreter, representing his or her as a politician or religious figure, intend to misguide the audience about views of the founder according to their own political agenda.
Above all, I request the scholars who specialize in the Quaid studies and Pakistan affairs to come forward to keep the record correct when they find something deliberately or not misleading, as there is a forum required to give the real picture to the common people of Pakistan concerning the ideology and thoughts of the founder of Pakistan.
JAWED AHMED KHURSHEED,
Karachi, September 16