LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
From: “Filipe Salgueiro” <rouquita@hotmail.com>
To: <globe@pathfinder.com.pk>
Subject: About the Siege of Diu (1538) and Naval Warfare in the Oceano Indico
Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 10:00 AM

You treat the Portuguese as if we were/are cowards, but one thing is certain: the fortress’s captain, of his name ANT”NIO DA SILVEIRA received a message from Suleihman, the “magnificent”  who promised the Portuguese free leave of people and goods as long as they returned to the Coast of Malabar and handed over the fortress and their weapons. Suleihman promised to skin alive all of the Portuguese if they did not obey his conditions, referring that he had the largest army in Cambay, among which were many who had participated in the taking of Belgrade, Hungary and the Island of Rhodes. Finally he asked Ant”nio da Silveira how would he defend the pig-sty with so few pigs!

His response was as follows: “Most honoured captain Pasha, I have carefully read your letter. If in the Island of Rhodes were the knights that are in this pig-sty you could be assured that you would have not conquered it. You are to learn that here are Portuguese, used to killing many Moors and are commanded by Ant”nio da Silveira that has a pair of balls stronger than the balls of your canons and that all the Portuguese here have balls and do not fear those who don’t have them” (Suleihman was a eunuch, remember?). Also, bear in mind that the Muslim army encompassed several THOUSAND men, whilst the defenders were no more than 600. Surely such brave soldiery like the janizars would have no problem dealing with half a dozen ragged defenders, lacking in food and ammo, isn’t it so? Even so, we, Portuguese held you at bay, having only 40 able men inside the walls when the Turks departed, thinking DIU to be impregnable. In 1546 the great deed was repeated, and still today we keep trophies like the Tiro de Diu, a 20 ton art. piece and several more like it.As for the victories achieved by your navy, I remember well the killing of the Vice-Rei’s son, Dom LOUREN«O DE ALMEIDA, at Chaul, 1508, in a pitched naval battle. Even so, the Turks had the support of the Ruler of Diu, of his name Melequiaz (Portuguese form, of course). Fearing the reaction of the Vice-Rei, Melequiaz sent him a letter of condolences, saying that his son had died well. Well, to no avail, for in 1509 the Turkish/Cambaian fleet was utterly destroyed by Dom Francisco de Almeida, and the Turkish prisoners, tied to the mouths of the Bombardas (huge art pieces) and shot to bits. The conquest of Ormuz by your (Muslim) forces is another story, for you had the support of the English (which betrayed our alliance and were made to pay for it, together with the Dutch, in 1622, in the Sea of Ormuz, and forced to retreat to Surat, by Nuno Avares Botelho, a Portuguese sea captain respected for his bravery in all of Europe), and the portuguese were united with the Realm of Spain since 1572, becoming intermingled in the European affairs and neglecting the Defences. I must recall to you the fact that Ormuz was taken by Afonso de Albuquerque, with only 6 ships and 400 men-at-arms. Keep also in mind that we were indeed so puny as you try to make us, the name “Portuguese man-at-war” would not have been given to those specially aggressive jelly-fish, and you should remember also the name FERINGHI, whose meaning I leave for you to discover.

We are now dwindled, but have left the marks of our pride everywhere in the globe, and I will not allow my people to be called a bunch of shrivelling cowards, not even if it’s done in a polite manner such as yours, by anyone. As for me, my name is Filipe Acabado Salgueiro, and as a student of history AND Portuguese citizen, have to put my foot down when reading this kind of propaganda.

Respeitosamente,
Filipe A. Salgueiro
From: Vice Admiral Iqbal F Quadir HI(M),SBt,TI(M),TQA,PN(Retd).
Ex - Ambassador.
Karachi, Feb. 26, 02.
To: Mr. AH Amin,
Asstt. Editor,
Defence Journal.

Dear Mr Amin,

I am not sure which article Mr. Filipe A. Salgueiro refers to? How and where has he picked up the question of Portuguese cowardice? To my mind and as hinted in one of my articles long ago the Portuguese were a brave and enterprising people.

Mr. Filipe A. Salgueiro is a student of history and has the advantage of falling back on vast amount of material available in libraries and archives in Portugal and other European countries.  In Karachi, while writing my articles on the Indian Ocean, I could not muster even a dozen books. Some information I got was from the Internet.

Concerning Mr. Filipe A. Salgueiro’s email one has to keep in mind that most reports, biographies and history books of the past are not free of bias. Without material from the opposite side, almost totally absent from the non-European side, it is often difficult to verify claims.

A few things, however, are certain. The Portuguese were the first nation to design and build ocean-going warships. When these arrived in the Indian Ocean there were none local to challenge them. Had the Portuguese arrived about seventy five years earlier when the Chinese junk fleet under Admiral Ho used to visit the Indian Ocean to win friends it would have been an interesting affair.

It is also well established that the Portuguese mission on their arrival in the Indian Ocean was to kill the Moors (Muslims) and to take over all their ocean trade from the East to Europe. This right was granted to them under a wider Papal Bull. The East included China, South East Asia and India.

Meanwhile, never in the history of the Indian Ocean from the earliest times till independence of British India in 1947 had any state bordering the Indian Ocean ever thought of building ocean going warships. So much so that the Mughals when they arrived in Surat a quarter century after the Portuguese, they arranged for the latter to look after the Mughals interests on the high seas.

Furthermore, till the arrival of the Europeans led by the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean there was complete freedom of navigation and trade all throughout. Certain capricious rulers of coastal states and sea pirates existed in fair numbers but this threat was by and large taken care of with private armed guards onboard individual merchant ships and by ships sailing close together for protection in convoys.

As for warfare at sea, only the Fatimid king of Egypt who had experience of sea warfare in the Mediterranean, and suffering loss of revenues by dwindling East-West transit trade through his territories because of Portuguese action, formed a fleet to fight this menace. In the battle that followed the Portuguese fleet in the Arabian Sea was totally destroyed. Thereafter, it appears that the Egyptian king decided to eliminate Portuguese presence on the Indian coast.

For this purpose, a fleet train i.e. a convoy of merchant ships carrying supplies of men, stores and material was readied and despatched without warship escorts to replenish the Egyptian fleet operating some-where off the present Mumbai.  However, off Chaul, this merchant ship convoy was attacked and destroyed by a newly arrived Squadron of Portuguese warships. Thereafter, short of victuals and supplies of war the Fatimid fleet withdrew to its base.

Simultaneously, war on land with neighbours forced the Fatimid king to lose interest in affairs at sea. Consequently, thereafter, no challenges remained to Portuguese supremacy on the Indian Ocean till the arrival of other European powers.

With best regards.
Yours sincerely,
Iqbal F Quadir

 

From: “Riaz Jafri” <jafri@rifiela.com>
To: “Ikram Sehgal” <defjrnl@pathfinder.com.pk>
Subject: Killing in Mosques
Date: Thursday, February 28, 2002 11:58 AM

Dear Ikram Sehgal

Killing in Mosques

Iqbal bewailed,  ‘Kiya bari baat thee hotay jo Muslaman bhi ek‘. The unfortunate fact is that we are not. We keep calling each other Kafir and killing them.  And we kill them in mosques too! Could there be anything far from Musalmani than this?

OK, now that we know that we could be killed in mosques, why don’t we prepare ourselves for it?  What stops us from detailing two or three young men to guard the congregation during its prayers?  Does it require a  military strategist of the calibre of Napoleon to devise the plan and execute it?  And, if we cannot think of such a simple protective measure for our own protection then forget about defending the country from without.  We are doing enough damage from within.

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
30, Westridge-1
Rawalpindi 46000
Tel : (051) 546 3344

 

From: “Umair Khan” <princeumair@hotmail.com>
To: <CE@pak.gov.pk>
Subject: Can anyone bell the cat?
Date: Monday, March 04, 2002 9:24 PM

I had been a staunch supporter of Pakistan’s military and all it stands for, for the better part of my life. Patriotism blinded me from asking any questions so far. Sadly my views have gradually changed in the last two and half years and  especially in the last few months.

True we are threatened by predators, a very large one on our eastern flank, currently being ruled by religious bigots of the BJP. But 55 years of national sacrifice of Health, Education, Social Welfare and Infrastructure has not achieved any of the stated goals to justify the huge military expenditure. The most pronounced of the goals being the liberation of Kashmir!

Instead we have  a long list of  repeated military setbacks starting from the ill-planned Operation Gibraltar in 1965, the 1971 fiasco on both Eastern and Western fronts, the loss of Siachen, the retreat from Kargil and the latest capitulation in Afghanistan and Kashmir— without a fight!

The military always finds justifications for its actions and expenditure. However, with so much of national spending, the least that the nation wants is the accountability of the military brass for the expenditures and the past deeds. In any civilized nation that would  happen as a matter of course but not in Pakistan. Here it would tantamount to challenging the Almighty himself.

With so little to deliver for what it is supposed to do, the military establishment has done everything that it shouldn’t be doing. Trampling of the constitution, political intrigues and total disregard of the rule of law. How long can the country continue to subsidize the perks of the military top brass.  The expensive and often multiple landed properties, the staff cars, the batmen and quotas in every national facility. Add to it the post retirement jobs for every general and as many brigadiers as the Chief can accommodate. All this in a country where educated unemployed is a major curse and has forced many a talented people to flee the country for a decent living. Why all this? The country is anaemic from the prolonged ex-sanguinations. How long can it last?

Why can’t we compare ourselves with the Indian military officers now. Do they get even half the perks of our warriors? For what they get, they haven’t performed that badly in any of the wars we have had with them.

I implore you to let these views be known to Pakistan’s public. The military leaders are part of the society and must also have an exposure to  the view of the masses, even these unpleasant ones.  I am no anti-establishment and certainly not against the armed forces. I would love to see a strong, well-equipped, motivated and well-trained military machine in Pakistan which the enemies can fear and the friends can be proud of. All this can be achieved without a bloated size (of especially the army).

Right now what the country needs is national reconstruction and a lot of money to do that. The real defence of the country comes from an educated, healthy population not military elites ruling  the society. The military has to open itself for civilian accountability, stop meddling in politics and trim its fat. It will then regain respect of the nation.

Until then I will keep on questioning myself. “Who is serving whom? The military serving the country or the country being at the service of the military?”

Dr. Umair Khan, (MRCP)
Pershore Road, Birmingham B5
United Kingdom
From: “Saadia Liaqat” <saadia_liaqat@yahoo.com>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;@pathfinder.com.pk;>
Subject: Letter
Date: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 8:28 AM

The provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) have spread fear among innocent citizens rather than bring an end to the feeling of alienation and injustice that has prevailed. The fact that more than 65,000 innocent people were harassed under TADA, POTO’s predecessor, reveals the questionable character of the Hindu racism.

The misuse of the draconian law by an unreliable political dispensation was perhaps best illustrated in Gujarat, where more than 18,000 innocent people suffered. Chapters three and five of POTO make the Ordinance more draconian than TADA.

The ambiguous definition of a terrorist, the provision for prolonged imprisonment without trial, the absence of a time limit for the completion of trial and the powers to the police to intercept all kinds of communication, make searches without warrants and withhold the identity of witnesses from the accused, are some of the provisions that work against the interests of innocent citizens.

These draconian laws are not meant to eradicate terrorism but the Muslim citizens are prime target of these fascist tactics.

Saadia Liaqat
Islamabad
Pakistan

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