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Hama Yaaran Dozakh / ہمہ یاراں دوزخ
304 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2012
10 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
About the author
Siddique Salik
19 books43 followersBrigadier-General Muhammad Siddique Salik (محمد صدیق سالک) was a Pakistani writer, a high profile military officer and public face of President General Zia-ul-Haq’s military government.
He was born in Manglia, a village in Kharian, District Gujrat, Punjab, British India. He graduated from Islamia College, Lahore earning a master’s degree in English literature and a diploma in International Relations. During his student days he edited college magazines Crescent and Faran.
Initially he taught English in Faisalabad and Mansehra but quit teaching after a few years and joined, as an assistant editor, Pak Jamhooriyat, an English weekly published by the Government of Pakistan. In 1964, he joined Pakistan army and was appointed in Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) as staff officer grade 3. In 1965, he witnessed and covered the Indo-Pak war of 1965. In 1970, he was sent to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as Major, where he was made a prisoner of war by India. He was incarcerated in Agra jail before being shifted to various other prisons. He wrote a book titled “Witness to Surrender” (Urdu version: میں نے ڈھاکہ ڈوبتے دیکھا) based on his recollection of the 1971 war and fall of Dhaka. Another book “Humaa Yaraan Dozakh" (ہمہ یاراں دوزخ), which is a recollection of his years as a prisoner of war in India.
He was eventually handed over to Pakistan under the Simla Agreement and returned home in 1973. After 1977 coup, he was made General Zia-ul-Haq’s speech writer and press secretary. Later on, he was appointed as media minister and Directorate-General of ISPR under military government. He died on 17 August 1988, in a plane crash with President Zia-ul-Haq and other high ranking personalities.
Siddique Salik authored 6 Urdu and 3 English books that include:
- Witness to Surrender
- میں نے ڈھاکہ ڈوبتے دیکھا
- ہمہ یاراں دوزخ
- تا دمِ تحریر
- ایمرجنسی
- پریشرکُکر
- سلیوٹ
- State vs Politics, A case study of Pakistan.
- Wounded Pride
He was born in Manglia, a village in Kharian, District Gujrat, Punjab, British India. He graduated from Islamia College, Lahore earning a master’s degree in English literature and a diploma in International Relations. During his student days he edited college magazines Crescent and Faran.
Initially he taught English in Faisalabad and Mansehra but quit teaching after a few years and joined, as an assistant editor, Pak Jamhooriyat, an English weekly published by the Government of Pakistan. In 1964, he joined Pakistan army and was appointed in Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) as staff officer grade 3. In 1965, he witnessed and covered the Indo-Pak war of 1965. In 1970, he was sent to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) as Major, where he was made a prisoner of war by India. He was incarcerated in Agra jail before being shifted to various other prisons. He wrote a book titled “Witness to Surrender” (Urdu version: میں نے ڈھاکہ ڈوبتے دیکھا) based on his recollection of the 1971 war and fall of Dhaka. Another book “Humaa Yaraan Dozakh" (ہمہ یاراں دوزخ), which is a recollection of his years as a prisoner of war in India.
He was eventually handed over to Pakistan under the Simla Agreement and returned home in 1973. After 1977 coup, he was made General Zia-ul-Haq’s speech writer and press secretary. Later on, he was appointed as media minister and Directorate-General of ISPR under military government. He died on 17 August 1988, in a plane crash with President Zia-ul-Haq and other high ranking personalities.
Siddique Salik authored 6 Urdu and 3 English books that include:
- Witness to Surrender
- میں نے ڈھاکہ ڈوبتے دیکھا
- ہمہ یاراں دوزخ
- تا دمِ تحریر
- ایمرجنسی
- پریشرکُکر
- سلیوٹ
- State vs Politics, A case study of Pakistan.
- Wounded Pride
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 8, 2021
My connection with this book is a very personal one.My earliest memory is that of my father leaving for the 1971 war,as he was posted to what was then East Pakistan.I would not see him for a very long time.East Pakistan became Bangladesh,and my father became a prisoner of war.It was a devastating time for Pakistan,and for me personally.
The uncertainty went on for a long time.When,if ever,would he return ? We got a few letters,we could send some parcels to him,and that was all.
Indira Gandhi,the Indian prime minister was certainly in no hurry to repatriate them. (She,herself,was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984).Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman,the father of Bangladesh would be assassinated too,by his own people.
The Simla Agreement finally secured the release of the prisoners of war,but it still took a good long while for them to actually return.
But my father,when he eventually back never talked about what he had to endure during his time there.But he had the books by a fellow officer,then Major,Siddiq Salik who wrote about the fall of Dacca and his time as a prisoner of war in searing detail.Though I was a very young kid,I read those books again and again.(It was originally published as an English version,The Wounded Pride).
This,then, is the story of a Pakistani soldier,in Indian captivity. There were 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war in India after the 1971 war.He was kept in solitary confinement in a dark room. He was singled out for special treatment by his captors,as he was working close to General Niazi,the Pakistani commander.He fought the sense of despair,he still found ways to smile.Eventually he would be reunited with other prisoners.
The later part of his incarceration was in a camp.He talks about his fellow prisoners,how they tried to cheer each other up and how they all cheered wildly as Pakistan beat India in a World Cup hockey match.
The hopelessness and despair is described in stark detail.He gives accounts of escape attempts,which in some cases ended with tragic consequences as very young officers were shot dead on the spot.How would their families have felt ?
After years of hope and despair,the captives were finally sent home.I remember going to the Wagah border with my mother,to receive my father.When he finally appeared,I didn't recognize him but he did return.What would life have been like if he had not ?
Yet for Salik,even that joyous occasion was marred by personal tragedy,as he learned that his beloved mother,after waiting for him so long,was no more.An unforgettable book.
Postscript : Siddiq Salik's books brought him to the attention of General Zia ul Haq,who ruled Pakistan for eleven years.
On 17 August 1988,Brigadier Siddiq Salik was one of 31 people who perished when General Zia's plane crashed,as a result of sabotage.I never met Salik,but I grieved for him as if I had lost a dear friend.
The uncertainty went on for a long time.When,if ever,would he return ? We got a few letters,we could send some parcels to him,and that was all.
Indira Gandhi,the Indian prime minister was certainly in no hurry to repatriate them. (She,herself,was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984).Sheikh Mujib ur Rehman,the father of Bangladesh would be assassinated too,by his own people.
The Simla Agreement finally secured the release of the prisoners of war,but it still took a good long while for them to actually return.
But my father,when he eventually back never talked about what he had to endure during his time there.But he had the books by a fellow officer,then Major,Siddiq Salik who wrote about the fall of Dacca and his time as a prisoner of war in searing detail.Though I was a very young kid,I read those books again and again.(It was originally published as an English version,The Wounded Pride).
This,then, is the story of a Pakistani soldier,in Indian captivity. There were 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war in India after the 1971 war.He was kept in solitary confinement in a dark room. He was singled out for special treatment by his captors,as he was working close to General Niazi,the Pakistani commander.He fought the sense of despair,he still found ways to smile.Eventually he would be reunited with other prisoners.
The later part of his incarceration was in a camp.He talks about his fellow prisoners,how they tried to cheer each other up and how they all cheered wildly as Pakistan beat India in a World Cup hockey match.
The hopelessness and despair is described in stark detail.He gives accounts of escape attempts,which in some cases ended with tragic consequences as very young officers were shot dead on the spot.How would their families have felt ?
After years of hope and despair,the captives were finally sent home.I remember going to the Wagah border with my mother,to receive my father.When he finally appeared,I didn't recognize him but he did return.What would life have been like if he had not ?
Yet for Salik,even that joyous occasion was marred by personal tragedy,as he learned that his beloved mother,after waiting for him so long,was no more.An unforgettable book.
Postscript : Siddiq Salik's books brought him to the attention of General Zia ul Haq,who ruled Pakistan for eleven years.
On 17 August 1988,Brigadier Siddiq Salik was one of 31 people who perished when General Zia's plane crashed,as a result of sabotage.I never met Salik,but I grieved for him as if I had lost a dear friend.
April 6, 2015
انتهائی شگفته اور ادبی طرز تحریر هے صدیق سالک کا اور اس کتاب میں تو آپ نے جو تلمیحات اور کنایوں کا بے دریغ اور برمحل استعمال کیا ھے اسنے آپ کی شگفته بیانی کو چار چاند لگا دیے ھیں. ھر دردمند پاکستانی اور ادب کے شائق کو ضرور اس کتاب کا مطالعه کرنا چاهیے.
July 26, 2020
A war journal by Siddique Salik, an ISPR officer who was posted in Dhaka at the time of 1971 East Pakistan debacle. This book is a reminiscent account of the time he spent in Indian Jails as a POW. Very heartfelt and heart clenching moments are described with a hint of literary sense. The witness to surrender, going to Calcutta in a plane with senior officers, the solitary confinement scenario, shifting to Agra Jail through train, happy and sad moments with the comrades, Indian officials’ utmost tries to brainwash the POWs through different strategies, spending 3 years waiting for each day to end, getting sad on the breakup of Quaid’s Pakistan.
اِس راہ میں جو سب پہ گزرتی ہے وہ گزری
تنہا پسِ زنداں، کبھی رُسوا سرِ بازار
Dreaming every day about going back to the motherland, he finally came back; only to know that his mother and many of his literati friends have gone to the heavenly abode.
The feelings described are so gripping, at times It can make you cry as well. A must read piece of literature.
اِس راہ میں جو سب پہ گزرتی ہے وہ گزری
تنہا پسِ زنداں، کبھی رُسوا سرِ بازار
Dreaming every day about going back to the motherland, he finally came back; only to know that his mother and many of his literati friends have gone to the heavenly abode.
The feelings described are so gripping, at times It can make you cry as well. A must read piece of literature.
December 27, 2014
A MUST-READ for every young Pakistani. Also read "Witness to surrender" by the same author. Urdu Version under title "mein ne Dhaka doobtay dekha". Both books written about the last days of East Pakistan and the fall of Dhaka.
February 2, 2018
A great recount with a glimpse of sardonic humor
July 4, 2019
ہر ایک بات زباں پر نہ آ سکی باقی
کہیں کہیں سے سنائے ہیں ہم نے افسانے
باقی صدیقی
A tragic account of prisoners of war after 1971. Siddique Salik has narrated a gruesome account of those ghastly years under Indian captivity. Sometime his narration is very tragic especially his account of surrender of Dhaka and desperate efforts of escapism by Pakistani prisoners of war which ended in martyrdom or more severe imprisonment of those brave souls.
Sometimes his style got a bit comical which put smiles on reader's face; furthermore, his frequent use of appropriate verses enhanced the literary taste of this book.
In the end I salute the bravery, perseverance and patience of all those brave sons of Pakistan who were captivated in 1971 and they forbore all the barbarian tactics of their captors with smiling faces and big hearts.
Pakistan Zindabad 🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰
کہیں کہیں سے سنائے ہیں ہم نے افسانے
باقی صدیقی
A tragic account of prisoners of war after 1971. Siddique Salik has narrated a gruesome account of those ghastly years under Indian captivity. Sometime his narration is very tragic especially his account of surrender of Dhaka and desperate efforts of escapism by Pakistani prisoners of war which ended in martyrdom or more severe imprisonment of those brave souls.
Sometimes his style got a bit comical which put smiles on reader's face; furthermore, his frequent use of appropriate verses enhanced the literary taste of this book.
In the end I salute the bravery, perseverance and patience of all those brave sons of Pakistan who were captivated in 1971 and they forbore all the barbarian tactics of their captors with smiling faces and big hearts.
Pakistan Zindabad 🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰
August 8, 2022
Excellent use of poetry in prose. A heartbreaking account of his time as a prisoner of war in 1971 Indo-Pak War. A tragedy, disguised as humor.
March 27, 2021
Satisfied my hunger for good prose.
May 17, 2021
یہ کتاب ایک جنگی قیدی کے اسیری کے دنوں کا احوال ہے۔ اس کتاب کی سب سے خوبصورت بات یہ ہے کہ یہ آپ کو آزاد ملک کے آزاد شہری ہونے کی اہمیت کا احساس دلانی ہے ۔ 1971 میں جب پاکستان دو لخت ہوا تو نوے ہزار فوجی قیدی بھی بنے۔ ان میں سب سے نمایاں نام جنرل نیازی کا ہے۔ یہ کتاب ڈھاکہ سے شروع ہوتی ہے اور پھر واہگہ پہ آکہ ختم ھوتی ہے۔ قید کے دنوں کی صبر آزما مراحل پر مشتمل یہ کتاب پڑھ کہ رونگھٹے کھڑے ہو جاتے ہیں اور دل ان قیدیوں کے حوصلوں کو داد دیتا ہے کہ جنہوں نے وطن عزیز کی خاطر یہ سب کچھ سہا مگر قومی رازوں کو اپنے سینے میں دفن رکھا۔
ہمارا دشمن بہت مکار ہے۔ ان نوے ہزار قیدیوں کو سب سے پہلے جسمانی اذیت سے گزارا گیا۔ جب بات نہ بنی تو ذہنی دباؤ ڈالا گیا۔ بنیادی ضرورتوں سے محروم رکھا گیا۔ بیمار ہوئے تو علاج کا کوئی بندوبست نہیں۔ مناسب کھانا نہیں۔ جس کے نتیجے میں کمزور اعصاب کے حامل اپنا ذہنی توازن کھو بیٹھے۔ جب یہ دونوں طریقے کارگر نہ ہوئے تو پھر مذہبی مفکرین اور مقررین کا سہارا لے کر یہ باور کرانے کی کوشش کی گئی کہ بنیادی طور پر تقسیم ہند ہی نہیں ہونی چاہیے تھی۔ اس سلسلے میں ثقافتی پروگرام میں میعقد کروائے گئے۔
اسیری میں وطن عزیز کی یاد کے ایک ایک لمحے کو بہت خوبصورتی سے اس کتاب میں بیان کیا گیا ہے۔ ہر اچھی کتاب کی طرح اس کی بھی خوبی ہے کہ قاری کو اپنے ساتھ نتھی کر لیتی ہے اور دریا کی طرح بہتی جاتی ہے۔
ہمارا دشمن بہت مکار ہے۔ ان نوے ہزار قیدیوں کو سب سے پہلے جسمانی اذیت سے گزارا گیا۔ جب بات نہ بنی تو ذہنی دباؤ ڈالا گیا۔ بنیادی ضرورتوں سے محروم رکھا گیا۔ بیمار ہوئے تو علاج کا کوئی بندوبست نہیں۔ مناسب کھانا نہیں۔ جس کے نتیجے میں کمزور اعصاب کے حامل اپنا ذہنی توازن کھو بیٹھے۔ جب یہ دونوں طریقے کارگر نہ ہوئے تو پھر مذہبی مفکرین اور مقررین کا سہارا لے کر یہ باور کرانے کی کوشش کی گئی کہ بنیادی طور پر تقسیم ہند ہی نہیں ہونی چاہیے تھی۔ اس سلسلے میں ثقافتی پروگرام میں میعقد کروائے گئے۔
اسیری میں وطن عزیز کی یاد کے ایک ایک لمحے کو بہت خوبصورتی سے اس کتاب میں بیان کیا گیا ہے۔ ہر اچھی کتاب کی طرح اس کی بھی خوبی ہے کہ قاری کو اپنے ساتھ نتھی کر لیتی ہے اور دریا کی طرح بہتی جاتی ہے۔
September 22, 2019
It is a story of a prisoner of war, at times seems biased.. but overall i am giving it 4 stars, cause its very natural to become biased against the state you were imprisoned by... i loved the language, the diction, the writing style is very original.. seems like you are watching it through a window rather than reading it.
January 18, 2022
Gives a useful information about 1971 war and brutality of indians on POWs
October 7, 2019
سقوط ڈھاکہ سے متعلق سالک صاحب کی دوسری کتاب ہے۔ واقعات کے لحاظ سے یہ کتاب ضرور سند کی حیثیت رکھتی ہے اور چونکہ مصنف کے براہ راست تجربے کا نتیجہ ہے اس لیے دلچسپی سے خالی نہیں۔ لیکن اس کو ادبی رنگ دینے کی ایک ناکام کوشش کی گئی ہے۔ اس کوشش میں یہ اپنا حسن کھو دیتی ہے۔ جہاں جہاں مصنف نے واقعات کے بعد اپنی ذاتی رائے کا اظہار کیا ہے وہ حالات کے تناظر میں قابل فہم لیکن سطحی اور جانبدار ہے۔ مثال کے طور پر ان کی محض ساتھ والی عمارت میں منتقلی کے لیے آنکھوں پہ پٹی چڑھانے، ہاتھ باندھنے اور گھنٹوں ٹرک میں گھمانے کو بنیے کی چالاکی پہ محمول کرنا غیر ضروری تھا کہ دنیا بھر کے سراغرساں اداروں کا یہی وطیرہ اور چلن ہے۔ مجموعی طور پر اس سلسلے سے متعلق اچھی کاوش تھی۔
August 9, 2022
Debacle of 71 war followed by the POW issues. It is story about a soldier’s plight in enemy’s jail. How the trauma of surrender and then constant humiliation in enemy territory took it’s toll on prisoners. A depressing read though but the ending gives you a sigh of relief.
February 20, 2020
مصنف کا اندازِ تحریر بہترین۔ رلانے کے ساتھ ساتھ ہنسانے کا فریضہ بھی سر انجام دیتے رہے۔ قید اور اس کے ساتھ جڑے محسوسات کو پہلی بار پڑھا اور دل سے محسوس کیا۔
June 13, 2021
This book... A honeyed heartache 💔❤
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November 30, 2017bohot dilchasp book ha jinko shairi sa shugaf ha wo zaroor parhe
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April 4, 2019amazing story of brig. sdadiq salik
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews