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Anwar Maqsood apologises for racist skit on his web-series

In the new video, the writer apologises and explains that he himself is Sindhi and meant no offense

23 Apr, 2018

Veteran writer Anwar Maqsood has drawn criticism for his "racist" characterisation of Sindhi people in a recent episode of his web-series Anwarnama.

In Anwarnama, the writer shares a "collection of letters, writings, stories and his experiences pertaining to themes of society, culture, politics and personalities in an intimate setting"; in his latest skit (now deleted from his official page), he carried out an 'interview' of a Sindhi man, who shared that he did nothing for a living and took multiple bank loans and avoided them by faking his death.

Maqsood portrayed the Sindhi character as lazy and dishonest and let's just say, some people were not happy about the generalisations he made.

The video received backlash on social media from many, including notable Sindhi entertainers such as Ali Gul Pir and Mooroo.

However, the humourist has since apologised in a new video, claiming he himself is Sindhi and that he hasn't left since he first came here in 1948.

Good on him for taking responsibility for his mistakes and asking for forgiveness. And hey, Ali Gul Pir feels the same!

Comments

Qadir Apr 23, 2018 03:10pm

Highly Appreciated!

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Yawar Aqil Apr 23, 2018 03:11pm

Anwer Maqsood has not said anything wrong.

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Ardeshir Apr 23, 2018 03:25pm

Sir, you did not owe any explanation let alone apology to anyone. If the intellectually stunted masses could not digest what you presented, it did not mean that you had to compensate for their cerebral shortcomings. I am disappointed. Pandering to the rabble or riffraff has never furthered the cause of high art and literature.

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Omer Apr 23, 2018 03:32pm

He should not apologise. This is fact about those people who keep electing ppp, pmln and mqm . From other provinces. True for Punjabi, Balochi and Pathan just change word sindi. Show love for Pakistan and let’s make him a better country .

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OxyMoron Apr 23, 2018 03:38pm

And so!???

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Sameer Apr 23, 2018 03:51pm

AM is an honest man. It is unfortunate that his potrayal represents some truth about the lazy stigma of the once great Sindhi society. It is also unfortunate that sindh politicians would have it no other way...to keep sindh enslaved.

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Daniyal Khan Apr 23, 2018 03:51pm

It is sad to see that our society has lost the charm of acknowledging dark comedy and classifies this piece of art as racism. This is very far from racism and we must accept this as a genuine piece of art - you will find writers, scholars, observers in developed countries making fun of their failures and the masses enjoy that - such level of understanding of art is clearly missing in our society. For those like Ali Gul Pir asking Anwer Maqsood to apologies should go back in time and see the kind of music he has produced and whether falls under racism bucket!

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Rekhtagar Apr 23, 2018 03:56pm

AM needs to reflect on and evaluate his methodology of subtle stealth humor!

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A Subhan Apr 23, 2018 04:04pm

Finally, a long over due apology... Ok.. better late than never

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Two cents Apr 23, 2018 04:17pm

@Ardeshir I for one, concur with you, Sir.

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Naqad Apr 23, 2018 05:16pm

A responsible humorist embeds his humor within lines and never crosses the lines!

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Khalid Khan Apr 23, 2018 06:34pm

Although I lived in Dadu for short period of time yet I am proud to be associated with Sindh, Sindhi people are genuinely genorous and simple. I am offended byAnwar Maqsoods remarks

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Saif Zulfiqar Apr 23, 2018 07:50pm

Aanwer Maqsood realised that he has hurt the feelings of the other humanbeings and sorry. He is a nice humanbeing himself also. Why other people are angry?

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Hassan Fawwad Junejo Apr 23, 2018 08:28pm

No need to apologize. People have lost sense of humor and have very sensitive to every thing or comment. I beleive this is a trend adopted from US where every one is hell bent on getting annoyed on everything

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Fartaq Apr 23, 2018 08:43pm

Condenming the truth does not change the truth

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Anwar Sadiqque Apr 23, 2018 08:59pm

The common words to pejoratively describe a group : 1) Lazy 2) Untrustworthy 3) Criminally inclined. 4) Not very smart. I have heard the terms applied in the US : Mexicans,African Americans, white southerners. I have heard Chinese uses these words t o describe Tibetans and now we have similar words being used to describe Sindis. So my fellow readers if you hear someone talk this way or even if you do, please stop and think about your prejudices.

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Sindu Apr 23, 2018 09:01pm

Baat tou sach hai....per baat hai ruswai ki

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Shani Apr 23, 2018 09:08pm

That person each and every word is true....

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Shani Apr 23, 2018 09:14pm

I don't think, one's should apologize for speaking true. Anwar Maqsood each and every word depict reality and truth. If someone can't bear the reflection of truth it's doesn't mean you are wrong. That one true face of pop in sind.

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M. Saeed Apr 23, 2018 09:15pm

It is unfortunate that, Sindhis are themselves disowning their own age long proverbs. I was told by a Sindhi gentleman about a proverb that translates to mean, "If a Sindhi leaves his Munji, he becomes a Muhajir", meaning if a Sindhi gets down from his cot, he immediately becomes a refugee.

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A Subhan Apr 23, 2018 09:29pm

Since Anwar Maqsood has apologized, so no disrespect to him, please. But those who wanted this kind of comedy to continue, should be ashamed of themselves.

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Naved Apr 23, 2018 09:35pm

I agree generalization of negative comments about any ethnic community is always wrong.

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Jamil Ahmed Apr 23, 2018 09:51pm

...very good step ( apologizing ) taken by Anwar shb . Yes , we really were deeply offended by the video #Sindhi kainterview , but it can be put aside after the apology . Give respect , take respect ! Love for all and hate for none !

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Syed Abdi Apr 23, 2018 11:49pm

There are individuals who can be bad or good and we have no right to prototype negative remarks by referring as Sindhi or Punjabi etc. Pick a random sample of people from different part of Pakistan and we find a similar percentage of bad and good ones. If such writing is coming from a respectable or senior person then it is a bad precedence and I will count on youth to promote patriotism and project positive Pakistan image.

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Shola e Jawad Apr 24, 2018 01:12am

We all suffer from cultural aggression and pseudo cultural superiority. AM pokes fun at dark skinned Bengalis and Biharis, ironically he himself is pretty dark. The caricaturing of Pashtuns, Bengalis, Sindhis and Biharis for cheap laughs only serves to perpetuate ugly stereotypes.

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Danish Apr 24, 2018 02:18am

And when Ali Gul Pir did his "Saieen tu Saeen..." how was that not targeting the sindhis in a negative way?. Anwar Sahab only showed the reality of the dado sutho awam.

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Nomi Apr 24, 2018 02:28am

Sad

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Syed ali Apr 24, 2018 02:42am

A time comes when people should retire; heard him in Houston few years ago, our conclusion was he should retire , he was sort of lost. To label any ethnic group subpar to your own reflects true bias, he should go through insensitivity training. I read the comments of few Sindhi artists and they exhibited a large heart..

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N abidi Apr 24, 2018 04:15am

@Ardeshir I second what you said respect to one very respectful man!

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Hassan Apr 24, 2018 04:28am

Online vigilantism is no good my brethren,Anwar Maqsood is doing what he does best.

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Salman Apr 24, 2018 05:03am

He should have been more wiser, but coming forward with a sincere apology was a right thing he did. "Sindhi Hamaray Mohin Aur Barray Piyaray Loge Hain" my late father used to say that.

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Parveen Sadiq Apr 24, 2018 06:02am

Truly shameful.And he is Urdu Speaking Sindhi.Just imagine if he had made fun of a Pakhtun?

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NoPunIntended Apr 24, 2018 06:25am

Nothing wrong he said. This is culture and this is a true depiction of Sindh. Deep-rooted corruption in every field of life in Sindh. Anwar Maqsood is a nationally recognized artist and tells a true story, do u have any doubt that people have not taken any money from banks....?

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NoPunIntended Apr 24, 2018 06:26am

@Khalid Khan Dear its nothing against Sindh or Sindhi people, he is trying to unmask corruption, which is rampant in the beloved land.

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Tanveer Apr 24, 2018 07:58am

Well it's good that Mr. Anwar Maqsood has apologised for such a sweeping generalisation of Sindhi people. However since when are Sindhi people a separate race? Upon reading the title I had imagined that he may have offended black Africans or the Mongoloid race. We have ethnicities in Pakistan but they vary in skin tones only. Perhaps the Sheedies of Makran (originally from Africa) are a separate race. Any way this is my opinion. Perhaps Sindhis are a sub-race within the Indo Aryan race. I am not defending Anwar Maqsood and I am a Punjabi myself. It's quite cynical of him to say he is a Sindhi as he has never left Sindh after arriving in 1948. Has he learnt to speak Sindhi?

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MA Apr 24, 2018 08:51am

We AM telling the reality of Pakistani people what they do, and YES they do this. Do YOU don't know, than you are living in fools paradise.

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wajahat Apr 24, 2018 09:01am

its fact and can be applied to all pakistanis. whole nation is highly corrupt and morally characterless.

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Bin Adam Apr 24, 2018 09:43am

So many of the top political leaders, heads of parties, their cronies and bureaucrats from all provinces having taken heavy loans, concessions and properties have gotten same written off through anti-Nation NROs and waivers many in billions, again and again. Is it not a naked fact. Then why to apologize?

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ali Apr 24, 2018 12:18pm

Anwar sb, along with several intellectuals and society in general, have been doing this for ages. The topic of racism has managed to get traction in masses after the advent of social media; this is especially true for South Asia. Good that someone has finally made Anwar sb realize that racism could not be used for fun or sarcasm. Myself, belonging to a minority sect and an area geographically remove and economically deprived, have faced racism and discrimination through-out my life. Hopefully we as humans will be able to evolve faster intellectually and be tolerant towards others.

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Pakistani Apr 24, 2018 02:17pm

It’s a form of narcissism that my language, sect or culture is supreme. It leads to curbing of diversity and the last stage is that if you’re not like me, you should be killed. What is even stranger is that only in Sindh, most residents of the province in the urban areas cannot read or write theSindhi language. This is a shame. Imagine doing away with Pashto in K-P'' or Punjabi in Punjab. While we are ready to import foreign cultures and languages – whether it is those who ape the West or those who want to impose Saudi norms on our country, why can we not celebrate who we are?'

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Waseem Apr 24, 2018 11:32pm

Every one must strogly condemn racist thought of anwar maqsood.His appology may be accepted for the sake of unity.

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Abbas Apr 25, 2018 08:00am

Shame on those people making things from nothing. A common Sindhi, balochi, saraiki does not have access to banks. How they can get loans and then refuse to pay ? It was about waderaas and influentials. I am with Anwar Maqsood. Long live Pakistan

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Asif Apr 25, 2018 10:36am

So, do you guys think that he said something wrong.? Even my Sindhi friends say the same.

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Asif Apr 25, 2018 10:59am

Who are these guys criticising a legend?

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Ali Apr 27, 2018 10:14pm

Whats wrong with that... The ground reality and truth is exposed... This is the real situation across Pak...

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