Press Release

Scholar and Historian Nasim Yousaf Receives

Overwhelming Response on Facebook and YouTube

It has indeed been encouraging that there has been such a strong response to Scholar and Historian Nasim Yousaf’s Facebook page. According to weekly reports received from the Facebook administration in May 2012, there were 13,020 visitors to his page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nasim-Yousaf/187638458860) for the month. In addition to these visits, as of June 13, 2012, nearly 1,500 people have liked the page. These include a diverse background of individuals, including Muslims, non-Muslims, males and females.

Furthermore, there have been a large number of visitors to the link on YouTube to listen to Historian Yousaf’s inaugural address to the people of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. This was the first time he had spoken on YouTube regarding the partition of India, the history of the Indian sub-continent, and uncovering the startling facts that are unknown to the mainstream public. There have been an inspiring number of responses of support from the public, as in approximately one and a half months, over 4,000 individuals have visited the link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2uL2j2uqTI

Due to the increasing volume of visitors on Facebook and YouTube mentioned above, it is impossible to reach out to everyone individually to thank them. Therefore, we are reproducing Mr. Yousaf’s complete words of appreciation and thankfulness:

“I am highly indebted to the enormous number of visitors to my page on Facebook. I especially would like to extend my deepest gratitude to those individuals who not only visited, but liked my page. I am also appreciative and thankful to those who visited YouTube to listen to my speech (on the partition of India, Allama Mashriqi’s call for assembly of 300,000 Khaksars in Delhi in 1947, the near fatal attack on Mashriqi, etc.)  Your continued interest has inspired my work on these projects. I wish everyone - regardless of religion, nationality, race, class or creed - happiness, peace of mind, and healthiness. Once again, thank you so much for your support and the honor you have bestowed upon me.”

The public response is the result of the author’s published books as well as articles that have been printed in encyclopedias, academic journals, internet, and newspapers in various countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, Pakistan, India, Japan, Norway, United Kingdom, and the USA. Through his works, the author has provided new direction that historians need to write a balanced history that also presents the views of nationalists (who opposed the partition of India) and focuses on the future of the people of the region. Furthermore, rather than glorifying leaders who accepted division, historians should take a critical look at these leaders, whose decision brought devastation at the time of division and damaged the prospects for peace in the region and the world.

Mr. Yousaf’s works (read by academics, researchers, and the public) have changed the dimension of the history of the region. A sense of realization now prevails that the history of the Indian sub-continent is indeed imbalanced and distorted; this realization is evident from the discussions that are taking place at various forums, including on television. This vast change in thinking is indispensable to achieve sustainable peace between Pakistan and India and end terrorism.

It is certainly a great honor for Scholar and Historian Nasim Yousaf that his research, which has been exhaustive and incredibly challenging (in light of the difficulties related to finding and collecting the Khaksar Movement’s materials), is making an impact.