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Engaging Politically from the Margin 283
In
A God in Every Stone
, internal societal changes brought forth
by the reflexive self-transformation of the subaltern reflect the micro
dimension of cosmopolitanism. According to Delanty, the micro
dimension of cosmopolitanism could be exemplified in changes within
individual agency, national and societal identities, so “cosmopolitanism
is not to be equated with transnationalization” (2006: 42). Through
the peaceful actions that Qayyum has taken to bring change to society
and the nation, Shamsie demonstrates that patriotism could be
non-violent as well, as opposed to violent extremism of some of
Qayyum’s countrymen. After feeling ashamed of himself for having
served the British Raj, Qayyum begins to participate in local political
activities against the British Raj. However, he refuses to join Haji
Sahib’s jihad although his best friend, Kalam, does, and even accuses
him of betrayal: “You’ll fight for the Europeans who want to keep their
land away from invaders but when your brothers want the same thing
you turn the invaders into your beloved” (Shamsie, 2014c: 147). For
Kalam and other jihadists, attacking English troops is the only way to
show loyalty to their compatriots and to relieve the plight of the
Pashtuns. For Qayyum, however, “Ghaffar Khan is a true Pashtun”
(179). Here, once again, Shamsie includes another historical figure into
the novel. It is known that Haji Sahib and Ghaffar Khan once worked
together to “set up a programme for education and reform,” but,
“when Haji Sahib declared jihad[,] their paths diverged” (180).
Qayyum joins Ghaffar Khan, who “travelled all through the settled
districts setting up schools where the Pashtuns could find education
untainted by the superstition of the mullahs and the brainwashing of
the English” (180). In 1930, Qayyum becomes more a part of the
Khudai Khidmatgar, meaning “Servants of God” (239), to engage in
civil disobedience against the British. The non-violent struggle,
however, ends in a massacre ordered by the English officers, who,
according to Qayyum, “couldn’t believe we were unarmed” and
“wouldn’t believe we weren’t intent on violence” (261). It is because, in
the eyes of the English, the Pashtuns are “savage men of the Frontier”
(322). With “accelerating cars, men crushed beneath wheels, machine