Many of us will be acquainted with the western stereotype of Pakistan: hostile, intolerant and in some cases radicalised. Many of us will also be aware of the societal schisms within Pakistan itself. In the quest for a modern state, many Pakistanis have wholesale secularised themselves and those around them. More still are fairly rabid in their quest to eliminate all traces of Islam from Pakistan’s national consciousness. On the other end of the spectrum, we have the equally intolerant, highly literalist and in some cases bigoted self-anointed ‘defenders of the faith’, out to press their interpretation of Islam on any and all. An observation both sides of the chasm would do well to stare down into, however, would be that of the importance of truth- truthfulness towards others, and themselves. For this truthfulness would let us realise that there is to be no compulsion in religion, and yet that there are tangible benefits to be had from a more genuine incorporation of Islam in the fabric of Pakistan. This post will briefly seek to touch on this conceptual touchstone that I call truthfulness, and exemplifying some of its benefits to Pakistan’s overarching identification issues. Continue reading ‘Truth: the lodestar of (a better) Pakistan?’
Archive for the 'Education' Category
Hmmm. Right.
Islamabad, Dec 01: Pakistan is among the few countries where illiteracy is on the rise and it ranked second in the world with 6.5 million out of school children, a Unesco report said.
India follows Pakistan at the third spot with 4.5 million such children, Dawn reported quoting Unesco’s education for all global monitoring report 2007.
Nigeria with some eight million out-of-school children stands first.
Continue reading ‘Pakistan has 6.5 million out of school children: Unesco’
“The events in Pakistan this week represent another setback to Pakistani democracy. Pakistan’s interests would be served by a prompt return to civilian rule and restoration of the democratic process. I urge that Pakistan move quickly in that direction.I am sending my ambassador back to Islamabad to underscore my view directly to the military authorities and to hear their intentions. I will also be consulting closely with all concerned nations about maintaining peace and stability in South Asia. “
Statement by President Bill Clinton
Office of the President
White House
Washington, DC, October 13, 1999
When another bloodless coup took place on October 12 1999, most people had mixed feelings and apathy was the more resounding response at the sight of seeing another entry by the army into politics. With Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Zia ul Haq imposing marital law before him, Pervaiz Musharraf didn’t exactly come off as a beacon of light to the citizens of Pakistan. Continue reading ‘The Road Less Travelled By Our Leaders Part 1′
At an early age as we attain our elementary education, one of the first things we learn, is about our homeland, Pakistan. We are taught that Pakistan consists of five provinces: Sindh in the south, Punjab to the east, Baluchistan to the west, NWFP in the north and Kashmir. With great pride and fondness we learn that these provinces are home to different ethnic groups with their own unique set of traditions, culture and language. All of which have voluntarily fused into one nation, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the first country to be founded on a religious ideology. A nation built for the very purpose to serve us Muslims living in the Indian Subcontinent but before we venture onwards, let us return to our schooling.
Progressing from elementary to secondary education, we slowly learn things aren’t exactly what they seem to be. Continue reading ‘Children, Today’s Lesson is…’
The government has made certain changes to the Pakistan Studies curriculum. I couldn’t agree more with the need for a certain action. As someone who has studied the subject I can honestly say that it was probably the most biased subject I have ever read. Many subjects have biases, especially those that have something to do with history, but Pakistan Studies taught me the concept of ‘us vs. them’. It left behind all kinds of rationality and tried to portray the Pakistanis (Muslims) and Indians (Hindus) as ‘good’ and ‘evil’. In a way the subject encouraged Pakistani youth to be emotional, irrational human beings with a distorted appreciation of events. The new curriculum ensures that all such material that promotes prejudice against the non-Muslims of prepartition India is exluded.
It might be advisable to add something on the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. We are hardly told anything about what happened. Why not add that, according to most estimates, hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi men were murdered and thousands of women raped? Continue reading ‘Pakistan Studies Curriculum: What about Bangladesh?’
