The Jew is Not My Enemy-by Tarek Fatah (Excerpt)
Anti-Semitism (hatred for Jewish people) is not a new or unique phenomenon for us Pakistanis. We love to hate the Jews and to blame all our ills on the ugly, hideous, nefarious designs of the Zionist Jews. After all, Jews control the world and it is only because of them that we Muslims are so far behind the rest of the world. It’s all a big conspiracy. Journalist and Political advocate Tarek Fatah described and analyzed … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, Europe, Great game, History, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Law, Religion, state, Uncategorized, USA
The novelist – chapter 3
“Old coot, bastard” exclaimed Jalal having inhaled some of the dust kicked up “Well what do you except man, after the way you spoke to him we could have at least gone back with him” muttered zarmina, knowing they would probably have to in the next hour or so as the afternoon sun was burning fierce in the sky without any clouds in sight. “Cmon zari don’t be so naive, all of these places are extremely expensive … Read entire article »
Sleep my darling – chapter 2
By DELILAH It is difficult to do much when one has three children under the age of five. I called up Dr. Baji in the afternoon but I couldn’t explain anything to her on the phone. She said she would speak to Sarmad and set up a time when he could take me to her. Dr. Baji had become a very important person in our lives. She had been our savior once we had migrated to Karachi … Read entire article »
The novelist – chapter 2
“You really cannot be serious” she looked at her husband in a mixture of shock and more than a little bit of nervousness as they sat at the real estate agents office. A dingy mixture of island green artificial carpet and too bright yellowish walls. “Well if you have an idea that wont let go, you might as well follow through no?” Jalal said as he thumbed through some house guides lying next to them on … Read entire article »
The novelist – chapter 1
The rain hit the windows with a sound like thousands of little hands beating upon them, threatening to fling them open, to break into the comfort they were protecting. The rain had been the same ever since they had arrived in this tropical paradise, two days had passed and without relent it had continued. It’s not like this was the first journey abroad for zarmina and her husband, as they often took off in the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, culture, The novelist
Our textbooks and the lies they teach
By Raza Rumi Due to the 18th Amendment, a momentous shift in Pakistan’s governance arrangements is taking place through a politically mediated and largely consensual manner. The federal government is being trimmed and 10 ministries have already been devolved to the provinces. A key development pertains to the devolution of education — lock, stock and barrel — to the provinces. Most notably, the odious era of setting poisonous, centralised curricula in the name of a ‘martial’ nationalism is finally over. Whether the past practices of turning Pakistan into a jihad project will end is uncertain, unless the provinces take the initiative and reverse the regrettable trajectory of the past. Pakistani textbooks have preached falsehoods, hatred and bigotry. They have constructed most non-Muslims, especially Hindus, as evil and primordial enemies, glorified military dictatorships and omitted references … Read entire article »
‘Reforming’ the education system
By Raza Rumi Pakistani students sit inside and on top of a rickshaw heading to their schools in Muzaffargarh in Punjab province, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. AP Photo The recent debates on education have also highlighted how the education sector is not receiving its due compared to say defence, infrastructure and other expenditures made by the government. However, the discussion has yet to move to the most important area i.e. quality of schools and what sort of learning are they providing? The task of reforming the education system is huge, complex and some would say next to impossible. However, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution has opened the doors to avenues for change. … Read entire article »
India: A Portrait by Patrick French – review
By Aravind Adiga An unauthorised settlement near the beach in Mumbai, with the city’s financial district looming large across the water. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian The following correction was printed in the Observer’s For the record column, Sunday 23 January 2011 A review of Patrick French’s book India: A Portrait said: “French retells the story of Ramunjan, the brilliant young Tamil mathematician who died in England before he could fulfil his promise.” However, Ramunjan died in Chennai (formerly … Read entire article »
Post Uprising Depression
Two good books about an important but confusing country which has been driven, partly by American intervention, into strange ways Apr 7th 2011 | from The Economist Pakistan: A Hard Country. By Anatol Lieven. PublicAffairs; 558 pages; $35. Allen Lane; £30. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad. By Bruce Riedel. Brookings Institution Press; 180 pages; $24.95 and £16.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk IT IS a shame that these books should be published at a time when … Read entire article »
Dialogue: Ali Abbas Jalalpuri on Iqbal’s scholasticism
by Aasem Bakhshi Even though it can be entirely attributed to my shameful reluctance to read philosophy in Urdu, I am embarrassed to be introduced to Ali Abbas Jalalpuri’s work so late, especially his profound critique on Iqbal. Jalalpuri’s critique of Iqbal, besides being academically valuable in its own right, is also important as it can help us immensely to reclaim Iqbal from armchair ideologues and political islamists whose strictly authoritarian projections are a source of constant … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, Philosophy, Religion, Reviews
From the Frying Pan into the Fire
They say in Africa that when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. To this Julius Nyerere had once added that when elephants make love, the grass still suffers. Nyerere had made this witty remark at a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in the 1970′s. The organisation had been formed to extricate as much of the world from suffering the same fate as the grass in this African proverb, during the Cold War. Yet, it failed Afghanistan … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Books, Citizens, History, Images, Photos, war
What We Have Done to Democracy
Arundhati Roy’s New Book Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers Looks at What We Have Done to Democracy Written by Al Huebner Cross-Post from Toward Freedom The essays in this new book by the brilliant Indian writer Arundhati Roy cover topics that range from the attack on the Indian Parliament to the Armenian genocide, and the terrorist attack on Mumbai to George Bush’s “triumphant” visit to India and Pakistan. But what runs through all of these essays is a critical look at democracy, as practiced in those countries that claim to be democracies. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, Democracy, Environment, human rights, India, Kashmir, Pakistan
Painting the truth
Reviewed by S.G. Jilanee Saadat Hasan Manto was very popular in his time as a progressive writer. But he wrote in Urdu. Now, Rakhshanda Jalil introduces him to English readers with a collection of 16 of his short stories and three sketches in Naked Voices. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Books, Literature, Partition, Reviews, translations
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