Paul Robeson, Nehru and Jinnah
By Yasser Latif Hamdani I first came across Paul Robeson at Rutgers University in the 100th year of his birth. His image was all pervasive for he was possibly the most well known Rutgers College graduate around the world. The Paul Robeson centre on Busch Campus was dedicated to art, culture and African American fight for equality in America. Robeson was an extraordinary man; an all American Football Player, a concert singer, actor, communist, international citizen. What I later discovered was his intimate connection to the subcontinent through Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. The two men had a lot in common including Lady Edwina Mountbatten, that sultry seductress and the wife of the Last Viceroy of India, who both men had at different times been smitten by. There … Read entire article »
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Pakistani Middleclass, Army and Democracy
By Raza Habib Raja A few weeks ago I wrote a detailed piece on the reasons as to why democracy in Pakistan and its neighboring India has taken such divergent paths. In my opinion the reasons have to do with history of independence movement, early years after independence, image of the army in both the countries and also the attitude of middleclass in both the countries. In any society, particularly a modern democratic society, middleclass provides a critical as well as decisive mass. Moreover it’s an extremely important contributor to intelligentsia, media and services sector, particularly critical services such as bureaucracy and armed forces. In our side of the world, the middleclass particularly urban middleclass, eventually is the major determinant of the dominant opinion and even the official policy. This influence is … Read entire article »
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Are Liberals to blame for Pakistan’s Extremism?
Kashif. N. Chaudary Imran Khan is Pakistan’s sports superstar. His philanthropy is also admirable. This, however, does not mean I should not exercise my right to criticize Khan’s politics. Sadly,Imran Khan’s followers do not take criticism all that well. Anyone who calls him Taliban Khan is quickly ascribed a set of views and labeled a “pseudo-liberal” and “fascist”. In a recent interview, Imran Khan said he believed in engaging the far right and justified being represented at rallies of extremist groups by stating that his was a political party that believed in engaging marginalized groups. Will Imran Khan also engage the ostracized Ahmadi Muslims, Hindus and Christians of Pakistan? Or is his engagement limited to those that preach and execute their killings? Imran Khan has been represented at rallies organized by banned terrorist … Read entire article »
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Jinnah and the Ahmadi Muslims
This is a brief comment on Saroop Ijaz’s otherwise brilliant article in Express Tribune. Good news is that Saroop Ijaz has woken up to the Ahmadi issue. Bad news is that what he finds irksome is not as much the mistreatment or discrimination but that those who choose to speak against this discrimination choose to do so in Jinnah’s name. Tragic that not everyone is as well educated as Saroop Ijaz to produce references of obscure … Read entire article »
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Boundaries Of Blood
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00lzhqz … Read entire article »
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India, Pakistan and Democracy
Raza Habib Raja Professor Philip Oldenburg is a professor of political science in Columbia University and author of the book titled India, Pakistan, and democracy: solving the puzzle of divergent paths. As an academic, Subcontinent has been his prime area of political research. A few months ago, he was invited to Cornell University where I was privileged to hear his views on a very interesting topic which was why India and Pakistan despite being apparently similar in history and culture have taken divergent paths as far as democracy and role of military are concerned. First of all Professor Philip made an interesting statement that India’s successful evolution as a democracy is not a “normal” phenomenon but rather an exception whereas Pakistan has evolved the way most of the third world countries with … Read entire article »
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Mayagate and its aftermath
by Aysha Raja Last weekend saw the widespread condemnation and sustained social media campaign against Maya Khan culminate with the firing of the contentious host from Samaa TV. I would proudly have claimed it a blow against the increasingly oppressive bhaigarat brigade, had the word “blow” not dredged up some disturbing imagery of it’s own. Dissent, in the wake of the unfortunate episode of Subah Saverey Maya kay Sath, swamped the interwebs in all shapes and forms … Read entire article »
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Kindly Keep Your Cameras Away!!
Raza Habib Raja Right now I am feeling like holding a video camera which can live telecast to the entire country and follow Ms Maya Khan constantly. Not only that I would like to give nasty spins to her even “harmless” routine conversations with men (such as the grocery store keeper) and project these as sinful affairs. The feeling of being constantly hounded, misinterpretation of completely normal conversations on the national electronic media and the resulting embarrassment … Read entire article »
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Target killings in Gilgit-Baltistan
By Dr. Zaeem Zia Pakistan in my opinion is a bundle of strange contradictions. We always beat the drums and propagate tyranny of Indian and Israeli forces for what is happening in Kashmir and Palestine and yet are criminally negligent of things which are happening on our own soil. Gilgit-Baltistan is my home town and is strategically located in an important region and lies right in the middle of four nuclear powers, India, China, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. There used to be a time when it was a tourist heaven but now it has turned into a hell on earth. Peace and fraternity was our identity, but random killings are a routine tradition in Gilgit now. Our ancestors were once famous for brotherhood, and now the progeny has turned into worst enemies based on sectarian issues. The question arises, as who is responsible for all the bloodshed in Gilgit-Baltistan? What makes people of Gilgit-Baltistan to … Read entire article »
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List of Journalists Given Plots
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been informed that some 1,000 journalists of Islamabad had applied for plots after the government launched new sectors in Islamabad and invited applications from the general public, government servants and others as part of a uniform policy to give plots to those who were permanently living in Islamabad and did not have any property. A two per cent quota was also fixed for Islamabad-based journalists. A high-powered committee comprising government officials and senior journalists was formed which after careful scrutiny of the applicants, had recommended names of 172 journalists who were given plots against payments. The PAC is in possession of a list of 172 journalists who were given plots in the federal capital in line with their two per cent quota in G-13 and G-14 sectors … Read entire article »
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10 Things You Cannot Deny About Zardari
By D. Asghar Statutory Warning: For those who would be seething in rage and resort to the usual profanity, and abuse; I would humbly request to refrain from reading the post. This post may not be feasible for your brain cells. Most of Pakistan, loves to hate a man. A man to them who is the “inventor and master of corruption”, who has supposedly “robbed” this resourceful nation blind. According to them, he is the reason for all the evils, that plague the promised land of Quaid. Simply speaking, how could someone, who is so villainous, a plunderer, who gets so much disdain, can possibly survive. There are people who are baying for his blood and utter nothing but filth about him. Subject of almost every possible and imaginable … Read entire article »
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The Emotional Supporters and Nit-picking Critics
Raza Habib Raja Imran Khan has been generating a lot of buzz lately and consequently a lot has been written about him in the print media and covered in the electronic media. And add to it the social media, where Imran dominates more than anyone else. Completely in line with our emotional character, the rise of Imran Khan has been accompanied with a strange type of polarization where at one end he is hailed as a Messiah and on the other end he is being called a Taliban Khan, an Establishment tout or someone who is completely naïve. I have seen extraordinary reverence of Imran by some of his internet “jiyalas” who refuse to listen to any criticism on Imran. They get defensive, emotional and even abusive when someone points or even raises … Read entire article »
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The gentler perspective
PTI jalsa aur ham By Farahnaz Zahidi Moazzam Farahnaz Zahidi Moazzam is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for writing. Her focus is human rights, gender issues and reproductive health. She loves blogging, traveling, is a chaai person and a wannabe photographer. Her pet peeve is marginalization on any grounds. She lives in Karachi & blogs here Since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) announced that a mammoth Jalsa would take place in Karachi on the 25th of December, Karachi … Read entire article »
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Energy Crisis and Our Contribution to It
By Usma Iftikhar Come winter and we witness yet again a crisis of all sorts…. Power, fuel, price hike and finally, the everlasting…. political. The quality of life of the average Pakistani has been seriously disturbed by these outages. The hike in fuel prices has led to a massive price hike whereby it is difficult for an average Pakistani to make ends meet. As if electricity outages were insufficient, now we have to put up with load shedding of gas as well. Apart from the insufficiency of the government in anticipating this power crisis and taking adequate measures in order to deal with it, the way the Pakistani lifestyle has evolved has a lot to do with it. Yes, we are one of the fastest growing nations in the world (not in … Read entire article »
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The law of vengeance
By Taha Kehar: The brutal assassination of Governor Salman Taseer bore testament to the belief that even a mere statement of opinion on a piece of legislation could produce drastic consequences. While this draconian image of democracy in Pakistan serves as a brisk reality check, it also shows how periodic the opposition to this heinous law has been. Such lapses in the freedom of expression remain a subject of grave concern. Nearly a year later, civil society is expressing satisfaction at the ‘change’ triggered by the new-fangled politicking by Imran Khan. There is a strong desire to forget the past and chalk out a strategy to achieve prosperity. But can a country buckled under pressure generated by decades of mismanagement seek to look ahead without confronting the past? The struggle against financial corruption … Read entire article »
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PTH biweekly Cartoon
Picture of the Week
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Sunrise at the Arabian Sea, Charna Island
24 Dec 2011
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