meethapani

  Massacre of the Innocents   8 billion people of the world are forced to helplessly watch 9 million Israelis massacre 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, corralled in a mere 45 sq km, the size of DHA Karachi.   Powerful countries that could stop this massacre choose not to, countries whose strident moral policing of human rights across the world sound hollow as they openly support Israel’s aggressions, despite protests by their own citizens whose voices are brushed aside. Throughout the history of humans, merciless actions of aggression have traumatized those who long for peace.   Artists, poets and songwriters have found the story of the Massacre of Innocents a powerful symbol of the horrors of war, whose new expression are heartbreaking images of children killed in Gaza.      The Massacre of Innocents in the Bible refers to the Jewish King Herod’s orders to slaughter all newborn male children in Bethlehem when he learns from the Magi, the wise men from ‘the East’, that one of the

  Spearheading   Development Pakistan surprises everyone by doing the unexpected whether on the cricket field or surviving 75 years when pundits gave it a mere two years if that. In 1967, Gustav Papanek, Economic Adviser from Harvard to the Planning Commission of Pakistan in the 50s, in his book Pakistan's Development, noted that despite no prior industrial experience, the Memons, a handful of traders, conservative, uneducated and certainly not ‘modern’, drove Pakistan’s rapid economic growth, with the support of what he calls the elite "educated gentlemen" of the civil service. Other international observers called it "a rare success story", an "economic monstrosity," whose performance was "outstanding", supported by "positively brilliant" government decisions and a "sophisticated" planning system, not seen in other developing countries. A 23 year-old Mahbub ul-Haq, later to become the author of the Human Development

  Planned Self-education Statistics show low literacy rates in Pakistan, out of school children, and poor standards of education. In a population of 242 million, only 12 million complete primary education, half that complete matriculation, less that 2 million acquire a Bachelor’s degree, and a mere 618,937 earn a Master’s degree or above. But are the remaining uneducated? Pakistan is buzzing with ‘uneducated’ people with expertise in laser printing, fixing laptops, phones and computers, working complex machines in factories, repairing cars, rewiring motors, making sensors and alarm systems, making guns in small workshops, growing arguably the world tastiest fruit. How did they learn their skills? Is that not the result of another kind of education? The concept of State-run formal education is only a few hundred years old. Informal education dates back to the beginning of society, when elders taught children and each other to understand the world around them, how to survive, how t

  A World of Love and Hate In Firdausi’s Shahnameh Rustam and Sohrab face each other in battle, fighting on opposing sides, not knowing they are father and son, until Sohrab is fatally stabbed by Rustom. In one tragic moment, the enemy becomes the beloved. How easily aggression has turned into compassion.   The recent deadly events in Palestine reveals the extreme polarization of world opinion as oppressors become the oppressed, and the oppressed become the oppressors, in a dizzying interchange. The world is in a moral confusion of right and wrong. The pivot of this conundrum are the primal emotions of love and hate bound together in an uncomfortable union. In order to love one’s own, the other must be ‘hated’ This forms the basis of training of soldiers who must hate the enemy enough to be able to kill him although in some ways they are the same, as Wilfred Owen expresses so poignantly in his poem Strange Meeting “I am the enemy you killed, my friend. I knew you in this dark” an

  Re-visiting the Sixties The three-day Woodstock Music Festival of 1969, attended by half a million young people, formalized the cultural change that began with the beat generation of the fifties, bringing in an era of humanitarian ideals, peace, hope and progress to benefit all humanity. It was “The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius”.    The sixties ethos spread to countries in the sphere of American influence, both in Europe and in the newly liberated countries that looked to the western model of progress. So Karachi, at least it’s elite, had it’s own 60s culture of music, psychedelic Smartelle fabrics and marijuana.    Behind the haze of LSD, free love and the Beatles, the sixties were also known for achieving many political milestones. In USA, the Civil Rights movement gained momentum, there was a call for equal pay for women, reducing the voting age from 21 to 18, since this was the age for being drafted in the army, and equal voting rights to African Americans. Politically awar

  Taking Time Out Taking a break from a stressful work schedule, or from the demands of caring for a new born child, Is a familiar need for most people. Small breaks are opportunities to refocus one’s energies. There may be a call during intense negotiations to take ‘Take five’, a term based on the time taken to smoke a cigarette. Slightly longer breaks are recommended for personal conflicts that reach an impasse, such as a quarrel that is in danger of escalating, or a problem whose solution evades one. People are asked to sleep on it, look at it again with fresh eyes. People in high-powered jobs look forward to their annual vacation, often marketed as escapes, or getaways. There is a whole other world of stepping back from the all-enveloping pressures of everyday life. Retreats for artists unlock creative energy. Nuns and monks go on retreats to focus on devotion. Ashrams are spiritual retreats for people of all faiths or those searching for something to believe in. Hermits or a

  Standing up for Others “I have your six,” is a term used by air force pilots during sorties, indicating the six o’clock position of a clock dial — to say they are in position to protect a fellow pilot. Everyone needs someone to rely on and feel safe, whether it's family, friends or state institutions. The structure of society is intended to make an individual feel part of a community. However, these very structures are also known to collapse as society develops polarised interests, or faces war, disasters or economic crises. It then falls upon individuals or social groups to ensure protection of the vulnerable and the voiceless. Pakistan, and especially Karachi, has a very large number of charitable institutions, generous families and individuals, who effectively create an informal welfare state, stepping up where the state fails, by offering free hospitals, free meals, educational scholarships and micro loans. There are also those incidental moments where intervention is

  The Concept of Time in South Asia Fluid Time/Creating Futures / CoVA Seminar Series 2021 Centre of Visual Arts, University of Melbourne     The best indicator of the South Asian attitude to time lies is in the Urdu/ Hindi word “kal”   The word “kal” can be used for yesterday or tomorrow, as are its extensions, parson , tarson and narson words to describe up to three days before or after today ( aaj).   The context of the sentence in which the words are used indicate whether the past or the future is indicated.   This suggests time is not an objective truth but in fact is relative to perception, open to interpretation, variable, and places the narrator in control. The objective approach focuses on the “what” outside of self; while subjective focuses on the agency of the “who”.    South Asians live simultaneously, and with great ease, in many different time frames.   For daily business and civil matters, the international Gregorian calendar and the 24-hour clock are

  Blank Canvases of History Art has always created the most powerful images of historical events.   Delacroix’s painting ‘Liberty Leading the People’ became an icon of the French Revolution, the Roman sculpture of the Dying Gaul, symbolized the defeat of a worthy opponent, Benjamin West’s painting of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam handing over tax collecting rights to Robert Clive, marking the beginning of the British takeover of India. Kings engaged artists to enhance their status. In the reception hall of the Palace of the Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, visitors would be suitably filled with awe by huge reliefs of the king killing lions almost barehanded.   Sometimes images altered history.   Sculptures in the Capitol Hill, Washington, depict Native Americans kneeling and offering gifts to the European conquerors. The image of Christ once depicted as dark haired, dark-eyed with a middle eastern complexion, changed into a blond and blue-eyed prophet of white nations. Few empires c

    Rules and Laws Pakistan has a very baffling relationship with the Rule of Law.   Red traffic lights are a nuisance, double and triple parking is tolerated so long as a little bit of road is left for cars to wind through, its simpler and quicker to bribe one’s way out of any difficulty, to name only a few visible examples. Yet everyone has their eyes turned to the higher courts awaiting their judgements. Many Freedom Fighters who enabled the birth of Pakistan had a background in law: Allama Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, Abdur Rab Nishtar, Qazi Isa, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, I.I. Chundrigar, Fazlul Huq, Khwaja Nazimuddin.   Even Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan had an honorary law degree and served as a judge. The failed 1857armed uprising against British Rule, transformed into a sustained strategy of resistance enabled by familiarity with British law acquired by an Oxbridge education, that also allowed a comparison between British Law at home

  Imagined Futures Being able to predict the future has occupied humans forever it seems. Knowing what lies ahead is linked to survival – physical survival for farmers, hunters, and soldiers; political survival of those who rule; and economic survival for speculators. Ancient wisdom or modern algorithms, are harnessed to gauge weather patterns, the movement of animals, variations in the earth’s axis, revolutions brewing below the surface, where oil or gold is likely to be found or the trajectories of meteors in space. Villagers heeded shamans, kings consulted oracles and soothsayers.   The life of Hazrat Yusuf was spared by the Pharoah because of his visions and ability to interpret dreams. Ordinary people turn to astrology,   faals and istikharas (answers from spiritual texts) to guide their decisions. Today a large number of predictions are made by science.   The loudest voice warns of the impact of climate change generated by centuries of plundering the Earth’s resources for i

  Unveiling the Veil Curtains are an architectural device that manage how much of the outside is allowed in. The Urdu word for curtain, purdah, is used interchangeably with privacy. We keep the dignity or purdah of those we wish to protect. The purdah became a convenient way to maintain privacy outside the house in the form of a curtained palki or sedan or as a covering or veil for women.   Ayesha Khalid portrays this association beautifully in her paintings of women in burqas blending in with wall curtains. While some men veil themselves such as the Tuareg of Morocco, or Jewish men of the Hasidic Bratslav sect, and South Asia men may wear a sehra or veil of flowers on their wedding day, the veil became associated with women across cultures and religions. The liberal 60s erased the memory of the veil from many societies, and it is now almost exclusively associated with Muslim women. The veil has many other meanings.   People place a veil between their public and private lives.  

  Fearless Gazelles of Islam Nusaybah bint Ka`b, seeing the Prophet ( PBUH) unprotected during the Battle of Uhud, ran to shield him with her sword alongside her husband and son. She received many wounds, and the Prophet himself (PBUH) said, wherever he turned, whether to the right or to the left, he saw her defending him. She was present at a number of battles, and at the age of 60 fought at Al-Yamamah, receiving 11 wounds, also losing her hand. When Khawla bint al-Azwar’s brother was taken captive by the Byzantines, she put on armour and charged into the Byzantine troops to rescue him. Taken captive at the Battle of Marj al Saffar, she fended off the Byzantines with a tentpole, killing seven. Muslim women were an important part of every battle rallying their men, or tending to the wounded, sometimes taking up arms or composing taunting poetry. Ghazala al-Haruriyya called out to the fleeing Umayyad General “You are a lion against me but were made into an ostrich which spreads it

    Tending the Garden Religions would have us believe humans started their existence in a garden and a garden awaits them at the end of their life. Earth itself is cherished amongst all the planets of our solar system for its lush plant life, which is home to an estimated 8.7 million plant and animal species. The degradation of the earth’s environment is also gauged by its shrinking or damaged forests. For urban dwellers, liveability is determined to a large extent by public parks, trees and domestic gardens, as nature is pushed out by tarmac and concrete. As Singapore has shown, well maintained green spaces are a factor in attracting increased financial investment and the promise of prosperity. The garden is also a metaphor, a philosophical concept, and a spiritual, poetic and artistic symbol. Landscape painting and references to gardens in poetry are time-honoured traditions. The British philosopher John Wisdom called God the “Invisible Gardener”, who maintains all things, u

  How will we be remembered?   A few weeks ago, a phrase in an obituary in Dawn stood out - “Life Long Fighter for Rule of LAW”. There was something moving about the prominence given to this achievement amongst all the other posts held by the jurist Syed Sami Ahmed.   Recently there has been much talk in Pakistan of how people will be remembered – jurists, armed forces, police, legislators, politicians, protestors, journalists – as the country twists uncomfortably like a tied down animal struggling to break free. Before autobiographies and history books came into existence, the achievements of people were written on their gravestones as epitaphs, often by the deceased themselves during their lifetime.     The ancient Egyptians inscribed their achievements for the hereafter. The Greeks and Romans wished to be immortalized as heroes for future generations. Some epitaphs honoured entire armies: “Here four thousand from the Peloponnese once fought against three million”.   The gr