meethapani

  Exhausted Nations As the year draws to a close, many experience an end of year fatigue, as people assess the year’s losses and gains. This year is dominated by the exhaustion of nations. It has been a year of protests by the affronted - the inaction over the Palestinian genocide, the panic of US citizens over the recent extremely polarized elections, or Pakistanis reeling with disbelief over the macabre spinning of events that challenge the predictions of the most seasoned political pundits. There is a contest of “who will blink first” rather than the glorified ideals of right and wrong.   It has reached a point of no surrender as each side is in a fight for survival, unable to concede defeat as the stakes are too high. There will be regrouping, debriefings, reassessments of strategies, and new plans of action. Stephanie Van Hook, Director at the Metta Center for Nonviolence, says it is not about putting a different kind of person in power; it is about awakening a di...

  Trapped in the Nineteenth Century In 1851 the English poet Mathew Arnold, only 32 at the time, described his era as “Wandering between two worlds, one dead,/The other powerless to be born”. It could equally apply to our times as we gather the shards of “a dead time's exploded dream”. The 19 th C was a remarkable century. It provided the building blocks upon which the 20 th C was built, with its many inventions from the elevator and escalator to the sewing machine and the vacuum cleaner. The telephone, the light bulb, alternating current and batteries. The first motion pictures, the first gramophone, the first railroads, the motor car, traffic lights, museums and blue jeans, coca cola and the zipper. The first test cricket match, football clubs, new games such as basketball and volleyball and the revival of the Olympic games.   The first detective novels, horror stories and science fiction.   X rays, vaccines, aspirin and anesthesia. The first steel ships, the unde...

  In Defense of the Tangible We are poised hesitantly before a future in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technology will be an integral part of our lives - decision making, production capabilities, education platforms, medical practice, warfare, business transactions, governance, policing and many more functions we cannot even anticipate. Hesitant, because as Geoffrey Hinton, the "godfather of AI", warns, within the next five years AI could dominate our lives with more intelligence than humans and more alarmingly it can potentially make decisions independently of human instructions. He has worked on deep learning and Artificial Intelligence since the 70s, so his words carry weight. Digital technology is already a part of our lives – on our phones, laptops and in our surroundings. We can walk through a Van Gogh painting, or among the dinosaurs in a museum and travel to distant places with virtual reality devices. Virtual Assistants, the ever-attentive Siri...

  Fabricating Stories   People can fabricate stories, spin lies, weave a web of deceit, lack moral fibre. Lives can be interwoven, or hang by a thread.   They can be dyed in the wool, or wool can be pulled over someone’s eyes. A person can have tangled nerves, or lose the thread of an argument. These idioms derive from the ancient art of weaving. Considering the Indus Valley has been producing cotton textiles continuously for at least 7,000 years, there are far fewer references to weaving in South Asian languages than one would expect. Tana bana or warp and weft, describes the intricacies of a situation,   jitni chadar utna phailao ( only stretch as much as the size of your sheet) warns against over-reaching ambition. The more sinister associations with spinning and weaving emerged from Greek mythology. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and crafts, punishes her rival Arachne by turning her into a spider to have her webs forever destroyed. The three Fates control de...

  Seeking Compassion and Unity The estimated global value of annual Zakat calculated as 2.5% of a Muslim’s surplus wealth would amount to at least 15 times more than global humanitarian aid states IRIN Global.   In addition to Zakat, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims are encouraged to offer charity whenever they can which can be a small or large amount of money or as simple as a smile or kind word. Despite being a financially strapped country, 98% of Pakistanis give some form of charity totalling an average of Rs 800 billion. Yet the poverty index in Muslim countries does not improve. Tariq Cheema president of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists, says there is a need to shift from generous giving to strategic giving so that the distribution of collected funds would result in none left to receive charity as in the time of the Khalifa Umar (RA). The success of   Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen bank offering microfinancing led to its adoption by 100 oth...

  Justice or Judgement? Trial Attorney Anne Bremner, says we are living in an age of judgements rather than justice. Her book ‘Justice in the Age of Judgment’ examines trials in recent history heralding a new era of trying cases in public as much as the courtroom. This is not a new phenomenon. The trial by the British Raj of the Karachi Seven at Khalikdina Hall in 1921 was a very public affair and reported daily in the press.   Medieval Inquisition trials conducted across Europe were held in secret but punishments were public including the burning at the stake of women accused of witchcraft. The Sufi Mansur Hallaj after being confined for 11 years was brutally executed in public. Why are people so keen to see justice being done?   Is it an assurance for a safer future? Is it to be reminded of the limits imposed by society? While courts make judgements, the question may be raised: was justice done? Doing the right thing is justice, while a judgment is the decision of...

  Step Back to Move Forward USA was the first colonized country to gain independence in 1776, followed by Haiti and Brazil. USA and Brazil were Europeans who sought independence from Europe, while Haitians who fought for independence from France were slaves mostly from Africa. The indigenous populations of all three were all but wiped out. Most countries that carry the tag of decolonization today were native populations that achieved independence between the 40s and the 70s across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. These countries remain trapped between colonial and traditional values.   Along with military might and brutal suppression of resistance, the more subtle instruments of subjugation have been education, language and culture. Ironically it has been these very impositions that have allowed voices of protest to turn colonial monologue into dialogue.   From Dadabhai Naoroji in the late 19 th century to Frantz Fanon and Edward Said in the 20 th century to Mehd...

  A Sense of Belonging Human society historically evolved into distinct communities held together by a shared sense of belonging. The sharing may be geographical such as mountain people, desert people, seafarers or nomads. Language and religion bind people together, as may their collective occupations such as farmers or snake charmers. The gypsies across the world have a shared identity. The Khoji (investigators)tribes of Punjab and Rajasthan, are experts at following the tracks left by lost or stolen camels, cows, goats or sheep.     A sense of belonging is inculcated within families from childhood. The adoption of family surnames is an interesting journey from individualism to collective identity. Given an individual name at birth, the child would simply be known as the son or daughter of their mother or father.   When travelling they would add their town of origin, when conducting business they would add their profession to their name.   By the 19 th C, ...

  Reimagining Education The moment a child takes its first steps, the entire family is taken by joyous surprise. No one taught the child how to walk. Did it learn from observation? Is it an innate instinct similar to a foal who stands up unsteadily as soon as it is born? What has however been agreed is that the baby needs a safe environment, lots of play time, and the opportunity to be independent and experiment. Those are the conditions that remain essential for learning all through our lives. Yet those are the very things we deny during the learning process. Many children learn under the gloom of fear of a demanding parent or an impatient teacher, play time is considered a distraction from ‘studies’, and there is an expectation to conform and obey instead of experiment. Clearly there is a need for structure and boundaries, even if these change over time. Defining these structures and boundaries determine the best environment for learning, teaching methodologies and curricul...

  Seeking New Communities The poet, John Donne, wrote “No man is an island”.   People inevitably form communities, whether as a family, a neighbourhood or a profession. Community is the yardstick for individuals, whether they feel part of it or alienated from it. Early communities were important for the very survival of humans as there was safety in numbers. While one group went hunting, the others protected the home. This rudimentary social structure still remains the norm in isolated communities. In a modern version of hunter gatherers, when the breadwinner works overseas, he is reassured that they can turn to the community for support. As civilizations grew, professional communities developed for farmers, craft guilds, religious institutions, warriors, and of course the rulers and the ruled. Unlike social units defined by geography, nationality, or class, a community implies common interests and a shared purpose and is built on mutual trust.   Urbanisation and ...

  Deep Hate Peter Zeihan suggests in his book The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World, the world isn’t falling apart—it’s being pushed apart.  Many across cities of the world are heroically trying to hold fast to the unifying power of humanity, but it seems a daunting task. Israel continues to follow its intent to empty Palestinian land of every Palestinian regardless of the human cost. Britain is reeling with white rage. In Europe the thin veneer of accommodating a world of cultural, lingual, religious and racial diversity is splintering, releasing years of pent-up hate. Ian Goldin, in his book Divided Nations, suggests that the very success of globalization is proving to be its downfall. Seen as loss of autonomy, he says, citizens become xenophobic, protectionist and nationalist. Some suggest the new wave of anti-Islamic rhetoric is a push back to the softening attitudes to Islam in the wake of the Palestinian genocide. Germany is dismantling mosques with alleged...

  Defined by slogans The word slogan comes from a Scottish battle cry which roughly translates as cry of the people. While now largely associated with advertising, slogans are still used to define national identity, a politician’s promise, or the basis of protest. A slogan is an imagined future intended to become a reality, while a motto defines existing core principles.    ‘’Liberté, égalité, fraternité became a slogan during the French revolution while ‘In God We Trust’ remains a national motto of USA. National mottos tend to be static abstract ideals mostly about liberty and freedom, a refreshing exception being the national motto for Lesotho - Peace Rain and Prosperity. Public attitudes and opinions are more easily driven by evolving slogans that reflect current conditions. Sometimes old slogans survive such as “Mayibuye iAfrika!” (May Africa return!), first used in the 1920s in South Africa, but revived this year suggesting the anti-colonial struggle continues,...

  Dying a Thousand Deaths   “I died a thousand deaths” is a strange term to use when facing an embarrassing situation. Much like the Urdu phrase ‘Chulu bhar pani mein doob marna’   - to drown in a handful of water, or wish the ground would open up and swallow one, or to curl up and die, when the sense of mortification is so great that the only way out seems death. The word mortification, the feeling of complete humiliation, itself comes from the Latin word for death - ’mors’ and had a religious meaning in Christianity: ‘ to put your sin to death’. Is death the final rejection of an unacceptable situation? In February this year Aaron Bushnell, an active US Air Force servicemen, set himself on fire in front of Israel's embassy in the US.   He called out ‘Free Palestine’ as he died, writing earlier ‘I will no longer be complicit in genocide’. In the Japanese Samurai code of ethics, Bushido, there was no fear of death, only the fear of dishonor.   Honour cou...

  Negotiating Double Lives Most people divide their time into public and private lives, the one often fiercely guarded from the other. The public self is how people act in the presence of others. The private self is how a person sees himself or herself. Public lives are open to observation by society at large, whereas information about private lives is controlled by the person, who can choose what to share and what to consider an invasion of privacy. People who are in public office are legally obligated to act in the interests of the people they represent, while a person enhancing their own interests are said to be acting privately. Scandals erupt when those holding public office use privileges for private gain. Totalitarian governments achieve public control by reducing the private space.   Today electronic surveillance, and the use of algorithms by marketing to gather information about the habits of people are so extensive that many have given up control over their pri...

  People Power 1857 was a turning point in British colonial policy in India. It was an armed uprising against the East India Company which had steadily taken over huge swathes of territory, established its own army, legal systems and taxation, becoming what William Dalrymple called corporate raiders instead of corporate traders. The shock of the uprising set into motion an administrative system designed by the British Crown to never again allow the Indian people to rise up. All decisions were to be made far away from India in a special section of the British Parliament, implemented with an iron hand by an appointed Viceroy and his administrative officers. Charles Wood, the Secretary of State for India in 1861, said: “All experience teaches us that where a dominant race rules another, the mildest form of government is a despotism.” Provincial autonomy was taken away by a strict centralization. The Indian army was carefully reorganized to prevent future revolts. All top positio...

  Reinventing Libraries Architect Ray Johnston says, “Libraries serve as the living room of the community.” Gone is the image of a daunting academic environment with stern librarians. Instead, libraries are envisaged as public meeting spaces, with cafes, indoor lounges and courtyards, inviting for all ages. Observing the lure of the competition– shopping malls-   that have become the new family public spaces with play areas, cinema, and eating places alongside shops, architects thought to bring similar dynamics to libraries. However, unlike malls, libraries are not intended to generate revenue, but offer something of value to its users. Libraries are important repositories for the preservation of the history of the world and human thought, but also, as author Neil Gaiman says, to preserve truth. “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”   Libraries can additionally build communities, bringing together diverse social c...