meethapani

  The Court of the People "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!” That’s how the crowd is berated in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Many in power continue to perceive the vast majority of ordinary people in a similar way. Karl Marx attempted to give back authority to what he called the masses. A hundred years later cultural theorist, Raymond Williams, challenged the one-size-fits-all term. He proposed “There are in fact no masses; there are only ways of seeing people as masses”, a way of perceiving and categorizing large groups of people, often in a negative or dismissive way, denying their diverse natures and ability to think and make individual choices. Today, in the age of digital sharing, people in power are challenged to contain the extraordinary ‘ordinary’ populations into any simple category. The powerful few have across the ages always kept a watchful eye on the vast lower segments of society as without their support, rulers become vulnerable, indust...

  Oaths, Vows and Promises All through our lives we make promises – to ourselves and to others – to start exercising, to attend a social event, to submit a report or to buy our child a toy. A promise is a general term for a commitment. Some we fulfill, some we cannot. The consequences of not keeping a promise are usually simple emotions like personal embarrassment, losing another’s trust or perhaps inspiring poetry as Dagh Dehlvi wrote ‘ghazab kya tere wade pe aitbar kya’ (It was a disastrous mistake to put faith in your promise) Vows, are a step up in making a commitment, a more solemn promise, a sacred trust - wedding vows, religious vows or even vows of revenge. A broken vow may lead to remorse, guilt or social embarrassment.   Oaths, on the other hand, are public declarations that carry great weight. They invoke a higher power to hold the person accountable for a solemn promise made before witnesses. Oaths are taken in professions where public trust and ethical condu...

  The Blind Alley of Development In the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, and that between Iran and Israel, the true winners were the Chinese J10c fighter jets whose market value soared, and the Irani missiles that crossed over 2000 km, enough of them causing strategic damage. The losers were French Rafale jets whose market plummeted, and the Iron Dome and David’s Sling whose invincibility was shattered.   Few are concerned about the millions of dollars these killing machines cost, and human casualties and homes destroyed are of even less consequence. Colonel Douglas McGregor in a sobering interview with Jay Martin, tellingly titled Follow the Money, Not the Missiles, revealed the financial motives of faceless investors behind neutralizing countries that are seen to be an obstacle in accessing control of resources.       Is this the final achievement of becoming a modern state? A naïve question, but it is the naïve who are roused to battle, to...

  Doctor in the house At least since the 19 th century, we have been conditioned to look to politicians, economists, defense strategists, or philosophers, to solve the problems of a complex society. Far too often, they work within the parameters of nationalism, or definitions of the world determined by how close or removed they are from a pre-determined centre. Do they live in the right continent? practice the right religion? speak the right language? The solutions arrived at benefit some, devastate others. As the world overlaps and the ineffectiveness of these partial solutions become evident, there is a need for new strategies. There are innumerable intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, private foundations, academic institutions and tech companies whose aim is to create a better future. Yet the solutions keep slipping out of their hands. Some of the reasons given by strategic planning consultants, Intrafocus, include a lack of clarity due to vaguely defined g...

  Turning Anger into Art Arshi is a house wife who writes poetry about her life in her small Gulistan-e-Jauhar apartment. When her husband announced he had married another woman her world fell apart. Her weapon of choice became poetry - ba tarranum nazms and ghazals in her melodious voice to her husband who is sternly instructed to sit on the sofa and listen. The primary function of the arts is their ability to communicate the complexity of human emotions, either communicating a message or sharing a response to events. Anger is one of the least understood of human emotions, mainly because it is difficult to control, can be destructive, and the display of anger presents a fearful ugliness.   But when Francis Bacon lashes paint onto his canvases, creating screaming, mangled and often bloodied humans, we can look anger in the eye and try to understand it from a place of safety. Expressing anger through art, music or literature, has a long tradition. While the everyday expre...

  Resetting the Moral Compass As the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza becomes more macabre, we are confounded by the indifference of some powerful nations who not only have the ability to stop it, but in fact actively enable the horrific actions. Some claim to be the birthplace of the lofty philosophies of humanism, others are brothers in faith to the Palestinians.   Gaza is the mirror in the fairy tale in which the evil step mother can no longer see her reflection as the most beautiful in the realm. The history of humanity has sadly been almost continuously trapped in wars fed by rage, revenge, greed or the desire for expansion. What shocks the world today, is the cold indifference with which this one is waged. Instead of the shattered limbs of children, there is talk of real estate, and historic trade deals. This is a far cry from the literature, art, philosophies and religious beliefs that have formed the narratives that have shaped the world thus far. Is this the cre...

  Seeking peace one meme at a time Instagram in Pakistan is exploding with hilarious memes about an impending invasion by India after the deadly attack in Pahalgam in Indian Kashmir. While Indian media is hurling aggressive threats and invectives, they are met with memes of young Pakistani   girls discussing what clothes to wear when India attacks, or if they will have to delay marriage plans; people run for cover in the dark under an attack of paper planes, a clip of Mr. Bean waiting in a field with increasing boredom as the expected attack does not materialize; students wonder if they should study for the upcoming exams hoping they will be postponed. Some brush up on Indian pronunciation of Urdu words, others share maps showing plans for DHA Goa. Two young men, an Indian and a Pakistani, try to cook a meal together in their shared flat, navigating the different names for onions and potatoes, while others anticipate a visit to their neighbourhoods by actors Salman Khan and ...