Daily Times

Sir: This is with reference to a recent debate on educated militants. In the aftermath of criminal investigations, it has been revealed that a majority of the terrorist masterminds were highly qualified and tech savvy. This, indeed, is a disturbing phenomenon. Additionally, it also belies the notion that only seminaries promote violence and terrorism. From the Safoora Goth carnage to the 2005 London bombings as well as the GHQ Pindi attack, this has been corroborated. However, this sweeping generalisation could not be applied summarily.

Sociologically, humanities are premised on persuasion and full of human values while science is based on facts and figures. So, it is self-evident that humanities can go a long way in revolutionising humanity by promoting plurality and coexistence.

Humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and cultures; foster social justice and equality; reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world; teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect information; teach us to weigh evidence sceptically and consider more than one side of every question; impart skills in writing and critical reading and develop informed and critical citizens. Without the humanities, democracy cannot flourish.

Integrating both science and arts is the need of the hour. The critical issue is that a person needs both types of skills and knowledge to innovate and lead in a rapidly changing world. Strengthen civil society initiatives to reform the education curriculum, and engage large media house executives to support programming that covers inter-faith and inter-sectarian harmony, tolerance, and diversity within the religious framework. Additionally, support similar initiatives in the social media, which is the single most important source of information for the youth.

The state, donor agencies and civil society should prioritise initiatives that allow regular interaction and dialogue among students. Activities could include sports, community service exercises, debating competitions and the like. Moreover, all elite private schools must be mandated to admit a small proportion of students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds.

This is what wisdom demands. Both public and private sectors must put in synergised efforts in a bid to stem the spiralling trajectory towards the abysmal militarisation of culturally rich Pakistani society.

SAEED ULLAH KHAN WAZIR

Bannu