The Language of intimidation and glorification on November 12, 2019The director-general of ISPR, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said, “Pakistan army is an impartial institution, and its support lies with a democratically elected government” (Sama Digital, November 1, 2019). It is a benign statement but history reminds us not to trust the words. They are not neutral, especially when delivered by the dominant quarters. They […]
The missing humanity on October 31, 2019“Is religion,” Herbert Marcuse inquired, “still possible after Auschwitz?” “Poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric,” added Adorno. Incidentally, both religion and poetry not only survived the catastrophe but shared their place with Auschwitz. In the infernal society in which humanity has to live every day, poetry alone became the voice of subversion. The dark, frozen shadows […]
The unkoshered manna on October 21, 2019The neo-liberal modern states are overtly one-dimensional. They do not pretend to be pro-people even when they lure the people to vote for them; promising to solve their problems. Their ruling classes barely leave the opportunity of insulting the intellect and hurting the ego of the masses. A recent example of this phenomenon occurred in […]
Karbala: a phenomenon or epiphenomenon on September 22, 2019Islamic mythology began to evolve with the faith but the incident of Karbala gave it a shot in the arm. “Unhappy the land,” Brecht said, “that is in need of heroes.” However, no land has escaped the fate of suffering from heroes, as per Nietzsche’s Ubermenschen, because none could avoid the scourge of unhappiness. The […]
Singing in the dark times on August 14, 2019The power is speaking for its powerlessness since no sadism is without masochism. “Love the day,” Camus said, “that escapes injustice, and return to combat having won that light.” Yet, traversing the long dark tunnel of the history of Pakistan, one can question both Camus’s hope of winning light and Leonard Cohen’s authenticity about “everything […]
The night of the generals on July 20, 2019Based on the novel of Hans Hellmut Kirst, the movie comes alive with a fascinating display of acting by the artists of the yesteryear with rare talents. It takes the viewers to the fateful era of the Second World War where, in the Nazi-controlled Poland, a German general (Peter O’Toole) slays a prostitute, incidentally herself […]
Egypt and pharaoh’s curse on June 26, 2019“You shall read,” says Cosmus, the Duke of Florence,”we are commanded to forgive our enemies, but you never read that we are commanded to forgive our friends”. “We”, Nietzsche adds,”should also respect the enemy in our friend”. From Julius Caesar to Mohamed Morsi, this important lesson of history has always eluded those in the position […]
Political kitchen: what is cooking? on June 4, 2019“Today’s policies and political activity,” Rudolf Steiner says, “treat people like pawns. More than ever before, attempts will be made to use people like cogs in a wheel. People will be handled like puppets on a string, and everyone will think that this reflects the greatest progress imaginable”. While explaining the strings, Somerset Maugham adds […]
The orwellian democracy on May 22, 2019Contrary to cricket, a game of glorious uncertainties, capitalist democracy is a display of inglorious calamities inflicted by the indoctrinated majority on its body politics, a wound that can prove lethal to the future of coming generations. The logic of a free choice -the choice of choosing between black and white -has often been questioned. […]
The spice of spirituality on May 15, 2019“When a nation is in confusion and disorder”, Laing says, “patriots are recognized” and when a nation is heading to an economic meltdown, the spirits and spirituality are called into action. “Men make their own history”, Marx suggests. “And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionizing themselves and things, creating something that did […]