No, Minister! on April 24, 2016I had decided to resume my Africa travelogue this week but events have interrupted me once again. First it was the ‘laang march’ of Professor Doctor Allama Tahirul Qadri, now it is the person whom this very march had caused much headache, Interior Minister Rehman Malik. As quoted in this newspaper (January 27, 2013), Mr […]
Long march, short span, big spin on April 23, 2016Almost all Pakistanis have witnessed and some have taken part in at least one so-called ‘long march’ in the last few years. Few of the organisers and virtually none of the participants, however, know the origin of the term long march. Those who do are probably smart enough not to take part in these silly […]
Public policy and political power on April 22, 2016The Indonesian government has decided to scrap the teaching of science in primary schools in favour of more religious studies. The Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh and other promoters of the new curriculum say that religious education from an early stage would create better citizens. It is highly questionable whether religious education from an […]
Blood and tears in the Garden of Eden II on April 22, 2016While the United Nations’ bureaucrats and troops deployed in South Sudan fly in and out of Uganda’s Entebbe airport, ordinary people take one of the many buses that depart from a derelict bus stand in the centre of Kampala for the capital Juba. A distance of 515 kilometres is covered in 12-14 hours if one […]
Tradition, autocracy and corruption II on April 22, 2016Swaziland gained independence from Britain in 1968 under King Sobhuza II, whose nominal reign of almost 83 years (1899-1982) is a world record. At the time of his accession in 1899 upon his father’s death, he was only a few months old, with his mother acting as regent until 1921. Within five years of gaining […]
Parties, leagues and gates on April 22, 2016Elections are only a few weeks away. And these are not just any elections. They will be the first in the country to follow the constitutional departure of one elected government and be the harbinger of the next. It is about half a century too late but, as they say, better late than never. It […]
Tradition, autocracy and corruption I on April 21, 2016Arriving from Kruger National Park in South Africa very early in the morning, I had to wait for a while for the border posts to open in order to enter the Kingdom of Swaziland. The officers on both sides arrived at the appointed time and the immigration formalities, which included visa for myself and entry […]
Blood and tears in the Garden of Eden I on April 20, 2016The Great Lakes region of Africa, encompassing Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the adjoining parts of Kenya, Congo and Tanzania, is known for its natural beauty. Uganda, Rwanda and northeast Congo, the area in and around the Rwenzori Mountains, also called the Mountains of the Moon, have to be among the most beautiful in the world, […]
Clash of civilizations or a case of occupation? on April 20, 2016An opinion piece titled, “Romney, Obama and the elephants in the room” has appeared in The Washington Post of November 15, 2012. Its author, Dr Jerry Pattengale, is the executive director of the Green Scholars Initiative and assistant provost for public engagement at Indiana Wesleyan University. Lest readers think that the Green Scholars Initiative has […]
Meeting Grandma Sarah Obama on April 20, 2016Nairobi is very crowded and polluted. Some have called the city ‘Nai-robbery’. I decided not to check the facts behind this appellation and quickly moved on to the town of Kisumu, about 350 kilometres to the west. It had the advantage of being situated on the road to Uganda, my next destination. Kisumu is also […]