Nothing succeeds like successon January 23, 2020For many generations, the thought which has most occupied humanity has been to find out some formula by which one could become successful overnight. This is despite the fact that we know that success does not come so handy in life nor it comes too soon. But the people whom we daily see being so […]
The humourist who delighted in the absurdon January 17, 2020For quite some time, I have been writing about serious matters which have made me pretty sombre. This, I fear, may turn into a morbid situation. I have, therefore, chosen to write about a man who took everything in his stride; made fun of situations of all kinds with his scintillating humour and wit, and […]
Governing the un-governableon January 12, 2020There being too much talk of economic deterioration in Pakistanwhich led me to read Dr. Ishrat Hussain’s recent book, “Governing the Un-governable”(a formidable close-print volume of 550 pages!). I always considered Dr. Ishrat Hussain as an economist of substance, having served as a Dean in the Institute of Business Administration, and being a former Governor […]
British anarchy in Indiaon January 6, 2020When we were at school, our text books on ‘British Rule in India‘ described the British colonialists as our saviours, who introduced new reforms in agriculture by bringing large tracts of barren lands into productive fields yielding good crops and vegetables for consumption of local population. The actual activities of the Company were even then […]
India is for Hinduson January 1, 2020The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was passed by the parliament of India on December 11. 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian religious minorities fleeing persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Muslims were not given such eligibility. In […]
Tagore and Iqbalon December 27, 2019Before I touch this subject, I confess my lack of knowledge of Bengali language, which I believe, has been partly compensated by my study of Tagore’s best-known work ‘Gitanjali’ translated into chaste English by Tagore himself. In the case of Iqbal, I have in my view most of his Urdu and Persian works, but more […]
Gender parity in Pakistanon December 22, 2019The Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socio-economic index usually designed to measure the relative access of females and males to education. This index is released by UNESCO. In its simplest form, it is calculated as the quotient of the number of females enrolled in a given stage of education (primary, secondary, etc.) by the […]
‘Sharper than a serpent’s tooth’on December 15, 2019Of all the vices in nature, which cause the severest burning of feeling and are most universally felt are ‘Ingratitude’ and ‘unrequited love’. Because both vices arise from non-reciprocity of sentiments, therefore qualitatively speaking I regard them similar in nature to each other, though one is general and the other is peculiarly human more specifically […]
Past vs present: a modern perspectiveon December 7, 2019Times are changing so fast that in our daily routine, we hear people comparing the present time with the past with a nostalgic longing for the moments that have gone by. I have hardly ever seen an elderly manspeaking good words about the present while comparing it with the past. Even the younger lot relish […]
‘Don’t ask me for that Love again’on November 26, 2019Poetry is a genre essentially to be read, recited and enjoyed. The total effects of a good piece of poetry, which it leaves on the reader, are very difficult to communicate to others, because of one’s inability to convey the same emotions, excitement and delight that is only possible through the poetic medium. Faiz, for […]