Everyday when we wake up till the time we sleep, media keeps on reminding us about the fact that how insecure our lives are. Experts keep on discussing that what went wrong, what is going wrong and what will go wrong. These experts appear on one after another channel, explaining incidents and discussing events. A Lot is highlighted about possible changes in Map of Pakistan, Indian intervention in Balochistan, Growing hatred against Punjab by other provinces (so possible split of the larger province),Terrorism, corruption, Growing crimes due to economic reasons and only God knows the limit of what else more.
I was in my mid teens when I used to hear that Bengalis got separated because Bhutto did not accept their election success but with the passage of time I came to know that there were economic reasons too like Bengalis were not getting their share through the income of Jute and the resource allocation was not suitable for the large population of Bengal. Circumstances have not changed even now as I observe economic reasons for an unstable Pakistan. For example if our national resources are split on the basis of population than Punjab gets the largest share, If major chunk of budget is allocated to Defense expenditure than it goes to Army which seems to be dominated by Punjabi population. NWFP demands royalty for water reservoirs built in their area; Balochs demand the same for Natural Gas (along with control over Guwader port), Sindhis are not happy about water resources distribution etc. The hatred has reached to an extent that a Baloch leader was saying it in a T.V interview that if Pakistan army can use American weapons to kill Balochs than why can’t Balochs use Indian support to retaliate.
Pakistan has four provinces and there are separation movements in three of them
Balochistan Liberation Force (BLF)
Giyay Sindh
Tahreek e Taliban Pakistan
Unlike 1971 this time it’s more than Indians who are involved in Pakistan. Indian involvement in Balochistan is carefully discussed but rumors have it that Iran, Saudia and America are also directly involved in our part of the world. This intervention is ignored and or welcomed due to economic reasons. Four provinces are like brothers fighting at the dinner table for having larger share out of the limited food. These brothers are seeking foreign support without realizing that they will be kicked off the table once the family split is completed. The tragic part in our national story is not resource limitation but the fact that we are all Muslims and sharing and sacrificing is part of our religion.
Where would this lead us to? Would NWFP be added to Afghanistan as an AFPAK POLICY by Americans? Would Balochistan be handed over to China to ensure execution of AFPAK POLICY? Would Sindh join India? Would Punjab survive without any water sources and eventually unite with Indian Punjab? Is it all real? Or its just media celebrating its freedom which it never had in the history of this Nation? Is our existence actually at stake? Would Pakistan split and remaining part of it would survive as an American colony?
Please share your opinion by leaving comments and please extend this link http://inamarif.blogspot.com to your mailing and text lists in order to extend this discussion forum where a new post is uploaded every week.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Parental Codes(and social checks?)
Parental Codes???
The most important aspect of Globalisation is advancements in Telecommunication and free information flow .Access to knowledge and entertainment which belongs to another culture / society sounds and feels exciting as it is new to us and mostly it’s in a form which is not acceptable by our cultural and religious discipline so its tempting to be rebellious and break away from traditional school of thought (Which apparently looks backward and outdated).
There is nothing wrong with being rebellious or trying something new but the issue is about lack of coaching and guidance in this regard from elders to their youngsters. Mostly our elders just give orders about what to do and what not to do but rarely do they feel comfortable discussing adulthood related issues with the teenagers. In our society Internet is unfiltered, Movies are uncensored and Cable unchecked. Most of the foreign channels give warnings regarding Viewers restrictions (SNLV 13/16/18 OR 18+ etc) but the problem is that what is acceptable for viewing of and 18 years old American is not supposed to be acceptable for a Pakistani of any age .Similarly uncensored and smuggled CDs are a bit too easily available in our society. In case of WEB it is argued that the number of adult entertainment sites is too large to block but still some effort can be made to reduce this number.
In Urban areas usually average marriage age ranges between 22-30 years whereas adolescence starts at around 12 years so in case of this much access to adult entertainment content, there can be very obvious issues like practicing what is being watched at LCD screens without realizing our society’s digestion for repercussions (and our society is certainly a lot less tolerant for the outcomes even though it shows great patience for the causes and agents responsible for these issues).
What should be done about it?
Nothing as it is bound to happen with the developments in technology?
Or Instead of restricting access we should be more open about discussing the adolescence related issues?
Do we need to seek rescue through religion??
Please share your views by leaving comments on the topic and continue to visit every Week. Please also extend the URL http://inamarif.blogspot.com to your mailing and text lists.
The most important aspect of Globalisation is advancements in Telecommunication and free information flow .Access to knowledge and entertainment which belongs to another culture / society sounds and feels exciting as it is new to us and mostly it’s in a form which is not acceptable by our cultural and religious discipline so its tempting to be rebellious and break away from traditional school of thought (Which apparently looks backward and outdated).
There is nothing wrong with being rebellious or trying something new but the issue is about lack of coaching and guidance in this regard from elders to their youngsters. Mostly our elders just give orders about what to do and what not to do but rarely do they feel comfortable discussing adulthood related issues with the teenagers. In our society Internet is unfiltered, Movies are uncensored and Cable unchecked. Most of the foreign channels give warnings regarding Viewers restrictions (SNLV 13/16/18 OR 18+ etc) but the problem is that what is acceptable for viewing of and 18 years old American is not supposed to be acceptable for a Pakistani of any age .Similarly uncensored and smuggled CDs are a bit too easily available in our society. In case of WEB it is argued that the number of adult entertainment sites is too large to block but still some effort can be made to reduce this number.
In Urban areas usually average marriage age ranges between 22-30 years whereas adolescence starts at around 12 years so in case of this much access to adult entertainment content, there can be very obvious issues like practicing what is being watched at LCD screens without realizing our society’s digestion for repercussions (and our society is certainly a lot less tolerant for the outcomes even though it shows great patience for the causes and agents responsible for these issues).
What should be done about it?
Nothing as it is bound to happen with the developments in technology?
Or Instead of restricting access we should be more open about discussing the adolescence related issues?
Do we need to seek rescue through religion??
Please share your views by leaving comments on the topic and continue to visit every Week. Please also extend the URL http://inamarif.blogspot.com to your mailing and text lists.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Entertainment next?!?!?
Entertainment next?!?!?
Since the last two decades one of the most significant developments which have taken place in the world of entertainment is broadcasting of reality recordings. Channels like National Geographic/Animal planet/Discovery, All the Tube/Blog sites which upload MMS based scandals or recorded real life incidents and Tons of Data which is shared through Mobile phones or content sharing mediums, all of this is the new face of entertainment.
I my self when feel bored from routine entertainment and News channels than I usually switch to National Geographic and Animal planet in order to have a “different kind” of entertainment which is based on realities. Sometimes watching an Anaconda devouring a goat can be preferable than shouting Politicians on “Reality Political Talk Shows” or Drama soap serials which just never end (and which never make sense either) but easy access to real violence and adult content can be a bit too damaging for the society because unlike movies these are easy to relate with (especially by the kids).
Channels covering animal life are on the cable since last so many years but the rest of it got popular with the developments in Telecommunications and recording technologies. Even explicit content on adult sites can not be considered this impactful than watching someone in a passionate mood without him or her knowing it (At least at the time of incident people are not aware of being recorded).This trend is not restricted to watching relationships only but also to watching violence. Once at an off the school venue two students rushed to me and excitedly showed a clip through Mobile phone. The video was about a man being slaughtered and the kids (about 11-13 years old) were thrilled while watching it. They were even telling me that I am bound to feel disgusted. During the video they excitedly pointed out various details about the slaughter and once the video was over they looked towards me to have words of appreciation about the video.
The question is when the people got bored from actors than they started watching realities but what would be next than reality, would it be watching live???
Please share by leaving your comments about reality broadcasts at Web, T.V and the tube sites.
Since the last two decades one of the most significant developments which have taken place in the world of entertainment is broadcasting of reality recordings. Channels like National Geographic/Animal planet/Discovery, All the Tube/Blog sites which upload MMS based scandals or recorded real life incidents and Tons of Data which is shared through Mobile phones or content sharing mediums, all of this is the new face of entertainment.
I my self when feel bored from routine entertainment and News channels than I usually switch to National Geographic and Animal planet in order to have a “different kind” of entertainment which is based on realities. Sometimes watching an Anaconda devouring a goat can be preferable than shouting Politicians on “Reality Political Talk Shows” or Drama soap serials which just never end (and which never make sense either) but easy access to real violence and adult content can be a bit too damaging for the society because unlike movies these are easy to relate with (especially by the kids).
Channels covering animal life are on the cable since last so many years but the rest of it got popular with the developments in Telecommunications and recording technologies. Even explicit content on adult sites can not be considered this impactful than watching someone in a passionate mood without him or her knowing it (At least at the time of incident people are not aware of being recorded).This trend is not restricted to watching relationships only but also to watching violence. Once at an off the school venue two students rushed to me and excitedly showed a clip through Mobile phone. The video was about a man being slaughtered and the kids (about 11-13 years old) were thrilled while watching it. They were even telling me that I am bound to feel disgusted. During the video they excitedly pointed out various details about the slaughter and once the video was over they looked towards me to have words of appreciation about the video.
The question is when the people got bored from actors than they started watching realities but what would be next than reality, would it be watching live???
Please share by leaving your comments about reality broadcasts at Web, T.V and the tube sites.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The departed
We all tend to value after loosing what we had but he was always precious by many of the standards which are used to describe a person as someone more valuable. When my colleague broke news of his death than it took a while to sync into it.
It was just before the Summer Vocations of 2009 when I met him outside the school gate, he was there to pick his brother Waleed Butt who actually introduced us to each other. I had never taught to either of them but me and Waleed were friendly because many of my students were his closest buddies due to which he used to visit my class frequently.
Adil Butt passed out of the school Metric section about two years ago; His teachers describe him as a naughty boy with a shy smile. His fair complexion, thick eye lashes, Broad structure and medium height were a signature of his Kashmiri ancestors. Eldest of the five brothers and sisters, the growing youth was indicating it to his father that very soon he would be sharing his work load and responsibilities but no body could imagine that he was growing towards the end at such an early age.
His death is a typical betrayal’s story which followed trust. Boys who kidnapped him were not only his friends but were known to his family also. They took him for ransom and killed him through strangle. The killers probably never realized that they took more than a life .They killed a brother and a son and a student and a Pakistani and a Muslim and God knows what else more.
Other than the death there is more for consideration in this incident. For instance most of the criminals are expected to be less than twenty years old and were involved in this crime for money. At such an early age how did they develop so much greed? Usually adversaries in life make us more cold hearted but they were young boys who were into enjoying life at cafes. Killing through a weapon looks easy as use of equipment keeps you away from having a direct contact and have a feel of other person’s life but these criminals strangled him, what made them so mercy less? Is it rough upbringing or growing temptations which made them Ruth less? Whatever it is has no justification.
What is your opinion about causes of criminal orientation at such an early age?
Please share and perform fatiaa for Adil Butt (May his soul rest in peace).
According to the criminals they threw Adil’s body in sheikhupura canal and so far body has not been recovered. All the details about the crime have been obtained through “Daily Jang”.
It was just before the Summer Vocations of 2009 when I met him outside the school gate, he was there to pick his brother Waleed Butt who actually introduced us to each other. I had never taught to either of them but me and Waleed were friendly because many of my students were his closest buddies due to which he used to visit my class frequently.
Adil Butt passed out of the school Metric section about two years ago; His teachers describe him as a naughty boy with a shy smile. His fair complexion, thick eye lashes, Broad structure and medium height were a signature of his Kashmiri ancestors. Eldest of the five brothers and sisters, the growing youth was indicating it to his father that very soon he would be sharing his work load and responsibilities but no body could imagine that he was growing towards the end at such an early age.
His death is a typical betrayal’s story which followed trust. Boys who kidnapped him were not only his friends but were known to his family also. They took him for ransom and killed him through strangle. The killers probably never realized that they took more than a life .They killed a brother and a son and a student and a Pakistani and a Muslim and God knows what else more.
Other than the death there is more for consideration in this incident. For instance most of the criminals are expected to be less than twenty years old and were involved in this crime for money. At such an early age how did they develop so much greed? Usually adversaries in life make us more cold hearted but they were young boys who were into enjoying life at cafes. Killing through a weapon looks easy as use of equipment keeps you away from having a direct contact and have a feel of other person’s life but these criminals strangled him, what made them so mercy less? Is it rough upbringing or growing temptations which made them Ruth less? Whatever it is has no justification.
What is your opinion about causes of criminal orientation at such an early age?
Please share and perform fatiaa for Adil Butt (May his soul rest in peace).
According to the criminals they threw Adil’s body in sheikhupura canal and so far body has not been recovered. All the details about the crime have been obtained through “Daily Jang”.
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