Media Matters!!!

One of the few things which have improved in last couple of years is the independence of media. I do not say that it is broadcasting/publishing truth all the time but still competition keeps the channels /Newspapers alive and focused. In order to survive and compete, channels are giving more and more importance to investigative journalism. Those Anchors and programs which got initially successful just because masses were clapping at the fighting between guests and participants now have to find new tools to sustain program ratings. They are reinventing charisma of presenters, playing MMS clips of scandals and breaking corruption related stories. On one hand I really admire wonders of competition between media groups but on the other hand “V” also need to be careful that this competition is not “Perfect competition” of economics in which “No single buyer and seller can influence the market”. With the rising strength of media, few media players /groups are rising even more quickly than the media industry(and they can take advantage of their prominence and influence) and that is what “V” need to watch out from!

“V” need to be more analytic before forming any opinion based on a media report. Most of the sponsorship is supposed to come from Karachi which is under influence of MQM so channels are very careful in broadcasting anything against Altaf hussain and his supporters. In fact channels have to run coverage of MQM party meetings because otherwise their broadcast in Karachi can be stopped via cable operators. Similarly Anchors at ruling party’s payroll become lenient on government inefficiencies and start justifying its failures (Consider response of Rauf Klassra , abbas ather and Nazir Naji at various talk shows and in their own columns).Similarly some presenters/columnists seem to be at Opposition’s payroll (likes of Irfan Siddique and Ata ul haq qasmi etc).

“V” as viewers need to be aware of the developments taking place in our country and in this regard “V” need to analyze what media presents and highlights but at the same time in case of a breaking story or a scandal “V” should consider coverage by media opponents to have a clearer picture about the Issue. For example If a news breaks at GEO than “V” can wait for Dunya, DAWN NEWS or Express to cover the same incident before displaying any reaction or forming any opinion. Some times on the same channels presenters arrange to air both sides of the story so “V’ can analyze through arguments, body language and tone variation of the guests about how much they believe in their own and party point of view.

Some people might say that these talk shows or columns are loosing significance because nothing seems to be improving but the way developments are taking place at the strategic ends,Role of media is crucial in bringing the updates.”V” need to spend more time in analyzing what the local and international media covers and what it hides.I feel that media has raised awareness of an average Pakistani about national issues and power structure in the country.

No one killed Narendra Modi!!!

Only those who keep walking get sweet returns...
look at the sun's perseverance - dynamic & always on the move, never dormant...
hence keep moving.

This is the title quote at the home page of an Indian who is considered to be one of the primary suspects in 2002 Gujarat violence/Riots and Godhra Train Burning(India) in which about 2,000 people lost their lives and thousands got injured(Supposedly mostly Muslims who also lost their businesses and role in economic activity).His involvement in the incident was so obvious that even the Americans (who are considered pro-India due to their vested economic interest ) revoked his visa( He was cited for responsibility for violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998). As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation. Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly. In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.He is theChief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat since 7 October 2001, making him the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat.

Being a Pakistani I used to believe that Indians keep on electing him because they all hate Muslims so elect the symbol of this hatred but I am afraid that I was wrong and following are the reasons why!!!

1: 2001 Gujarat Earthquake: For Narendra Modi's outstanding contribution for disaster management and rehabilitation, on 16-10-2003 Gujarat govt got UN Sasakawa Certificate of Merit for outstanding work in the field of disaster management and risk reduction.

2: He re-organised the government's administrative structure and embarked upon a massive cost-cutting exercise.As a result of his elaborate efforts, Gujarat registered a GDP growth rate of over 10% during his first tenure. This was the highest growth rate among all the Indian states.

3: Gujarat has only 5% of India’s population and 6% of its geographical area, but its contribution to India in terms of ‘Value of Output’ is 16.10%; in terms of exports it is 16% and in terms of stock market capitalization it is 30%.With over 3 lac small scale units, over 2200 large and medium industries, 83 closely integrated industrial clusters, 182 industrial estates and 33 Special Economic Zones with flexible labour laws and an easy exit policy – Gujarat is one of the most industrialized states of India. Gujarat has a 16.2% share in India’s industrial production whereas the percentage of man-days lost in Gujarat due to labour strife is just 0.52% - the lowest in the country.

4: What is more important is that the growth is coupled with financial discipline. Soon after he became the Chief Minister, Modi focused on curtailing government expenditure and emphasized on the recovery of government dues. The sales tax income which was Rs.5,890 crores when he took over increased to Rs.10,606 crores within 4 years, more importantly without imposing any new taxes. Since the last 3 years, development expenditure is more than the non-development expenditure in Gujarat, which is an unusual phenomenon.

This post has not been uploaded in praise of Narendra Modi and to portray him as a Good person but to create awareness amongst all those people who are arguing about roles of Salman Taseer and Mumtaz Qadri.”V” need to realize that when a ruler brings welfareto his people than no one can kill him .I am not referring to death in terms of soul leaving body but soul surviving in the minds of the people and in the Systems/Institutions developed!

Narendra Modi started his career from Rashtriya savik singh(Indian militant extremist group) and later on established himself politically through Bharatiya Janata Party BJP which is also known for its extremist views but he is acceptable for the society due to his administrative ability whereas our extremist leaders our known for creating social mess only!!!

A few of the awards bagged for different developmental initiatives/achievements in Gujarat during the tenure of Modi are:
• UN Sasakawa Award for outstanding reconstruction work in disaster risk reduction
• World Bank Green Awards for excellence in environment consciousness during post earthquake rehabilitation
• CAPAM Gold Award from Commonwealth Associations for innovations in governance
• Dubai International Award to Surat Municipal Corporation for Best Practices in SWM and Urban Governance
• India Tech Excellence Award 2005 for the most progressive and dynamic state in power sector reforms
• UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Award for reconstruction of a Gurudwara damaged during the earthquake
• Computer Society of India and Nihilant Technology Citizen Facilitation Award for the Best e-Governed State
• Computer Society of India and Nihilant Technology Best Service Orientation Award to Ahmedabad Collectorate’s Citizen Charter
• ELITEX 2007 - Best E-governed State Award from Government of India in January 2007

Sources:Related web links

Rising Pedophile cases in Pakistan (Do “V” need to be cautious???)

With the rise in economic depression and spread of uncensored and unchecked entertainment media there seems to be a rise in all sorts of crimes. Theft, burglary, murder were always there but recently media is reporting lot of Pedophile cases. Children have been found dead after being molested and abused in different cities. According to a report in “Daily Times”
Punjab is on the top of the list for child molestation with 62 percent of such cases, 154 in Lahore and the rest in other cities of Punjab. In total, 68 percent girls and 32 percent boys have been the victims of pedophilia. The number increased by 9.4 percent as compared to 2008. Statistics show that around 81 percent of the cases were registered with the police. The study shows that 2,012 children were reportedly abused in 2009 and most of them were abused by acquaintances.

According to Wikipedia As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is typically defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents (persons age 16 and older) characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children (generally age 13 years or younger, though onset of puberty may vary).

One opinion is that such cases were always here in our society but its just that media has started reporting them now. Such incidents are a norm in Madrisa (religious schools where children usually study under boarding system). In rural areas Men marrying girls of 13 years or less age is also a type of abuse (Apparently they refer to marriage between B.B Hazrat Ayesha and Holy prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H for justification even though it might not be the correct reference as some suggest that B.B Hazrat Ayesha’s was an adult by the time she started living with the prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H).


Suggested safety measures:

1: Pedophilias are the people who are so weak (mentally) that they can only target children rather than adults so no matter how strong they look, ”V”(both men and women) can face them and resist them physically .If they are shameless less than “V” should be at least fearless if not ruthless with them.

2: Usually these are the people who are known to the children and have a direct or indirect access to them so for your child’s safety trust no body even the Uncles, Neighbors or the servants who take them out for walk or for free sweets. At least keep an eye on whoever is accompanying your child.

3: Until your child crosses the age of 18, try to monitor on hourly basis when the child is out of sight.

4: Encourage children to keep a mobile while leaving home other than the for school(Give them low cost cheap mobiles which can only be used for voice or data communication so that children don’t attract burglars or loss of mobile due to any reason doesn’t cost much).

5: In case of a mishap usually parents avoid reporting of such incident due to social stigma, PLEASE DO IT SO THAT YOU CAN SAVE OTHER CHILDREN or at least refer to Law enforcing, media authorities or some related NGO with a request to stay anonymous (Even our police is likely to be helpful when it comes to crimes against children).

Do “V” need an official religion????

Before discussing this issue “V” should be clear if having Islam as our official religion makes any difference and if adopting a secular status would change anything.


Impact of having Islam as the official religion:

Islam is a complete code of life so a country where it is the official religion there should be a clear display of Islamic principles and practices in economic, political and social systems and institutions but that is not the case here!
Our Banking system is established on interest based financing (In my opinion the ones offering Islamic banking are also actually interest based).Our political system doesn’t allow honest people to be elected. Our social system does display Islamic way of worshiping but “V” as a society appear to be confused about our Islamic values, ideology and principles.


So what if “V” actually become secular?

I think practically it would make no difference because our primary issue of dishonesty and corruption is due to not following Islam even when it is official religion so it would make no difference if Pakistan becomes a secular state rather the little check and balance that “V” have like people not drinking publicly or restrictions on skin exposure on media would end and as a result temptations which arise through income earned by dishonesty would become easier to express. The clash and social unrest which “V” feel disturbed about due to rift between various sects and religious groups is not due to having an official religion but due to not having an official Islam! And this is likely to continue even if Pakistan officially becomes a secular state.


If “V” continue to operate as an Islamic state there should be greater emphasis on basic Islamic aspects like:

Work and shopping should be held during Prayer time(irrespective of the way a person performs prayer/Salath).

Arabic language should be taught from class one just like English, Urdu and Mathematics so that our children feel comfortable to study Islam just the way they feel comfortable while reading books and novels.

Financial sector should be pushed to offer Operating lease.


And If “V” become secular than?

There would be greater need to implement social justice and equality otherwise our collapse would come earlier even though Secularism doesn’t stop anyone from following his religious beleifs.

Note: Some people might say that practically “V” are into idle worshipping and corruption/dishonesty/crimes are all rising because “V” are turning away from God (Rehman and Rahim) but I still feel that being a poor Muslim is better than being a good non-Muslim and if the society becomes officially secular than people might drift away from the little faith that they have due to what they see officially happening and practice out of routine!