Visions of divinity By Qazi Ijaz Ahmad There are several foreign motifs in Gandhara Art. These include caryatids, Atlantes, Persipolitan and Corinthian pillars, fire altars and many other elements from Greece, Persia and Rome. – Photo by the writer Pakistan is home to two great ancient civilisations, namely the Indus Valley and the Gandhara civilisations. The unique and magnificent culture of this part of the world owes a lot to them. Gandhara is an ancient school of art which emerged from the small kingdom of Gandhara located in a region that we now know as the Peshawar Valley. The region … Continue reading Gandhara – Visions of divinity

Saving Pakistan from itself By Kunwar Idris ‘The saddest of all thoughts however is that the donors are being cagey or wary not because they do not realise the gravity and scale of the problem. It is Pakistan’s reputation for corruption and mismanagement that holds them back.’ — Photo by AP The response of the political leaders, the government and civil society as a whole to the country’s worst-ever natural disaster has been both delayed and mean. It is a kind of save-Pakistan-from-itself situation. Even the army that comes to the people’s rescue when the civil administration falters or fails … Continue reading Saving Pakistan from Pakistanis

Mad in the middle By Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com After the end of the Afghan war, both the puritanical and populist versions of the faith have regenerated themselves as a lot more reactionary, emitting deluded and anti-intellectual, fascist battle cries. These have not only found support among the most desperate sections of society, but, unfortunately, also among the now intellectually bankrupt urban middle-class of Pakistan. — Photo by AFP The political and social aspects of Islam in Pakistan can be seen as existing in and emerging from three distinct clusters of thought. These clusters represent the three variations of political … Continue reading A Neo-Aligarh generation developing?

An expert who knows the Pashtuns intimately says we are wasting our time trying to change their society James Fergusson The Observer, Sunday 15 August 2010 Article history The case of Bibi Sanubar, the Afghan widow brutally flogged and shot dead by the Taliban for the crime of being pregnant, caused outrage in the wes. Earlier in the month, Time magazine published a truly shocking picture of Aisha, an 18-year-old girl whose nose had been cut off because she had run away from her inlaws. With so much talk recently of political reconciliation with the Taliban leadership, their attitude towards … Continue reading Should British soldiers be dying for the rights of Afghan women? No.

A leading translator argues that if we rely solely on English we’ll lose the curiosity that drove Milton and Orwell Michael Hofmann The Observer, Sunday 15 August 2010 Article history In 2004, the Labour government removed modern languages from the “core curriculum”. That must be “core” as in “apple core”. For it meant the study of a foreign language is no longer compulsory at schools past age 14. Theoretically, primary schools are supposed to introduce languages instead, but that’s like the road sign with the big black arrow pointing one way and the skinny little red arrow going the other. … Continue reading To speak another language isn’t just cultured, it’s a blow against stupidity

American writer Nicholas Carr’s claim that the internet is not only shaping our lives but physically altering our brains has sparked a lively and ongoing debate, says John Naughton. Below, a selection of writers and experts offer their opinion John Naughton The Observer, Sunday 15 August 2010 Article history Are our minds being altered due to our increasing reliance on search engines, social networking sites and other digital technologies? Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesEvery 50 years or so, American magazine the Atlantic lobs an intellectual grenade into our culture. In the summer of 1945, for example, it published an essay by the Massachusetts Institute … Continue reading The internet: is it changing the way we think?

VIEW: US-China strategic competition —S P Seth China has not forgotten the humiliation of western domination in the 19th century. The recent holding of the joint US-South Korean naval exercises in regional waters, against China’s stated opposition, has angered Beijing. It regards such activities by foreign warships and aircraft as a threat to China’s security The reported military exercises by Chinese forces to defend against a possible US attack have raised tensions between China and the US. The question is: why has China raised the stakes in its relations with the US? It is important to realise that this is … Continue reading US-China strategic competition

VIEW: The art of deception —Andleeb Abbas The fight for market share makes organisations look at more and more ways of impressing upon customers what they do not have and what they ought to have. In order to convince the customer, they actually take him into a world of fantasy There is a fine line between explanation, exaggeration and deception. Many times, knowingly or unknowingly, we cross the line. As individuals, organisations and leaders, sustainable success depends on how much you deliver on what you promise. However, in today’s world, words rather than deeds are the focus of attention. The … Continue reading The art of deception

ANALYSIS: Is there a way out? —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi What has happened in Pakistan during the last two weeks represents the abysmal failure of the political class to first quickly recognise the dimensions of the tragedy and then come forward with ways and means to cope with it The floods have increased Pakistan’s vulnerabilities at a time when it is already combating Islamic extremism and terrorism that threatens the Pakistani state and society. The floodwater will start receding in a week but the post-flood human tragedy is expected to haunt Pakistan for a long time. The most challenging task will … Continue reading Is there a way out?