The question is where education stands in Pakistan amidst Covid-19? The government closed all the education institutions to stop spreading the coronavirus while other establishments remained open. It introduced online education system without providing any facility to students. This has caused great loss to the nation.
Muhammad Hussain
We do not deny impinge of covid-19. It halted all sectors, especially the education system, which is more affected in developing countries. However, many countries did not allow the education system to be disturbed, because they know only education is the tool that could take them out of this evil. They switched the whole education system over to online and tried to provide every basic facility of online education to its citizens.
Govt. of Japan has taken a positive step to combat the financial and educational crises of the students impacted by covid-19. They provide scholarships and loans to them. According to a report, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology entered into partnership with GIGA, a group of companies, to support schools installing high-speed internet and provide students with laptops and the tabs for accessing the web. On the other side, Pakistan doesn’t pay heed to this sector. Here the government always attaches it the lowest priority.
The government of Pakistan closed the education institutions to stop spreading the coronavirus while other establishments remained open. The government of Pakistan wasted a whole precious year of the students and opted promoting the students without any examination. Now, once again the government has closed the educational institutions while all other offices, malls and other establishments are open as usual. The ruling parties in center and provinces are fully focusing on their election campaign, while other social and political activities are going on as per routine. They know that it’s the way to gain the power.
On the other hand students and teachers are happy to see the institutions closed because in the online education system there is no check and balance on students and most importantly they pass the exam without any effort. Che Guevara had rightly said that “When the institution’s doors are closed I saw happy ignorant people.” This is unfortunate that our nation doesn’t know the importance of education.
Similarly, teachers are happy as they don’t take interest in delivering lectures. They just come a few minutes in an online class for giving tasks to students. They don’t check the assignment nor give feedback on the student’s assignments. They become lazy. This, I experienced in my online classes. One of our teachers neither takes the assignment nor presentation and even doesn’t check the paper and gives marks to the students on personal relationship. This bias engineers bad relationships between students and teachers, and that is why students don’t give respect to the teacher. These biases remove the essence of the relationship between students and teachers.
The government deems they shifted the education system online which mitigates the education crisis. We appreciate this step of government but the online education system produces huge gap between haves and have not. Also, it exacerbated the situation in the provinces. Many areas of Pakistan have no access to the internet and electricity. These areas are already facing immense problems and the online education system adds fuel to the fire of the situation.
Moreover, online education produces a cheating environment that is more dangerous than the Coronavirus. We will save ourselves from the coronavirus but we cannot save the destruction caused by cheating. As a famous saying goes, “If you want to destroy a nation then give the cheating environment in the exam. It dies people by their hands. Fake doctors kill their patients with their hands. Similarly, bureaucracy will fail to owe incompetent officers. The same situation we are seeing in Pakistan.
Online education increases the dropout. Pakistan is already facing an illiteracy rate crisis. According to a report, 930,000 students are expected to drop out of school as they don’t afford the expenses of internet packages and other related items of online education such as mobile phones, laptop, and tabs.
The government should adopt the Japanese education system during Covid-19. If it does not adopt that type of education then open the educational institutions with strict SOPs but please don’t close the institutions. All of the aforementioned crisis will mitigate if government follows these types of measures. Otherwise, it will worsen the education system as well as the social and political system of Pakistan.
In short online education is not fruitful in Pakistan. We don’t deny the health importance but education is the sine quo non for the survival of any nation. It is only the education which makes our health good and makes us able to combat this type of disease and other critical situations. Therefore the government of Pakistan should review the education policy of closing the educational institutions.
Pakistan is already behind many countries. Even after 73 years, Pakistan doesn’t come in the line of developed countries while on the other hand China, who got independence after 3 years of Independence of Pakistan, is now a days a great economic power.
Had we good education system, our doctors and scientists would have developed vaccine for combating this virus. Unfortunately, our top priority is gaining the power, no the education. Take the example of our neighboring country India that has prepared countless vaccines and is boosting its economy by export this vaccine to other countries.
In one line I conclude my whole story “education is the panacea of all ills of Pakistan.”
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Muhammad Hussain is Lahore-based freelance writer. He has done BS Hons in English literature from Punjab University Lahore.
Our frail and senile citizens do need our empathies as the elderly population is growing in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. This has called for an increasing need for a drive via technological advancements to help these respected elders
By Nazarul Islam
As the proportion of elderly population is growing in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh— an alarming situation has developed. This has called for an increasing need for a drive via technological advancements, to enhance cashless and digital transactions, and support institutional services offered to the respected elders. A large section of senior citizens (old people) are becoming dependent on financial institutions, mainly banks.
Many older adults seem to like pursuing their banking needs with Public Sector Banks, while the younger generation is inclined towards newly established, private banks. While the need for service provision in public sector banks is going up, over the last few years many private banks have been merged and reportedly their staffing has come down— creating a deficit in service provision.
Although the private banks loudly claim to offer service delivery at doorstep particularly for senior citizens by some banks, it seems all this has not yet been implemented.
We need to understand that Ageing is associated with general slowing in movement, thinking and processing of information, in addition to difficulties in vision or hearing. The aged also have difficulty in walking, and standing up, for longer periods. Many suffer from physical ailments like diabetes, hypertension and other diseases affecting the blood vessels mainly those carrying blood to the heart and brain.
Along with these, many have to take medications and need to make regular visits to the hospitals, for check-ups and blood tests, for which they need to perform money transactions. Reliable and safe Transportation is also be another issue, which impacts the elder people in our society.
Subjected to these hardships that elderly people have been exposed to—and their inability to catch up with the simple functions of personal computers, laptops tablets and hand held devices, one cannot expect them to learn to do online banking or to operate their smartphones by themselves.
Again, this weak and dependent section of our society is required to face another challenge: the daunting task of remembering many passwords, which if it forgotten lead to a cascade of events that need resolving, resulting in delay in completing even simple financial transactions.
Painfully so, this has only added to mental fatigue and causes more stress.
Foremost, our society needs to find answers to a pressing question. Who is responsible to train its senior citizens to use computers, web programs and latest technology? One wonders if the senior citizen representation or relevant NGOs were consulted before implementation of the online system.
If this is mostly the issue in urban areas, one can imagine the service provision in rural areas. Society cannot expect its senior citizens to learn the skills of performing online banking and transactions to the same extent it expects this from the younger generation.
The staff members at banks, however, seem to be unable to patiently sit with elderly persons to assist them in learning to do online banking every time.
Perhaps there are just one or two NGOs offering free training for senior citizens in the use of smartphones, but hardly anyone is training them to adapt to online banking and financial transactions so as to create confidence. And this signifies that senior citizens not just in rural areas, but also in urban areas who have lived to (unwillingly) depend on their younger family members or relatives. The younger people often delay this ordeal, as interaction with the younger generation comes with more frustrations and lesser joys. Therefore, learning the skills, leaves room for financial exploitation.
Again if elderly among us are suffering due to undetected Mild Cognitive Impairment or have early signs of Dementia that affects their ability to manage finances, then there seems to be no system in place to assist or serve them in their best interest. If the wife of this person is dependent on his ability to manage finances, and has to urgently pay for his medical bills, then it is nothing, but the task of running from pillar to post.
Many females belonging to the Baby Boomer generation are housewives with minimal education. Many of these female senior citizens hardly have skills to do normal banking, let alone the ability to do it online. Financial transaction is a very basic issue, the easier it is, the better for the elderly persons.
Elderly females could try to equip themselves with skills to use the system, by learning with their husbands or their children. NGOs also must try and look to close this gap in digital literacy. Financial Institutions advisories focus mainly on making money out of money. Most likely they would be trying to secure already saved money and want to make easier and secure transactions.
There must be a separate Standard Operating Procedure (fair practices for interaction) for senior citizens in all banks. A comfortable booth (counter) with a dedicated, sensitized and well-trained staff member must be available for senior citizens. If needed, the bank should arrange to offer home visit services. The bank environment must be made age friendly similar to what exists for the differently- abled people.
All staff members should be sensitized and trained in terms of customer care skills including communication and soft skills in this respect. Financial institutions and the State must focus beyond just perks in terms of higher rate of interest for Fixed Deposits as it is entirely their intention to make transactions mostly digital.
I am sure that these measures will enhance social support, reduce stress, and thus promote mental health of older adults.
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About the Author
The Bengal-born writer is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America.
In fact all the civil and military officers were under oath not to disclose the burial place of Shaheed Pir Sibghatullah. This is evident from a speech of Late Dr. Ghulam Ali Allana, the former Vice Chancellor of Sindh University, which he made at a program in Hyderabad held by Sindhi Language Authority to mark 100th birthday of Surhia Badshah Shaheed Pir Sibghatullah. He had told the audience, “Nasir Ali Khan, one of my friends, a former police office, had told that he was under oath not to disclose burial place of Shaheed Pir.”
March 20 – The Martyrdom Day of Surhia Badshah
The British authorities were so scared that they didn’t dare laying to rest the martyred Pir Pagaro Pir Syed Sibghatullah Shah-II at any place in Sindh. Before the execution (during the so-called trial- Pir Sahib was hanged on March 20, 1943), he was asked ‘where he wanted to be laid to rest’, and his reply was: “At my ancestral graveyard Pir Jo Goth”. But the British feared that his grave anywhere in Sindh would turn to be a sacred place for the pilgrimage and keep alive the Hurs to continue fighting the war. Their fear is evident from a telegraphic message of Viceroy of India to the Governor of Sindh on January 15, 1943 (Much before start of the trial). The telegram reads: I have now consulted the ministers on burial at sea. Their opinion is that Muslim sentiments are against it except in case of death at sea. Also, there is danger of disturbances or likelihood of the tomb becoming an object of pilgrimage or veneration if the burial takes place at Hyderabad. I will discuss this further with Richardson, who is coming here on 16th January and will then report final advice.”
In the meantime, Governor Dow informed the Viceroy on 23rd February that the military authorities would, in a contingency, arrange for disposal outside Sindh without touching Karachi, and that the religious requirements would be duly observed.
An official confidential report submitted to Viceroy by F. Young, the Commissioner of Police under Martial Law, about his meeting with Pir Sahib on 18th March, says: “He was very anxious to know what would happen to his body. I assured him that it would be treated with all respect according to Muslim rites. He said that Pir felt he ought to be buried in the Pir’s burying place in the Dargah even if some of his Mureeds were against it. He said he could be given a very small tomb and no ceremony, and there was plenty of room.”
Colonel, and later Major General, Wasal Muhammad Khan writes in his autobiography, parts of which were published earlier in Sindh Quarterly magazine in 1980, that British considered dead Pir Pagaro more dangerous, and that’s why he was buried at an island off Persian Gulf. Governor Dow in a brief letter to Viceroy on 21st November 1942 had suggested burying Pir Pagaro outside Sindh and keeping it secret for a long time and for that purpose a place should be selected where no local person is found.
The Viceroy had told the Governor Dow through telegram on 21st December 1942 that the government was also considering burial of Pir Pagaro somewhere in Madhiya Pardesh. The correspondence continued between the Viceroy, Governor Dow and other high officials on the subject discussing different proposals. Viceroy in a letter to Governor Dow on 9th February apprehended if the Sindh ministers too were considering burial of Pir Pagaro. “This would be dangerous, as one of earlier Pagaro was thought to be a martyr and his tomb became the source of disturbances.”
In 10th February telegram to the Viceroy the Governor suggested the burial at Jeewani or somewhere else outside Sindh and the former in his reply on 23rd February assured that the military authorities would arrange the burial outside Sindh. “Pir Pagaro will not be buried in Karachi,” he said.
The burial place of Pir Pagaro remained a secret for decades. However Dr. H. T. Sorley in his book ‘Diversions of Mnemosyne’ (Volume: The Web of III Mnemosyne) disclosed that Pir Pagaro was buried at Charan Island, which had been under the British control.
Meanwhile, there were rumors that Pir Sahib was buried in the premises of Hyderabad Central Jail for time being under the supervision of Gen. Richardson, Lambrick and Ridley. All the signs of the grave were erased so that nobody could know about it. The two coats of limestone were put inside the grave. However, the Molsworth writes that the body of Pir Pagaro was shifted at night to the Indus Delta area from where it was sent in a war ship of Indian Royal Navy to a far off coastal area of Mekran and then buried at Astola Island observing all Islamic rites. The signs of grave there were also erased. Molsworth quotes Naval Commander’s memoirs according to which the wild creatures like snakes and other reptiles were found in abundance at the Island.
The documents pertaining to Pir Pagaro, available at British Library, also contain certain reports about burial of Pir Sahib at Astola Island. A report bearing the date of 23rd August 1943, prepared by Mr. Gilchrist, refers to 19th March 1943 telegram of Viceroy to the Secretary of State, India according to which he directs for burying Pir’s body at Astola Island off Mekran Coast falling in the limits of Qalat State. “Only we will be aware of this burial place, and would be able to find it whenever needed.”
A former railway officer Syed Shabbir Hussain writes in his autobiography that ‘after hanging the Pir Sahib, his body was taken away in an army plane without letting anybody know what was being done with it. However, he refers to an article of his friend journalist Mian Muhammad Shafi, appearing in Urdu daily Nawa-e-Waqt, in which, he thinks, the true position was stated. “Shafi Sahib, who happened to be attached with GHQ at Shimla, somehow got a file of a lame Maj. General Molesworth, who handled the Hur Operation at GHQ. The file contained the narration of the entire Hur Operation including Pir Sahib’s execution after court martial. Shafi says that he also saw a telegram from Maj. General Richardson, which said that while proceeding to the gallows, Pir Sahib bore a smile on his face. According to the file, his body was taken to a small island in Balochistan coast named Astola to be buried there, hidden from everybody’s gaze.”
Maj. Gen. Wasal Muhammad Khan, in his article (published in Sindh Quarterly 1982) and his autobiography, had also written on burial place of Pir Pagaro, as earlier mentioned, but a researcher Allah Warayo Bihan says Wasal Muhammad Khan had written a letter attached with his article to the ministry of defence, Rawalpindi seeking permission for its publication, but Gen. Rahim, in response, advised him to delete the parts relating to burial place, and after that Wasal Muhammad altered the article and mentioned mere ‘an island of Persian Gulf’. The only sentence then appearing in his article was that ‘The authorities kept the burial place highly secret as they apprehended that dead Pir would prove to be more dangerous than a live Pir. The burial place was also kept secret from me however I somehow managed to get a copy of memory sketch of burial place with the help of my section.’
A person of Hur community, who didn’t want to be identified for being in government job, told that in 1980s, he had visited the village of Wasal Muhammad Khan and urged him to give details of actual burial place of Pir Sahib along with the map of that place he had, but he refused saying ‘I will not, unless the GHQ allows’.
(In fact all the civil and military officers were under oath not to disclose the burial place of Shaheed Pir Sibghatullah. This is evident from a speech of Late Dr. Ghulam Ali Allana, the former Vice Chancellor of Sindh University, which he made at a program in Hyderabad held by Sindhi Language Authority to mark 100th birthday of Surhia Badshah Shaheed Pir Sibghatullah. He had told the audience, “Nasir Ali Khan, one of my friends, a former police office, had told that he was under oath not to disclose burial place of Shaheed Pir.”)
Electricity Bill of shrine of Syed Bismillah Shah Shaheed issued in the name of Pir Nadir Shah
Late Syed Hashim Raza also told in an interview that according to his knowledge, Pir Sahib’s body was secretly buried at an island near Balochistan about 40 miles from Karachi.
A researcher Gul Hassan Kalmati in his travelogue ‘Kech Mekran Danh Safar’ (A journey to Kech Mekran) published in weekly magazine of Sindhi daily Kawish in 2014, writes that he visited Hipat Talar Island where the local fishermen took him to a a heap of stones, which is said to be a grave. According to local people that grave dates back to the last period of British rule, and is said to be of a Saint hailing from Sindh. According to Kalmati’s view, it might be the resting place of Pir Pagaro Surhia Badshah.
Another writer Nawaz Kunbhar’s article, published in daily Kawish on 12th February 2014 discloses that Surhia Badshah was buried at ‘Dajar Island’ located three to four kilometers off Mekran Coast. The writer narrated his brief chat with Pir Ali Gohar Shah, the younger brother of present Pir Pagaro VIII Pir Syed Sibhatullah Shah-III at Choondko area of Khairpur district in January that year, and quoted him as saying that he had obtained a file from the British record in 1992 according to which their grandfather Pir Syed Sibghatullah Shah-II was buried at Dajar Island. Pir Ali Gohar had handed that file over to his father Pir Pagaro VII Shah Mardan Shah. The writer told Pir Ali Gohar about his visit to Astola Island, but he rejected that Surhia Badshah was buried there.
Shrine of Syed Bismillah Shah Shaheed at Kidney Hills Karachi
But few years back, a new research appeared with a different idea about the final resting place of Surhia Badshah. Researcher Nisar Shaikh in his article published by a Sindhi language fortnightly magazine ‘Affair’ claimed that Pir Sahib was laid to rest in Karachi. According to him the burial place is located at ‘Kidney Hill’, which currently is in the midst of city but at the time of burial, it was a deserted area far from the city. This area is close to Kingri House, the residence of Late Pir Pagaro-VII. “A shrine of a Saint known as ‘Bismillah Shah Shaheed’ exists at Kidney Hill, which most probably is the shrine of Surhia Badshah Pir Sibghatullah Shah-II,” he claims citing the evidence in its support that late Pir Nadir Ali Shah, the younger son of Surhia Badshah, was the caretaker of shrine, who carried out construction work at the shrine. The electricity bill also bears Pir Nadir Shah’s name while his family continues taking care of the shrine. All the men working at the shrine are under them, and the locks of a box put there for the donations, are opened only after Ali Akbar Shah, the grandson of Pir Nadir, permits. Some persons who served at the shrine are Ghaloo Larik of Pir Jo Goth (He served for years), Nangar Fakir Barecho of Jhangara Bajara, Sehwan spent 25 years of his life at the shrine from 1965 to 2001 and after him his son Ali Nawaz Barecho took over responsibilities of his father and continues taking care of shrine till date. “Some family members of Pir Nadir and other senior Hurs used to visit the shrine for laying floral wreath,” Nisar Shaikh said.
The researcher says Surhia Badshah was buried in the premises of Hyderabad jail after the execution, but after two days, his body was exhumed and shifted to Karachi for burial at Kidney Hill. He also raised a question about the Pir’s dress, which he wore at the jail or at the time of arrest.
The author of this book, accompanied by Nisar Shaikh, visited the shrine to further get the details. The shrine is located at a hill called the ‘Kidney Hill’ with a 4ft high boundary wall. Some huts are built inside the premises, which is spread over two acres of land. In the rear, at one side of the shrine, a small shed with two steps is built. An Alam (A big wooden pole with a flag on its top) also could be seen erected behind the shrine. The Muhammad Ali Housing Society, located at the bottom in the east could be viewed from the hill. The shrine area is surrounded by a jungle over a vast area, which initially was owned by Federal government after inception of Pakistan, and later transferred to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation then claimed the land for launching the housing project but it was challenged in the court.
According to Nisar Shaikh, the Kidney Hill area fell in the limits of British cantonment and several Baloch insurgents were executed there by the imperialist forces.
A board inscribed with ‘Dargah-e-Aalia Hazrat Syed Bismillah Shah Ghazi Shaheed’ in Urdu hangs at the door of the shrine, which is in dilapidated condition, as its wooden tomb collapsed in heavy rains a couple of years back. No other board with history and background of the Saint buried there could be found here unlike other shrines. However, there are unconfirmed reports that a plaque used to be there, but was taken away in early 1950s by Pir Sikanadar Shah. Nisar Shaikh himself once saw a piece of stone inscribed with a word ‘Pir’ but that stone too was now missing.
Late Pir Pagaro Shah Mardan Shah used to visit the shrine, offer prayers and lay floral wreath at the night time. His son, present Pir Pagaro VIII too used to visit the shrine before and after his installation as Pir Pagaro.
The men assigned to serve at the shrine are strictly prohibited from disclosing the fact that this was the final resting place of Surhia Badshah Shaheed Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi-II. The Khalifas and other Hur Fakirs visiting the shrine were too overheard saying that they are bound by the orders not to disclose the fact. Nisar Shaikh claims he had written letters to the Late Pir Pagaro and former President Gen. Musharraf for declaring officially that this shrine was in fact the resting place of Surhia Badshah. He said there is no harm in it, as the Sindh Assembly, which had passed infamous Hur Act in 1942, had now declared the 20th March as public holiday to pay homage to Surhia Badshah during the PPP government a few years back.
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A chapter from the book ‘Hur – The Freedom Fighter’ authored by Nasir Aijaz. The book was published in August 2015 by Culture Department, Government of Sindh.
District administration, municipal and traffic police authorities of Larkana should build some Speed Breakers or mark Zebra Crossings near schools in the city
Public Opinion
On Friday morning while on my way to office near Government Pilot Higher Secondary School at main VIP Road I saw some students crossing the road speedily to reach the school and suddenly a student was hit by bike. Like many other people, I also stopped to see what happened, and asked the gate keeper of school ‘why didn’t the school administration get speed breaker erected or mark zebra crossing on both sides of the road’. He smiled and replied, ‘sir thousands times we have asked Municipal Committee officials but they don’t pay any attention to our request’.
Today being a citizen of Larkana city I request the district administration, municipal and traffic police authorities of Larkana to build some Speed Breakers/Speed Bumps, erect Traffic Signals or mark Zebra Crossings near schools in the city, especially those who are situated on main roads.
I also request to all the citizens driving the cars, bikes or other vehicles to please reduce the speed while passing near any school. Similarly, the pedestrians should also make sure before crossing the road that there is no vehicle approaching them.
Zebra crossings are marked with black and white stripes on the road and zigzag lines on either side. These markings warn drivers that there may be pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross the road. They also tell drivers that they must give way to pedestrians on the crossing.
In civilized countries the drivers are legally required to stop at a zebra crossing once a pedestrian has moved on to the crossing, When a driver sees a zebra crossing with someone waiting on it, he has to be slowing down and stopping.
According to rules, the pedestrian too should give the traffic plenty of time to see them and to stop before they start to cross. Pedestrian should wait until traffic has stopped from both directions or the road is clear before crossing.
Unfortunately, no civic education is imparted to children at schools. The government should ensure that traffic rules are taught to the students at schools. It’s also essential for parents to educate the kids at home about their safety.
Panting on Walls or ‘Impulse to adorn – The art of the painted murals in western Sindh’ is a recently published book by Mr. Aziz Kingrani, a prolific writer and author of several books
Book review
By Gulsher Panhwer
Panting on walls or ‘Impulse to adorn – The art of the painted murals in western Sindh’ is a recently published book by Mr. Aziz Kingrani, a prolific writer and author of several books. Mr. Kingrani’s areas of expertise also include history and archaeology.
The paintings on the wall book has explored, discovered and documented treasure trove of exquisite painting on the walls of tombs, mausoleums, mosques, temples and graves doting length and breadth of Kachho area in western periphery of Dadu District including Qamber Shahdakot District Sindh, called Kaccho.
The Kaccho area spreads from Manchar lake in east to Dadu, Larkana, Kamabar Shahdad Kot and Sibi ( Balochistan) in north west.
The author contends that the paintings splashed on the mausoleums and graves are of Sidhyana pattern entrenched in ancient Indus civilization. The art of painting on the walls flourished during Kalhora dynastic rule in Sindh spanning from 1707 to 1883 AD. According to Author the Kalhora were indigenous rulers of Sindh who consolidated their rule by fighting wars of attrition and defense with Mughals and other local contenders of tribes. The Kalhora rule came to an abrupt end with the killing of Talpur Commanders due to conspiracy hatched by Rajo Lekhi, one of the confidential and minister in Kalhora ruling dynasty. Thus with the defeat of Kalhoras, Talpurs’ rule (1782-1843) started which ended with invading by British in 1843.
The art of paintings on walls was pioneered by Yar Muhammad Kalhoro which was continued by Talpur rulers in Sindh. The painting being an ancient and most expressive form was initiated by men in cave. The initial painting might have been used as way of communication. Later, it was carried out for decorative purpose too which also continues till date as we see expensive and elaborative paintings adorning the drawing rooms of rich people.
Apart from exquisitely capturing rare images of painting, the author has done good job by explaining almost each painting with historical background as well as the characters in each painting.
Author has touched important points. He responds to the general belief that in Islam the human and animal paintings/pictures are forbidden but in Kachho area majority of the mausoleums have lot of paintings depicting humans as well as animals. The writer answers this question by saying that in mausoleum the human and animal images are just for decorative purpose and no human or animal image is found painted in mosques.
Furthermore the book has interesting images and mention of the legends, djinns and witches.
In Sindh, the witches were and still are believed to attack women who have recently given birth and extract their entrails. The writer has briefly given account of precautionary measures taken by superstitious people to ward off the witches by fixing pegs, wrapping legs of cot on which the woman is sleeping, with wool-made ropes and cauterizing heels of attacking witches. The theme-wise pictures include battle scenes, Hindu deities, flora and fauna, old folk culture and folk stories like Laila Majnoo, Umer Marvi and Sasui Puhnoo etc. The author seems having applied painstaking deep research and his own insights to explain most complex and some of the blurred images and characters in themes.
While explaining photos of djinns shown in horrid shape and in animal forms the author writes that they can change their form from one to other including animal forms.
Most of the mausoleums have been damaged by natural disasters like floods, heavy rains and also vandalized by irresponsible local visitors. Some irresponsible local visitors have also tampered with exquisite images by overwriting their names and scratching the part of the images. Furthermore, some misguided superstitious persons have also been digging the graves believing that a gold treasure might be buried inside the grave along with buried persons. The author laments this fact. However besides bringing largely untouched themes of paintings and documenting the vanning art, the author has preserved this treasure trove of the art for present and coming generation. The Endowment Fund Trust for preserving heritage of Sindh also deserves praise for publishing this very fine book.
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Gulsher Panhwer is a freelance writer based in Johi, district Dadu. He can be contacted at gulsherp@yahoo.com
Smiles need not be scarce, so there is no reason to ration them out. In a moment of epiphany, I resolved that I should overcome my hesitation and be more welcoming in the future — a future that is overdue.
By Nazarul Islam
Our apartment’s security guard, Alam, is unrelenting when it comes to the imposition of Covid-19 protocols on residents and visitors alike. Courtesy of his matronly watch over the dwellers, the lift has not carried its capacity for what now seems, ages. Alam has ensured that anyone using the lift follows the ‘one person at a time’ rule to the letter. The resulting isolation has provided welcome relief to reticent souls like me.
While riding the lift with neighbors during better times, I could not bring myself to smile even half-heartedly at them. The solitary ridership during these Covid days has lifted (no pun intended) a huge burden off my shoulders. But should something as natural as smiling at people feel like a burden in the first place? That is definitely some food for thought.
In the eponymous Shakespearean play, Hamlet’s dilemma is ‘To be or not to be’. I am faced with a more mundane question: ‘To smile or not to smile’. I have painted myself as the sole wrongdoer but (with due respect to my neighbors) may I say I enjoy ‘august’ company here? As neighbors, we (literally) rubbed shoulders in the lift but seldom betrayed even a hint of a smile.
We obviously bore no ill-will towards each other, yet, when it came to sporting a smile, we acted coy. The entire time that we were in the lift was mostly spent thumbing around one’s smartphone or emptily gazing at the whirring fan or the panel lighting up the floor numbers.
The forced sedentariness of Covid-19 has provided an opportunity for reflection. Looking back at my own bashfulness, my feelings are not without a tinge of regret. What made me so reserved? Smiles need not be scarce, so there is no reason to ration them out. In a moment of epiphany, I resolved that I should overcome my hesitation and be more welcoming in the future — a future that is overdue.
Seeing mask-less folks socializing with gay abandon is not uncommon now. But I for one would like to wait for better days so that I may confidently cast off my mask (pun intended) of restraint and grab every opportunity to smile at my neighbors in the block.
They are a motley group, speaking perhaps half a dozen vernaculars among them. I am sure they would smile back at me as I am a strong believer in the adage, ‘a smile begets a smile’. And, smile is indeed infectious….you catch it like a flu!
Also, didn’t George Carlin, the American comedian say, ‘Everyone smiles in the same language’?
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About the Author
The Bengal-born writer is a senior educationist based in USA. He writes for Sindh Courier and the newspapers of Bangladesh, India and America.
British Army has been reduced from 176,000 troops in 1970 to 80,000 in 2020 and Army chiefs are expecting a further cut with an announcement in the Commons on 22 March. Does that mean the Russian threat has gone away? Absolutely not! It just means that Britain can’t afford a large army.
By Tom Arms
This week’s British Defence Review is the inevitable consequence of Brexit, the cost of the pandemic, the end of the Cold War, British economic decline and technology changes.
But oddly enough it also marks a return to strategic thinking more closely aligned to the days of Empire than the 21st century.
Island Britain has traditionally—and with good reason—focused on sea power. It is a trading nation. It needs the sea to trade and it needs a navy to protect its sea-based trade routes. Furthermore Britain’s departure from the EU has exponentially increased the need for the blue water navy of imperial days.
The European-based land army of the Cold War was an historical anomaly created by the post-war need to occupy Germany and prevent an invasion of Western Europe by the Soviet Union. The British Army of the Rhine at one point numbered 83,000 troops. It no longer exists. There are now a mere 198 British liaison personnel on German soil. The bulk of the British Army’s commitment to the defence of continental NATO is 900 troops rotated into the Baltic States from British bases.
That is why the British Army has been reduced from 176,000 troops in 1970 to 80,000 in 2020 and Army chiefs are expecting a further cut with an announcement in the Commons on 22 March.
Does that mean the Russian threat has gone away? Absolutely not! It just means that Britain can’t afford a large army. Russia, as Boris Johnson, told Parliament remains the most “acute military threat” to the UK. But the kitty is empty. The country had not recovered from the 2008-2009 banking crisis when it was hit first by the financial consequences of Brexit and then the health and economic disaster of the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain needed to increase its bang for the buck. So the government decided to boost the submarine-based nuclear missile deterrent by 40 percent. Unfortunately, this move also appears to breach international law as Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty commits the signatories “to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to disarmament.”
Even if Britain is not deemed a treaty breaker (again), its nuclear rearmament will make it more difficult for the US to negotiate a new Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia and will encourage Iran, North Korea and other countries to pursue their nuclear ambitions.
It is not only in the nuclear field that Britain is replacing human troops with technology. The Johnson government aims to become a “science and technology superpower” and military usage will be a key factor driving the country to this goal. Research and development investment in technology will rise from 1.7 percent of GDP to 2.4 percent by 2027. £6.6 billion of that money is set aside for military purposes and £700 million for intelligence and a substantial expenditure on a space command.
It sort of makes sense as the two greatest threats from Russia are nuclear and electronic in the form of cyber-attacks. Its conventional forces are significantly smaller, and it no longer presents the challenge to democratic values that was posed during the Cold War, and, finally, it is an economic sprat.
China, on the other hand, will soon be the world’s largest economic power, is investing heavily in the military and is challenging Western values at every turn. It is, according to the Defence Review, “The biggest state-based threat to the UK’s political and economic security.” That is why the British Navy is returning to East of Suez with regular and growing patrols of the Indo-Pacific region, and a string of bases stretching from Gibraltar to Bahrain to Oman, to Kenya to Singapore.
But the British attitude towards China is schizophrenic. It is a threat and—because of its economic power—an opportunity. This means that the situation requires delicate handling and a close coordination between British diplomacy and military.
Unfortunately that does not appear to be happening. The Defence Review was supposed to be launched in conjunction with a review of the newly merged Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCOD) to present parliament with at least the impression of joined up thinking. It now looks as if the second half of the equation won’t be dealt with until much later in the year.
The signs are that the diplomatic service will be beefed up to work alongside the projected naval power is unlikely. A key element of British “soft power”—the aid budget is being slashed from 0.7 percent of GDP to 0.5 percent. The Foreign Office budget has been whittled away over the past two decades and out of it has to come money for the BBC World Service and British Council. It is estimated that the amount spent on maintaining Britain’s network of worldwide missions is roughly equivalent to the annual expenditure of the City of Birmingham.
If Britain wants a balanced relationship with China it needs diplomats on the ground as well as ships in the water.
The primary responsibility of every government is the protection of its citizens. The wannabe federalists of Europe have dismally failed at fulfilling this obligation with their handling of the coronavirus vaccine program. And to compound their errors they have tried to cast Brexit Britain in the role of scapegoat at a time when they should be trying to develop a positive relationship with the UK. Instead Brussels has unfairly claimed that the Johnson government is behind Astra Zeneca’s failure to manufacture and deliver sufficient vaccine doses in a timely fashion. To compound the mistake they attempted to tarnish the vaccine with attacks on its safety. This, of course, is backfiring because it provides grist to the growing anti-vax brigade–costing tens of thousands of more lives. On top of that, the commission is talking about blocking exports of the PfizerBnTech vaccine (largely produced in Belgium) to third countries, which is Brussels shorthand for Britain. In the meantime both the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency have declared Astra Zeneca safe; forcing European countries to put the vaccine back on the metaphorical shelf. But the poorly-managed vaccine program has meant that Europe is enduring a third and deadly coronavirus wave. A year ago, Eastern Europe was patting itself on the back for avoiding the worst effects of the first wave. Now their health services are on their knees. According to the WHO the Czech Republic leads the world in new Covid 19 cases per 100,000—over 1,600 a day this past week. Poland has plunged into a national lockdown this week as has Italy, Paris and the French Riviera. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is considering a month-long extension to the German lockdown. But the hotspot tourist countries of Spain, Greece, Italy, and Malta are still planning to open their borders to tourists in May.
Biden is in a serious muddle with his immigration policy. Donald Trump was rightly attacked for his inhumanity. But that does not mean that the vast majority of Americans want to open the immigration floodgates. Biden’s actions are still a long way from a social tsunami, but they are close enough for Republicans to be calling it that and finding listeners. Between the end of October and the beginning of March 400,000 illegal immigrants attempted to cross US-Mexican border—a 15-year high. This is partly result of a pent-up demand created by the Trump Era and partly by the Biden Administration’s decision to end the “Remain in Mexico” for processing policy. Biden now allows migrants across the border to be processed in US-based centers. The other major issue is unaccompanied children. Under the provision of Trump’s Title 42 hundreds of children were forcibly separated from their parents. Many families are still to be reunited. Biden is now allowing unaccompanied minors across the border. Parents are sending their children northwards because they believe that by pleading the politically significant issue of reunification their chances of joining the young ones will be significantly improved. An estimated 30,000 unaccompanied minors have entered the US from Mexico so far this year. They are however, being kept in the same detention centers used by the Trump Administration. No one knows the exact conditions in these centers because journalists have so far been banned entry. This has led to attacks on Biden’s immigration policy from the left-wing of the Democratic Party. What a muddle.
Relations between China and the Biden Administration are off to a bad start. Perhaps the good news is that they can only get better. The two sides could not even agree on the purpose of this week’s meeting in Anchorage Alaska between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Yang Jiechi, former foreign minister and the foreign policy man in the Chinese Communist Party Party’s Politburo. The Chinese said the meeting was a “strategic summit” aimed at “resetting” Sino-American relations in the wake of the Sino phobic Trump years. Wrong, said Blinken. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the US to vent its anger about Chinese human rights violations, and the challenges Beijing’s actions present to the “security, prosperity and values of the United States and its partners and allies.” But once the Anchorage dust has settled Washington will face some unpalatable facts. It cannot isolate China in the same way that it contained the Soviet Union during the Cold War. At the very height of its economic power, the Soviet Union’s share of the world GDP was less than a third of China’s today. In not too many years China will surpass the US as the world’s largest economy. For America and its allies to respond to the threat of Chinese totalitarianism with sanctions would be the same as shooting itself in the economic foot. At the moment the American diplomatic tactic appears to be to look for areas of collaboration. Top cooperative targets are climate change, the pandemic and North Korea. This is a traditional Western diplomatic approach: When faced with an apparently intractable negotiation, establish non-contentious areas of agreement which can then be built upon to reach compromise solutions in more disputatious sectors. The problem is that China is not a Western country.
The European political pendulum appears to be following the American example and swinging to the center-left. That is if elections this week in the Netherlands and Germany are an indicator. In Germany the conservative Christian Democratic Union party of Angela Merkel suffered a major defeat in regional elections of CDU heartland Landers of Baden Wurttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The poll was seen as a prime indicator for federal elections in September and the first big test for the CDU’s new leader Armin Laschet. Both the CDU’s long stranglehold on federal power and Laschet’s grip on the party leadership are now jeopardized. The CDU has lost power in both Lander and is expected to be replaced by a three-party coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Liberals (FDP). In the Netherlands, Long-serving centrist Prime Minister Mark Rutte has increased his parliamentary majority which means he can ditch the right-wing Christian Democrats. The extreme right-wing Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders is still the second largest but has dropped its opposition to the EU to focus on an anti-Islamic platform. In Germany, the Xenophobic and anti-EU Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) continues to drop in the polls following the government decision to label it as a semi-terrorist organization. And in France, Marine Le Pen’s far right National Rally has shifted from an anti-EU stance to a Eurosceptic position. It now wants to remain in Europe, stay in the Schengen Area and retain the Euro as the French national currency. The party’s slight tilt to the left appears to being paying dividends. Opinion polls show Marine Le Pen presenting a serious challenge to Emmanuel Macron’s hopes of retaining the French presidency in April 2022.
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About the Author
Tom Arms is the London-based American foreign affairs journalist. He has nearly half a century’s experience of world affairs, and has written and broadcast for American, British and Commonwealth outlets. Positions he held included foreign correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, foreign editor, editor and founding CEO of an international diary news service. He is the author of “The Encyclopedia of the Cold War,” “The Falklands Crisis” and “World Elections on File.” His new book “America: Made in Britain” is expected this year.
{The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sindh Courier}
Ehsaas Secondary School Stipend Initiative in collaboration with provinces will translate into more school going children from disadvantaged populations
There are 18.7 million out of school children, in the age group 6 to 16, in the country. There is a high chance that COVID-19 induced livelihoods losses have caused over a million more dropouts
Islamabad: The Steering Committee of Waseela-e-Taleem Digital has decided to roll out an education stipend program for secondary education under Ehsaas.
The meeting, chaired by Dr. Sania Nishtar, took stock of existing secondary stipend programs in the country. It was discussed that the upcoming program for secondary school stipends will be designed and executed in close coordination with provinces to avoid duplication.
Almost all provincial governments except AJK, GB and ICT are currently running secondary stipend programs. These programs are limited to girls only and are also running in selected districts of provinces.
The Ehsaas secondary school stipend initiative in collaboration with provinces will translate into more school going children from disadvantaged populations, especially girls at the secondary level. Currently, there are 18.7 million out of school children, in the age group 6 to 16, in the country. Further, there is a high chance that COVID-19 induced livelihoods losses have caused over a million more dropouts.
According to Demographic and Health Survey 2017 (Kaplan and Meier estimates), dropout rate is highest for the poorest two quintiles in secondary education. Hence Ehsaas is working on a financial access to secondary education program. The program will be structured in line with Ehsaas Stipend policy which allows higher stipend amount for girls as compared to boys. For further necessary approvals, this Ehsaas proposition will be taken to Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
Talking to press after the meeting, Dr. Nishtar said, “This is especially important as we shift our focus from the completion of primary school to continuing on to secondary school particularly for girls.”
She added, “Aiming to tackle very low enrollment rates in age bracket 11-16 years and high dropout rate in grades 5-10, Ehsaas is considering expansion of Waseela-e-Taleem Digital for secondary education stipends. The transition of schooling will have a very positive impact on school enrollment and continuation in school for children from poor populations.”
Secretary BISP, senior officials and representatives from Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Education Departments from provinces including Balochistan, KP, Sindh and Punjab along with Waseela-e-Taleem Digital team of Ehsaas attended the meeting.
Thar would change Pakistan and Pakistan would surely change the entire world because of its rich natural resources – Consul General Li Bijian
Envoy inaugurates 3-day ‘Colors of Thar Festival’ organized in Mithi jointly by SECMC, Thar Foundation and other companies
By GR Junejo
Mithi, Tharparkar: The Chinese Consul General in Karachi, Mr. Li Bijian has said that Thar had a great investment potential that would not only change Pakistan but would surely change the entire world for its rich natural resources and the hardworking and peaceful people.
He was addressing a huge gathering at 3-day ‘Colors of Thar Festival’ which started here on Friday. The festival organized by the District Administration in collaboration with Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, Thar Foundation, Hubco, Sino Sindh Resources, Shanghai Electric and some other organizations under the aegis of “Thar will change Pakistan”.
On the very first day of the colorful festival, various events were organized to entertain several hundred participants, who had thronged the town to witness the mega event.
Chinese Consul General Mr. Li Bijian attended some sessions of the festival. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Li said that Thar would change Pakistan and Pakistan would surely change the entire world for its rich natural resources and hardworking and peaceful people. “Under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Projects (EPEC), we have successfully completed phase one and now entering the second phase,” he said.
Chinese envoy said mining and power projects in Thar were moving very smoothly and had created thousands of job opportunities for the local people. “Thar is a beautiful place, and it has tremendous investment potential in all spheres. Let us work together to make Thar more beautiful and much developed,” he said.
Mr. Li said that Pakistan and China had always had a great bond of friendship and the CPEC projects had laid the strong foundations of prosperity and progress for both the great nations of the world.
He said that Chinese people were busy with the mega projects and they all wanted prosperous, strong and stable Pakistan. “I am very glad to see the beautiful culture and customs of Thar Desert during the festival,” he said and added that there was still need to further promote such rich culture by organizing such events.
“I am very happy to be among the local people during this beautiful colorful event,” he said and added that people of China also loved such culture and traditions.”
Chinese Consul General said that the coal reserves in Thar and the subsequent power generation would also change the density of the people of Thar.
Dr. Mahesh Kumar Malani along with MPA Qsim Siraj Soomro, MPA Faqeer Mohammad Bilalani, DC Tharparkar Mohammad Nawaz Soho and officials of the sponsors of the mega festival attended the cultural festival.
Dr. Malani speaking to the media persons during his visits to different stalls lauded the efforts of the organizers of the mega event and said that such events would not only promote and project the culture, traditions, music, art and various other aspects of the desert district but also inculcate trends of the competition especially among the students of the district. “We are trying our best to give exposure to the talent of Thar and an opportunity to people from other regions to come and see the various other hidden aspects”, he said.
Dr. Malani added that it was beyond any doubt that Thar was all set to change Pakistan but added that it was also the time to overhaul the infrastructure of the entire desert district by providing all basic amenities of life to all the desert dwellers. He said that it was the dream of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to complete the mega power projects by utilizing the coal reserves of Thar and said PPP government under the dynamic leadership of Bilawal Zardari and the supervision of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah made it possible much before the stipulated time.
Kids’ Trio: Farzan Ahmed (up), Farhan Ahmed (right) and Asad Ali
The talented kids’ trio of Jamshoro has recently created a YouTube Channel. This channel named as ‘Artisty’ is all about the art – the art of Drawings, Sketching, Coloring, Painting and Crafting
Artisty! Yes it is a Channel on YouTube recently created by three energetic, creative and promising three kids of ages between 10 to 14 years, namely Farzan Ahmed Memon (Class VII, age 13), Assad Ali (Class VIII, age 14) and Farhan Ahmed Memon (Class V, age 10). According to their skills their tasks are divided. Farzan Ahmed works as “Artist”, Assad Ali deals with Technical Support and Farhan Ahmed is the Planner and Designer.
During the first wave of Covid-19 as all the kids were strictly confined to their homes, so instead of wasting their time in watching T.V or playing video games, these three kids started looking into themselves in search of some hidden talent and very soon they found out that two of them, Farzan Ahmed and Farhan Ahmed, who are brothers too, were very good at drawing, sketching and crafting, while Assad Ali groomed his skills of editing videos and making thumbnails.
After, exploring their skills these kids started looking for a platform from where they can show their talent to the rest of the world. Resultantly they ended up in creating this channel “Artisty”.
As the name “Artisty” implies, this channel is all about the art – The art of Drawings, Sketching, Coloring, Painting and Crafting. Initially this channel aims to provide a viewer many videos on how to draw and color a simple picture. But this is just a beginning and by the course of time there will be tutorials on Water Color Paintings and Crafting. The crafting will comprise of making short picture stories by drawing pictures on simple paper and then skillfully cut them by scissors or paper cutters and paste them on a hard board or chart paper containing different backgrounds.
The team of this channel will put all their energies on providing a viewer the quality of learning without getting bored and is quite hopeful that together they will make a difference.
The question is where education stands in Pakistan amidst Covid-19? The government closed all the education institutions to stop spreading the coronavirus while other establishments remained open. It introduced online education system without providing any facility to students. This has caused great loss to the nation. 
