قصہ چار مبینہ افیمچیوں کا

پورانا واقعہ ہے کہ چار افیمچی ایک صحرا سے گزر رہے تھے۔ دھوپ کڑاکے کی تھی، تپش سے سامنے کا منظر بےانتہا دھندلا ہوگیا تھا۔ اتنے میں انھیں دور ایک مسجد نظر آئی۔

"یار آیاز بابا، وہ دیکھو، وہ دیکھو، بچاری مسجد، کتنی دھوپ میں کھڑی ہے۔ مجھے افسوس ہورہا ہے"، روتی ہوئی آواز میں زید نے بولا۔ زید عمر میں سب سے بڑا تھا اور نشے کا استعمال بھی سب سے زیادہ کرتا تھا۔ ایک شاعر کا نام بار بار لیتا اور اشعار اس طرح پڑھتا، مانند سکند اعظم کی فوج کا سپاہ سالار ہو۔

"ہاں چچا زید،تو صحیح کہا رہا ہے، چل یار کچھ کرتے ہیں"، عمران نے زید سے کہا۔ عمران سے سارے دوست ڈرتے تھے۔ اس کے ہاتھ میں ہروقت بلا رہتا تھا، اور اگر اس کی سٹی گم جائے تو وہ بلا کسی کو بھی مار دیتا تھا۔ لیکن صحرا کی دھوپ نے اس کو نڈھال کردیا تھا۔ اب وہ بلے کو سر پر رکھتا، جو سائے کا کام کرتا تھا۔

چوتھے افیمچی کو سب نوری بابا کہتے تھے۔ معلوم نہیں کیوں، شکل سے انتہائی شاطر طبعیت کا مالک تھا اور کم گو بھی۔ پہلی نظر میں افیمچی ہونے کا گمان بھی محال تھا۔ لمبا قد اور صاف چہرہ مانو ابھی کشمیر کی کسی وادی سے آیا ہو۔ چہرے پر گرمی اور تپش کے کوئی اثرات نظر نہیں آتے تھے۔

چاروں افیمچیوں نے اپنا رُخ مسجد کی طرف کیا اور اس طرف چل پڑے۔ مسجد کے پاس پہنچے تو سب اس خیال میں پڑگئے کہ اب اس مسجد کو دھوپ سے کیسے بچائیں۔ آپس میں پارلیمانی مشاورت شروع ہوئی، پھر گالی گلوچ، اس کے بعد بات ہاتھا پائی تک جاپہنچی۔

"ہم سورج کو آخری وارننگ (warning) دے رہے ہیں، اس زمین سے ہٹ جاو، میں کہتا ہوں اس زمین سے ہٹ جا، ورنہ اپنے انجام کیلیے تیار رہ"، زید نے بے انتہا غصے سے سورج کی طرف دیکھتے ہوئے کہا۔ اس کی ٹوپی بھی سر سے گرگئی۔

"آخری وارننگ ہے، ورنہ اپنے شاہینوں کو بھیجتا ہوں تیرے پاس"، ٹوپی اٹھاتے ہوئے، زید زور سے بولا۔

"ابے سورج ۹۰ منٹ میں ہٹ جا! صرف ۹۰ منٹ! میرے ایک بلے سے دو سورج آوٹ ہوجاتے ہیں۔ تُو تو صرف لیمو جتنا ہے۔ میرا بلا دیکھ اور اپنا قدر۔"، عمران نے بلا سورج کے برابر رکھتے ہوئے کہا۔

"تیرے بلے کا مقابلہ میرا شاہین کرے گا"، زید نے مسکین آیاز کی طرف آشارہ کرتے ہوئے کہا۔

"تیرا شاہین؟!، یہ تو میرا سونامی ہے"، عمران بلا ہلاتے ہوئے بولا۔

"دیکھو عمران، ہم آپ کو بھی وارننگ دے رہے ہیں، ان شاہینوں کو آیندہ سونامی مت کہنا، ہم تمھیں بھی نیست و نابود کردیں گے"، زید نے یہ جملہ ایک سانس ہی میں بولا۔

"یہ میرا سونامی ہے!!!!"، عمران نے بولتے ہوئے بلا زید کی طرف دے مارا، لیکن زید نے جلدی سے بائیں جانب چھلانگ مار لی۔ بلا لگا بھی تو مسکین آیاز کی دائیں ٹانگ پر جو پہلے سے خراب تھی۔

آیاز درد کی شدد سے چیخ پڑا۔ بچارا بہت معصوم تھا۔ تھوڑی سی افیم کے لیے عمران اور زید کی لڑائی میں چوٹ کھاتا۔ زید آیاز کو ایک جنگلی پرندے سے تشبیہ دیتا، جبکہ عمران آیار کو قاتل اور سمندری عذاب یعنی سونامی سے ملاتا۔ حقیقت یہ تھی کہ آیاز افیم کھا کھا کر اتنا کمزور ہوگیا تھا کہ وہ باآسانی فریب کھا جاتا۔ اور فریب کھانے کے سوا اس کے پاس تھا کیا؟ صرف افیم، اور افیم کے مالک بھی زید، عمران اور نوری بابا تھے۔ اس غریب کی کیا اوقات کہ خود افیم خرید کر چکھ سکے۔ بچارے آیاز پر بہت افسوس ہوتا تھا، افیم نہ ہونے کو وجہ سے خودسوزی بھی کرتا اور کبھی کبھی خودکُشی کی کوشش بھی، لیکن اس کی خودکُشی کی کوشش کو عمران اور زید کی افیم ناکام بنادیتی۔ فارسی کی مشہور کہاوت ہے، چہل سال عمرِ عزیزت گزشت، لیکن مزاجِ طفلی از حال طفلی نگشت' (یعنی کہ زندگی کہ چالیس سال تو گزر گئے لیکن وہ پرانی بچوں والی عادت نہیں گئی)۔ آیاز افیم کھانے کا عادی ہوچکا تھا، یہ عادت چہل ہزار سال میں بھی چلی جائے تو کمال ہوگا۔

بہرحال، زید و عمران آیاز کی طرف بھاگے اور اسے دلاسا دینے لگے۔ حسبِ معمول آیاز نے رونا ڈھونا بند کردیااور خوش ہوگیا۔ چلو جھوٹا دلاسا ہی صحیح!!

یہ سارا کھیل نوری بابا دور سے بیٹھا دیکھ رہا تھا۔ معلوم نہیں اس کو افیم کی عادت کس نے لگا دی، یہ بھی ہوسکتا ہے کہ ساروں کو افیم کی عادت اس ہی نے لگائی ہو۔ جب افیمچیوں کے جذبات کچھ ٹھنڈے ہوئے، تو پھر نوری بابا کھڑا ہوا۔

"بھائیوں، ہم یہاں مسجد سے دھوپ ہٹانے کے لیے آئے تھے، لیکن تم لوگ تو آپس میں ہی لڑپڑے"، یہ جلمہ نوری بابا کا تکیہ کلام تھا، کہا جاتا ہے کہ تین نسلوں سے یہ جملہ معمولی معمولی رّد و بدل کے ساتھ ایسے ہی ادا کیا جارہا ہے۔

"اب اس فقیر کی بھی سنو"، اُس نے سنجیدگی کے ساتھ کہا۔ "عمران صحیح کہتا ہے، یہ دھوپ ۹۰ منٹ میں ہٹ سکتی ہے۔ ابھی ایک بج رہا ہے، لیکن ڈھائی بجے تک یہ مسئلہ حل ہوسکتا ہے، ہمیں صرف اس مسجد کو دھکا دینا ہے، اور یہ مسجد سائے میں چلی جائے گی۔ وہ دیکھو! وہاں ایک درخت ہے"، نوری بابا نے درخت کی طرف اشارہ کرتے ہوئے بولا۔

"ہاں نوری! تیرا خیال بہت اچھا ہے۔ ہم سب مل کر اس مسجد کو دھکا لگاتے ہیں تاکہ یہ مسجد درخت کے نیچے آجائے"، عمران نے زید کی طرف دیکھتے ہوئے بولا۔

"صحیح ہے بھائیوں، میں درخت کے پاس جاتا ہوں، اور جیسے جیسے مسجد درخت کے قریب آتی رہے گی، میں تم کو بتاتا رہوں گا"، یہ کہتے ہوئے نوری بابا درخت کے سائے میں جابیٹھا، جبکہ عمران، زید اور آیاز نے دھکا دینا شروع کردیا۔

"زور لگا کر عالٰی شاہ، زور لگا کر عالٰی شاہ، زور لگا کر عالٰی شاہ"، نوری بابا نعرے لگانے لگا۔

جیسے جیسے سورج نیچے ہوتا گیا، درخت کا سایہ لمبا ہوتا چلا گیا، مانو جیسے مسجد دھکے کی وجہ سے سائے میں جارہی ہو۔ ایک گھنٹا گزرا، پھر دو گھنٹے، پھر جب چار بجے تو آیاز بول پڑا، "یہ مسجد سائے میں کب آئے گی؟"

اس پر زید نے جواباً کہا، "احمق! تو میرا شاہین ہے، تیرے سامنے جہاں اور بھی ہیں۔ صرف دو تین گھنٹے دھکا لگانے میں تیری جان نکل گئی؟"۔ پھر فرمایا، "میں نوری کے پاس جارہا ہوں، اس کا حال معلوم کرنے، ابھی واپس آتا ہوں۔" یہ کہتے ہوئے وہ چل نکلا۔

ابھی آدھا گھنٹا بھی نہ گزرا ہوگا کہ عمران بول پڑا، "میں زید کو دیکھ کر آتا ہوں، دروغ گو ہے!" اس پر آیاز نے بولا، "عمران کچھ پانی لیتے آنا، میرا پانی ختم ہوگیا ہے۔" عمران نے گھورتے ہوئے دیکھا اور بولا، "پانی ختم ہو گیا ہے؟ احمق، تم تو سونامی ہو، تم تو خود ہی پانی ہو، پانی پانی کرگئی مجھ کو تیری یہ بات۔"، یہ جملہ کہتا ہوا عمران بھی نوری بابا کے پاس چلا گیا۔

اب شاید چھ بج چکے تھے اور اندھیرا ہونے کو تھا۔ مسجد خود بخود سائے میں آگئی تھی۔ آیاز کی حالت ایسی ہوگئی تھی، جیسے وہ چند لمحوں میں مر جائے گا، لیکن پھر نوری بابا نے آیاز کو کچھ پانی دے دیا اور اسکی جان میں جان آئی۔ اس کامیابی پر عمران اور زید ایسے خوش ہورہے تھے جیسے یہ ان ہی کی کاوش کا نتیجہ ہو، حالا کہ وہ تو دوگھنٹے بعد ہی بھاگ نکلے تھے۔ منزل انھیں ملی جو شریک سفر نہ تھے۔

"شاباش میرے شاہین"، "شاباش میرے سونامی"، کے نعرے آیاز کو عطا کئے جارہے تھے۔ نوری بابا، حسبِ معمول پھر تماشہ دیکھنے لگا، اور قریب موجود نخلستان میں چلا گیا۔ جب آیاز دھکا دے رہا تھا، تو زید اور عمران اس ہی نخلستان میں آرام کررہے تھے۔ معلوم نہیں دماغ میں نوری کیا سوچ رہا ہو۔ شاید وہ یہ سوچ رہا ہو کہ تاریک زمین پر تاریکی سے بننے والے سائے اور حقیقی سائے میں کیا فرق ہوتا ہے۔ جب کوئی چیز تاریکی کی وجہ سے اندھیرے میں چلی جائے پھر وہ روشنی فراہم نہیں کرسکتی۔ اندھیری زمین پر ہر چیز اندھیری ہوتی ہے، تاریکی میں روشنی کُجا حکمت کُجا!

لیکن کیا نوری یہ سب کچھ سوچ سکتا ہے؟ وہ تو افیمچی ہے؟ کیا واقعی وہ افیم چہ ہے؟! میرے خیال میں واحد افیمچی آیاز ہے، باقی صرف افیمچی ہونے کا بہانہ کررہے ہیں۔۔۔

حواشی
>نوری بابا کا استعارہ جنرل ضیاء اور تمام عوامی حکومتوں پر قبضہ کرنے والے جنرلوں کے لیے استعمال کیا گیا ہے۔
>آیاز پاکستان کے عوام ہے۔
>مسجد کا استعارہ کوہستان کے اس فتویٰ کے لیے ہے۔

Status of Education in Pakistan — Part II

After analysing the ASER report, we now turn toward the inbuilt intoxication present in Pakistan's curriculum.

We are living in the 21st century, but still abhor pluralism.

Firstly, what is pluralism? Pluralism means that people from different faiths, ideologies, thoughts, and opinions should be allowed to coexist and respectfully debate their ideas. Everyone's opinion should be measured on logical grounds rather than tagging their heterodox opinion as infidelity or traitorous. When a society loses its pluralistic character, it becomes close and isolated. Conspiracy theories overwhelm the mind of the commoners and schizophrenia increases exponentially. Everyone creates his or her demigods, some consider Taliban as the saviour while other consider poets, generals, or cricketers to be the last saviours of Pakistan. Such an attitude allows the development of mythos which might provide evanescent happiness, but in the long run, this further isolates the society from the global brotherhood. 

Pluralism is being demeaned in a variety of  ways in Pakistan. One aspects of this the prevalent discriminate learning found in textbooks. For example, Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy commented on an Urdu alphabet book as below:

"The education imparted to Pakistani children is flawed and encourages extremism, intolerance and ignorance"

He showed an Urdu alphabet which he picked from a shop in Rawalpindi: alif for Allah; bay for bandook (gun); tay for takrao (collision, shown by a plane crashing into the Twin Towers); jeem for jihad; kay for khanjar (dagger); and hay for hijab (scarf)."

Isn't this discriminatory? There are hundred of universal beautiful words for each Urdu alphabet. Most of the words included are either symbols of intolerance or have direct relationship with Islamic ideas. For example, a more universal word for the latter bay could be Bahi (brother), for tay, it could be Tasveer (picture), Jahan (world) might be a more appropriate word for jeem. The word khanjatr isn't just barbaric; it also belittles the rhythmic flows and ebbs of the Urdu Language.

The psychology developed at an early age always remains with the child for ever. The first word that the child recalls for bay in most cases will be bandook. The only step which remains in converting this child into a zealot is to connect these words with an extremist ideology. Secondly, including words from Islamic domain is a discriminatory attitude towards the different minorities in Pakistan. Urdu alphabet books shouldn't be the way to bring people toward an specific ideology. 

When a state controls ideological literature, nothing can stop it in turning into a monistic state with an attitude of nihilism towards all minorities. AIML (All India Muslim league) vehemently criticised the Wardha Scheme which congress implemented after winning the 1937 elections. There primary criticism was that Muslim children are being forced into adopting an Hindu educational scheme. This scheme also had subtle ideological overtones, e.g. praising M.K Gandhi's photo and singing Vanda Mataram. If AIML was correct then, how is state sponsored ideological literature correct today?

An in-depth report on Pakistani curriculum is compiled by the Dr. Nayyer and Ahmed Salim from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad. It's a 148 pages report titled "The Subtle Subversion" . It's divided into 11 chapters and includes literally hundreds of inaccuracies, prejudice, and elements of state sponsored intoxication.  

Anti-Hinduism has unfortunately become a part of Pakistani pathological techniques. Hate literature is being infused into the pre-mature minds. The authors have collected many citations from textbook literature:

"Hindu has always been an enemy of Islam." 

"The religion of the Hindus did not teach them good things -- Hindus did not respect women..." 

"Hindus worship in temples which are very narrow and dark places, where they worship idols. Only one  person can enter the temple at a time. In our mosques, on the other hand, all Muslims can say their prayers together." 

"Muslim children of India wear shalwar kameez or shirt and pajama and Hindu children wear Dhoti also." 

"Hindu pundits were jealous of Al Beruni. Since they could not compete against Al Beruni in knowledge, they started calling him a magician." 

"The Hindus who have always been opportunists cooperated with the English." 

"Hindus declared the Congress rule as the Hindu rule, and started to unleash terror on Muslims."

and so on.

The author also commented that post-partition history books had no such comments whatsoever. Book written after partition didn't consider Maohenjodaro as a Hindu Civilization. They even praised M.K. Gandhi and tried to bridge the gap between the people of the subcontinent. 

Belittling pluralism in the SAARC region will have devastating consequences for Pakistan's society as well as economy. A child who is an output of such an educational system will always hate Hindus, and dialogue between then is a near impossibility. Secondly, it should recognized that India is a major economic power, with a GDP(PPP) of $4.46 trillion, GDP growth of 7.8%. It is a market of 1.3 billion consumers. Soon or later Pakistan has to move towards India for economic stability. Demeaning Hindus as monsters only make this path difficult to accomplish. 

It should also be remembered that major Hindu settlements reside in interior Sindh. They are also equal citizens of Pakistan. What will they feel when such literature is forced on them? Jinnah called himself the 'protector general' of the minorities. Does such a syllabus befit the framework of the founding father?

Discussion on 'The Subtle Subversion' will continue

Status of Education in Pakistan — Part I

The apathy towards educational decadence by the Pakistan's media is unbelievable. Thousands of hours are wasted on political hullabaloo, talk show crackle, enthralling meaningless breaking-news, and media trial of political parties in the country. These theatre shows have turn from entertainment shows to nuisance, belittling the intellectual capacity of the Pakistani people. TV channels have never run a 24/7 educational marathon, they have never discussed the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), they never talk about how the minds of the younger generation are being brainwashed through the educational system.

Map showing girls (age 6-16) out of school
in Pakistan. Source: ASER

The plight of education is much more horrible compared to the lose due to monetary corruption. Money can always be re-accumulated, but there is no alternative for human capital. A child brainwashed due to concocted syllabus becomes bewildered in the modern world. He can neither think for himself nor for others. Therefore, it is very important to discuss this saddening situation.

Four months back, a detailed report was published on the status of education in Pakistan. The report was title ASER. The statistics collected by the team are embarrassing, and speak out for revolutionary steps in the educational sector. An excellent analysis of the report was done by Zubeida Mustafa, an eminent Pakistani journalist. I'm quoting the following figures from her op Ed:

"52.6 per cent of children completing the primary (Grade 5) level are not able to read simple Grade 2 stories in Urdu or their mother tongue."

"62.7 per cent of children completing primary are not able to do simple three-digit division."

"50 per cent of the students drop out during the transition from the primary to secondary level." 

"80 per cent of the children aged five to 16 years enrol in school (of them only a third are girls) but nearly a quarter of them go to private schools."

"When the ASER teams visited schools, on an average 17 per cent of the teachers in the government institutions were absent when the figure for the private sector was 11 per cent."

Other important figures are:

"Around 94 per cent of grade three students in Sindh cannot read sentences in English while 62% cannot read Urdu or Sindhi sentences after being taught in grade two." 

"In FATA, 31.8% of 5-16 years students were found to be able to do simple 3 digit subtraction sums." 

"In Balochistan, the enrolment rate for girls is 26.3%."

The figures speaks for themselves. The status of girl education is much more distressing. Around 12-15% of girls between the age of 6 and 16 are out of school in Sindh and Balochistan while the figures in KPK and Punjab is between 9% to 11%. Such a low rate of woman education means that, the society still has a strong patriarchal character and insists on keeping woman uneducated in the 21st century.  

ASER team has done a tremendous job in collecting district wise data of all provinces including AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan. The team surveyed 84 rural districts and 3 urban districts, covering 2,502 villages, 97 urban blocks, 49,793 households and 146,874 children. This comprehensive and detailed research includes statistics about school enrolment, pre-schooling and learning levels in Urdu, Arithmetic, and English, mother literacy and paid tuitions.

Punjab has a better educational standard compared to other provinces. It has the lowest percentage of out of school children in Pakistan; around 51% to 60% students attend pre-schooling; fewer percentage of girls are out of school compared to Sindh and Balochistan.

A separate analysis of Urban districts has also been done. The status of education in urban centres is far better when compared to the statistics acquired from rural areas of Pakistan. Near to hundred percent students of class 7 can read Urdu stories and English stories in Lahore and Karachi, while the figure in Peshawar for reading Urdu stories and English sentences are 68.8% and 85.9% respectively. Mothers’ literacy in rural areas persists at 34.5% compared to 32.3% in 2010 whilst for urban mothers this is 61%(Peshawar) 77% (Lahore) and 82% (Karachi).

The good news is that the urban districts have a much better educational statistics compared to rural Pakistan. A higher mother literacy rate in cities accelerates child enrolment rate, as an educated mother wouldn't like her child to be illiterate. Fostering a higher mothers' literacy rate in rural districts might increase the standard of education there. 

Secondly, the feudal culture present in rural Pakistan never allows education to prosper. For them educating young boys and girls means a lose of power. An educated person might question about the infinite power a feudal has over his people. A feudal would never want the children of the farmer to compete with his own children.

Talks and chatter for a prosperous Pakistan with such a state of education is nothing more than day dreaming. A poor human resource, non-creative intellect, and prisoned minds can never bring a change. 

Drastic actions are need to overturn this situation. But, unfortunately, the government has allocated a pity 47.8 billion rupees for education compared to 545 billion for defence expenditure.

Book Review: Europe ka Urooj (The Rise of Europe)

Book Name: Europe ka Urooj
Author: Dr. Mubarak Ali
Publisher: Fiction House
Pages: 198
Price: 120 rupees

Dr. Mubarak Ali is a RUHR PhD in history. He is an eminent Pakistani historian, and has written 31 books on the subject of sub-continental history, history of civilization, Mughal era, and European history. Dr. Ali has a peculiar opinion on the history of Pakistan. He has brought history into the hands of the common men. All his books related to Pakistan are a struggle to cleanse the historical errors deliberately made by dictators, clerics, and politicians to turn Pakistan into an idealogical state which might allow an specific group of people to prosper.

In this book, 'Europe ka Urooj' (The Rise of Europe), Dr. Mubarak Ali is trying to present two theses pertaining to the emergence of Europe as a bastion of intellectual, philosophical, and colonial power.

Firstly, Mubarak Ali consistently maintain throughout his book that societies never remain static. The process of change is unstoppable, making progress inevitable. The author's opinion is similar to that of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhaeur who said, "Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal."

Secondly, Mubarak Ali maintains that the European rise is not due to the fact that Europeans are super-human beings, but it is the historical dialectical process which lead to the rise of Europe. This thesis is presented unequivocally throughout the book. The author writes about the clash of interests between the feudal and the farmers, between the church and the common man, between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity, between Catholicism and Protestantism, between the capitalist and the labour, and between the colonies and the colonists. These dialectics allowed the European world to come up with new syntheses allowing them to make logical and sensible decision about their future.

The book is divided into nine parts. Each parts deals with an specific event in European history that has made defining contributions, for example Renaissance (14th to 17th century), Reformation (16th century), French Revolution (1787-1799), Enlightenment (18th century), and the Industrial Revolution (1750-1850). The book starts with a review on the reasons for the rise of Europe as presented by different world historians. These reasons are divided into 'Europe centric' and 'non-Europe centric' opinions on history. A 'Europe centric' historian tries to find the reasons of European progress inside Europe. On the other hand, a 'non Europe centric' historian also brings into consideration the effects of the colonial exploitation. 

The author then moves on to discuss the impact of Christianity, and how the clergy tried to suppress individual freedom. The church became the source of exploitation in the Middle Ages. The nexus between the church, feudal, and kings tried to suppress all opinions that the church considered apocryphal. Mubarak Ali writes:

"When the church accumulated a large sum of money, got power, and there was no one to challenge its authority, this allowed corruption to prosper. The situation became more worse in the Middle Ages, the Abbey turned into a centre of corruption." (pg. 53)

Similar were the exploitation by the feudal lords. There were many farmer revolutions, but all ended in failure. The feudal class was very powerful during the middle age and more than a hundred thousand farmers died during these revolutions. Some of the most important farmer revolutions are remembered by its leader's name, e.g. Wayt Tyler, John Ball, John Wychiff, Lollard, Jack Cade, and John Huss. All these men gave their life fighting for the cause of the farmer class. Unfortunately, as Mubarak Ali writes, they were brutally suppressed:

"Power was in the hands of the rulers, hence they used the power of 'rules and regulations' to tag these people as rebelling again the society and religion. These rebels were given exemplary punishments." (pg. 80)

After this the author moves on to present an apt description of all the important eras from Renaissance to Enlightening. The invention of printing press (1452), Luther's 95 theses (1522), rise of colonialism, going to Greek literature ad fontes, French Revolution (1787-99), etc. The author wonderfully connects all such events into a comprehensible whole, making the book a great read.

Europe ka Urooj  signifies the fact that the progress in the European world has not come about merely as an accident. It was an evolution which took centuries. When religious hegemonies become coercive and unjust, the common man started to revolt its power. In the beginning, the hegemony won the battle as it had accumulated power over a period of centuries. It was this coercion that allowed liberalism to take roots. Mubarak Ali writes:

"It was in this environment [of coercion] that liberalism came into existence. It laid emphasis on human freedom. Man isn't  answerable in front of anyone for his religious believes. The state has no right to examine or investigate anyone." (pg. 136) 

Freedom is a fundamental prerequisite for intellectual thinking. It was after the collapse of the religious and feudal hegemony that Europeans moved toward reading the Greek classics. This was the beginning of humanism which allowed man to think in an independent fashion. This independent thought process is at the crux of the progress Europe had experienced after Renaissance.

Although the book provides great insights into European history, but the author only consulted secondary sources of history. All references which Dr. Ali advert are from the post-twentieth century literature. Quoting references from primary sources could had ameliorated the text. 

The literary quality of the text was very good. Historical dates weren't sporadic; the bifurcation of chapter was accordingly done reducing ambiguity in style. There was no emotional overtone that is, unfortunately, a basic ingredient of Pakistani history books. The author provided rational arguments to support every point he made.

Talking about engineering

Three views from Europe

Some two thousand years ago, the Greek had contradictory opinions on 'practical production' (a term similar to modern engineering). Some Greeks commented that practical production is the work of foreigners and of slaves, i.e. a work below the standards of a normal Greek. On the other hand, philosophers like Plato remarked engineering as the "power which save cities from destruction", while Paracelsus interpreted engineering as a cooperation with God in completing the work of the Universe.

***

Ninety years ago, Herbert Hoover was on a journey from London to United States. Hoover was making this journey to convince Oxford and Cambridge to consider engineering an education on par with social sciences. 

Herbert Hoover shares an interesting tale about his chat with a lady, having an evanescent beauty, while they both were travelling back to New York. The two chatted on philosophy, politics, art, industry, history, et cetera.

When they arrived at the New York harbour, the lady asked Hoover about his profession:

"I'm an engineer", replied Hoover.

"Why! I thought you were a gentleman", the lady involuntary remarked.

***

In today's world engineering is, as Hardy Cross states, "the glory of adaptation of science to human needs". Ramo's comment on engineering is much more prophetic. He says," Technology will be the key factor in the future nature of society and that engineering pervades the government, the military, the home, the life of every individual."

These opinions on engineering tell about three different times in European history. Emphasis on the importance of engineering is sporadic in the European and American peninsulas. United States recognized the importance of engineering long before the British. The Europeans were busy studying literature and classics produced during the Renaissance and Romanticism eras.

Engineering in Pakistan

Now let's come to Pakistan. Why hasn't engineering developed on the same lines as that in Europe and United States?

Firstly, Pakistani society hasn't benefited from the European intellectual projects, e.g. Renaissance and French Revolution. Societal, feudal, traditional, and cultural restrictions encapsulate and hinder in the natural development of thoughts. There are multiple layers of ethos and taboos which remain unquestioned. It is a near miracle to develop an inquisitive mind in such an atmosphere. Many analogies can be made between the modern day feudal society in Pakistan and that of Europe. Europe got rid of feudalism in the 18th century, while we have a vibrant feudal class even today. 

Secondly, there are also many economical reasons for the underdevelopment of engineering. In Pakistan — like in any other society — it is economy which dictates professional priorities. The former generation of Pakistanis mostly focused on government jobs as it guaranteed a secure and fix supply of monthly income. Entrepreneurship was never popularised, hence student chose professions which were historically 'popular' in Pakistan, i.e. engineering and medicine. It was assumed that a doctor will always have patients while construction and development is impossible without an engineer. These assumption were based on strong historical facts, hence the rational decision was to opt one of these two disciplines. This is the point where this assumption starts to break down.

According to simple economics, when there is large supply of a product and a short demand, the product starts to lose its value. The assumption that engineering and medicine are the most secure professions generates a thrust to produce more engineers and doctor. This, henceforth, decreases the value of engineers and doctor. Thanks to degraded health conditions in Pakistan, doctors always have a large supply of patients. This balanced their economy. 

On the other hand, due to low economic growth, two phases of war (1980-1990 and 2001- ongoing), low FDI (foreign direct investment), corruption, reduced PSDP (public sector development program) funds to feed military, lack of security, and deteriorating infrastructure, making progress in Pakistan was like making castles in Spain. As the supply of engineers is continuously increasing, the demand is reducing reciprocally resulting in the devaluation of engineering in Pakistan. 

A linear increase in engineering demand only allows capitalism to prosper. In the last fifteen to twenty years a plethora of new engineering schools have come on the screen. These schools try to maximize there profits in the name of providing 'quality' education. In short, this is a capitalistic swindle.

Advertisements of such engineering schools can be compared with mobile phone advertisements. Just like companies have ISO certifications, these universities have W, X, Z certifications, accreditation, charters, and a dozen of abstruse symbols which make these advertisements colourful and attractive. 

A major point of distinction is that ISO is an international measure, while university certification is done by a Pakistani panel. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, it is difficult to cancel out the personal biases of the panel, corruption, and external forces that pressurize such panels doing their job. As a result, a reliable examination never takes place.

Similar to a mobile phone billboards, these institutes try to jot down their 'special feature' in a tabular form. Features such as, for example, centrally air-conditioned building; secretive scholarship funds; number of computers installed; and purpose made architecture. Isn't this phenomenon just like mobile advertisements highlighting an extra torch, Bluetooth connectivity, and a MP3 player?

Amazingly, they don't write down their fee structure just like mobile companies don't mention their prices. This is again a capitalistic decision, because a consumer will try to get the best mobile phone for the lowest price.

In future - following mobile companies - these capitalistic institutes might sell admission tickets in concerts. This might be an excellent publicity campaign, attracting thousands of new customers.

Solving this capitalistic swindle

In my view, there are four ways to solve this problem:

Firstly, there should a greater emphasis on humanities. There are many fields completely missing, e.g. anthropology, social linguistics, art history, ancient South Asian languages. These fields will allow in discovering the sub-continental history, culture and art. It will also develop thousands of new jobs and research endeavours which will help in emancipating human intellect. As students will opt for these jobs, there will be a decrease in the demand of engineers. This will result in reducing profits of all capitalistic educational ventures, and the most greediest capitalist won't be able to survive. 

Secondly, parents should allow children to independently choose their fields. Presently, we are passing through a period in which students have gain a degree of freedom over the generation before them. The urge for a government job has reduced, and entrepreneurship is being appreciated. This will take time to develop.  A 6% growth rate might accelerate entrepreneur activities in Pakistan.

Thirdly, only international panels should be allowed to grade these engineering schools. These accreditations would be more reliable and comparable with the modern world. 

Lastly, all capital making ventures should be converted into syndicates through nationalization of higher education. Apparently, this might seem as a move towards socialism and centralized planning, but this step will help in producing engineers in accordance with the national needs. Such an action isn't a peculiarity in history. Last year, president Obama funded the American Insurance Corporation. Apparently, it was against the spirit of a free-market economy, but at the end of the day, funding AIG led United States out of the financial meltdown. Temporary nationalization will also have such an effect on higher education.

Book Review: Persian Idioms and Adages

Book Name: Farsi Zarb-ul-amsaal aur Khawatain

Compiler: Muzzamil Ahmed

Publisher: Ferozsons

Pages: 240

Price: 100 rupees 

Idioms and adages summarize the collective human conciousness of a culture, nation, cult or a race. Idioms hide behind themselves a history of events. Sometimes they signify accidents. Sometimes, regional adages hold a treasure chest of wisdom in a precise sentence.

In earlier times idioms lived on through oral transmission from one generation to another. Even stories used to be transmitted through this medium. Two pertinent examples are The Adventures of Ameer Hamza and The 1001 Arabian Nights. Both of these books were regional oral traditions, but over generations they have become bed-time stories for children and past-time stories for teenagers and adults. 

Even Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) compiled a book called the 'Book of Wisdom' which is now a part of the Bible. The book contain a large collections of Adages for the human race.

Thinking on this thought, Muzzamil Ahmed has done an excellent job in compiling approx. 1,500 Persian idioms with urdu translations in a book form. The purpose of this book, as Muzzamil states, is to allow the common reader to understand Persian idioms which have become common in our daily life. 

I found that most of the idioms were masculine in nature. This signifies the fact that most of these sayings developed in a patriarchal society. Women had a very small role to play in this society. The word Mard (Man) is frequent in many proverbs.

Secondly, religion had a very important role in traditional societies. Words such as Yazdaa (God), Allah (God),  Daroog (vice), NAik (virtue), Yousuf (Prophet John (peace be upon him)), Mosa (Prophet Moses (peace be upon him)), et cetera are scattered all over the book.

Here are some idioms from the book:

Transliteration: Bar Zaban Tasbhi wa dar dil ghoo khar

Translation: God's name on the tongue, while the heart filled with thoughts of cow and donkey

Transliteration: Dar Hamaa Kar Mashwaray Bayad

Translation: Taking Advice is  necessary in every work

Transliteration: Ta kaay Ahmaq baqi ast andar Jahaa'n

Mard-e-Aqel  kay Shayad Motaj-e-Noon

Translation: Until the fool is alive, the clever will never sleep hungry

Transliteration: Zay Sad teer Ayad yakay bar Neshaan

Translation: A single arrow from a hundred hits the target

Transliteration: Saiyaad na har baar shikaar baburo

Translation: A hunter doesn't always find a prey

Notes on Economy — Part IV

Link to Part III

Idea of Profit

Profit is one of the most debatable ideas in economy. People such as Karl Marx, Bernard Shaw, and Jawaharlal Nehru all opposed the concept of profit making. Prime minister Nehru is reported to have said to Tata, "Never talk to me about the word profit; it is a dirty word.". Hence, we can deduce that, profit making has different meanings in different economic models.

In a price-coordinated economic system (capitalism), profit acts as an 'incentive to creativity'. In an economic system without profit, there is no need of innovation. This means that the standard of living for any individual remains the same — perhaps, it might decrease. 

In socialism 'profit' is considered as an exploitation of the labour. A capitalist can only earn profit if he forces his labour to produce more than the intrinsic value of the product. For example, if the manufacturing cost of a product is 10 rupees, and the capitalist pays only the labour cost for producing this product. The end result would be that the capitalist won't earn any revenue. This is because, the labour value must equal the production cost in a socialist system. The capitalist can only earn a profit, if he forces his labour to produce products within the intrinsic. Hence, while he pays the labour only 8 rupees. The excess 2 rupees in called the capitalist profit or the exploitation of labour.

Nehru tried to develop Indian economy in a socialist framework. There is was profit — hence, no incentives — in such an economy. Sowell gives an apt example of an India car manufacturer 'Hindustani Motors' (HM). HM manufactured a car called 'Ambassador'. This car was a total replica of the 1954 model British car named Morris Oxford. The design remained the same for the next 25 years, with no technological innovations — as innovations don't convert into profits in a socialist economy. Therefore, the quality of Ambassador car remain the same as it was 25 years ago. Furthermore, people had to wait for months to buy a new car. The Indian government had disallowed the import of new cars from outside. As a result, many Indians couldn't own a personal car, and those who had one, the car was out-dated and less efficient. It was expensive to afford an Ambassador as there were no innovations for increasing engine efficiency and mileage per litre petrol.

In should be noted that by excluding profits, socialist economies add in systematic inefficiency. On the ither hand, capitalist economies trade off profit for removing systematic inefficiencies. At the end of the day, capitalist economies allow standard of living to increase.

It is this idea of profit which allowed Western Europe and United States to continuously increase product efficiency. Take the examples of iPhone, iPods and iPad. Apple launched two different versions of iPhone in the same year, while the new iPad 3 was launched in less than an year time. iPods have evolved from simple MP3 players into devices which are equivalent to smartphone and tablet.  All these innovations occurred in a short span of 6 years. Compare this with the development of the Ambassador Car by HM. There was no innovation for 25 years, as the manufactures found no profit in increasing efficiency. 

To conclude, profit plays an integral role in maximizing efficiency in a price-coordinated economy.