Five Solutions Searching For a Problem.

DEAR READERS AND MR. NAJAM,

SALAM.

WELL I WAS IMPRESSED BY THE QUALITY OF THE AETICLE FOR IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I EXPECTED FROM MR. NAJAM IF HE IS THE SAME GUY WHO AS I REMEMBER COMING AS HOST IN SOME PTV QUIZ SHOWS.

I`VE ALWAYS ADMIRED U FOR UR COURAGE AND WAY OF THINKING,THE REALISTIC APPROACH.

I`VE BEEN THINKING ON THE PROBLEMS OF PAKISTAN SINCE LONG AND IN FACT I HAVE STARTED TO WRITE OUT A GRAND SCHEME OF PROGARMMES AND REFORMS WHICH I THINK MUST FOR OUR PROBLEMS.I`VE ALSO BEEN LOOKIN FOR THE WAYS HOW TO IMPLEMENT THESE THEORETICAL IDEAS IN THE REAL PAKISTAN.I TRIED TO GET MY MESSAGE TO THE EARS OF INFLUENTIALS BUT IN VAIN.STILL I`M NOT LOSING HOPE FOR I DIDNT HAD MUCH FOR THE INFLUENTIALS,HOWEVER I RELY MORE ON THE FREE INTELECTS WHO ARE NOT CORUPTED BY POWER.

WHENEVER MEDITATING IN THE SOLITUDE OF HIRA,IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER OF MY BREAST,I ALWAYS HEAR THE VOICE OF THE UNSEEN,IQRA.

I AM NOWADAYS TRYING TO CARVE OUT A PROGRAMME TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION STANDARDS WHICH COULD WORK NOT IN THEORY BUT IN THE REAL PAKISTAN.SO ON THIS FORUM I WOULD REQUEST THE SERIOUS MINDED PEOPLE WITH A REALISTIC APPROACH TO RECONSTRUCT A NEW SYLLABUS FROM KINDERGARTEN TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION.THIS MUST BE A COMBINATION MADRASAH URDU AND ENGLISH SYSTEMS.

TO SUM UP I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I`LL BE OPEN TO ALL COMMENTS AND SUGGESTION FROM ANY ONE IF THEY ARE CONSTRUCTIVE.

TO ADIL I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I`LL BE GLAD IF U CAN CONTACT ME FOR U CAN BE A GREAT HELP TO ME IN THIS PROJECT.AND ALSO THAT U HAVE URSELF POINTED OUT THE SOLUTION IN UR ARTICLE SO LETS GO FOR IT,U BRING SOME BRICKS AND I`LL BRING SOME AND LETS RECONSTRUCT THE WALLS BEFORE THE BASEMENT IS LOST TOO.

TO SOME OF THE READERS WHO ASKS FOR A SECULAR STATE, I`D LIKE TO SAY THAT WHATEVER THE EXAMPLE THEY GIVE I HAVE TO SAY JUST ONE THING THAT I HAVE SEEN THE BEST POSSIBLE STATE IN THE WORLD,WHICH WAS FOUNDED BY THE PROPHET,AND IT WAS NOT A SECULAR STATE BUT AN ISLAMIC STATE. SO SECULARISM IS NOT OUR PROBLEM.

A PAKISTANI

This is an interesting article. However, the author does not mention a very important problem in Pakistan `s domestic and international policy - irrational rivalry with India. Before partition, Congress and Muslim League were rivals. One purpose of partition was to end the rivalry and give separate nations to each party. Moreover, with 800 years of muslim rule, what is left to prove against India ? Yet, this rivalry has become a part of life in Pakistan. In fact, people probably cannot imagine a future without rivalry against India.Even ordinary newspaper articles on education, illiteracy etc. end up with a comparison against India.

This rivalry has had serious socio-economic impact on both India and Pakistan with the maximum effect on Pakistan. It has encouraged a culture of chauvinism to flourish that gets manifested in different ways such as sectrian and ethnic violence. It has also given a convenient excuse for corrupt politicians to loot Pakistan. Moreover, it provokes extreme emotions in India which has led to the rise of BJP. Pakistan is adamantly against having normal relations with India unless the ``core `` issue of Kashmir is resolved. Yet, it is quite obvious that the only peaceful solution is a compromise solution acceptable to Pakistan, India and Kashmiris. How can one start negotiations under abnormal conditions where everything is presented in terms of win and loss ?

The bigggest loss is in the economic sphere. It is amazing that Pakistan imports tea from African countries when it can purchase it from India at a fraction of the cost. Lot of Indian businesses have expressed interest in investing in Pakistan, but they have been turned down by Pakistan. By its geo-strategic location, Pakistan can become the focus of trade and commerce between Central Asia and South Asia. This can make Pakistan rich and immensely benefit muslims in India, as they would be the natural choice for liaison between the two areas. Unfortunately all this has been held back by this unnecessary rivalry against India.

The fact is that both sides went through the violence of partition, but we need to move on. Except for a lunatic fringe, noone wants to reverse partition. Rather most Indians like myself want a reasonable working relationship.

Re Truth.

Your comments are interesting, though irrelevant to this article. Still I cant resist a brief retort. What you say is NOT the assumption of this site. The content of the site while certainly skewed to certain nationalities/geographies, is not at all restricted to them. The structure of the site is obviously not restrictve either. Nor is the credo of the site. If all of Pakistan and all of India and indeed all of South Asia left Chowk, others would come to fill its streets.

Very well written article and elaborated the salient points of the problems confronting our country. I like the last point specially last few lines i.e. ``The problems that Pakistan faces were caused not by the many who are uneducated but by the few who were educated at the best institutions of the world. In fact, the better educated they were the more blows they inflicted on the country.``

How we could overcome this main problem? How come our middle class leadership doesn`t come up to lead the nation? (which of course the real representation of the mass). Who is the main hurdle which does not allow middle and lower class leadership to lead the country? The real need to figuring out the hurdle who has been infatuating the nation since its birth. Any solution, suggestion..?

Your web-site has an implicit assumption - that well-meaning people on both sides of the India-Pak borders would live in peace if they could just be more people-to-people contact without the interference of the respective governments. This is a myth - there is wide spread suspicion at the people level between Hindus & Muslims and this has a direct implications for current India - Pakistan relationships and indeed was the basis for the creation of Pakistan. So while your goals maybe laudable, they are based on assumptions that are true for the rarefied atmosphere of Cambridge, MA but not for the heat and dust of India and Pakistan.

As an individual matter, I STRONGLY believe in an India that treats all citizens fairly, including its minorities. I am very aware that this is far from the reality of India. Having said that, I have no desire for India to make any unilateral gestures to Pakistan to demostrate goodwill. If Pakistan would like to make unilateral gestures, I would accept them with good grace. Otherwise, we are neighbors with a wall between us and we as Indians will build and develop our own house. I have no more interest in the development of Pakistan than I have in the development of Peru. Very nice and interesting but irrelevant to my life.

Who is John Galt?

I am not sure if the proponents of these ``silver bullets`` ever intended them to be cure-alls(apart from maybe the moral/religious solution givers!!). However the problems facing Pakistan are so grave that a start using any of these 5 solutions would make for a welcome beginning.

Drawing an anology with writing a software program, if you get it right the first time with no bugs, you are obviously spending too much time on it the first time round(or you should be looking for some venture capital!!). What the author proposes is the way to go. Start with some little steps and then build on them gradually. But emphasis should be on getting it done, not getting it done first time round using some ``silver bullet``.

P.S: Isn`t a silver-bullet supposedly the only thing that can kill a werewolf ;-) Now that should inspire some thoughts!!

Here in Islamabad no one is now under the illusion that any of the proposed 5 solutions can save us. Even the street corner fruit vendor (theley wala) is aware that the root problem is simply this: criminally incompetent, greedy, self-centered and shameless leaders, who are above accountability.

1. Criminally incompetent: look at the current FCA and loan repayment crisis.

2. Greedy: Less said the better

3. Self-centered: look at the MNA lodges, or the official cars of ordinary military officers, and you`ll be convinced that they are all oblivious of the reality on the ground.

4. Shameless: At a time when the country is 4 weeks away from formal bankruptcy, the PM`s son shows off his empire at Raiwind, without bothering to explain his financial sources.

I want to know about Adil Najam is the same person who belongs to Islamabad, Pakistan and was sometimes used to write for The Muslim(an English News paper from Islamabad) and was an English debater

Re:Cynic,

Cant argue that each of these countries adopted a secular approach to life, Cynic, nor that they are relatively more developed. They did, however, adopt it to different degrees, with different motives, consequences and economic success.
The UK till recently, and the Germans still have societies and politics which have an element of the canonical and neither could be considered under developed. My argument was that religion is a necessary evil but an eventually self limiting one in a developing society.
Lee Kuan Yew is a hero of mine too, but I think that history may have more to say of him than that he was a selfless altruist.

At cross purposes again! Small steps heading nowhere make you walk in circles.

Cynic, makes a very good point, but a currently unpalatable one. Religion is the opiate of the masses. If I had to live in a mud and corrugated iron shanty worrying about disease, rape, violence, hunger and the elements I`d probably want to dope myself silly too. Remember Turkey never had it as bad as we do.

There are no immediate solutions and no prepackaged ones. THINK people. The world bank can`t tell you how to build a market economy and rationalising the linguistics means you learn very little in English rather than in polyglot.

The answer lies in applying the solutions and waiting for the cake to rise. Independent thought, thats where it all begins. Self reliance. (shameless plug for earlier article there). Development will take time in a limited area and then spread, we won`t suddenly precipitate it out of the morass.

Remember it is the marginal decision maker who determines direction. It just takes the one enlightened individual. Chowk shows us that there are quite a few out there.

And folks, hopping off the fence for a second, it begins with market forces. I don`t have the leisure for anything while I`m thinking of where my next meal is coming from. Maslow discovered this in the 1920`s, why are we still arguing about it?

There is a school of thought that feels that perpetual discussion is worthy of itself. Fair enough, but you cannot consign action to a secondary role. The discussion does not ``descend`` to the question ``Well what are WE going to do about it?`` it rises to it. Thus are all new eras born.

Very eloquent. good analyses. sound conclusions.

what we need are solutions suggested, for a change, by the majority of pakistanis who do not have the same privileges and perspectives as ``we`` (broadly, the relatively privileged) do. And, only ``they`` can truly change the country. Its people like ourselves who have either ruined it or at least silently accepted our privileges.