Of Doom and Gloom

vanguard I have been reading columns in Urdu press for a long time despite the very fact that most of them are based on emotions rather than logic. I never claimed that the English press is the true representative of general pakistanis. I also do not say that Urdu press is hyping on the ground realities for what they say may very well be factual, I am just complaining against overdosing.

I agree with you on the fact that Irfan Hussain, Ardeshir Cowasjee, Najam Sethi do not write for common people, but let me tell you that I do not need any Urdu columnist either to know what a common man on the street is going through because I am also from the common run of the people. I know very much what are my problems and what is the problem of our columnists. What type of solutions from the government are being offered to me and what `solutions` our columnists get from powers that be.

You talk about reading Urdu columnists seriously and I tell you that I had been working with the daily Jang for three years and The News for another three years. With all due respect to you my friend, allow me to claim that I know better than you as to whom our so-called `daanishwar` from the press are actually employed by.

Let me reiterate my complain that these columnists, especially from the Urdu wing, show only the one side of the picture.

Jay, great post. Reminds me of my aunt saying that whatever you do comes back to question you. I don`t know much about the Islamic economic system [never understood it in my money & banking class and would end up napping] but I seriously don`t think teh system will really grow here. People are steeped in the capitalist, money earning frame of mind.

THERE IS NO TRAIN EVEN.

Look at the last pak budget. If one includes all of the fauji and shaheed organisations, 50 percent of the pak budget is spent on the military. 35 percent on loan repayment and that leaves 15 percent to support the rest of the govt including education, which gets around 2 percent. Is there anything for the people to look forward to other than a jihadic heaven.

The new US aid program will further help the military. In the 70s they created taliban and the US paid for it. Now they are paying to kill the taliban. This is a fantastic situation for pakistan, it gets paid twice, once for making them jihadic killers and next for killing them.
The situation is a little like farming, you sow the seeds and when they are mature, harvest them.
At last an islamic 3edconomic system is evolving in pakistan, and this is what people can hope for. There is a choice, one can be a harveter or a plant.

Waseem and other Chowksters:

Another point to note about writers in Urdu newspapers is that they only outline problems. They don`t give any solutions.

A typical anti-American article would go on wailing against ``American crime against Muslims`` in terms like look what US is doing in Iraq, in Afghanistan and its failures in inside of the USA where thousands of Muslims are being persecuted and so on and so forth. It will never come up with a solution. It will end up criticizing the Government as if Pakistan is another superpower in the making. In other words, the unexpressed solution seems to be that Pakistani military should make a pre-emptive strike against USA ha ha ha.

Here is an example of a friend of mine who lives a good life in Canada, but keeps me posted with articles from Nawa-e-Waqt. Same emotionalism, no solutions. He wants people like me living in Pakistan to take up Jihad against Americans, thereby making our lives more and more difficult, yet he wants to continue his luxurious life in Canada.

Since I believe in ground realities and acting on the basis of those, here is my recommendation for others regarding the problem: Immediately write an email to newspaper/author back blasting them to smithereens on writing emotional gloom and doom articles and not suggesting any practical solutions. I do it all the time.

However, our electronic media is much more entertaining and does not dwell on doom and gloom scenario. The reason seems to be that viewership can only increase when people are in a state of well being (feeling good about themselves). More viewership brings more ecstatic advertisements, which open up more of the moods. Thus, there is a positive cycle.

English newspapers in Pakistan are there to put Bush & Blairs to sleep. They are supposed to be lullabies to the Tyrants who either have sleepless nights or nightmares about so-called terrorist states.

The Urdu press is utilised by the government to mould public opinion on contentious issues so as to quell any move that might destabilise the throne.

The general public is way too smart for the establishment and is constantly eroding and chipping away at the alien agendas.

All indicators, news-makers, burning-issues, thorn-in-the-bushblairs point towards one and one direction only

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the right direction.

There is nothing for the senior citizens or grandpapas to worry. They should spend the few years they`ve left to enjoy their grand children on the right path.

``I have nothing against being pessimistic but reporting a bicyclist as a symbol of poverty and leaving out a motorist who is a sign of improving buying power of people is a crime to me. ``

Hello Dr Waseem, did you take a dose of the medicene you are prescribing, your article is one of the most depressing I have read on chowk about paksitan. I had been posting for a long time for the pakistanis to post something positive about pakistan, may be some incident of humane kindness. Nothing at all has happened, and one has to accept that at the macro scale things are really nad in pakistan.

With four instances of share capital raising in pakistan in the last 3 years, there can be good news in economics. There can be no dood news in the social front, no books for children, no electricity in karachi.
Then of course there was the special police squad to prevent kite flying, that of course was something positive to the TNT pakistanis.
Waseem, news papers are to report facts mainly, did the mushy or for that matter any one inaugurate a factory, a school, a hospital lately. What do you want the urdu papers to report, pure fiction as fact, well then romair will have to write in urdu and send it to pak papers instead of his trash to chowk
Waseem, there is something positive in all this cheer up, at least the urdu papers are reporting truth, and that is of supreme value.

Not related but still mention-worthy: Urdu newspapers, especially the evening editions, are the only newspapers that bother reporting the rape/incest cases that take place in the city. The English newspapers only mention the few cases which come to the limelight.

Pakistani Urdu press lives in a world quite different from the English press barring some new secular newspapers like ``Khabrain``, which have a small circulation.

``Nawa-e-waqt`` and its like have kept our semi-literate majority tied down for a long time with concepts like ``Ummah``, ``India is No. 1 Enemy``, ``Jews are evil``, ``West is lacherous`` and so on.

But no more. My hats off to an average Pakistani who no more goes along with such stereotype outdated political pholosophies. And is fed up.

He wants water, electricity, jobs, roads, schools and hospitals.

I dont think you have seriously read the columns in Urdu newspaper. This is coming from the guy who relished the columns in Dawm The News, Friday Times and many other syndicated columnist.

What you fail to understand is that Urdu columnist has a common man as his audience and he writes for him. WHat do these Irfan Hussain, Ardeshir Cowasjee, Najam Sethi write for -> not the common man. They have much higher issues to discuss such as where did a particular sexually liberating vagina monologue was conducted, how the big players are playing power politics and what new kind of band was in town. Sometimes I think Cowasjee is more of a hype building guy, luring people into power politics.

What I would suggest is next time you read the columns in an English daily, check it out whether a common man can comprehend the issues being raised in the article usually in an obscure language implying that the writer possesses a large vocabulary.

well said... the Urdu press is really depressing i have given up reading Urdu papers for the same old BS that they churn out... www.bbcurdu.com is a lot better than the rest of the Urdu press, who push thru nothing but their narrow minded visions...