Benazir Bhutto Killed in an Attack slodhi (Post 96).

Good for you. Sad to see so much anger and hatred on Chowk when so many have died and are dying.

Panini

Benazir Bhutto Killed in an Attack There is so much sadness in her death. For her family, for her party and also for Pakistan. There are so many of us (not just Pakistanis) who have been following the events of the last few years, and who wish and hope for a return to normalcy, and an end to the strife and the bombings and killings. Benazir's return (and indeed even Nawaz Sharif's) held out the promise of such a return.

However imperfect this transitional period towards elections. The fact is that all the key democratic players were there, and an election was to take place. Now, Pakistan has slipped many steps backwards and it will take a lot of work to stay on track.

The future is not lost. What is necessary is to stay on track (towards the election) and stay committed to a return to full democracy. Whatever her flaws (and which politician does not have them?) she was a charismatic and moderate leader. Her death should not be in vain.

I think this is the message that all people in Pakistan should carry in their hearts. Despite her flaws she was courageous and willing to fight for the future of Pakistan. Her death should not be in vain.

Panini

Benazir Bhutto Killed in an Attack There is so much sadness in her death. For her family, for her party and also for Pakistan. There are so many of us (not just Pakistanis) who have been following the events of the last few years, and who wish and hope for a return to normalcy, and an end to the strife and the bombings and killings. Benazir's return (and indeed even Nawaz Sharif's) held out the promise of such a return.

However imperfect this transitional period towards elections. The fact is that all the key democratic players were there, and an election was to take place. Now, Pakistan has slipped many steps backwards and it will take a lot of work to stay on track.

The future is not lost. What is necessary is to stay on track (towards the election) and stay committed to a return to full democracy. Whatever her flaws (and which politician does not have them?) she was a charismatic and moderate leader. Her death should not be in vain.

I think this is the message that all people in Pakistan should carry in their hearts. Despite her flaws she was courageous and willing to fight for the future of Pakistan. Her death should not be in vain.

Panini

Sin City Shandana,

Very nice. Makes visiting Chowk (after a long gap) interesting. Forgot that it had good writers.

But I found it somewhat melancholic. Perhaps my imagination, no?

Panini

Reforms! What Reforms? Unlike most readers of Chowk who have responded to Professor Hoodbhoy with pessimism and lack of hope, let me say that I am invigorated by his article. He has identified problems, and he has pointed to solutions. I do not believe that he claims his solutions are the best or that they will necessarily work. But he has proposed them nevertheless. This is a good starting point.

As a South Asian, I am particularly attracted to his idea of a mingling or a reciprocal movement of teachers and students across South Asian borders. What a wonderful idea! I think that the most important outcome of such exchanges will be the improvement of relations and the possibility of lasting peace. Of course, we will also exchange ideas, teach, and learn from one another. But that is long term, pie-in-the-sky, and dreaming.

So, onto the core of his article. Some readers point out that Professor Hoodbhoy is needlessly criticizing the idea of more funds and more students funded by the HEC. After all, the arguement goes, some good will come out of it even if most of the recipients are not deserving scholars. This is a terrible position to take. Let me state why. I am currently a faculty member in a University in the United States. When I read what Professor Hoodbhoy has written, you can be sure of one thing: I will not be inclined to admit or take in my laboratory a student from Pakistan (unless s/he is recommended by Professor Hoodbhoy).

I am afraid that is the way it is. For me, his word is enough. As an Indian, let me point out that there is no academic I know of in India who I respect more than Professor Hoodbhoy. In that sense, I believe India is going through a crisis about as bad as Pakistan. I have, with no exceptions, declined to hire Indian students who applied to my research program, simply because I believe they were poorly prepared and lacked english skills (the same problems identified by Professor Hoodbhoy with some students at QAU). Perhaps there are good students going elsewhere, but I am certainly not seeing them at my University. And never mind the IITs. I am from one of them, and I know what I am saying. Other than in commerce and business and finance, very few IIT graduates have made fundamental contributions to Engineering (Narendra Karmarkar being the only exception perhaps). So, for an institution that has produced nearly 100,000 graduates in the last fifty years or so, we have very little to show for the attention devoted to us.

In teaching and research, education is secondary to scholarship. Time and again people forget this. An education teaches people to read and write, and gives them a degree, and teaches them a trade at best. Nothing wrong with that, but it is not enough to bootstrap a society into producing more teachers and academics. Graduating Ph.Ds at a frantic pace is not a substitute for real scholarship. Scholarship is about thinking and analyzing. Scholarship is about making people think, and about creating thinkers. Professor Hoodbhoy is asking for scholars, and he is demanding scholarship. His demand is reasonable. Let us, Indians and Pakistanis alike, listen to the man. Do!

Panini

Pakistan: Inside The Nuclear Closet I am saddened to read some of the remarks made about Dr. Hoodbhoy. He is a distinguished scholar and an intellectual of some renown, and his presence in Chowk is a major attraction for me. He has always been avowedly against nuclear weapons, particularly their possession by the United Nations P-5. If he speaks against A. Q. Khan, it is because the black market trade in nuclear weapons technology is much worse and more dangerous than nuclear weapons under close government control. He does not condone the ``legal`` existence of nuclear weapons, nor does he support the United States in this matter.

I believe that Dr Hoodbhoy`s visits to the United States are very much looked forward to, and if I had the financial means, I would travel to see him and hear him speak as well. It is one thing for people like me to live in the US and write scathing criticisms of India or Pakistan. That is easy. It is quite something else for people like Dr. Hoodbhoy to live in Pakistan and to criticize its actions. That requires courage and a belief in principles. The academic and scientific community claims Dr. Hoodbhoy as one of its own. We take pride and delight in that he is one of us. His deeply humane values are all too uncommon these days, and he is in the same mold as Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. Chowk and its readers should be proud that he is part of this growing and vibrant net community, and likewise, Pakistan should be proud of having a scientist of the highest rank as one of its own, living and working in Islamabad.

If he seems predisposed againt Khan, then that is his right. In humane terms, the scientific and intellectual contributions of a Dr Hoodbhoy or a Dr. Abdus Salaam rank head and shoulders over those of a Khan. Perhaps Chowk readers would do well to consider what this means.

It is deeply distressing that India chose to have nuclear weapons, and that Pakistan responded in kind. Khan`s sin in this respect is that he took it one step further and gave the secrets away to a bidder. The more terrible question is, was he alone? Dr. Hoodbhoy and many others are simply trying to raise the level of awareness so that people can ask these questions, demand answers, and set things right.

The Khan episode will not go away, although Musharaf probably thinks it has. Like the Taliban and Kashmir problem it will come back to haunt Pakistan. It is better to demand answers now, set up institutional mechanisms to prevent this happening in the future, and to fully practice nuclear responsibility. And it is best to do this as openly as is possible. The impression given today is that the Pakistan government and military (not just Khan) are completely irresponsible. Even if this is not true, the dubious confession and speedy pardon give the impression of irresponsibility. This frightens people in other parts of the world.

Instead of attacking Dr. Hoodbhoy for raising this, we may like to give what he is saying some serious thought.

Panini

Pakistanis Do Not Need To Study Relativity Re Ras Siddiqui`s query (#37)

Nothing wrong with lager. Some of my best friends are lagers.

But Ale is better, especially Belgian Trappist.

I have to tune out of Chowk for a few days. Too much to do.

Cordially all

Panini

Pakistanis Do Not Need To Study Relativity Regarding narain`s request (#35).

I just put together a list which someone had requested. Here it is.

1. Steven Pinker

a. The language instinct

b. How the mind works

He is a psycholinguist, but it is worth reading about language because this is the so called ``hard problem``.

2. V. S. Ramachandran

a. Phantom in the brain: Probing the mysteries of the human mind (with Sandra Blakeslee)

3. Oliver Sacks

a. The man who mistook his wife for a hat

A hugely entertaining (and sometimes sad) book. It contains lots of clinical tales about the most bizarre neurological disorders (NOT mental disorders)

4. Antonio Damasio (ed)

a. Scientific American Book of the Brain

It came out last year and is a collection of semi-popular articles. If you want to know what the specific issues are, then this may be a good choice.

There are two other books that you may like to check because they have to do with ``symbolic reasoning`` which in my opinion is the enduring mysetery of the mind. These are Sue Savage-Rumbaugh`s ``Kanzi``. Kanzi was a bonobo chimp who SS-R taught symbolic reasoning. The first chapter is a bit of a ramble, but the rest is fascinating. You may also try Terrence Deacon`s ``The Symbolic Species`` although it may be a bit involved.

There are many good books, and it is possible that my favourite book(s) are not listed above because I cannot remember. But the above should be good for a readable introduction.

Cordially

Panini

Pakistanis Do Not Need To Study Relativity Many points and criticisms were raised about my article, and I thank readers for devoting time to thinking and responding to it. I would like to respond to all here, rather than to each (for lack of time).

I did not suggest that we must all pursue a life of the mind. It is a matter of choice. All occupations are necessary for progress, including those that produce no visible or immediate returns for society. It took China a fair bit of time to undo the damage done during the cultural revolution. My article in fact says this, but I

argue only for what I hold dear. Namely, this ``most useless of activities``, the freedom to explore purely intellectual problems. If someone makes a similar argument for, say, carpentry, I will enthusiastically agree.

Some have said ``who cares what they think?`` True, I do not. Academics requires the skin of a rhinoceros to survive. But my gripe was not personal. For better or worse, recognition in the world of ideas does require western endorsement. This is bad enough, but it is much worse to suggest who can and cannot pursue purely intellectual work. To illustrate the unfairness, I have taken a harsh and rather black and white stand. Please do not parse the details.

I have many good colleagues in the West, and a few, particularly the women, are more than sympathetic to this. Women in the West have fought a long battle against a similar attitude, and they know that the battle is still far from won. I am merely pointing out that if you are dirt poor, have to walk to school barefoot, study by a kerosene light, and work all the time at mathematics or physics because you love it, then it is worth it. No one can tell you that it is useless to do this.

There is much more I would like to say in response to your comments, but it is difficult for lack of time. So, I hope you will pardon me if I do not respond to your specific questions or comments.

On a different note, one reader mentioned Varsha Bhosle. Please do not take the name of that incorrigible.

Cordially,

Panini

Drive-By-Baggings I am a little surprised that an article which was meant to be amusing should generate a hindu-muslim conflict. The article has nothing to do with faith or the superiority of one form of thought over another.

I am going to stop writing in Chowk beacuse nothing bothers me more than being taken seriously or being the cause of pointless debates on the superiority of one religion over another. It appears that Chowk is transforming into just another forum for Indians and Pakistanis to beat one another up.

I hereby resign a position I never held.

Panini

The German Psychiatrist and His Rubber Parrot Re: Lubna`s question (#16).

None of the choices are valid. When I am busy with research, I will tolerate no intrusions. I will also not tolerate any breach in animal care rules.

Cordially

Panini

Children - Why the Thinking Person Should Abolish Them Just returned from Yosemite... breathless from having climbed all the way up a sheer rock face. Children all over the place. Absolutely ghastly.

Being from Illinois, and just visiting California (sunny Frisco) I was appalled to see hordes of subcontinental programmers (mostly Indian, given their numerical superiority) bursting, I tell you ABSOLUTELY BURSTING, with child.

Can someone indicate why so many H-1 workers are getting pregnant in California? Is it something in the air? Pollen that causes a rash of pregnancies, perhaps?

Do check out my marvellous Jamaican Egg Nog recipe (see Replies of previous article on cars). I hope you will be wildly indulging on New Years eve as I will be. Remember to leave the `lil darlins` at home.

Panini

Children - Why the Thinking Person Should Abolish Them I first posted this article in soc.culture.indian many years ago, and it invited some of the most abusive email I have ever received. Strangely enough, most of the little support that the idea received came from women. But, as someone once said, the best form of male contraceptive is the pill.

To answer PM (could this REALLY be P. Musharraf?) I am not cynical, and I do not hate children (some of my best friends are children). I just dont want to have them, and I suggest you dont have them either. Is that too much to ask?

Panini

Children - Why the Thinking Person Should Abolish Them XYZZ asked whether my piece was a ``humorous or a serious piece, or whether the author had nothing else to do!``

I would like to state that the piece was humorous, serious and that the author really had nothing better to do. `Tis holiday season: good will, cheer and all that. What better way to bring balance into this season of sickly sentiments, the ruthless monopolizing of carols and psalms by multinational corporations than good old fashioned malice? I can hear Scrooge crying ``Humbug! Humbug!

``, but I am sure he would have approved of the piece.

Yours, with really nothing better to do

Panini

Now there is no need to leave your car at all... These chowk editors dont reply. Waited and waited... could still have been waiting, but decided to enroll myself with another name and password. Old identity is still around somewhere,

possibly fossilized.

Took me centuries to get out of my body and my brain into a jar. Did these chowk editors really think they could wear me out, make me just go away? Have taken revenge by submitting another article. Clearly not Y2K compliant. That`ll learn `em!

Frightfully good recipe for a Jamiacan Egg Nog:

1 Quart Egg nog (the ordinary stuff)

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp nutmeg powder

1 cup white Rum (say, Bacardi) or more!

Blend.

Cordially all, have a happy holidays. Go easy on the egg-nog and do do be careful of little green men who will arrive on Jan 1 from Mars and make you all listen to another of Musharraf`s tedious speeches.

Panini

Who will Bell the Bad, Fat Cats? Good for you Shaheen Sehbai! Especially for asking that question of General Arif (never understood why so many Pakistani people think the military is a god send).

Good honest journalism is still alive and well in Pakistan.

Panini