IT Is Not A Magic Wand As always a good article by the professor; a few observations about the article:

You said that the government needs to pay some attention to local content creation. I hope it is understood that the government can`t possibly be in the business of `creating content.` What the government can do is encourage creation of content--actually anyone familiar with IT needs to do this. For example, encouraging students of any subject to put their materials online. An art student may put up a painting, and IT student may describe some obscure technology or a literature student may put up a poem.

The reason this is so important is not because I wan to read anymore nonsensical english poems from Pakistani students :), but because it creates a culture of actively thinking about the internet not as a ``magic wand`` but something that is part of life.

If a hundred students put up their paintings, a professor might decide to create a site that only displays painting about a specific topic, age group, gender, etc. All of a sudden a ``Pakistani Art Scene`` emerges on the net.

The internet is basically just infrastructure that allowes individuals, organizations, governments, businesses, etc., to do something for themselves on the internet (put up your favorite poems, your school brochure, your yearly reports), but ends up helping out others (others can enjoy your favorite poems, people can read yearly reports without reading little excerpts in new paper reports, etc.)

I think Umair said basically the same thing in the last issue of Friday Times.

Joint Indo-Pak School History Textbook on the Web Nothing was said of translations, perhaps the authors or someone else related to the project could shed some light on this. Specifically, will the translations be left to publishers or will an equally reputed (and objective) historian translate the book?

Computers for Pakistan Actually I have been thinking of starting a forum (magazine, whatever) for Pakistani IT professionals with information such as upcoming technologies, interviews, impact on society, etc. Since the content would have to be from the contributors, I wonder how many people are actually interested. Don`t hesitate contacting me at chaudhar@umich.edu.

Last year I contacted the people of Citizen Foundation schools (through email) and found out they are looking for donated computers. They actually have (or can get) teachers trained at least in the basics of computers. Their kids learn english from the begenning.

Chowk-e-Bay Roz GaraN and Globalization A very informative article. I like the fact that it is not a rant about globalization but a rant with some explanations behind it. Once again, I wonder if someone could recommend a good book about the subject.

Should Pakistan start a Virtual University? It is interesting to read this article, since I my self have been thinking about this lately. Already there is one reservation about the idea (a well founded one) that investment,the establishment and the infrastructure will not support this.

Education over the internet does not need to be in the form of one institution investing loads of money developing and implementing a curriculum. No one should expect the whole country to light up with the `net tomorrow and start using internet universities to become PhDs.

Much like all other innovations and discoveries, things don`t need to happen in a perfectly linear fashion. While there may be few people able to take advantage of a ``Pak-Internet University`` currently, as more people come online they will already have wealth of resources a click away. And let`s not forget the network effect:

useful internet [like a university]-}more people online-}more incentive to provide useful internet-}more people come online to take advantage-}etc., etc.

Now, the main topic of internet education. I can testify that the internet educaton can do wonders. Basically the last year of my undergraduate educaton has been through the net. Most of the professors at Univ. Of Mich. put their lecture notes online. Although I`m not proud of it, I basically passed my last few semesters relying on the lecture notes on the web.

In my opinnion we need few specific things:

--Encourage university professors to put their lecture notes online.

--Encourage professors, universities or even NGO`s to record lectures (just audio should be fine).

--Encourage students, profs. and others to do small multimedia presentations on specific topics (an applet displaying various sorting algorithms in actions, a 3d model of a DNA strand, etc.)

--Encourage universities or NGOs (even individuals) to link all available material in a comprehensive easy to follow format [imagine a website that lists all courses for a computer science degree the way a university degree requirement document might...but each link to a course may lead to a course website of different university]

--Universities or NGOs could develop textbooks and make them available for free (I don`t know why this is not done more often...apparently there is a text book on south asian history (pak. and indian historians working together) that will be availlable on the web).

Probably the most important thing is to get a few professors to start taking this seriously. Once momentum builds, things start to fall in place. A few years ago most profs. would have laughed at the idea of allowing their students acces to class notes on the web, but once a few profs. did it, most others quickly joined.

Bullock Cart to IT Bandwagon: India’s IT experience It is very encouraging to see the administration trying to improve the IT situation in Pakistan. However, we need to concentrate on more than improving government policies. Individual Pakistanis must contribute.

Despite a very large number of Pakistanis in the computer industry, very little work seems to have been done on the ``improve the `net for fellow man`` front. Let me give some concrete examples:

--The state of Urdu on the web is dismal. Some people have made amaturish efforts (all the more reason they deserve our gratitute) at creating Urdu fonts. Most of these fonts are different from each other and almost every site uses urdu requires a new font to be downloaded. Perhaps few know that a standard encoding exists and making fonts according to that standard (unicode) will greatly ease the spread of Urdu on the internet.

--By all accounts, open-source systems, such as Linux, will be a force in the industry. This is even more important for Pakistan where the cost of MS Windows is anything but trivial. In the next few months, very stable alternatives to the main-stream desktop operating systems will exist (linux and gnome for example). These systems can be made very usable for the average Pakistani by doing things like translating the user-interface to Urdu.

--In this age of information, a do gooder would do well to provide access to importanat information to those who seek it. How about a machine-translation system that translates English editorials to Urdu (granted, this is actually much harder than it seems).

--NGOs can publish their research reports online. Surely there is nothing to loose by having qualified and interested parties evaluate research. This is even more important when the research (and implementation) is sponsored through donations...and the readers happen to have some disposable income.

--etc., etc., etc., ...

Obviously, at this point, I must include myself among those who just sit and wish for things to be. By the way, the points above are suggestions (and a todo list) of someone who is enthusiastic and hopeful about the future. Don`t consider this just another mindless complaint :).

(CHOWK STAFF: It might be a good idea to point out if an article was originally published somewhere else...I believe this was on Jang-The News).

Where did Pakistan go wrong? It is interesting how arrogant this article is (although I`m sure the author had no ill intentions). Even more interesting are many of the responses by Pakistanis to thist article. I`ve always wondered if self deprecation, in the name of constructive critisicm or whatever, has any virtue.

I also would be surprised if this analysis isn`t based on what the author has heard or read about the problems in Pakistan (perhaps many of them right here at chowk.com). One paragraph stands out:

``The Sunnis and the Shias hate each other and murder is the common currency between them. In Karachi, the locals and the Muhajirs (who were enticed to migrate to the Islamic paradise) go about killing each other without stopping for breath. ``

Thankfully, Pakistan is not the killing field you seem to imagine it to be. No doubt there are extremists on all sides, however that does not translate into ``killing each other without stopping for breath.``

Since you claim to be a journalist, I would have expected a little more thoughtful article.

Indians have a great deal to be proud of. Their economic situation is changing. It is getting better. But it is not there yet. Right now, India`s GDP/capita is less than that of Pakistan`s. More of its population is under the poverty line than Pakistan`s (although by just a few percentage points). My point is not to degrade India, but to show that certain people should keep from excercising their right to be condecending for a few years.

We will join you on the path to better times as soon as we stop talking about our problems and start working to fix them.

The Point ...sometimes even little mullahs mistakenly bump into people.

The Beautiful Dawn I always like reading these ``In the future...`` pieces. However these excercises invite comments on differences in what the `ideal` future might be. So here,

The idea that a Quaid-e-Azam saani, an individual, will come and save us is the exact opposite of what we need. We need strong institutions instead of cults of personality.

If Malcolm X Doeym is anything like the original Malcolm X (before he became Shabazz), he will want a seperate America for blacks, not run for the presidency of a united America.

However, since this is a dream, anything goes. I, for one, think it is a fairly decent dream.

What are they Teaching in Pakistani Schools Today? A great article because it presents some solutions instead of just restating the problem.

Some time ago Shahbaz Sharif offered to let educational NGOs of the country take part in how the government schools were run. To my surprise, the NGO`s refused. Perhaps someone could comment on why it is not a good idea to let NGO`s have a say in how schools are run.

I remember there used to be ``Nai Roshni`` schools that seemed to cater to the lower middle class (or even poor) since they offered classes in the evening, etc. Again, apparently that was not a success although it seemd like to good idea to me (although I was 10 back then). Perhaps someone could say something about that.

The schools run by the the Citizen Foundation seem to have a good reputation. They teach English from the beginning, have well trained teachers and have students who show a lot of enthusiasm. Perhaps a comparison of CF schools, government schools and elite schools could be done.

I remember hearing that the government schools in Islamabad were better than government schools anywhere else in the country. Why is it that the capital can have better schools? The argument that the government officials live there doesn`t really fly becaues most of their kids probably go to private schools.

There are obviously several NGO`s in Pakistan doing good work. Unfortunately there is little information about them on the web. All the research done about development in Pakistan probably passes no more than a few hands. In the internet age, I`m surprised there aren`t research papers and Pakistani NGO portals all over (...well actually I`m not surprised).

If the NGO`s don`t have the resources to make use of information technology, I`m sure many would volunteer. I suppose I will: chaudhar@umich.edu

The Case for De jure Legalization It is hard for me to justify legalization of alcohol simply based on economics. First, I wonder how much revenue would actually be generated if alcohol imports were legalized. Secondly, vast amounts of revenue are bound to be earned if heroin, marijuana, etc., allowed to be traded and exported (perhaps in association with our friends in Afghanistan). It is always interesting to note how many `pro-alcohol-legalization` Pakistanis flinch at the thought of legalizing substances that are thought to be immoral by the general populations of the west.

Excuse me for digressing from the original topic, but for many people this breaks down to the problem of class system in Pakistan. The `elite` make the rules of Pakistan. They, by definition, are educated to view things from somewhat of a euro-centric point of view (the British idea of creating a buffer class between themselves and the natives was very effective). Some may find legalization of heroin to be highly immoral because it is thought to tear apart the fabric of society. Alcohol on the other hand, is something that is consumed by millions worldwide as part ofthe daily routine. From a general `Pakistani` point of view, morally, alcohol is no different from heroin. Medical, scientific facts leave little room for one`s broght-up affecting a debate. Unfortunatley, if an issue breaks down to morality, then how someone is indoctrinated has a defining effect on what they consider acceptable. In Pakistan (may even be true of most other nations), the people who make the rules are brought-up very differently from those who have to live those rules.

Substances should not be legalized simply becuase the powerful have a taste for it; even if they can rationalize using abstract promises of material prosperity. Similarly, ideas and substances should not be banned simply becuase some (majority or minority) feel threatened or disgusted. Again, similar argument could be made in the west regarding a variety of issues.

In the end, the issue of legalizatin of alcohol is not about economics, even if that means alcohol can sponsor our fights against our enemies. Especially if we start to like the fact that alcohol sponsors our battles.

IT Pie in the Sky? I have often wondered about the importance of english language internet in Pakistan. Currently most Pakistani internet users are very well versed in English. Obviously the internet can not become widely available without facilities for people who can not speak english. There is a technical side to this: right to left/bi-directinoal editing capabilities. Showing Urdu text in a platform, font independent way. Having mechanisms to make Urdu websites interactive (search engines, etc.)

Then there are some non-technical things one needs to think about. Will a large enough number of people benefit from the net in a country where phone and electricity (or clean water) are not so `widely` available?

I am sometimes surprised that there seem to be very few Pakistanis who take any sort of a leadership role (so far, myself included). Where as there are a large number of urdu poems in urdu script as graphic format or proprietary fonts, there is little effort to create some sort of a centralized `database.` There seem to be few engineering/computer profession associations; despite the fact that there are a large number of Pakistani`s in those fields. Student involvement is lacking even more. I haven`t followed the Indians much but obviously they are a model for us in this field.

Since this IT revolution is supposed to chage our lives, understanding and being part of it is more than just getting economic benefits out of it by exporting our typing skills.

Pak-Millennium Conference 1999 ::Chowk will provide a coverage of the conference.

Can we still expect transcripts of the conference here or at pak2000.org? I sincerely hope so.

Pak-Millennium Conference 1999 This question is for Mr. Safi Qureshi. What do you think of technical talent and entrepreneurial talent in Pakistan? As a venture capitalist and as someone who is interested in Pakistan`s development, what (if any) business or social/developmental returns on investment can we see by investing in Pakistani companies. Thank you.

Evaporation Drops the Temperature A very good article. Your analogy serves its purpose (even if it wouldn`t hold in a scientific paper). The educated overseas Pakistanis do have responsibility to the people back home. Some may shirk off such responsibility, fine, its your choice. A lot of us complain about how things are, I believe if a very small percentage of us started actually doing something, things would start to change. Contrary to what ``firaq`` mentioned, I don`t think this article is asking most Pakistanis to wait for some heroes from the west. It is encouraging the resourceful to assert their power.

Keeping with the scientific theme, I believe we first need to pinpoint the problems. Is our problem corruption, lack of resources,over population, too much government intervention, too little accountability? Will mass education fix these problems? Will more money from expats., resolution of the Kashmir issue, more technology, peace in Afghanistan, etc. solve these problems? Do people agree on what the problems are, or is one person`s problem another person`s ideal?

These questions and issues need to be discussed--not just in academic journals but among a wider segment of the population.

Kargil Issue ``Punjabis who got their houses damaged on the border and even lost their dear ones are still saying that India and Pakistan must unite to form a nation United States of South Asia (USSA). A mixed sort of such ideas can even be found on the website www.chowk.com.``

First of all, it think it is a mistake to think that Pakistani Punjabis want a USSA. In fact this notion is what causes most of the mistrust among the people of the sub-continent. A very large number of Pakistanis (perhaps most) want friendly relation with India. However, anytalk to free trade zone, common defence, common anything alarms many (including myself). There is a sense among Pakistani`s that India has never quite accepted Pakistan and would ``like it back;`` I believe it is at least partially legitimate concern. Any talk of USSA or other ``soft border`` diplomacy only reinforces those fears.